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Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in 1950s Animation

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Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in 1950s Animation

(24 customer reviews)

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ACOM-INT_book_usedverygood_0811847314

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Between the classic films of Walt Disney in the 1940s and the televised cartoon revolution of the 1960s was a critical period in the history of animation. Amid Amidi, of the influential Animation Blast magazine and CartoonBrew blog, charts the evolution of the modern style in animation, which largely discarded the "lifelike" aesthetic for a more graphic and often abstract approach. Abundantly found in commercials, industrial and educational films, fair and expo infotainment, and more, this quickly popular cartoon modernism shared much with the painting and graphic design movements of the era. Showcasing hundreds of rare and forgotten sketches, model boards, cels, and film stills, Cartoon Modern is a thoroughly researched, eye-popping, and delightful account of a vital decade of animation design.

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Product Details

Author:	Amid Amidi
Hardcover:	200 pages
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication Date:	August 17, 2006
Language:	English
ISBN:	0811847314
Product Length:	8.84 inches
Product Width:	11.38 inches
Product Height:	1.09 inches
Product Weight:	2.84 pounds
Package Length:	11.0 inches
Package Width:	8.6 inches
Package Height:	1.1 inches
Package Weight:	2.8 pounds
Average Customer Rating:	based on 24 reviews

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 4.5

( 24 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 found the following review helpful:

'Thought I'd Died and Gone to Cartoon Heaven Sep 25, 2006 By Iconophoric
Like many of my peers, as I grew up, my interest in animation gravitated toward the full animation of the Golden Age: Robert McKimson, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, et al, for a long while disdaining any form of animated minimalism, even the kind represented in this book. By the age of 7 or 8, we had come to associate Top Cat, Deputy Dawg, The Flintstones, The Jetsons and all the minimal animation that had once been among our favorites with shoddy cheapness. (Even as a small child, I remember several of us sitting around talking about cartoons, and laughing to scorn at the way the same background tree kept passing every couple of seconds in Hanna-Barbera chase scenes. We wondered, did they think we weren't catching that?!) 'Limited animation', those dread words, became poision for all us growing young animation fans.

I'm not sure when my respect and interest in minimal/modern animation returned in a changed form, but I think it had to be in the mid 80s, when the best of UPA appeared suddenly on a couple of VHS tapes: Gerald McBoing Boing, The Tell-Tale Heart, Unicorn in the Garden, Christopher Crumpet, The Rise of Duton Lange, Family Circus, etc. On the rebound, the '50s fine art/graphic design style of these cartoons knocked me out. After seeing these shorts, I started seeking out more examples of this style of animation in old TV commercial reels, and then started noticing the style spilling over into point of purchase, packaging design and magazine ads of the period. By this point, I was a fatally hooked "modern."

This book will throughly scratch the itch of those baby boomers whose earliest TV memories may include those brief Tom Terrific segments from Captain Kangaroo, as well as the younger reader who will feel the irresistable draw of a very strong retro style. The pictures (and there are a ton of them) are pretty, and instantly evocative, and the text hits a smart median between scholarly and entertaining.

Five stars. If you have anyone with any level of popular art/film/animation/graphic design interest on your Christmas list, I'd bear this book in mind.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:

Eye and mind candy-for lovers of animation and all art & design Aug 31, 2006 By PonyExpress
This long awaited book is a typically clever, eye-popping treat from Chronicle Press. The author is a well-versed authority on this particular aspect of animated cartoons--the brilliant, trend-setting and still-potent design of the 1950s. Arranged in chapters alphabetically by studio, each page is filled with treasures in color and line. Inside you'll find beautiful examples from such famous studios as UPA("Gerald McBoing-Boing", "Mr. Magoo", "Rooty-Toot-Toot", etc.), Warner Bros(the work of Maurice Noble in tandem with Chuck Jones, among others) and Disney--and many almost unknown studios whose output is liberally displayed. It's all inspiring, and it's fascinating to realize that although the overrriding fifties sense of style is hot right now, these men and women of the grey flannel past are still way ahead of almost all of us. Amid Amidi's text is intelligent and informative, an apt accompaiment. Artists, animators, cartoon lovers and afficionados of midcentury modern design have to have this.

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:

Modernistic Cartoons: WHAM-O Aug 26, 2006 By George Griffin
Forget "limited animation," decline of the "golden age," fairy tales and cuddley cuteness. This gorgeous sampling of abstract cartoon animation design from the dynamic postwar era examines shorts, industrials, TV spots, feature titles. Amidi's insightful comments hint at the delirious blend of bebop rhythm, lefty politics, spatial/tonal compression, and optimistically experimental world-view that fueled the renaissance. An artbook for your Noguchi coffee table that celebrates little-known studio designers and provokes further debate on animation history.

10 of 13 found the following review helpful:

More biography than imagery Apr 05, 2008 By Michael D. Kelley "Ex-Genius"
I absolutely love 50's (and early 60's) animation styles, so based on the other reviews here I eagerly awaited this book. It was a huge letdown.

First of all, the majority of content here is biographical information about the artists who created this art. As such a nice piece of scholarship and research, and giving these artists their just rewards is a Good Thing. But that's basically all there is.

Yes, there are some images, even quite a lot, but the artwork isn't large or arranged in a manner to make any sense (other than as biographical material). There are a few tantalizingly good images, but the vast majority are small, rather pedestrian and, oddly enough, not particularly indicative of the style of the period.

The author sets great store by "unconventionalism", but in point of fact the art of the 50's and 60's did become conventional -- it became its own convention. And this kind of historical perspective is sorely missing here, in large part due to the way the material is organized (it's strictly a studio by studio look -- no timeline or growth of the art is presented in any way. Each studio is given a page or two, and the studios are listed alphabetically).

If you are into cartoon history *facts* then this book will be a goldmine of information for you. If, like me, you are more interested in the visual aspects of the art then I'd strongly recommend skipping this and spending the money either renting or buying some of the cartoons from that time period that are available on DVD (contrary to the author's opinion, much of the stuff IS available: once again, his bias towards the unconventional means that he overlooks the majority of work of that time period).

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Retro-Tastic Aug 31, 2006 By Lee Rubenstein "Toonfuse.com"
Cover to cover, the most beautiful book about style in Animation, I have ever had the pleasure to open.

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