Ottawa: John K and the Torch of Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett had a strong presence at this year’s Ottawa International Animation Festival. A retrospective collection of his Warner Brothers shorts was screened in addition to a seminar by John Kricfalusi on the influence Clampett has had on his own work.
Clampett’s influence on John K’s cartoons is undeniable. His work is crazy, often crude, exaggerated to the max, and, well… just plain cartoony. John K’s insistence, however, that Clampett did everything better than all other animators of his time (or now) certainly sparked some debate among several of the people I talked to throughout the festival. Does every piece of animation have to have bulging eyes and rubber-hose limbs to be a real cartoon?
I agree that many of the cartoons on TV today with minimally animated talking heads don’t hold a candle to the fluid, manic creations of Clampett and the other animators from Warner Brothers, or to the original Ren & Stimpy series, for that matter. After all, I personally can’t stand The Family Guy. But certainly there are certain stories and emotions that benefit from more subtle styles. Would the opening scene from The Lion King be improved with that over-the-top Clampett look? I think these arguments possibly stem from a lack of distinction between “animation” and “cartoons”.
Maybe in reaction to this criticism, John K has recently posted a list of many of his other artistic influences to prove that he’s a sum of many parts and not solely a strict Clampett devotee, as one might otherwise surmise having read his blog lately.
The festival also screened a collection of “rare” John K shorts including episodes of The Ripping Friends and Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes, which I truthfully found excrutiatingly tedious to watch. I think the reason John K loves the Clampett look so much is because it’s perfectly suited to his sense of humour: naked boobs and fart jokes. Now I love naked boobs and fart jokes as much as the next guy, but unfortunately these shows had no sense of timing; they were just long, drawn-out gags that while great to look at, left me aching for a little substance (or at the very least some brevity).
Luckily his fast-paced music videos for “Weird Al” Yankovic (clips of which can be seen here) and Tenacious D were fantastic, and I’m happy I got to see each one twice. I think John K is perfectly suited for music videos because his sense of humour almost demands that the action and gags be sped up. A 4-minute music video of naked boobs and farting beats a 20-minute cartoon of naked boobs and farting any day.
Finally, a somewhat last-minute addition to the festival’s line-up was The Waif of Persephone by Ottawa animator, and John K cohort, Nick Cross (who also participated in the Bob Clampett panel). Nick has chronicled the production of this short film at his production blog (previously), and the end results of his five-year one-man effort were spectacular. With The Waif of Persephone, Nick has done something that John K failed to do with his take on Clampett: he proved that one can use that exaggerated slapstick animation to tell an actual story with some maturity and depth — in this case, a retelling of the Greek myth and the conflict between nature, industry, and government (and happy little elves, of course).
After John K’s Clampett seminar I overheard some students speak very excitedly about seeing the Clampett retrospective. As much as I disagree with Kricfalusi on some points, you can’t deny that (especially with his blog) he’s getting a whole new generation of animators to actually think about the extreme possibilities of the artform — animation gives a cartoonist not just a forum to tell stories and jokes, but a playground for artwork and drawings unlike any other.
Excellent post, John! You hit on some great points in regards to Clampett’s, John K’s, and Nick Cross’s work. To hear that young students were excited about seeing a retrospective of cartoons that are mostly 50+ years old is definitely a step in the right direction.
John K is a douchebag.
Well written and wonderfully accuate review. You hit a lot of points on the head, particularly the tediousness of a cartoon that is ALL gags…and no story.
Personally, I think a lot of John K’s work is overrated, but you can’t deny the fact that he’s passionate about what he does, which is awesome.
Anonymous is an idiot. Who cares if you don’t like John K. and his opinions. Atleast John K. is starting a good debate, and getting young artists into classic, and better animation. Sure his opinions are alittle biased, and he thinks highly of his own work, but still he loves cartoons, and knows what he’s talking about.
“…you can’t deny the fact that he’s passionate about what he does, which is awesome.”
