Subject Librarian
Lucinda M. Hall
Contact:
Evans Map Room, Baker-Berry Library
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 646-0962
Website Skype Contact: d1128r8@kiewit.dartmouth.edu
Course description
This course is an introduction to the history and development of the field of animation. We will explore this subject from various perspectives: by chronology, from its prehistory before the invention of film to the present day; by form. including, method and medium; by culture, comparing the US to Japan, Russia, Europe and others; by subject; and by personality, concentrating on the figures who have shaped the art form and continue to influence it through their example. Students are expected to bring an enthusiastic interest in the medium, and to devote serious effort to reading about, viewing, researching and discussing animation and the artists who have created it.
[Source: ORC/Catalog, 07/19/2023]; Dist:ART
In the Library's collections
Resources about Animation and Animated films are split between two libraries.
Sherman Art Library has a wide range of books about animation and the art of drawing animation. Most books would be in the call number range NC 1765 through NC 1766. Baker-Berry Library has books on animated films, their history and criticisms with the call number of PN 1997.5 on Baker Level 4.
You can use one of these subject headings below to start your research in the library's online catalog:
- animated films history and criticismThis subject search finds works which discuss and critique this particular genre.
- animation (cinematography)You can narrow this search by added the name of a country.
Introductory reading(s)
Anime: a history by Call Number: Sherman Art Library NC 1766 .J3 C55 2013ISBN: 9781844573905This comprehensive history of Japanese animation draws on Japanese primary sources and testimony from industry professionals to explore the production and reception of anime, from its early faltering steps, to the international successes of 'Spirited Away' and Pokemon.
Birth of an industry: blackface minstrelsy and the rise of American animation by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780822375784Birth of an Industry describes how popular early American cartoon characters were derived from blackface minstrelsy. It charts the industrialization of animation in the early twentieth century, its representation in the cartoons themselves, and how important blackface minstrels were to that performance, standing in for the frustrations of animation workers. ...
Cartoons and animated films from the Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780123876706Cartoons, usually with a political or humorous content reproduced in periodicals on some topical subject, are associated primarily with the United States, where their presence has been most pronounced. The earliest, the political cartoon, became an integral part of general circulation newspapers. Newspapers provided the medium for the development of the comic strip. ...
Frame-by-frame stop motion: the guide to non-traditional animation techniques by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781136129339In a world that is dominated by computer images, alternative stop motion techniques like pixilation, time-lapse photography and down-shooting techniques combined with new technologies offer a new, tangible and exciting approach to animation. Tom Gasek presents a comprehensive guide to stop motion animation without the focus on puppetry or model animation. With tips, tricks and hands-on exercises, Frame by Frame will help both experienced and novice filmmakers get the most effective results from this underutilized branch of animation. ...
Historical dictionary of animation and cartoons by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781538123218Publication Date: 2nd ed.Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons is intended to provide an overview of the animation industry and its historical development. The animation industry has been in existence as long (some would argue longer) than cinema, yet it has had less exposure in terms of the discourse of moving-image history. ...
Selected book title(s)
Animating film theory by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780822356400Animating Film Theory provides an enriched understanding of the relationship between two of the most unwieldy and unstable organizing concepts in cinema and media studies: animation and film theory. For the most part, animation has been excluded from the purview of film theory. The contributors to this collection consider the reasons for this marginalization while also bringing attention to key historical contributions across a wide range of animation practices, geographic and linguistic terrains, and historical periods. ...
The art of Pixar short films by Call Number: Sherman Art Library NC 1766 .U52 P5833 2009ISBN: 9780811866064While Pixar Animation Studios was creating beloved feature-length films such as Monsters Inc., Ratatouille, and WALL-E, it was simultaneously testing animation and storytelling techniques in dozens of memorable short films. Andre and Wally B proved that computer animation was possible; Tin Toy laid the groundwork for what would become Toy Story; and Mike's New Car exposed Pixar's finely tuned funny bone. In The Art of Pixar Short Films, animation expert and short film devotee Amid Amidi shines a spotlight on these and many more memorable vignettes from the Pixar archive.
The art of Ray Harryhausen by Call Number: Sherman Art Library NC 1766 .U52 H37 2006ISBN: 9780823084005Profiling the works of the greatest animator in movie history, this lavishly illustrated volume is an enlightening follow-up to Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life. 286 illustrations, 211 in full color.
Drawing the Iron Curtain: Jews and the golden age of Soviet animation by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780813576626In the American imagination, the Soviet Union was a drab cultural wasteland, a place where playful creative work and individualism was heavily regulated and censored. Yet despite state control, some cultural industries flourished in the Soviet era, including animation. Drawing the Iron Curtain tells the story of the golden age of Soviet animation and the Jewish artists who enabled it to thrive. ...
