“There’s nothing wrong with this town”: Ralph Bakshi on Winnipeg.
Posted: May 6th, 2011 | Author: Erica | Filed under: Visual, Art & Design, Winnipeg | Tags: animation, Plastic Paper, Ralph Bakshi | Comments OffAs part of the Big Smash‘s Plastic Paper animation festival, Ralph Bakshi‘s American Pop screened at the Park (Where they serve beer. While you watch a movie.) tonight.
The legendary animator was on hand to introduce the film and talk about it afterwards.
If you’re not a fan of alternative animation, you still probably know Bakshi from his work on classic Saturday-morning Spiderman. Yes, he admitted to the crowd, he is personally responsible for the amount of time Spidey spent swinging from building to building—a tactic he hopes wasn’t obviously being used to kill time. It obviously was.
Manitoba bombshell
Bakshi dropped the hopefully-happening bombshell that a Toronto backer wants to pick up production of his unfinished Last Days of Coney Island, and produce it here in Manitoba (thanks to our delicious tax breaks).
Huge!
Winnipeg isn’t too big and it isn’t too small. I think it’s perfect for artists. You’re very lucky.
On the “overwhelming totality” of social media
Bakshi was glad he didn’t start out in a time where you could see the other talent that’s out there 24/7 on Facebook & blogs, because it might have been paralyzing.
There’s nowhere to hide anymore. Everybody’s a genius. Sometimes being quiet & looking around is good.
On truth in art
[Disney] never looked around at what was happening in America. My thing in animation is not to lie to audiences. You have to choose whether you want to lie to yourself and make a buck, or try another way.