That says it all. I try to keep that in mind when I read the occasional rant from him, ‘cuz I don’t always agree.
“Anonymous is an idiot. Who cares if you don’t like John K. and his opinions.”
I’m sorry mojo. I didn’t realize that everyone here was allowed an opinion except for me. My statement was deeply rooted in fact and if you were in the industry you’d understand this.
anon, it would actually help if your opinion was a useful comment and not just an idiotic insult. Let’s hear the details of douchebagness. And don’t post anonymously, be a man and stand by your comments.
Oh I’m sorry for using anon. I should use a real name like Art F. and mojo.
I never said he wasn’t extremely passionate or good at what he does, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to treat people like shit. I’m not going to get into specifics here, but feel free to ask people in the industry?
And mojo, what you don’t know could fill a stadium.
John K may love Clampett best, but he also advocates all the other really solid animation from the golden age. He was talking on his blog recently about how complex and sophisticated the animation in Sleeping Beauty is. And he loves Fleischer! He made a list recently of his influences, and Frank Frazetta and Jack Kirby were even in there. He’s got a lot of respect for everything that’s solid.
With posts like “John K is a douchebag” you’re real asset to this blog. I feal so humbled. So inlighten us anon. Go into detail as to why John K. is a douchebag. I’d love to hear from a “industry insider” like youself. Impress us with your superior knowledge.
“John K may love Clampett best, but he also advocates all the other really solid animation from the golden age. He was talking on his blog recently about how complex and sophisticated the animation in Sleeping Beauty is. ”
Actually, Rebecca, no, he doesn’t advocate “all the other really solid animation” at all. He denigrates a hell of a lot of the Disney “golden age” output. He’s on record recently as calling the Disney animation of Tytla and many others “generic” and dull, and don’t get him started on current character animation. I’d say he hates much more Disney animation than he embraces. But, the thing is, it’s just one person. Regardless of his personal output it boils down to what rings his bell. He has VERY circumscribed tastes, as a lot of artists do–but not all artists insist that theirs is THE approach, the only reasonable take on 100 years of animation. That’s what spoils much of his blogging for some readers. But if you’re already in love with Ren and Stimpy(and there’s lots there to love, it’s genius, alright), it’s appealing to just accept what he says as gospel-verbatim.
IMHO there’s no artist including Walt Disney himself who I’d agree with across the board on everything. But you take what’s valuable to you and enjoy it…the important thing is to not be nervous about forming your own opinions, from your own discoveries.
Man John K manages to create some heated debates!! Heated I tells ya!
“He’s on record recently as calling the Disney animation of Tytla and many others “generic†and dull”
I disagree with Kricfalusi about a lot of things, but the shit he calls dull really *is* dull.
You’re saying he denigrates Disney just because he doesn’t outright masturbate to everything made in the 1940s. He frequently says golden age Disney has fantastic foundation skills, but they’re restrained by the corporation aspect of Disney, just like he thinks Chuck Jones has a tremendous amount of flair and style, but he’s not that great as an acting director.
I’d think that having complex opinions about things would be more mature than just ascribing everything as either plainly “good” or “bad”.
It seems to me that you’re just trying to intellectualize your bitching over his not liking what you like.
Well he does say old Disney stuff is pussified, but he still says it’s skilled- he showed screencaps of Mickey to demonstrate line of action a while back. And I didn’t say he advocated current character animation- he doesn’t, and I like when he talks about why because it’s always very insightful. And he does call a lot of things generic, Tom and Jerry for example, but he says we should still copy it because it shows good basic skill and fundamentals, so he still advocates it! Just because he says something’s generic doesn’t mean he thinks it’s not solid.
“You’re saying he denigrates Disney just because he doesn’t outright masturbate to everything made in the 1940s.”
…Yep, uh-huh, that’s it–exactly NOT what I said. Wasn’t saying that at all.
Someone’s “masturbating” to something and it ain’t john k OR me. Brother.
