6/8/2023 0 Comments Cuphead rap animationTo re-create that level of art was actually really daunting and difficult for a modern TV pipeline.”įiguring out the look of the series involved a long research-and-development process, studying how animation was made during a decade that spanned from black-and-white cartoons to Disney’s “Snow White” (1938). You had painters who were coming from these prestigious painting schools and illustration schools now learning how to do animation. The 1930s was “like the most ambitious time in animation - people were just going at it. “I think people tend to forget the pipeline to produce that look just doesn’t exist anymore,” said Fernandez. “And now this generation of kids will see it for the first time and go, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve never seen anything like that.’ I think it’s exciting to have the next generation get turned on to it.”īeyond the differences between the 3DCG animation that dominates films and the 2D animation seen more often on TV, modern tools and pipelines mean 2D animation is made differently now than it was in the 1930s.īut the goal on the show, said Wasson, was “to try to make it look as much like a cartoon that could have been produced back at that time.”įor character animation, this involved supplementing hundreds of “special poses” or unique illustrations to the animation software used for the show so the 2D character puppets look as much like traditional animation as possible. “We’re going to do the exact same thing with the series because there’s a whole generation of kids who’ve grown up with CGI, and they don’t necessarily have the same level of appreciation for this incredibly beautiful, looks-like-hand-painted animation,” said Kettler. King Features president CJ Kettler, who also serves as an executive producer on the series, sees “The Cuphead Show!” as a progression of the Moldenhauers’ experience sharing vintage animation through these VHS tapes and the “Cuphead” video game. The brothers recall showing their videos to their friends when they were younger and learning many of them had never seen that style of animation before. It’s like the most joyful nightmare you can have, essentially.”Īll these elements are channeled into “The Cuphead Show!” “It wasn’t a horror show, but they didn’t have the constraints of wondering what kids would think. “Another part of what I love about the old cartoons is there was always just a hint of nightmare to it,” said Jared Moldenhauer. “We just found ourselves always coming back to these old tapes we had.”Īmong the hallmarks of 1930s cartoons that still delight the Moldenhauers are the energy of loose, rubber-hose characters and the disregard for the rules of physics in service of a gag. “We ended up having a small handful of ‘Silly Symphonies’ and old Fleischer and ComiColor cartoons, which just stuck with us more than … ‘He-Man’ or ‘Ninja Turtles,’” he said. Jared Moldenhauer credits the brothers’ affinity for these vintage cartoons to grocery store bargain bins that made them accessible in the form of VHS tapes. We were always drawn to it - something about it just had that extra sparkle.” Back in that era of animation, they didn’t quite understand the subtle nature of acting, which is a benefit because wild and all over the place. The Fleischer series, all of this stuff, we found it so incredible. “We rewatched that a ton throughout our life. “‘The Skeleton Dance’ by Disney has been burned into my mind from a very young age,” said Chad Moldenhauer. The animated adaptation - for which both Moldenhauers serve as executive producers - marks a full-circle journey in the medium that inspired them. The original “Cuphead” game was born of the brothers’ love for the surreal and experimental hand-drawn cartoons of the 1930s, including Walt Disney Productions’ “ Silly Symphonies” and the works of Fleischer Studios.
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