The magic element of the cartoon lies in its hidden element: let’s find out what it is, at the Sardinia Film Festival
Do you happen to think about when, as a child, a ten-minute cartoon seemed to last a breath? We never had enough of it. Just like now, getting lost watching anime.
Besides, how many of us love to alienate themselves in the dreamy and poetic dimension of Studio Ghibli?
So we wondered: what makes the world of animation so magical?
It would be too easy to say that it reminds us of the playful childhood years of “everything is possible”, magnified by the most incredible special effects that become accessible, plausible.
But we believed it’s more than this, so we addressed the question to our artistic director, Luca Raffaelli.
According to him, a book would be needed to tell what makes the world of animation so pure and magical, despite this his brief answer was extremely interesting: the magic of animation lies in its relationship with time.
If we think of the regular comics reader (much like our Luca, nonetheless) he is the master of his time, he’s totally in charge of the atmosphere he creates in his head while reading.
The observation of a strip can last a moment, or a few seconds, up to long minutes.
He become the director of a personal cinematic imagination.
In animated cinema, things are certainly partly different, as the narrative time is marked by the director in an arbitrary way, but despite this it is still perceived as surreal, <<there is a very strong imaginative exchange between spectator and director>>, Luca affirms.
Let’s take a small example, with a cult animated series really known to everyone: the Simpsons. In the span of the twenty-two minutes of an episode, the most incredible adventures follow one another in an often dilated time, and then everything returns to the starting point on the iconic sofa.
The series is a sort of meta sitcom, right, but the viewer is totally involved in the events that would seem to upset the lives of the protagonists… instead we are amazed by the author’s ability to bring us back to the start, most of the time as nothing had happened.
It’s like a dream we wake up from.
Animation cinema, without being obvious, is often << the construction of a dream phase>>, and this is what makes it unique and wonderful, enjoyable for the viewer who immerses himself in someone else’s time.
He is an “oneironaut” following the indications of the animator.
This was really a simple example, we will see many cartoons and short films that will make the concept better during this very animated edition of the Sardinia Film Festival Award.
Did we paint the picture? Now we are curious to hear your opinion about it.
Is it really time (or time forgetfulness) that makes animation magical?
Follow us on social networks and tell us yours!
We are waiting for you in Sardinia from 3 to 8 December, at the Cityplex multiplex in Sassari.
ph. Pigeon-Impossible by Lucas Martell winner SFF 2010 animation section