SURVEY : Black characters in animation.

A question regarding "race" with animal characters?

Do animals have a "race"? Do we make a connection because of the voice actor? Is Will Smith's fish in "A Shark's Tale" black and is Albert Brooks' fish in "Finding Nemo White". Both have some degree of stereotyping going on - one's "urban" and the other is "suburban" even thought they're both underwater.

"Happy Feet" did a lot with voices to identify various ethnic groups.

What about the characters in "Madagascar"? The Zebra (Chris Rock) even has a line "I don't know if I'm white with black stripes or black with white stripes."

So, in some ways, black HUMAN characters seem to be few and far between, but with animal characters, via their voice actors, their numbers seem to be increasing.

Don't forget about Jada Pinkett-Smith (Will's wife), she was in Madagascar too.

Byron Carson (I assume) is a Black animator. He did the "Golden Blaze" using flash and did my cartoons on the now defunct urbanentertainment.com

Have you seen that Disney has just released its new " Frog Princess" which will be a black heroine.

Hmmm.. the survey is now closed.

I think "The Triplettes of Belleville" had some black characters in it. During the opening black and white sequence. Good good good movie. Bon bon!

Don't forget the marvelous Ron Husband. If I'm not mistaking he's also black:

interview with Ron Husband

The survey says it closed Alex.

Aloha,
the Ape

Hello.

You might want to look up Willie Moore. Willie is an award winning independent animator.

A linebacker for the Cincinnati Bearcats- he was the last cut from the Houston Oilers - so he went back to school - an art major- worked fo and received his MFA in animation....and he has never looked back!!!

At the moment, Willie teaches at the Art Institute in Philly. For decades he has made films directed at everyone and in particular the black community (in which his work is seen as a guiding light).

He has just finished a feature film.

Great guy!

Thanks.

Took the survey. :)

This is an odd survey, what is this for and what do you hope to learn from it? You don't have to answer if you do not wont to.:D

I am working on a project which has black character in it.

Initially i was not convinced if it would sell into a predominent white market (as i understood it) However, after talking with the client in USA i am of the opinion Black character sells. As it is something the marjority population segment can compare against, Or in other words it just something differnt for them.

(please do view this in positive light, i am trying not to be judgemental here.)

Bruce W. Smith is a prominent example for a black mainstream animation professional who broaches the issue of African-American culture and social life in his work. (Bébé's Kids, The Proud Family)
As for stereotypes, well - difficult to define. Much of animation has its roots in satire and/or caricature anyway, so I guess what makes people especially aware of black stereotypes in animation (or entertainment in general for that matter) is the relative sensitivity people have come to develop when the subject is concerned.
The question is what is a negative stereotype in a medium exploiting all kinds of stereotypes for comedic effect? Aggressively exaggerated black-face characters like the ones in Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs? The token black best buddy of the male white main character?

The question is what is a negative stereotype in a medium exploiting all kinds of stereotypes for comedic effect? Aggressively exaggerated black-face characters like the ones in Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs? The token black best buddy of the male white main character?

This was one of the questions raised in the following thread, although it seemed difficult for most people to unwrap the topic, or to think beyond the cliched responses:
http://forums.awn.com/showthread.php?t=7086

Regarding the survey, I didn't take it. These are complex issues that don't deserve "agree or disagree" answers. Simplistic, knee-jerk responses are part of the problem.

A question regarding "race" with animal characters?

Do animals have a "race"? Do we make a connection because of the voice actor? Is Will Smith's fish in "A Shark's Tale" black and is Albert Brooks' fish in "Finding Nemo White". Both have some degree of stereotyping going on - one's "urban" and the other is "suburban" even thought they're both underwater.

"Happy Feet" did a lot with voices to identify various ethnic groups.

What about the characters in "Madagascar"? The Zebra (Chris Rock) even has a line "I don't know if I'm white with black stripes or black with white stripes."

So, in some ways, black HUMAN characters seem to be few and far between, but with animal characters, via their voice actors, their numbers seem to be increasing.

To Harvey Human, I appreciate that the questions may seem simplistic, ...

No, I said that the possible answers you provide ("agree" or "disagree") are simplistic, not the questions.

I didn't take the survey, but I thought this would be a good place to point out that the next Disney 2D feature, "The Frog Princess", will have an African-American princess as the main character.

http://disneycentralplaza.aceboard.fr/931-3466-96007-4-Princess-Frog-retour-John-Lasseter.htm

This was revealed at the Disney stock holders meeting in New Orleans a few days ago, and here are some images from that meeting (at a French forum site).

Whether this does much to affect people's opinions of African descended people, and minorities in general in animation is yet to be seen. Many people I've talked to here at Calarts have a few quibbles about this choice, namely having a predominantly white studio representing African American characters on screen and having the characters seem genuine without running the risk of falling into stereotypes. However, I think this film shows perhaps a growth at Disney, and perhaps the industry at large, to not be so Anglophilic, and if Disney can make the right decisions, I think this is gonna be big.

It's an interesting paper topic, and something definitely worthy to consider, especially in this field.

-moot

Just thought id jump in on this since im a black animator and just say, black white whatever hey,...their cartoons. :) IF I saw any cartoon character walking down the street, id say holy crap! There was a cartoon walkin down the street. :) As far as marketing towards a white or black or whatever audience, it comes down to what is always most important, storys and characters you care about. IF its a cast of all blacks characters and I want them to win or feel sad when they are sad, and want to see whats gonna happen next and the story draws me in, the human condition makes us all intrigued by great characters good storys. Just my two cents! Party on!

DON