Emerson goes to the movies: individualism in Walt Disney Company's post-1989 animated films by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781443866576Emerson Goes to the Movies: Individualism in Walt Disney Company's Post-1989 Animated Films traces the theme of Emersonian individualism in the Walt Disney Company's post-1989 animated films, to reveal that the philosopher's influence extends not only over American literature, but also over American popular culture, in this case Disney cartoons. It proves that individualism in its Emersonian formulation of self-reliance, even if questionable in late 20th and 21st century literature, is still very much alive in popular culture. Disney films are heavy with ideology and American national myths, and, because of their educational role, it seems relevant to acknowledge this dimension and discuss the sources of the Disney worldview. ...
Ideas for the animated short: finding and building stories by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781136141973Follow from start to finish the creation of an animated short from the pre-production thought process to story development and character design. Explore the best practices and avoid the common pitfalls of creating two to five minute shorts. Watch a specially created animated short, demonstrating the core techniques and principles at the companion website! ...
The queens of animation: the untold story of the women who transformed the world of Disney and made cinematic history by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1999 .W27 H59 2019ISBN: 9780316439152From Snow White to Moana, from Pinocchio to Frozen, the animated films of Walt Disney Studios have moved and entertained millions. But few fans know that behind these ground-breaking features was an incredibly influential group of women who fought for respect in an often ruthless male-dominated industry and who have slipped under the radar for decades. ...
Other library resource(s)
The animated century by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #2784Professors Elderberry and Horace introduce clips from 160 animated films from 26 countries. They discuss the most significant animated films of the past 100 years.
Animation & the animated film from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199791286For many years, animation received minimal recognition as a significant form of cinematic and artistic expression. A seemingly irrevocable process of marginalization and dismissal has been arrested, however, by the enduring presence of animation festivals worldwide, the rise of animation studies in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the exponential rise in animation production in all sectors of media, culture, and the arts.- John Whitney Sr. byCall Number: Jones Media DVD #9920Robert Gardner interviews John Whitney and fellow animator Eric Martin on the inaugural episode of "Screening Room" in 1972. "Abstract computer animator, inventor and digital pioneer John Whitney Sr. (1917-1995) is widely considered the 'father of computer graphics.'
Norman McLarenCall Number: Jones Media DVD #3394 discs 1-2, bookExplores the creative process and techniques of Norman McLaren, artist, cinematographer and animator; includes excerpts from McLaren's film vaults, interviews and narration.- William Kentridge: drawing the passing: documentaryCall Number: Jones Media Video tape #3493In November 1998, filmmaker Reinhard Wulf and art historian Maria Anna Tappeiner visited Kentridge's Johannesburg studio to film the artist at work. The resulting documentary records Kentridge in the final stages of animating Stereoscope. It includes excerpts from the finished film, plus Kentridge's reflections on his work and the process of making it.
A selected list of Animated titles
Find more animated films in the collection which you can view online.
Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)
Articles and other writings about animation can be found in many publications. You can use Film & Television Literature Index to find articles or use the search box at top of the page.
Animation studies: peer reviewed online journal for animation history and theory by Call Number: Electronic journalThe Society for Animation Studies published Animation Studies.
Animation magazine by Call Number: Electronic journalThis is a trade publication the covers all aspects of the animation industry.
Film & television literature indexCall Number: Electronic resourceThis index covers over 300 journal and magazine titles for film and television reviews, scholarly and critical analysis of cinema and television, and articles of popular interest about film and television. About half the journals and magazines are film periodicals and the other half cover film and television with some regularity. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.
Web of science citation databases by Call Number: Electronic resourceThe online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.
Internet resource(s)
- Association International du Film d'Animation (ASIFA)
The official site of the International Animated Film Association. It was founded in 1960 in Annecy (France) by the most famous animation artists of that time (like Norman McLaren & many others). The goal of ASIFA International is to promote cultural understanding through the art of animation. - Don Markstein's Toonopedia
The author's attempt to gather and share information and observations about the toon world — a "toon" being anything that's done in cartoon form, such as animated films, comic books, etc. - Richard's Animated DivotsThis site has a Chronology of Animation, animation filmographies, a Bibliography of Animation and other links. No longer current.
- Society for Animation StudiesThe Society for Animation Studies (SAS) has supported the study of animation since 1987.
- The Big Cartoon Database (BCDB)The BCDB Is a Giant Directory of Cartoon Episode Guides, Cast and Crew Information, Animated Film Lists, Cartoon Character Registry and Cartoon Pictures.
- UCLA's Preserved Silent AnimationThe collection of animation at UCLA Film & Television Archive from the years 1930-1950 is practically without peer. Nitrate prints of classic cartoons abound, as do original negatives or best-surviving printing elements for many of the films from animation’s “golden era.”
Citing and Tracking Your Bibliographic References
Use this guide to help you learn how to correctly cite and keep track of the references you find for your research.
Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature
Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Film Studies? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.
You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.