May 23, 2014

Monkey Rag: An Animated Short By Joanna Davidovich

Without further ado, here it is:

 



Thank you to everyone who kept following the progress of this short and offered words of encouragement.  Thank you to my husband, Nate Foster, for helping me make this cartoon a reality and for believing in me more than I did myself. When I first put together the board-o-matic, I had no idea it would mean four years of labor on nights, weekends, and any scraps of time I had between jobs.  I just thought it would be fun to finally make the kind of cartoon I had loved as a kid.   And it had to be on paper- the fun of drawing is something I don't come by often in my work anymore.  There were many times where I didn't think I was going to make it- what was the point, really, of abstaining from real-life events, missing out on sleep and normal human activities, to pound away at an outdated method of animation to make a silly cartoon that wasn't going to make any money anyway?  I still don't quite know, but it is done.  I hope that it makes people happy.  I never got tired of the song, and I love these characters.  Watching cartoons like "Pigs in a Polka" or "All The Cats Join In" still energizes me- there is something magical that happens when you marry great music to animation.  I'm glad I was finally able to give it a shot.

Here are some supplemental videos to give an idea of how everything came together:

 

8 comments:

William Bradford said...

WOW. I not only admire your ability to make a wonderful film all by yourself after work hours (I'm in the process of that). But what I REALLY envy is keeping the art post up so much at the same time. I've been animating it in my spare time, and I'm lucky to get a side post a MONTH up :).

Also, very charming and energetic and beautiful a cartoon. Can't wait to see your next piece.

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

Bravo! I especially love the look of our leading lady.

I haven't heard of this "Pigs Polka", but if its anything like this I will be sure to check it out!

Kendall Robinson said...

Yay!! It's finally finished! And it looks beautiful!!! Excited to see more from you in the future although for now I think a well deserved break is in order :) Once again, beautifully polished animation, I think even the animators from all the cat's join in would be impressed :D

Unknown said...

Wow... Just wow... This is AMAZING! I love the nostalgia I got from the animation style as well as the subtle mature comedy (the butt pinch) I would love this kind of stuff on a regular basis, if only the television companies could realize the profit to gain from this kind of thing.

John Celestri said...

Very, very nice! The animation has an updated Fleischer Studios inventive energy to it! A bit of Betty Boop -- without being imitative!

jothezette said...

Thank you guys so much!!

Will said...

Love, talent and work at its finest!
You are an amazing inspiration...

Unknown said...

Super awesome! Congrats!

So charming and unique - an accomplishment that is as commitment-heavy as this can hardly be celebrated enough.

All the best. This is surely an awesome showcase of your talents.

Dave