Topic? Okay, just because TWO people say that “40s Disney” is generic and dull doesn’t make it so. It’s all opinion, and for one person(and just as many millions of others), it’s brilliant. The problem with the John K line of reasoning is that because he says something is so, it’s so. For all the examples he gives he stacks the deck, but it still all boils down to personal likes & dislikes. No one can “denigrate” that, but they sure as hell can resist being told that only right-thinking artists believe such & so.
Mojo. I’m sorry if I offended your hero. The man who brought us a farting dog, and a cat that picks his nose, not to mention the snoozefest that is Ripping Friends.
As I stated before, I am not going to get into specifics because he is not here to defend himself.
Maybe if you’d ask some animators who have worked under him rather than masturbating over his blog you might get some better insight.
Anonymous wrote:
“I am not going to get into specifics because he is not here to defend himself.”
But you can call him a doucebag even though he’s not here to defend himself? Step up and state the specifics. There ought to be far more credibility in your so-called specifics than saying “douchebag.”
C’mon and stop being two-faced. State your specifics if you have a leg to stand on, you big industry insider. We want to hear them because your voice matters. And I do mean that.
If this is going to boil down to name-calling I suggest we go back to talking about the Clampett influence.
This is not a great debate, people. Whenever the term “douchebag” is used to state an “opinion,” it’s not going to generate a conducive argument.
If you want to hear the opinion of an artist who worked under him, see Eddie Fitzgerald’s blog today.
This article is missing an even cursory overview of who John K is, and the comments are packed with distortions. John tells students not to imitate him, but rather to study his influences. That’s advice that students who admire Disney would be wise to follow too.
Here’s the part that’s missing from this post… John Kricfalusi has done more for artists and animators than any other person in animation today.
No other animator in recent times has had more of an impact on television animation than John K. Mighty Mouse and Ren & Stimpy revolutionized TV animation. John K single-handedly pioneered animation on the internet with the very first Flash animated cartoon series. He was the first to speak out publicly against executive-driven animation and point to the artist/creator model of the past as the best system for producing great animation. He’s tirelessly championed young artists with talent, and gave them the freedom to make a mark for themselves in his cartoons. He organized his knowledge of the medium and is currently presenting it to aspiring animators for free in his blog and in the $100k Drawing Course Lessons.
John’s knowledge of the history of the medium is encyclopedic. I’ve seen animation historians have trouble keeping up with him in discussions of animation history. He amassed an incredible collection of research material on golden age animation, and donated it to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive so every animator, researcher and student will have access to it. Someday, this material will be syndicated digitally to an ASIFA chapter near you, and you’ll be able to benefit from it too. This work will live on, long after all of us are gone.
Regardless if you personally care for his humor, if you know a little bit about the man, you have to admit that he has passion for the art of animation, dedication to quality, generosity in sharing his wealth of knowledge with others and the skill and creative gift to be able to make a difference. The people who speak highly of him are not “drooling fanboys”… they’re people like John with a passion for animation. All you have to do is come down to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive in Burbank and ask any one of the volunteers or people using the archive. They’ll tell you what John K really means to the art of animation.
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
http://www.animationarchive.org
Stephen, thanks for the comment! I don’t deny John K’s contributions to animation at all. I think he’s a brilliant animator… I assume most people reading this at least know who he is, hence no overview. My criticisms stem from my experiences in Ottawa last week… this was a brief reaction to the few Clampett-related events I saw and by no means meant to be a blanket argument against John K or his style.
My opinion of his sense of humour hasn’t changed, but that’s a matter of personal taste. I can’t speak for the numerous anonymous commenters here, however.
Again,
I never said John K wasn’t talented.
I never said John K wasn’t passionate.
John K is not the end all and be all of animation.
But he acts like he is.
Not unlike some athletes, movie stars, and musicians
that think they are gods gift to their chosen fields.
I give up.
Slow down the bandwagon so that I can jump on it with the rest of you historians and aficionados that have never held a pencil before in your lives.
yay ren and stimpy! yay spumco!
I heard he has Bob Clampetts nuts autographed in a jar beside his bed.
