The Masters Of Animation
A report by Doug Ranney
If you build it, he will come. Only this time it's not Kevin Costner's baseball diamond in an Iowa cornfield, and it's not Shoeless Joe Jackson who's showing up. It's Seattle's first-ever major animation festival, and no less that Chuck Jones, Ray Harryhausen, Mamoru Oshii, Rene Laloux and 20 other hugely talented animators will be attending. You heard that right: from July 4th to July 7th Scarecrow Video, The Seattle Art Museum, Microsoft and Animation USA are sponsoring The Masters of Animation, a four-day animation festival that is major league by any animation fan's standards.
Consider the following treats: A double-helping of Chuck Jones, who will conduct a two-hour talk, screening and Q&A session not once, but twice! A similar appearance by Ray Harryhausen, who will also host a screening of Jason and The Argonauts. Rene Laloux will host the first US screenings of the unedited director's cuts of both Fantastic Planet and Time Masters. Mamoru Oshii is hosting screenings of Ghost in The Shell and the rarely-seen in America Angel's Egg. Martin Rosen will host the director's cuts of The Plague Dogs and Watership Down, and Gerald Potterton will present Heavy Metal. Also presenting their work and participating in panel discussions will be Barry Purves (Mars Attack), Jack Stokes (Yellow Submarine), David Silverman (The Simpsons), Bill Plympton, Marv Newland, and many many others.
A Field Of Dreams.
This lineup would be impressive at Annecy, Ottawa, or any of the established animation forums. But Seattle has been regarded as a minor-league venue for film in general and animation in particular. . . . until now, that is. I recently got together with festival organizer Norm Hill, who is also the promotions director for Scarecrow Video, a longtime Seattle video store catering to cinephiles. His previous experience with the Olympia Film Society involved organizing film programs, and in recent years he has lured John Woo and Werner Herzog to Seattle on behalf of Scarecrow. I put to him the question that's on everyone's lips: How on earth does a neighborhood video store organize something this ambitious? "We go out and we ask for help," responded Norm. "We go out into the community and we say, 'Well Ray Harryhausen, Chuck Jones, Mamoru Oshii, all these people would like to come to Seattle and we've got a venue and a way to get the word out, but we need help with the resources.' And that's where a group like the Microsoft Network came in, Animation USA, the Seattle Art Museum... there's a number of groups getting involved on a sponsorship level." And how, I asked, do you lure a group of animators this impressive to a first-time event in a city that has no previous experience of this kind? "Seattle has become in the last several years recognized as a very comfortable, pleasant place to be," says Norm. "We have lots of music coming out of here, there's lots of art going on here, the coffee situation (chuckles)... that's all created a profile of Seattle that we're kind of a happening place right now." No doubt having the Seattle Art Museum on board also helped the event's credibility, not to mention the support of the largest software corporation on Earth.
Go The Distance.
Hill and Scarecrow started the ball rolling last December. The original concept was more modest: they had been trying to get the Quay Brothers to come to Seattle for several years. This time they committed for sure, and then Ralph Bakshi said he'd come too. Running with it, Norm began contacting other animators, and things started to grow. Ironically, both the Quays and Bakshi wound up having to back out, but in the meantime dozens of others were unexpectedly saying yes. The event has gotten so big that Hill decribes himself as "a one-man army," working 24-hour days since last month, trying to coordinate everything around the schedules of two dozen very busy professionals. "It does seem pretty impossible that all these people are coming," he says "but I can guarantee you they've all committed to coming. They wouldn't be listed if they hadn't." In fact, things have gotten so hectic that the rather essential task of publicizing the event has fallen behind. "We're faxing schedules constantly all day long here from the store," he says. "People call up wanting to know is this real? What is this? We didn't know anything about this. Why didn't we hear about this six months ago? We're doing everything we can, all of us.. not just Scarecrow, but Animation USA, Microsoft..we're all trying to figure out how to get the word out."
"I really hope the city of Seattle will turn out for this because it's sort of a one-time shot," says Hill. "I don't know when, if ever, you'll see Ray Harryhausen, Chuck Jones, Marc Davis, some of the people that are in their seventies and eighties, together in one group again." Indeed, this is an event not to be missed. This isn't a profit-driven industry trade show nor a big marketplace and deal-making center, this is an honest-to-goodness, fan-centered, film appreciation festival that offers the chance to meet, enjoy and honor dozens of distinguished animators. The festival is also designed to include experimental and artistic works as much as commercially popular films. "We did that on purpose because the focus of this is not to extort a profit out of the idea, but to really create an event in Seattle that's a celebration of the best of animation," says Hill. The two main venues-the Seattle Art Museum's 300-seat screening room and the 900-seat King Kat Theater-are at the same time small enough for a sense of intimacy with the filmmakers and large enough to accomodate the more than 15,000 attendees expected if the event sells out. And you're not even required to purchase expensive all-day passes. "We're not really charging ticket prices that are the equivalent of what the expenses are to do this," says Hill. "We actually should be charging almost 50% more to try and make a profit on this.. and I still feel guilty about what we're charging. It seems like a lot: $8 to $12 for a single event. We're basically asking people to contribute just to keep the expenses down. What we're trying to do is basically giving back to the community."
Animation lovers, this guest roster is richer than you'll see at most festivals and events, regardless of size or cost. It's also the most fan-friendly, least commercialized animation event you're likely to encounter. It's unique, it's a bargain, and it's for real. People will come, Norm. People most definitely will come.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Friday July 4 through Monday July 7, Noon to Midnight.
Tickets on sale at:
Scarecrow Video,
5030 Roosevelt Way NE,
Seattle, WA 98105.
Festival Hotline: (206) 522-5901
Tickets by phone: (206) 524-8554.
Web Site: www.scarecrow.com
$10 per show/$8 for students or S.A.M. members/$5 children 12 or under.
Saturday & Sunday Special Tributes at King Kat Theater: $12/$10 students or S.A.M. members.
General pass to all Seattle Art Museum shows: $100.
Cash or major credit cards only.