AMBFAD Book Club

'Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in 1950s Animation'

I actually bought and read this extremely cool book over a month or so ago, but kept forgetting to post up w/ a review. 'Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in 1950s Animation' examines a really interesting period in animation that virtually discarded the 'lifelike' aesthetic popularized by the Disney classics of the 1940's, for a more graphic and often abstract approach.

The work shown within really had so much in common w/ the equally modern painting and graphic design movements of the era, with extremely creative results. Even better, while examples from heavy-hitters like Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Warner Brothers and UPA are all represented within, the groundwork for the movement started and was most predominantly featured in everything from commercials to industrial and educational films to fair and expo infotainment.

The book is brimming w/ wonderful art within, organized by thes studio/ad firm/ etc. it came from. Not just pretty to look at, it also features some in depth historical perspective behind the period and the people that created it. The author, Amid Amidi, is the publisher/editor of Animation Blast magazine, cofounder of the extremely excellent animation blog CartoonBrew.com and has done a fantastic job in putting together a book that is both fun for the eyes AND your head.

It was actually published back in 2006, so it's available on all your favorite online booksellers or, if you're lucky like me, a Barnes & Noble that still happened to have a copy in stock. For a chronicle of the book's inception/birth and a glut of examples of the period it's about, you should also check out the blog he had up for it HERE. More book club fun on the way!