Yuri Norstein’s Animation Top 20 (2003)

The great Russian animator Yuri Norstein (aka Yuriy Norshteyn, b. 1941) is widely admired in Japan by both mainstream and independent animators alike.  His works The Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) and The Tale of Tales (1978) topped the Laputa Top 150 Japanese and World Animation poll done in 2003.  His work is so beloved that even his unfinished adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s short story The Overcoat entered the list at #92.  Norstein himself participated in the 2003 poll and his picks are listed below. 

But first, a bit of background information:

Yuri Norstein has close ties to the Laputa International Animation Festival.  The festival began in 2000 and semi-annually presents the Yuri Norstein Award (ユーリ・ノルシュテイン大賞) – with, I believe, Norstein himself acting as the head of the jury. The prize was jointly awarded in its inaugural year to Hiroyuki Tsutita for his film Mutate and to Hiroshi Okuda for Prisoner.  Oscar-winner animator Kunio Katō won the Yuri Norstein Award twice:  first in 2001 for The Apple Incident and again in 2004 for The Diary of Tortov Roddle.  Hosokawa Susumu won the award in 2005 for Demons and Yusuke Sakamoto won in 2006 for The Telegraph Pole Mother.  In 2008, the award was given to a non-Japanese for the first time.  Latvian animator Vladimir Leschiov took the prize for Lost In Snow.  It was my understanding that the award would be given out again in 2010, but I have been unable to find any evidence of this happening – though they did show a retrospective of Norstein’s works at the festival that year.  The next festival will have an activist theme as they put out a call for “Fukushima Animation” last autumn.  It is unclear when the 11^th festival will take place.

2007 saw the establishment of the Laputa Art Animation School – a “small school” where they teach the art of making animation by hand (puppet, cutout, drawn, etc.).  The school creation is credited to Norstein’s insistence that Japan needed its own school of animation in the vein of the great Eastern European centres for  training animators.  The school even uses Norstein’s iconic hedgehog as their logo.  At Laputa, indisputed masters of the art of animation including Fumiko Magari and Sumiko Hosaka – puppet masters who worked for Tadanari Okamoto and Kihachirō Kawamoto – and the avant-garde legend Yōji Kuri teach students the tricks of the trade. 

There are no surprises in Yuri Norstein’s top 20.  He lists a cross-section of some of the very best in world animation with nods to both early animation pioneers (Ladislaw Starewicz, Alexandre Alexeieff, Claire Parker, Mikhail Tsekhanovsky, Norman McLaren, David Hand, Jiří Trnka) and terrific contemporary work (Nick Park, Aleksandr Petrov, Michael Dudok de Wit).  He even gives a nod to his Japanese hosts in recognizing the work of Osamu Tezuka and Kihachirō Kawamoto.  If you were teaching a course on world animation of the 20^th century and could only show 20 films – this list would suit nicely.  Though you would be hard-pressed to find a copy of Frantisek Vystrcil’s The Place in the Sun.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012

1.

Night on Bald Mountain / Une nuit sur le Mont Chauve

(禿山の一夜, Alexandre Alexeieff/Claire Parker, 1933)

2. 

The Street / La rue

(ストリート, Caroline Leaf, 1976)

3.

Crac!

(クラック！, Frédéric Back, 1981)

4.

Bambi

(バンビ, David Hand/Disney, 1942)

5.

Hand / Ruca

(手, Jiří Trnka, 1965)

6.

Blinkity Blank

(線と色の即興詩, Norman McLaren, 1955)

7.

Father and Daughter

(ファーザー・アンド・ドーター, Michaël  Dudok de Wit, 2000)

8.

Ali Baba

(アリババ, Giulio Gianini / Emanuele Luzzati, 1970)

9. 

The Substitute / Surogat

(代用品, Dušan Vukotić, 1961)

10.

The Cow / Корова

(雌牛, Aleksandr Petrov, 1989)

11.

De Facto/ De fakto

(デファクト, Donyo Donev, 1973)

12.

The Lady and the Cellist / La demoiselle et le violoncelliste

(お嬢さんとチェロ弾き, Jean-François Laguionie, 1965)

13.

 Post / Почта

(郵便, Mikhail Tsekhanovsky, 1929)

14.

The Island / Остров

(島, Fyodor Khitruk, 1973)

15.

The Place in the Sun / O misto na slunci

(太陽の下の場所, Frantisek Vystrcil, 1959)    

16.

Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers

(ウォレスとグルミット〜 ペンギンに気をつけろ!, Nick Park, 1993)

17.

Tango

(タンゴ, Zbigniew Rybczyński, 1980)

18.

Jumping

(ジャンピング, Osamu Tezuka, 1984)

19.

Dōjōji Temple

(道成寺, Kihachirō Kawamoto, 1976)

20.

The Cameraman’s Revenge

(カメラマンの復讐, Ladislaw Starewicz, 1912)

Source: Laputa Top 150 World and Japanese Animation

Norstein's complete works is available to order from Japan:

Yuri Norstein Sakuhin shu (collection)

Russian with Japanese subs

A-AIR×CALF World of Independent Animation (世界のインディペンデント・アニメーション)

Sunday, January 22, 2012

日時　2012年1月22日（日曜日）　14:00-18:00

Location: Aoyama Gakuin A Studio

会場　青山学院アスタジオ

Admission: 300 yen

The Japan Image Council (JAPIC) has sponsored  three animation artists for a 75 days of residency in Tokyo for from December 2011 until March 2012.  The Animation Artists in Residence (A-AIR) include Ewa Borysewicz (エヴァ・ボリセヴィッチ) from Poland, Immanuel Wagner (イマニュエル・ワーグナー) from Switzerland, and London-based filmmaker and animator Mikey Please (マイキー・プリーズ).  On the 22^nd of January, JAPIC will be joining forces with the Japanese independent animation label CALF to celebrate the coming together of talented young animation artists from around the world.   

14:00

Introduction to the Animation Artist in Residence (A-AIR) project

Speaker: Mr. Saeki / Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs

Programme 1           

A-AIR 2010-2011 Playback

Works by last year’s participants

Chen Xi  チェン・シー (China/中国)

Chrisophe Gautry  クリストフ・ゴートリー　 (France/フランス)

Jospeph Pierce ジョゼフ・ピアス　(UK/イギリス)

14:55   Break

15:00

Programme 2

A-AIR 2010-2011

Screening + Presentation

Who Would Have Thought (Ewa Borysewicz, 2009, 11’)

Baka! (Immanuel Wagner, 2010, 8’)

The Eagleman Stag (Mikey Please, 2010, 9’)

With discussion moderated by animation scholar and critic Nobuaki Doi

16:55   Break

17:00

Programme 3

Recent Japanese and International Independent Animation 

Playground (Mirai Mizue, 2010)

Yuki-chan (Kei Oyama, 2006)

Round Table discussion with Ewa Borysewicz, Immanuel Wagner, Mikey Please, Mirai Mizue, and Kei Oyama 

Event will conclude at 18:00

A-AIR Profiles  ＜A-AIR招へいアーティストプロフィール＞

エヴァ・ボリセヴィッチ　Ewa BORYSEWICZ（ポーランド）

Born in 1985, Ewa Borysewicz grew up in Podlachia, Poland. In 2009 she graduated from Kracow Academy of Fine Arts. Her graduation animated film “Who would have thought?” has been acclaimed both by audiences and critics alike.  She has received important festival awards in Poland and abroad. She’s working now on her debut animated film. She’s also a graphic artist and illustrator.

http://ewaborysewicz.blogspot.com/

イマニュエル・ワーグナー Immanuel WAGNER（スイス） 

Born in 1984, Immanuel Wagner was raised in Switzerland. After studying for 3 semesters of Fine Arts at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), he graduated from their animation programme in 2010. His graduation film has been shown in over 20 International Short Film Festivals and has also won 2nd Prize at Animator Festival in Poznan, Poland. He is currently working as a freelancer working on several Swiss commercial and non-profit art projects. http://imma.tv/

マイキー・プリーズ　Mikey PLEASE（イギリス）

Born in 1984. Mikey Please graduated with a BA in Special Effects from the University of Arts London (UAL) and then went on to direct animated promotional material for Virgin, Transgressive Records, Rough Trade, Ninja Tune and Universal Records before doing an MA in Direction at the Royal College of Art. He is now represented commercially by Agile Films, Independent Talent and developing long form projects with Warp Films for 2012.  http://mikeyplease.co.uk/

Learn more about the Animation in Residence programme at the JAPIC website.

Please support CALF by ordering their DVDs today.

The full Japanese programme is also on the JAPIC website including a map to the event.

