The Animated Dad

The Homer Simpson-esque stereotype has been a persistent trope in cartoons since programming aimed directly at children and adolescents began. Young viewers are exposed to the incapable and incompetent "hapless father" archetype on a regular basis, causing both boys and girls to expect the bare minimum of fathers while mothers hold the responsibility for all domestic and parenting work. Cartoons rely heavily on toxic stereotypes for ratings, when in fact, healthy representations of fathers are just as successful in maintaining viewership. Eleven essays, written by scholars from around the world, investigate the topic of fatherhood as it is represented in children's animated television shows. Main themes that emerge include absent and negligent fathers, single fathers, generational shifts within families, and raising the standard of fathering by creating secure bonds between father and child. The authors uncover problematic fathers, imperfect yet redemptive fathers, and fathers who embody idealized parenting traits through some of our most beloved animated dads. This collection demonstrates the impact that media representations of father figures have on young viewers and argues for better role models.

Every dad wants to be a great dad. But what does it take to build a great dad? What raw materials does one need? And how do you put them all together? Designed for the do-it-yourselfer in every man, Project Dad is a humorous, biblically based guidebook to becoming a great dad. With short, entertaining chapters that cover five key components, this guidebook encourages fathers to raise their children with a renewed sense of purpose in order to positively impact them in their adult life. Cartmell shows dads that the way they look at, talk to, connect with, act toward, and lead their children is what separates a good dad from a great dad. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book ideal for individual or group study.

Presents the life of the independent cartoonist and animator, including his childhood influences, experiences as an Oscar nominee, and reaction to an offer to work for Disney.--

It's not a parenting manual. Everyone's experience with parenting is different. Documenting the pregnancy and the first six months of the arrival of our triplets it is a loaded story. My personal journey into fatherhood from a destructive past. From overcoming abuse, trauma, psychiatric units, violent relationships, and alcoholism to becoming the dad my family needs. This book is the story of a journey into fatherhood, navigating a high-risk pregnancy, and the first six months of the arrival of triplets. From his own childhood abuse and the life of alcoholism that followed, the author firstly shares his honest experience of recovering from the anger he harbored towards his own father through a unique meditation. A practice that contributed to the survival of his family through the ultimate test, in becoming a father himself. This is a personal story of transformation and hope, in that we all have what it takes to become a better human being when it matters the most. No matter what the damage of the past. Buy now.

Packed with examples from classic and contemporary films, The Fundamentals of Animation presents each stage of the animation production process in an engaging visual style, whilst providing an historical and critical context for four core disciplines: drawn/cel; 2D/3D stop-motion; computer generated; and experimental animation. With insightful commentary from leading animators, Wells and Moore also introduce you to the many different career paths open to aspiring animators, from storyboard artist or character designer to VFX artist or writer and director. They also provide you with key tips on producing engaging portfolios and show reels. - Illustrated with over 300 images, including preliminary sketches, frame-by-frame analyses and shots of animators at work. - Now explores the animated documentary genre and the role of visual effects and gaming in contemporary animation. - Features more than 20 interviews with a range of international practitioners including Pete Docter, Director, Monsters, Inc. (2001), Up (2009) and Inside Out (2015). Featured Artists Sarah Cox, ArthurCox Lluis Danti, Media Molecule Pete Docter, Pixar Paul Driessen Eric Fogel Cathal Gaffney, Brown Bag Films Adam Goddard Philip Hunt, STUDIO AKA The Brothers McLeod Bill Plympton Ellen Poon, Industrial Light and Magic Barry Purves Joanna Quinn Chris Randall, Second Home Studios Maureen Selwood Koji Yamamura

Looks at the lives and careers of more than three hundred animators.

Mort Zachter’s childhood revolved around a small shop on Manhattan’s Lower East Side known in the neighborhood as “the day-old bread store.” It was a bakery where nothing was baked, owned by his two eccentric uncles who referred to their goods as “the merchandise.” Zachter grew up sleeping in the dinette of a leaking Brooklyn tenement. He lived a classic immigrant story—one of a close-knit, working-class family struggling to make it in America. Only they were rich. In Dough, Zachter chronicles the life-altering discovery made at age thirty-six that he was heir to several million dollars his bachelor uncles had secretly amassed in stocks and bonds. Although initially elated, Zachter battled bitter memories of the long hours his mother worked at the bakery for no pay. And how could his own parents have kept the secret from him while he was a young married man, working his way through night school? As he cleans out his uncles’ apartment, Zachter discovers clues about their personal lives that raise more questions than they answer. He also finds cake boxes packed with rolls of two-dollar bills and mattresses stuffed with coins. In prose that is often funny and at times elegiac, Zachter struggles with the legacy of his enigmatic family and the implications of his new-found wealth. Breaking with his family’s workaholic heritage, Zachter abandons his pragmatic accounting career to pursue his lifelong dream of being a writer. And though he may not understand his family, in the end he realizes that forgiveness and acceptance matter most.