Batman & Fleischer 'toons re Miyazaki (two quotes) - 13 January 1994
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 14:47:00 PST Reply-To: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group Sender: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM.BITNET> From: Bill Wilkinson (billw@MAILPO2.ASYM2PO.ASYMETRIX.COM) Subject: What is Mononoke Hime; What Batman references; Lion King; OPP
[NOTE: this posting has been edited. --S.F.]
Old topic, back when the episodes of Batman were initally released. Yes, clock tower battles abound and predate Cagliostro, but any student of animation who has seen Cagliostro can tell you "The Clock King" is not such - entire character gestures, expressions, actions are mimicked from Cagliostro quite precisely - most notably, when the Clock King holds his sword in front of his face in answer to challenge, just as the Count does with Lupin, and other parallels exist as well. This is the most prominent reference. There is a more subtle Cagliostro reference in the episode "Vendetta", a large Konan reference in the Zatanna episode (using a behemoth plane copied precisely outside and in from I believe a Norman Bel Geddes design or some other streamline era designer I forget), and some others. Actually, there is a Scarecrow episode with a dirigible sequence more akin to The Rocketeer, but the escape craft I recall is an obvious clone of the Tiger Moth's glider in Laputa--minor, true. As for Akira, the series often uses the blurred taillights (actually a device that can be found in the earlier anime Ai City, and is reminiscent of a shojo manga background technique, as well), electric currents around tires, and the famous Kaneda skid-to-a-stop is employed by Robin in the second part of Robin's Reckoning. These are all just off the top of my head.
--Bry
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 18:22:36 -0500 Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM.BITNET> Really-From: "Doctor Enigma, Master of Time and Space" (emru@CAM.ORG) Subject: Re: American Animation
>On the "must see" list for Miyazaki fans is the SUPERMAN series by the Fleischer brothers in the early 1940's. I heard somewhere that this series was pivotal in determining Miyazaki's own view of what animation was capable of. SUPERMAN is a full-motion, realistic, ostentatiously cinematic work (with lots of fancy shots reminiscent of CITIZEN KANE) that features a strong-willed and competent Lois Lane. It has no resemblance at all to the limited-animation SUPERMAN series that came much later.
It's certain that Miyazaki has seen the Fleischer Superman shorts; the opening to FAREWELL LOVELY LUPIN is a direct ripoff of METAL MONSTERS.
> Poor-quality tapes of this series can be found in bargain bins of expired-copyright shows for $2-$5 (along with wartime Warner Brothers cartoons and some old movies), so the show is within anyone's price range.
If you ever have a chance to see these on the big screen, do so. You haven't really seen THE BULLETEERS until you've seen it on the big screen.
> I'm still looking for a high-quality source of these cartoons, and I'd appreciate pointers to them.
Bosko Video
3802 E. Cudahy Ave.
Cudahy, WI 53110-1234
They have them on VHS, and apparently they're better than the laserdisc release.