A Canadian upbringing is about more than just playing lots of winter sports and having maple syrup instead of regular syrup on our pancakes. Regular exposure to Canadian television has long been an important part of what makes our childhood different from that of our brethren to the south. Now, Canadian television is decidedly less polished than American television. We grew up watching the genuinely awkward adolescents of Degrassi Street, not the beautiful airbrushed twentysomething "teenagers" of "Beverly Hills 90210." Bizarre, crudely drawn National Film Board short cartoons such as "The Log Driver's Waltz," "The Big Snit," and "The Cat Came Back" were a staple of the 1970s and 1980s, while American kids were tuning in to shows like the "Care Bears." One of our most revered television superheroes was Mr. Canoehead, a dude whose crimefighting "superpower" was to knock out criminals by, well, turning around and whacking them with the...
- 2/18/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
[With Cordell Barker's Runaway screening at Sundance, we present again the interview with Barker I conducted at the Toronto International Film Festival.]
One of the most acclaimed animators in Canada, the only complaint about director Cordell Barker is he just doesn't make very much, his painstaking hand-drawn process guaranteeing gaps of years between his projects. And so a new film by Barker is big news and at the past Toronto International Film Festival we had the chance to sit down and talk to the man about his new effort, Runaway.
TB: In Canada, we're pretty familiar with you: people especially in my generation have seen The Cat Came Back - we watched it in school all the time, and we watched it a lot. People know your work. I don't know how widely it would have traveled, so for our readership outside of Canada, can you tell us a little about your history, how you came into animation, and what your background is?
Cb: Well, my background - I don't really have one.
One of the most acclaimed animators in Canada, the only complaint about director Cordell Barker is he just doesn't make very much, his painstaking hand-drawn process guaranteeing gaps of years between his projects. And so a new film by Barker is big news and at the past Toronto International Film Festival we had the chance to sit down and talk to the man about his new effort, Runaway.
TB: In Canada, we're pretty familiar with you: people especially in my generation have seen The Cat Came Back - we watched it in school all the time, and we watched it a lot. People know your work. I don't know how widely it would have traveled, so for our readership outside of Canada, can you tell us a little about your history, how you came into animation, and what your background is?
Cb: Well, my background - I don't really have one.
- 1/27/2010
- Screen Anarchy
3D isn't only for the movie theaters and televisions, folks. In commemoration of the first anniversary of their online screening room (yesterday!), the National Film Board of Canada is sending out free 3D glasses and launching two new sections of their site to offer viewers goodies in both 3D and HD. This adds to the 1,400+ titles already available for free viewing on the website.
The 3D section is kicking off with the shorts Falling in Love Again, Drux Flux, Sandde, and Facing Champlain, plus a number of making-of feature for Champlain. On the HD side of things, there's a little more variety. While Cordell Barker got his latest short, Runaway, screening at Sundance (brief review here), his Oscar-nominated 1988 short The Cat Came Back is on the site, along with flicks that include the 1965 short High Steel, Chris Landreth's Oscar-winning Ryan, the 2007 Oscar nominee Madame Tutli-Putli, and The Stratford Adventure,...
The 3D section is kicking off with the shorts Falling in Love Again, Drux Flux, Sandde, and Facing Champlain, plus a number of making-of feature for Champlain. On the HD side of things, there's a little more variety. While Cordell Barker got his latest short, Runaway, screening at Sundance (brief review here), his Oscar-nominated 1988 short The Cat Came Back is on the site, along with flicks that include the 1965 short High Steel, Chris Landreth's Oscar-winning Ryan, the 2007 Oscar nominee Madame Tutli-Putli, and The Stratford Adventure,...
- 1/22/2010
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
It’s strange how in a little over nine minutes, Canadian director Cordell Barker reminded me of what can be achieved with two-dimensional hand-drawn animation, just as The Princess and the Frog did last year. While there’s immense merit to the art of computer animation, there’s also a tendency to restrain the visuals, as Pixar has, to worlds of familiarity.
To clarify a bit: we exist in a three-dimensional world, and when thinking and representing our ideas in three dimensions, we have a tendency to ground them in relatable ways. Conversations are held at eye level at moderate distance, character speed is comparable to what is achievable by human beings. There’s no Bugs Bunny style whip-pans and dust clouds in Pixar films — it’s not a bad thing, just a stylistic choice.
Barker’s Runaway (Train en folie), a short animated film that’s screening at Sundance Film Festival today,...
To clarify a bit: we exist in a three-dimensional world, and when thinking and representing our ideas in three dimensions, we have a tendency to ground them in relatable ways. Conversations are held at eye level at moderate distance, character speed is comparable to what is achievable by human beings. There’s no Bugs Bunny style whip-pans and dust clouds in Pixar films — it’s not a bad thing, just a stylistic choice.
Barker’s Runaway (Train en folie), a short animated film that’s screening at Sundance Film Festival today,...
- 1/22/2010
- by John Cooper
- ReelLoop.com
Canada's National Film Board of Canada (Nfb) returns to the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, January 21 to 31 with three selected animated film shorts.
The films screening are Cordell Baker’s "Runaway", Bruce Alcock’s "Vive la Rose" and David Coquard-Dassault’s "Rains".
"Runaway" is Barker's third short film with the Nfb. His previous films "The Cat Came Back" (1988) and "Strange Invaders" (2001) won 30 international awards and Academy Award nominations. "Runaway" was produced in Winnipeg by Derek Mazur for the Nfb.
Bruce Alcock’s "Vive la Rose", puts into images the words of a plaintive song about lost love. Co-produced by the Nfb and Global Mechanic, Alcock’s film is based on an 18th-century song by Newfoundland musician Émile Benoit, in a film that pays homage to the land, sea and the harsh lives of local fishermen, produced by Global Mechanic’s Tina Ouellette and the Nfb’s Annette Clarke and Michael Fukushima.
The films screening are Cordell Baker’s "Runaway", Bruce Alcock’s "Vive la Rose" and David Coquard-Dassault’s "Rains".
"Runaway" is Barker's third short film with the Nfb. His previous films "The Cat Came Back" (1988) and "Strange Invaders" (2001) won 30 international awards and Academy Award nominations. "Runaway" was produced in Winnipeg by Derek Mazur for the Nfb.
Bruce Alcock’s "Vive la Rose", puts into images the words of a plaintive song about lost love. Co-produced by the Nfb and Global Mechanic, Alcock’s film is based on an 18th-century song by Newfoundland musician Émile Benoit, in a film that pays homage to the land, sea and the harsh lives of local fishermen, produced by Global Mechanic’s Tina Ouellette and the Nfb’s Annette Clarke and Michael Fukushima.
- 12/7/2009
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
If we did even a half-assed job of promoting our own talent here in Canada then Winnipeg based animator Cordell Barker would be the local equivalent to Bill Plympton or maybe even Nick Park. The man has been nominated for an Oscar twice - for The Cat Came Back and Strange Invaders - and that alone should be enough to guarantee his status, but alas. We don’t do a half-ass job. On a good day we have a quarter of an ass or so and more often than not it’s closer to an eighth. So nobody has much of a clue and the fact that Barker’s most recent short - Runaway - has been selected to screen as part of Critics Week in Cannes has scarcely been noticed by the Canadian media, never mind the average Joe or Jacques on the street. Here’s the skinny:
Happy...
Happy...
- 4/30/2009
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.