Animated Observation: American Dad

For my observation on an animated TV show, I decided to use an episode of American Dad called "Familyland", where the main characters become trapped in a Disney World-like theme park and must fight for their survival.

I chose this episode because towards the end there was a scene of the Smith family confronting the mastermind behind the park's entrapment, Roy Family. Each of the family members prepared themselves to attack Roy for holding the mom (Francine) hostage and subjecting them all to bloody combat with the other park goers. It really stood out to me because their movements really attributed to their characters and backgrounds.

From right to left we have Francine, her husband Stan, son Steve, daughter Hayley, and the family's alien Roger. When the park went into anarchy, each Smith sans Francine took refuge in a different attraction; Stan in the wild west park, Steve in the children's area, Hayley in the princess castle, and Roger in the futuristic sci-fi zone.

Stan is a CIA agent and is supposed to be a weapon expert. As the father, he takes the most charge out of the rest of his family and showed this by being the one to tell Roy Family that they would hurt him for what he put them through. The way he showed his gun and narrowed his eyes reflected his CIA training, ready to shoot him in an instant. He also showed the gun to Roy from behind his cloak, like how a secret agent would conceal weapons.

Steve is seen as a very nerdy and often fragile boy instead of the man Stan wants him to be. Despite the flack he gets through the series, Steve does try to show his manliness to Stan in different episodes. In this scene he holds up his hands in an attempt to look threatening like his father, but the frailness of his stance shines through. His fists shake to show his determination to protect his family, and the nervousness of the situation at hand. His hunched back adds to these feelings.

Hayley spent all her time in the park teaching the little girls that being a "princess" is not what they should model themselves to be like. She doesn't rely on a man to handle her battles, taking charge and speaking her mind no matter the consequence. Compared to her brother, Hayley looks more confident and strong, holding the sword like a valkyrie or a warrior.

Roger is a sassy and charismatic alien who has been hiding from the CIA in the Smith's attic. He uses disguises and personas to go outside the house unnoticed, but by being in charge of the futuristic area of the park let him stay under the radar by the other people. One thing about his character is often not being on the same page as the rest of the family, taking one extreme in the opposite direction of what needed to be done. This is an example of that; while the rest of the family prepares themselves to fight, Roger takes the opportunity to snap a picture of himself with a pose. He did this at the same time the other Smiths went into a battle stance, showing he was not on the same mental wavelength as the rest.

Showing these movements at the final confrontation of the episode really pulled in my attention, and brought a smile to my face just as they moved their heads and gritted their teeth.

Toy Story Observation

In the first Toy Story, I payed attention to the movements more than I have before, one character in particular being Sheriff Woody. The lead character of the film, Woody's present from the very beginning.

The way Woody moves is very lanky and spindly, since he is a cloth doll and his material isn't as rigid as plastic or metal. Woody's limbs are very free as they move, and can move quickly. When they're not flopping around in the air, they're pointed straight in accusation or emphasis.

As a character, Woody has leadership qualities but becomes jealous when Buzz Lightyear is give to his owner, Andy. Since then his jealousy grows more, until he has to work together with Buzz to return home safely after getting lost at a gas station.

Through these situations and trials, Woody changed to a more caring toy, able to realize his flaws and make amends with Buzz. A "tell" for Woody would be his flailing legs when he's running.

Looney Tunes Observation

After seeing the classic cartoon show "The Looney Tunes", I payed extra close attention to how the characters moved and were drawn. I saw Road Runner, Sylvester & Tweety, and the sheep dog cartoons.

With the sheep dog and Road Runner, I noticed the wolf and Wile E. Coyote had the same design except for some different shades of fur and nose colors. Both of these characters moved very exaggeratedly, with lots of stretching when they get thrown or caught on something. From subtle movements to wide gestures, they conveyed as much emotion as possible given the situation.

With Sylvester & Tweety, in addition to the cartoons above, tails and ears were used to give more emotion than just their facial expressions. All of the drawn characters looked relatively smooth except for tufts of fur or hair.