Animating the Animator

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Chris Landreth pays tribute to the life and legacy of Ryan Larkin in a brilliant visual masterpiece of animation art.



Chris Landreth (born 1961 in Hartford, CT), an American director, animator and writer working in Canada, uses standard CGI animation in his work. But well beyond that, he often puts his signature touch of surrealist styling into his animated shorts. He does so especially successfully in Ryan, a 2004 Oscar winning animated psychological documentary of Ryan Larkin (1943-2007), featuring actual taped interviews as voiceover.

Chris calls his stunning and unembellished visual portraiture 'Psychorealism'.

Ryan Larkin was a renowned animator in the 60s and 70s, who had gotten caught up in a downward spiral of excessive drinking, cocaine abuse, and homelessness which eventually lead to his death in February 2007 at age 64.


When asked how he came up with the idea for Ryan, Landreth said,

"I met Ryan Larkin in the summer of 2000. I hung out with him for one week and thought, "What a life story this guy has". It has all the elements of drama. It's got tragedy, comedy, absurdity, [and] this redemptive element. And there are some other themes as a result of it that are about Ryan, but also about alcoholism, addiction, mental illness and fear of failure."

[Must see: Hollow Man on CROSS-CULTURAL OUTLINE]


[For a different kind of animation: click here]


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Killer Virus invades all Continents

(The stats in the graphic above are outdated but serve to illustrate the geography. The current statistics are as follows:)

In the quarter century since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, more than 65 million people worldwide have become infected, including more than 25 million who have already died.

In the U.S., there are now more than one million people currently estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is on track to be one of the worst epidemics in history, with millions more estimated to become infected by the end of this decade alone, if more is not done.

Multiple needs remain to be addressed globally in the areas of prevention, care and treatment, research, and funding. As such, the HIV/AIDS epidemic presents numerous political, economic, social, and scientific challenges to the United States and nations throughout the world.

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The vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, tours worldwide, teaching about their homeland and its culture. Their music genre of a-cappella style singing originated from the South African Zulus. In this video they perform the popular song "(We are) Homeless", by Bhekizizwe Joseph Shabalala, a fusion of native dialect and English lyrics.

Here they deliver a fundamentally sad message in the softest and gentlest musical hues.

Emaweni webaba
Silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni ...

Strong wind destroy our home
Many dead, tonight it could be you ...

And we are homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake ...

: World - Citizens :

We must show compassion NOW!

Kuluman
Kulumani, kulumani sizwe
Singenze njani
Baya jabula abasi thanda yo
Ho

[See also Losing a partner and best friend and "Goodbye Jim!"]