Comments on: Cat Scratch Fever

By: MatthewF

MatthewF — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:21:33 +0000

I thought Watership Down was hartbreaking when I was kid, really awful and sad. Rabbits aren’t supposed to die in cartoons, they’re supposed to hang out with baby deer. So my parents bought me a big themed jigsaw of the film. Anyway, I haven’t seen it in 20 years buth that bloody art garfunkel song is still burned into my brain.

By: Blake Matthews

Blake Matthews — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:08:04 +0000

Sat down and watched “Watership Down” today. That was pretty good. The violence never feels like exploitation, like the creators said, “Let’s show the audiences what those cute little bunny rabbits look like when they’re hacked to pieces.” It’s all pretty realistic and the end is actually kind of moving.

By: The Rev. D.D.

The Rev. D.D. — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:45:53 +0000

Thanks to El Santo for the corrections. Much appreciated.

By: KeithA

KeithA — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:21:20 +0000

Last night, I was in the mood to watch AKIRA again. Man I wish the US would make movies like that every now and then. Heck, I wish Japan still made movies like that every now and then. NO MORE HAREM SHOWS, JAPAN! No more shows about a loser dork who is never the less the object of affection for a group of sexy women.

By: Elizabeth the Ferret

Elizabeth the Ferret — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:58:34 +0000

Yeah, America has a real problem with assuming all cartoons are automatically for children. That’s why they buy the rights to popular Japanese shows, then butcher them so the kiddies can watch them and tend to give the characters bad voices and stupid catch phrases (I swear if I hear my nephew yelling “Believe it!” one more time, I’m going to throttle him) that were never in the original.

By: El Santo

El Santo — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:42:30 +0000

We can't even take credit for Animal Farm or Watership Down-- they were made in the UK, and for that matter, The Plague Dogs was primarily a British production, too. Meanwhile, Persepolis (that Oscar-nominated thing "about a woman growing up in the Middle East") was French.

By: Blake Matthews

Blake Matthews — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:32:03 +0000

I still need to see “Chinese Gods.” I actually liked “Atlantis” a lot because the action was lot more intense than other Disney films. However, I was a stupid idiot and paid money to buy the DTV sequel for promise of a cool Kraken monster. *shudders*

By: The Rev. D.D.

The Rev. D.D. — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:43:50 +0000

That’s exactly the case, BM. For some reason, that’s all they think cartoons are good for. I’d like to think some people will take the popularity of Miyazaki and his films in recent years to heart, and start trying to produce more adult-oriented cartoons. (Didn’t one come out last year that was up for an Oscar, about a woman growing up in the Middle East? I can’t recall the name offhand.) It’d be nice to see that stigma removed from animated films here in the U.S.

I have to say the description of Felidae makes me quite interested in tracking it down. I’d like to see an adult cartoon that’s not from Japan, especially if it’s good.

By: Blake Matthews

Blake Matthews — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:29:25 +0000

Those exceptions aside, it doesn’t seem that the USA has embraced the cartoon as a way of telling a story to anyone but children and families (i.e. stuff for children that has a few winks and nods for the adults).

By: The Rev. D.D.

The Rev. D.D. — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:54:04 +0000

Fritz the Cat, Hey Good Lookin’, Wizards…most of Ralph Bakshi’s stuff from the ’70s and ’80s, in fact. Although that’s more “adult” like the Heavy Metal films…
Animal Farm would be on there I suppose. I’d agree with Watership Down. Haven’t seen Plague Dogs.