by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ve always had a soft spot for animation. More years than not, at least a couple of animated features find their way onto my top 10 list. So, I’m setting out to shine a light on some films that may have passed you by. The idea with Animation Celebration is to take a look at some underseen gems — so no Toy Story or Frozen here.
Let’s get started.
Sometimes, the slow period of the calendar allows for some exploration when there’s really nothing to tentpole with. In this case, a short just happened to be put into my feed and offered a few unique opportunities.
The Deer’s Bell is a 1982 animated short that allows us to explore a couple of new territories. The film follows a little girl who befriends a young deer after it’s been injured, helping to nurse it back to health. It’s the work of the Shanghai Animation Studio, set up as part of the Chinese Ministry of Culture (though was allowed to operate independently) in the mid ‘50s, after a period of study that began in the late ‘40s on what was being done by their Soviet counterparts. Given that background, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the short earned prestigious awards from both countries, taking home the top animated prize in China’s Golden Rooster Awards, earning recognition from the Ministry of Culture, and being awarded at the Moscow International Film Festival.
Geopolitics aside, it’s a fascinating and gorgeous piece of animation and culture worth studying.
First, when we talk eastern Asian animation, the conversation is dominated by Japanese animation, whether that be anime or Studio Ghibli. Even South Korean animation studios have gotten more acclaim recently, through projects like The Legend of Korra. However, until I stumbled upon a recent screenshot of the film, I’m not sure I could list a piece of Chinese animation. That alone was enough to pique my interest.
Second was the unique animation technique of ink washing. Though we’ve covered a lot of different animation styles, ink washing was new to me. We’ve covered a lot of European arthouse films that I can enjoy for looking like a painting. This isn’t dissimilar, though there’s definitely a different feel that you wouldn’t get had it been produced any other place on Earth. Everything from the music to the look feels distinctly Chinese. The backgrounds could easily be framed, and I found the way the ink varied in its intensity made for a fascinating artistic choice. As explained by Animation Obsessive, the outlet which initially pushed it into my consciousness, the fact not only that this film exists, but that the art of ink washing wasn’t lost to time is a stroke of remarkable luck. The film studio was shut down during the Cultural Revolution, but the knowledge managed to survive.
In modern animation, Pixar shorts have mastered the art of emotion without needing dialogue in their shorts, and this one, with two or three times the run length is able to do so as well — years before the American studio had produced a short of their own. We get all we need by how our characters, human or deer, are animated and by our musical cues. The story is a simple one, but the film is able to effectively play on various emotions as needed.
The Deer’s Bell is notable for a number of different reasons, from its art style to its celebration of culture. If nothing else, the fact that it was able to even exist is worth celebrating.
I’m excited to continue to geek out on some great animated work you may not have had a chance to catch. Next month, we’ll look at something to mark the release of Transformers One.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd