“I do for sure. I don’t like going places and sitting around for twenty hours waiting for them to reset a shot. I made the conscious decision a long time ago: I’m done with live action. ‘Cause I can just sit in my agoraphobic darkened room and create worlds, and now I’m doing it with a bunch of awesome, talented animators and designers and we can go anywhere we want. Anywhere…more” – Justin Roiland in response to the question Do you find writing for animation more creatively liberating than, say, writing live action?
Last year, after reading that Dan Harmon would no longer be the showrunner for Community, I got super bummed-out. My love for the show is well documented and to confront the reality that it would no longer be nurtured with nutrients from its central, creative teat was pretty depressing.
A few weeks before Sony axed Mr. Harmon, adultswim announced it had picked up a pilot of an animated show he co-created with Justin Roiland (who you probably know best as the voice of Lemongrab on Adventure Time) and I distinctly remember feeling giddy at the news. Community, in many ways, already felt like an animated show – with its insane, truly far-out plotlines and laser-focused visual execution – and I figured that without any need for cameras, Dan Harmons creative vision could flow out, unencumered.
I’m happy to report that Rick & Morty is as bizarre as I had hoped it would be. Attached above is the second third episode (you can watch the first two at adultswim) and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Cheers!
[ Rick and Morty: Watch "Anatomy Park" now ]
posted by respondcreate on Dec. 15, 2013 in Videos | tags: adult swim, animation, bizarre, dan harmon, hd, justin roiland, science fiction, trippy
I spent a fair bit of time mulling over the title of this post. It’s like, maybe you’re already a fan, right? In the end I figured you wouldn’t mind as, if you do watch the show, you probably fucking love it and want other people to watch it, too.
(Quick aside: I’m not being paid to write about Community; I honestly and truly love it.)
I’ve run the numbers and, if you’re a fan of this site I’m fairly certain Community is squarely up your alley. I mentioned the show during the holidays last year – they created a pitch-perfect Rankin/Bass style Claymation episode – and, now that Season 3 is underway, I figured it was worth bringing up again. This is television that is worth your time, it’s a breath of non-derivative fresh air. There’s a creative feedback loop going on between all the involved parties (writers/cast/art-direction/design) that continually produces triple-distilled doses of potent, grain-alcohol-strength intoxicating entertainment. Community routinely delivers something that has (sadly) become a rarity: episodes that hold-up in the vacuum of the half-hour time slot while simultaneously advancing season-spanning, complex, satisfying and believable narratives. Plus, it’s often wonderfully bizarre in unique, unexpected ways so when Thursday night rolls around I’m often giddy wondering what’s going to happen next at Greendale. The attached is a great example of that.
I tend to be an annoying tee-vee purist who will tell you that it ruins the watching experience to start a new series with anything other than Episode 1, Season 1. And, hey, if you’ve got access to the discs/streams then by all means go ahead and have at it. But, if you don’t, no worries: turn down the lights and click play, you won’t be disappointed.
[ Geography of Global Conflict ]
posted by respondcreate on Oct. 01, 2011 in Videos | tags: bizarre, colorful, community, dan harmon, hd, nbc, politics, trippy, tv, united nations