Cartoons Minus Characters

Back in 2016 during a particularly difficult mental health episode, I tracked down a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog online. I used to rent it on VCR from the local video store when I was a kid, and thought I could re-watch it as an adult as a way of easing my pain. I was right, but not in the way I imagined. 

Sonic was different watching as an adult. It felt way shorter, less dramatic, and those wacky 90s characters were painful to watch. The background however, still looked incredible. I realised that if you were to look only at the scenery, your perception of the art itself would be radically altered.

I watched through the anime again, but this time I took screenshots the exact moment the characters were out of frame. Suddenly the work of the tireless animators usually hidden behind the story could be admired in a way it hadn’t been before. I decided to curate the screenshots to flow as a series of still images, and posted them up on Tumblr for others to appreciate too. 

After Sonic, I started exploring the web for more cartoons. I found animation from around the globe, released from the 1920s to 2018, from indie artists to hollywood studios, from film, television and music videos. I wanted to highlight just how diverse and beautiful the world of animation truly is.

Now over 700 posts later, I’m back to the anime that started it all. I’m doing a lot better mentally, I’m starting my third year of university, I just started a second job, and I’m focusing more and more on my own creative endeavours. But that means I don’t really have enough time to work on the blog anymore.