Michael Barrier, John Kricfalusi e-mail exchange

[Quasimodo]

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Pretty interesting conversation that starts with Barrier's critique of two new Ren & Stimpy episodes that includes some pretty harsh criticms of Disney animation by Kricfalusi.

My favorite part of this exchange was this statement by Kricfalusi. I really hope he isn't being serious, but I'm afraid he is.

I could lecture you for days on subtleties in acting and demonstrate it with my pencil and my body. That's the one thing I will brag that I do better than any animator in history. Even Clampett, who gave me the idea to do human acting in cartoons. He does everything else better than me and better than everyone else. Had he kept going he probably would have been unbeatable in that arena also.

Wow!

[Mr. Toad]

Asuming he is talking about Bob Clampett I dont see why anyone would argue. If Bob Clampett had Disney's bankroll instead of the pathetic ones he worked on at Termite Terrace I am sure he would have done some greater stuff.

[Maerj]

I'd also say that he was serious about everything he said. John K. is pretty well known for not liking Disney animation and he seems pretty bitter about a lot of things in general, lol. But I love his animation.. Ren & Stimpy and the Ripping Friends and some of the various other projects he has worked on. Although, I think that Barrier is a lot more negative in general than John K., and at least John K. has produced some amazing animation.

[Quasimodo]

Sorry if I wasn't clear in my initial post, but I'm sure he is serious about Clampett and his criticism of Disney. Even though I don't agree with a lot of his statements about Disney, I wasn't surprised by them either. The thing I couldn't believe he said was "That's the one thing I will brag that I do better than any animator in history" in terms of acting. That's a very bold statement, and one that I do not believe his work even comes close to justifying. Of course, John K. has never shied away from patting himself on the back, so this shouldn't come as a shock.

I also wasn't too crazy about his criticism of Bill Tytla, in particular, saying that Tytla's acting does not hold a candle to any of his work. In my opinion, Tytla produced some of Disney's best animation, but is often overshadowed by the popularity of the "Nine Old Men". I know many will disagree, but I have yet to see anything in John K.'s work that even approaches Tytla's accomplishments, especially in Ren & Stimpy. I'm not saying Ren & Stimpy is bad, because it does have it's moments, but I've always thought it relied too heavily on gross-out humor, though I don't object to this type of humor nearly as strongly as Barrier seems to. Also, and maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't see a lot of "subtleties in acting" on display either.


Anyway, just my 2 cents.

[Porce]

I think John K. has some major ego problems and his "Adult Party Cartoon" series has made the original 1991 series unwatchable for me. Now I don't think even that original series was all it was cracked up to be. Michael Barrier is definitely the winner of the debate so far.