Art430-Report

Critical Analysis of Michel Gagne

        Michel Gagne was born in Quebec, Canada. He studied classical animation at Sheridan College School of Visual Arts in Ontario, Canada. He began his professional career working for the Don Bluth animation studio helping create The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go To Heaven and several other popular animated films. Gagne later went on to work for Warner Bro's, Disney, and Pixar. On top of Gagne's success in animation he also writes and illustrates children books and makes his own animated shorts. One short in particular, Prelude to Eden, was nominated for an Annie Award.
        According to Gagne this animation was an artistic exploration. On the contrary to the viewer it is much more. Prelude to Eden tells us the story of two forces engaging in a battle that results in The Big Bang and essentially creating the universe as we know it. Watching the two creatures do battle is almost comical. Each movement is exaggerated much like you would see in the films Gagne had worked on earlier in his career. For example, in the beginning one creature jumps and kicks the other in the face sending him flying off screen, but after delivering the face-kick the creature hangs in the air for a second or two before falling back to the ground. This meticulous attention to the movements and timing really brings the viewer into animation. You can see the expressions on their faces just long enough to realize something is up before it happens.
        I don't believe Gagne was trying to do anything more than just tell a story in a strange world with two crazy character having an epic battle. This is the kind of story I think many young aspiring animators want to tell when they first began realizing that animation was what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. I know I did and still do...sometime.

student workReport	Spring 2009cc
Christopher Perry Perry87@MissouriState.edu


Critical Analysis of Michel Gagne Michel Gagne was born in Quebec, Canada. He studied classical animation at Sheridan College School of Visual Arts in Ontario, Canada. He began his professional career working for the Don Bluth animation studio helping create The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go To Heaven and several other popular animated films. Gagne later went on to work for Warner Bro's, Disney, and Pixar. On top of Gagne's success in animation he also writes and illustrates children books and makes his own animated shorts. One short in particular, Prelude to Eden, was nominated for an Annie Award. According to Gagne this animation was an artistic exploration. On the contrary to the viewer it is much more. Prelude to Eden tells us the story of two forces engaging in a battle that results in The Big Bang and essentially creating the universe as we know it. Watching the two creatures do battle is almost comical. Each movement is exaggerated much like you would see in the films Gagne had worked on earlier in his career. For example, in the beginning one creature jumps and kicks the other in the face sending him flying off screen, but after delivering the face-kick the creature hangs in the air for a second or two before falling back to the ground. This meticulous attention to the movements and timing really brings the viewer into animation. You can see the expressions on their faces just long enough to realize something is up before it happens. I don't believe Gagne was trying to do anything more than just tell a story in a strange world with two crazy character having an epic battle. This is the kind of story I think many young aspiring animators want to tell when they first began realizing that animation was what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. I know I did and still do...sometime.


web page contact: Vonda Yarberry MissouriState - Computer Animation Resources Home