Cartoon fan-writers are a loathesome bunch, for the most part. People who care very little or at least very undiscerningly for visual skills seem to have cornered the cartoon opinion market or the loudest corner of it, to the point where they have the tumerity to condescend about people and cartoons they cannot even fully comprehend. It’s pompous and boorish.
If you cannot set aside your own humor limitations long enough to comprehend that there is probably more honest cartoon effort on the Lost Episodes dvd than on anything anybody has tried to make in at least 40 years, and acknowlege that as the signifcant event that it is, then you really should shut the fuck up about cartoons. It’s only fair.
I don’t mean to be rude.
You know, Ripping Fiends really didn’t have that many boob and fart jokes, and SpikeTV who paid for the Lost Episodes, WANTED the sophomoric humor. Compare that to say, uh, whatever that show is on the Comedy Channel that parodies Betty Boop, Spongebob, Zelda (Lance), Superman, Josie, and Disney’s post eisner Princess, and which makes you cringe the most?
“Stimpy’s Pregnant” for example, the crude obvious jokes are not the funny parts– the humor is in the acting and the character interactions.
I’ve spoken at great length with John K about animation, and I have never heard him say that Clampett was the only great cartoonist.
I have heard him say that Clampett’s acting is more varied and expressive than any other cartoon director… But I’ve also heard him say that Disney had the best effects animation and application of technology, a staff of incredible draftsmen and a production system perfectly designed for the medium… I’ve heard him call Chuck Jones a brilliantly innovative cartoonist who made some of the greatest cartoons ever made… I’ve heard him say that the Fleischers made the best use of musical timing, and that their cartoons of the early 30s were better than anything else being produced at the time… That the Fleischer Popeye cartoons are among the most perfect cartoons ever made… and that Paul Terry and Walter Lantz were great because they allowed animators the freedom to work in their own styles. I’ve heard him talk about other artists too… Grim Natwick, Ed Benedict, Virgil Partch, Milt Gross, Jack Kirby, Mel Crawford… The list goes on and on.
I’ve spoken to John K at length about modern cartoons, and I’ve never heard him say that he was the “be all and end all of animation” or that he is the ‘god of the medium”. I’ve heard him say that modern cartoons are amateurish compared to the cartoons of the golden age. But I’ve heard him say that his own cartoons wouldn’t stand up to the average cartoons of the golden age either. I’ve heard John say that a big problem today is that too many artists don’t have the drawing skills they need to do work on the level of Jones, Clampett and McKimson. And I’ve seen him back up that opinion with action to try to correct it.
If all you hear is “Clampett is God and I am the be all and end all of cartoons” you weren’t listening, or you just don’t understand what he’s talking about.
See ya
Steve
Walt and I both agree. We’d rather watch Drawn Together instead of Ren and Stimpy.
BTW, the three stooges are up here too and they still suck.
“We’d rather watch Drawn Together instead of Ren and Stimpy.”
Walt doesn’t watch anything. His head is in a cryogenic meat locker.
I know Bob Clampett personally, and you sir, are no Bob Clampett.
anon:
To call John K a douchebag is just plain inaccurate. He’s a wiseguy & an asshole which in my book aren’t necessarily bad qualities in an artist. His passion & sheer nerve drew together some of the most brilliant talent in animation to create a pair of truly classic characters & some of the funniest cartoons ever made.
Tragically, those same qualities inspired him to miss airdates & screw over anyone who didn’t work far enough “under him” & now it seems that he’s alienated our host with a bit of overblown fan-boy rhetoric. To reduce his work to boobs & farts is to hate Hamlet because of those goofy gravediggers with their bad puns.
Personally, I passionately hope he rises Bakshi-like from the ashes with a fresh crew of worshipful art school grads. But then, he doesn’t owe me money.
Id watch out Rebecca Sugar, John K sounds like he was/is trying to get his old mummified hands on your young flesh.Who knows maybe you could be his latest “girl apprentice/fuck buddy”.