02.06
A bit of a late entry here, but we at Animation Revelation (or at least yours truly) has been paying attention to The Film Experience‘s Hit Me With Your Best Shot series. Covering everything from La Dolce Vita and The Night of the Hunter to Bring It On and X-Men, the blog series is a showcase for outstanding or poignant single shots from any types of movies.
Although we’re all fairly big film buffs here, AR is a primarily animation-related site, which is why we haven’t participated in any of these yet. Noticing that an episode is up featuring Disney’s classic Beauty and the Beast, however, I decided that now would be as good of a time as ever for me to share one of my favorites.
Call me cliche, but I went with the very first shot after the opening credits roll. The aesthetics in the forest are astounding. Notice the green on the lighted trees as opposed to the bushels on the left The glimpses of plant life we can obtain. The vibrant spring dripping down as we zoom up to the castle. There’s even signs of moss on the rocks.
Beauty and the Beast is a film with problems in its animation. Numerous problems. But one of its high points is the attention to detail put in its visuals. Following this shot of the forest, we see rose glass images telling the Beast’s story which look even more stunning. Then there is all the craft inside the castle, how every little detail can be picked up and detected. Even lesser locations like Belle’s cottage or the library are brilliantly designed if you care to look hard enough.
I could go with a lot of shots throughout the film, but without even rewatching it, I could instantly think of this one fitting my ideal.
If there are any future entries for animated movies, I’ll try to participate again. I notice that Akira was on there at one point, but was replaced by BATB. If it comes back on the schedule, I’ll be up for that.
Originally posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2011.