The animated short is one of the most underrated genres of
animation. Admit it, if you're an Oscar watcher, you use categories like "Best
Animated Short" to go to the kitchen to get a soda. Don't be defensive. It isn't
your fault. The circulation of even the best of these mini-movies is
virtually nil, save for screenings at a few underpopulated film festivals. It's like
watching sports and not knowing any of the players. Why should you care?
Here's why you should care: Some of these animated shorts show so much
imagination they make feature films look like they were made in a Film-O-Matic.
Thank God for the Internet, because many of these mini cinematic
masterpieces are small enough to download for free! (As an added bonus,
they provide a great distraction from work!) Riding the waves of the Web can
introduce you to fantastic creations of up-and-coming filmmakers, and
to further your animation knowledge, this article is dedicated to one such
wickedly good undersized production.
The star of this month's column is "The Loonatic," created by Johnny
Rice. One animation magazine listed Ric's creation as one of five "weapons
of mass 3D inspiration." Rice has shaped a crew of seven distinct
characters with enough abstract style to impress any cartoon. The Loonatic -- aka
Loo -- is a free-spirited artist who has lost his mind. He spends some time
in an institution, where he meets Big Mike and Carl: two orderlies who
approach their jobs with different attitudes. Kind-hearted Big Mike works at the
institution to help, while Carl finds humor and gratification in
exercising his power over the patients. Loo's crew of friends is a diverse group
of rare individuals. Veronika is Loo's would-be girlfriend, in an
opposites-attract sort of way. Dr. Baghed is the philosopher of the
group, imparting what Rice describes as "unconventional wisdom" to others. The
Professor and Bzzz, a foul-mouthed fly, round out the group and are
constantly at odds.
I was lucky enough to interview Johnny Rice and get some insight into
his universe.
Casey Kaylor: What initially inspired you to create "The Loonatic"?
Johnny Rice: To me, the world is an insane place and most of the people who live
on it are insane. If there is a god, then god must be insane too, since
god created this madness. Or, quite possibly, everything is just fine, and
I am the insane one. Maybe I am The Loonatic ...
CK: What about the Loonatic's creation are you most proud of?
JR: I wouldn't say that I am proud of the Loonatic's creation. I am
appreciative of the Loonatic's existence for teaching me so much about
writing, animation and life in general.
CK: What is the average time it takes for you to complete one of these
animated shorts?
JR: For the most part, there were just two of us working on this thing,
me and my good friend Stew Burris. I had worked in 2D animation for years,
and had done about everything but animate. Stew had worked in 3D effects
and animation for years, but had never modeled and rigged characters, so we
both learned as we went. Stew taught me how to use Premiere, After Effects,
and Maya. I barely knew how to turn on a computer before I met Stew. We
worked on The Loonatic for about two years, some of it just part-time. We
ended up with about twelve minutes of animation.
CK: What kind of software/hardware do you use?
JR: We shot our backgrounds with a Canon GL1 DV camera, then used Premiere and After Effects to edit and alter them. We used Photoshop and Maya to create the characters and animation, and did most of it on Dell Inspiron laptops.
CK: The general movie-goer seems in the dark about the animation process. What is one thing you would like to share with them?
JR: Nothing happens in animation without someone making it happen. A character can't even blink unless an animator tells the character's eyelids to move.
CK: What are your future plans for "The Loonatic?"
JR: I'm not that interested in going out and playing the Hollywood games one
has to play to sell this type of project to a network. It's okay with me if "The Loonatic" stays underground for awhile. We'll probably do some new Loonatic animation soon.
CK: What is your favorite movie? Why?
JR: I love "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Back to the Future." They both have great stories and action, and take me away to cool places and times.
After interviewing Rice, I had a chance to turn the questions toward "The Loonatic" and a couple of his friends:
CK: Where do you hail from?
Bzzz: I saw hail come from the sky one time. Isn't that where it usually comes from?
Professor: She's asking for Loo's place of origin, dummy.
Loo shrugs.
Professor: Loo lost his mind a while ago. We've been looking for it.
Bzzz: Are you sure you checked your pockets?
Loo pulls his pockets out; a bunch of marbles fall out and roll away. The guys just shake their heads.
CK: You seem concerned for the natural environment, how did that develop?
Loo: I love trees and sand and ocean and rocks and animals that don't bite
me. I love climbing trees. I love swimming in the ocean and rolling
around
in the sand. I love rocks 'cuz I can climb all over them and throw them
and
they never get mad.
Professor: I don't understand why people keep filling up more and more
of
the world with cement and buildings. Seems like they'll never stop and
here's something I've been thinking about: most people rarely touch the
earth. In their houses, most people have carpets made out of plastic of
some
kind. When they leave their houses, they put on their shoes -- usually
with
plastic soles -- and walk on sidewalks or driveways to get to their
cars,
which also have that gross plastic carpet in them. When they get to
wherever
they're going, there's almost always sidewalks and more carpeting
waiting
for their feet and they keep their shoes on.
Bzzz: People think dirt is dirty. That's just crazy.
CK: What kinds of things do you draw when you are incarcerated at the
institution?
Loo: Just stuff. I'm drawing something, like me and my friends on the
beach.
Bzzz: He always draws me fatter than I am. I'm not that fat. I'm one
lean,
mean, fucking machi...
Professor: Bzzz! Zip it!
Loo: When I'm drawing, I get so into it it's like I'm there and when
I'm
there, I'm not here, which is good.
CK: What's the deal with you and Veronika?
Professor: Veronika is a distraction. We'd get a lot more important
stuff
done if it weren't for Loo spending so much time on her.
Bzzz: I'd like to spend a little time on her. Get it? On her. Heh heh,
yah,
on her. Heh, heh, I crack myself up.
Loo: Veronika is pretty on the outside, but not so much on the inside.
I'm
pretty on the inside, but not so much on the outside. She tries to make
me
prettier on the outside, and I try to make her prettier on the inside.
She
gets mad, but I think it's just funny. Usually I can make her laugh,
then
everything's okay.
CK: What other hobbies do you have?
Loo: I like things with wheels: skateboards, bicycles, motorcycles,
shopping
carts, airplanes. I like to go to the beach by the airport and watch
the
airplanes fly right over my head.
Bzzz: I like to eat shit. It makes me happy.
CK: What kind of skateboard do you ride?
Loo: A free one. I found it in a dumpster. I find lots of cool shit in
dumpsters.
Bzzz: I met my first girlfriend in a dumpster.
CK: What is your favorite movie?
Professor: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
Loo: "Slingblade."
Bzzz: "Friday," or "Fridays," or something like that. I don't know. I
was
pretty high when I saw it.
Rice's site (TheLoonatic.com) is easily navigated and deserves exploration. In addition to animated short films on each character, this site gives personality profiles and background information on the characters and their belongings. My favorite is the movie showcasing Carl; it meshes together the perfect mixture of live-action footage, animation and music.
If this is the kind of untapped talent that exists in the Net-verse, we can be sure that animated short films won't stay a secret for long. And if we're lucky, we'll see some of this remarkable imagination find its way into feature films.