RSVP to the Facebook Invite here.

CALF(info@calf.jp)　JAPIC(03-6670-5676)

Immanuel Wagner's artwork has been used for the cover of Christian Gasser's new book about Swiss animation:

Tsutomu Shibayama’s Animation Top 20 (2003)

Tsutomu Shibayama (芝山努, b. 1941) admits that he is patting himself on the back by listing his own films in the Animation Top 20 questionnaire that he filled out at the Laputa Animaton Festival in 2003.  He uses the expression “temae miso” (手前味噌) – which literally means “home-made miso” but is colloquially used to express that one is singing one’s own’s praises.  Shibayama’s entire list but two are all movies from the popular Doraemon franchise which Shibayama has been involved with since the 1970s.  

Despite his long history as an animator and director in the anime industry, Shibayama writes that he does not feel that he is particularly discerning when it comes to the quality of animation and doesn’t really feel that he is suited to the task of ranking animation.

Paul Grimault’s The Shepherdess and the Chimneysweep (1953) – which later became the basis of his Grimault’s feature film masterpiece The King and the Mockingbird (1980)  – was the film that inspired Shibayama to become an animator himself.  Before this film, Shibayama had only seen Disney animation for children and the contrast between Grimault’s work and that of Disney made a great impression on him.

Frédéric Back’s The Man Who Planted Trees was so highly recommended to Shibayama by a friends that he finally “lifted his heavy bottom” and went to see it and it did impress him very much.

The rest of Shibayama’s list ranks what he feels are the best Doraemon feature films.  I did not have the impression that Shibayama was listing his own series out of mere egotism, but more out of a place of being proud of the work that he has done.  Some animators who work for big franchises grow weary of the limitations they set upon creativity.  It is nice to see someone who seems to truly enjoy what he does, even after all these years.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012

1.

The Shepherdess and the Chimneysweep / La Bergère et le ramoneur

(やぶにらみの暴君, Paul Grimault, 1953)

2.

The Man Who Planted Trees / L'Homme qui plantait des arbres

(木を植えた男, Frédéric Back, 1987)

3.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan

(ドラえもん のび太の日本誕生, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1989)

4.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Wind Wizard

(ドラえもん のび太とふしぎ風使い, Tsutomu Shibayama, 2003)

5.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Robot Kingdom

(ドラえもん のび太とロボット王国, Tsutomu Shibayama, 2002)

6.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Winged Braves

(ドラえもん のび太と翼の勇者たち, Tsutomu Shibayama,2001)

7.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King

(ドラえもん のび太の太陽王伝説, Tsutomu Shibayama, 2000)

8.

Doraemon: Nobita Gets Lost in Space

(ドラえもん のび太の宇宙漂流記, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1999)

9.

Doraemon: Nobita's South Sea Adventure

(ドラえもん のび太の南海大冒険, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1998)

10.

Doraemon: Nobita's Adventure in Clockwork City                             

(ドラえもん のび太のねじ巻き都市冒険記, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1997)

11.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Galaxy Super-Express

(ドラえもん のび太と銀河超特急, Hiroshi Fukutomi, 1996)

12.

Doraemon: Nobita's Genesis Diary

 (ドラえもん のび太の創世日記, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1995)

13.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Fantastic Three Musketeers

(ドラえもん のび太と夢幻三剣士, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1994)

14.

Doraemon: Nobita and Tin-Plate Labyrinth

(ドラえもん のび太とブリキの迷宮, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1993)

15.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds

 (ドラえもん のび太と雲の王国, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1992)

16.

Doraemon: Nobita in Dorabian Nights

(ドラえもん のび太のドラビアンナイト, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1991)

17.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Animal Planet

(ドラえもん のび太とアニマル惑星, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1990)

18.

Doraemon: Nobita's Parallel "Journey to the West"

(ドラえもん のび太のパラレル西遊記, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1988)

19.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Knights of Dinosaurs

(ドラえもん のび太と竜の騎士, Tsutomu Shibayama, 1987)

20.

Doraemon: Nobita and the Steel Troops

(ドラえもん のび太と鉄人兵団, Tsutomu Shibayama,1986)


Source: Laputa Top 150 World and Japanese Animation

The Doraemon films are available via cdjapan:

Doraemon Shin, Nobita to Tetsujin Heidan - Habatake Tenshi Tachi  Blu-ray [Regular Edition]