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MillimeterJohn Kricfalusi: Animator
Nov 1, 1998 12:00 PM, Michael Goldman
John Kricfalusi has worked at several animation studios, including a stint working alongside Ralph Bakshi on the critically acclaimed Mighty Mouse series. He later formed his own animation company, Spumco, and went on to create the hit series Ren & Stimpy for Nickelodeon. He eventually left the show after creative battles with the network and has recently been animating commercials and developing original animation for the Internet.
For that dying breed of animator still interested in free, creative expression, the Internet represents the last best hope. That is the view of veteran animator John Kricfalusi, and he is staking his entire company-Spumco-on that belief.
Those familiar with the business of cartoons know Kricfalusi as the creator of Ren & Stimpy. His battles with Nickelodeon for creative control of his creation left him searching for other mediums to create and control cartoons free from what he calls "corporate meddling." In the process Kricfalusi has become a pioneer in the Internet animation business, where his company's Web site-www.spumco.com-features ongoing episodes of original cartoon shows.
"I hope lots of animators will start putting their cartoons directly online and skip the middlemen," says Kricfalusi. "That's the problem with the TV animation business. It's controlled by distributors, not creatives, which is crazy. Corporate distributors think they are creative experts. "
Kricfalusi adds that television animation these days is produced largely based on market research "conducted by outside people hired by the corporations, who don't know anything about animation and ask leading questions." On the other hand, he says the Internet offers "instant market research because people just e-mail you and tell you if they like your product or if it sucks."
Since Kricfalusi feels "it is only a matter of time before technology will merge television and computers into one, large screen in the homes of consumers," he says it makes sense for talented animators to create and directly distribute their product on the Internet, even though revenue opportunities are currently limited.
"In the long run, whether you earn cash will depend on your talent," he says. "But if you have talent, then the Internet offers a way for creators to distribute product directly and control it themselves. It's already technically possible, but it's not yet cost-effective. That doesn't mean it won't be one day. If that time comes, then animators can run their own companies, just like Thomas Edison-the company will be owned and run by the guy that invented the product."
Kricfalusi therefore lauds the rapidly advancing digital technology that has permitted Spumco and others to improve the quality of online animation with software like Flash from Macromedia, which now creates more dynamic Web animation. But he also fears such technology and admits to having Orwellian nightmares about a future where large, corporate entities find a way "to control the gateway to the Internet." He points out how some are currently using digital technology to re-package classic animated and live-action product in ways that "change them from what their creators intended."
"They are doing digital noise reducers to lots of the old Betty Boop and Tex Avery cartoons," he says. "They say it is to eliminate film grain and negative dirt, but it also smudges the lines around the cartoon characters and makes a big mess. Then, they have the gall to distribute them as 'fully restored.' It's like colorization of classic movies-a hideous trend."
But nothing is more hideous, in Kricfalusi's view, than the "lack of creativity we see these days with cel animation." Such a trend, he says, has the de facto result of permitting more creative animation to come out of computers.
Of course, he does not mean that as an endorsement of CG movies. "But I must say that Toy Story was pretty damn good. I respect Pixar a lot for what they did with that project. Look what they did with facial expressions. Using a medium that is much harder to work with, they created expressions you rarely see anymore with cel animation. That boggles my mind, because when you think about it, it's easy for any artist to sit down with a pencil and draw a lively character. Yet, in most cel animation, everyone is smiling or frowning-happy or sad-no subtle shadings. It's a sad comment when they are making better facial expressions with computers than pencils."
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
