"An animated cartoonist must be able to talk English, Irish and Swedish, must know the Ten Commandments, the law of gravitation, locomotion and it's uses, mind over matter, psychology and its actions on cheese, the rules of the world, "cohesion," and it's lifting capacity, navigation, [be] a strong believer in Darwin, [know] the art of tuning a bass violin, the internal combustion engine and its use in the home, how to fry an egg, many innumerical things touched upon so lightly by our famous men and, above all, the animated cartoonist must have a one-track mind." (Klein pg.254)
Seven Minutes is a critical and historical look into American animation focusing on animation created in 1928 to 1963. The book tells the history of a variety of studios in this time, from Fleischer Studios to Warner Brothers, animation's role during the war and it's affect on the animation industry and the development and phases of different drawing styles, comedy styling and story-lines of this time.
The book is intriguing, although it focuses on the history of studios, it talks about the development of animation techniques, one in particular is the Pop and Smear style of animation, where characters pop from pose to pose with a few smear frames inbetween, as seen in The Dover Boys at Pimento University (1942). There is so much information about classic animation in this book, some of which I will be able to use when animating the traditional character, such as the screwball style of animation, which uses a sardonic and fast movements which moves the character from pose to pose using slapstick gags, a favourite for cartoons of the 1920s to 1950s.
Overall the book is a fantastic read, it has a great history of animation studios other than Disney and has great examples of animation styles and their development over time.
Klein, Norman M. Seven Minutes. London: Verso, 1993. Print.
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