Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

Class Film: Akira (CW) (Ōtomo Katsuhiro, 1988, 124 mins)

Class Film: Laputa: Castle in the Sky (IL)(Miyazaki Hayao, 1986, 126 mins)

1) In a sense, all cinema is animation because it puts images in a sequence. Using examples from the films we watched this week, discuss how the multi-planar structure to the animated image makes possible new modes of representation different from live-action cinema. Think about how storytelling changes and how the visual space is different in animated works.



2) Discuss the difference between digital animation (modeling three-dimensional space, i.e. Toy Story) differs from multi-planar animation (modeling two-dimensional space) in films such as Akira or Laputa. What differences do you notice in the kinds of movement and the sense of the ‘camera’/perspective between the two. Use specific examples. 



3) What is unique about the worldview of the films of Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli in contrast to the films of Disney/Pixar? You can mention both visual characteristics of the animation itself as well as elements such as character, setting, and narrative.