An Hour of Art
About an odd moment from the Disney Channel's past.
Welcome! Glad you could join us. In this issue of the Animation Obsessive newsletter, we’re looking at an artifact of the ‘80s.
Animation has always been international. A hundred years ago, films like The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) toured the globe. American and Soviet animators cross-pollinated throughout the ‘30s. The list goes on.
That said, something changed in the mid-century. Stuff like Expo 67, ASIFA and the Annecy Festival narrowed the distance between countries; animation from everywhere began to converge and compete. At a time when the world was divided by walls (literal and figurative), this medium grew almost borderless.
Animation scenes from China to Britain to the USSR were closely interlinked by 1984. The proof was right there on television — on the Disney Channel.
Just over a year into its existence, in June of ‘84, the Disney Channel aired Animation from Around the World.1 It was a one-shot program hosted by John Canemaker, the great historian. He said toward the start:
The philosopher Plato once wrote, “Everything that deceives may be said to enchant.” And certainly animation is among this century’s most enchanting and least lethal deceptions. This “lovely magic,” as it was called, caught the imagination and enthusiasm of artists the world over.
Canemaker’s poetic wording and Plato citation implied things about Animation from Around the World from the outset. This was a thoughtful program. In an hour, it brought together various countries’ animated films and ads — ones highly regarded at the time. “[A]ll of them,” Canemaker said, “carry the common thread of presenting a message with humor and understanding, and exploit an unusual design or technique.”
Today, the program sits on YouTube. And it’s a fascinating trip into the past of the world of animation.
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