On Valentine's Day, we went to the State Theater located in Modesto, Ca. The theater opened Christmas Day in 1934 and is the only original theater from that time to last through the years.
Picture from meyersound.com
We met up with our homeschool group, got free popcorn, and took our seats in the beautiful theater.
We watched a short documentary detailing the history of the State Theater and its youth education programs. Afterward they showed vintage cartoons including Betty Boop and her pup Pudgy. This little outing fit perfectly with our History of Animation and Film Unit Study.
Aidyn enjoying his popcorn.
Afterward, the kids put on a talent show. A high schooler played "The Star-Spangled Banner" on an electric guitar, another sang "Let It Go" from Frozen, another performed stand-up comedy, a young man demonstrated some red belt karate moves and broke some boards with his heel and fist, and a family performed a funny skit of "Little Red Riding Hood."
All the kids gathered on stage for a group photo and received Valentine's treats. After, the theater played upbeat music and allowed the kids to dance on stage. I wasn't sure if my shy guy would dance in front of all those people, but he did! I have several blurry photos of him dancing (or jumping?) on stage with a group of other enthusiastic dancers.
This was an adorable little field trip and we're planning another visit soon.
This unit study is inspired by Walt Disney World's park Disney's Hollywood Studio. We have never been to Disney World but are playing with the idea of a 2015 vacation there. Our unit studies are our fun and educational way to build excitement for that adventure.
In Part One, we explored the earliest experiments with both film and animation and we made our own zoetrope. In Part Two, we focused on films and filmmakers of the early 20th century, including Georges Melies, Mack Sennett and Charlie Chaplin. We also toured the Disney Animation building at Disney California Adventures.
Last week, we focused on film and animation in the 1920s, which was a booming time for the industry with the popularity of Charlie Chaplin and the creation of Mickey Mouse in "Plane Crazy."
This is a media-heavy unit study. I created a playlist of important film/cartoon shorts of the period. After we finished with our core school work, Aidyn and I snuggled on the couch and watched the videos. I introduced each with a snippet of history, but mostly I encouraged him to reach his own conclusions and to compare/contrast what he was viewing.
~The 1920s~
Below is the playlist we watched together:
I tried to pick cartoon shorts with significance to the history of animation, but I also included a few fun cartoons. This list can easily be shortened or expanded.
"Summer"~ Silly Symphony (1930)
"Midnight in a Toy Shop"~ Silly Symphony (1930)
"Mickey's Orphans" (1930) (nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 1932 but lost to Disney's other cartoon "Flowers and Trees.")
"Flowers and Trees" (1932) (first commercially released film to be produced in the full-color three-strip Technicolor process. Won the first Academy Award for Animated Short Subjects.)
"Parade of the Award Nominees" (1932) Originally unintended for public viewing. First cartoon with Mickey Mouse in color.
"Building a Building" (1933)
"The Wise Little Hen" (1934) First debut of Donald Duck.
Popeye, circa 1930s
Betty Boop in "I Heard" (1933)
Mickey Mouse in "Gulliver Mickey" (1934) Inspired by Gulliver's Travels.
"The Tortoise and the Hare"~ Silly Symphony (1935)
"Three Orphan Kittens"~ Silly Symphonies (1935) Won Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) in 1935. Contains use of racial stereotype that could prompt discussion.
Mickey Mouse in "Thru the Mirror" (1936) Inspired by Alice through the Looking Glass.
"The Old Mill"~ Silly Symphonies (1937) First use of Disney's multiplane camera, later used with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Won 1937 Academy Award for Best Short Subjects: Cartoon.
"Ferdinand the Bull" (1938) Inspired by book of the same title.
Mickey Mouse in "The Pointer" (1939)
1930s timeline:
We learned how Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse:
We learned about the animation process in the 1930s from a Paramount newsreel:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
We finished reading Brian Selznick's amazing book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which beautifully weaved our entire unit study (thus far) together. The story takes place in a Paris railway station in the 1930s. Hugo Cabret, orphan and clock keeper, also keeps secrets, but a meeting with an eccentric old toy tinkerer and his goddaughter allows him to reveal his deep need for human connection and the realization of his purpose. This book is not exactly a novel any more than it is a picture book or graphic novel. Whatever it is, it's poignant and dream-like.
We hosted an intimate Family Movie Night last Friday and watched the film, Hugo, which also married many of the things we learned about during our unit study like Georges Melies and his early films, clips of Harold Lloyd in Safety Last!, the first on-screen kiss, Charlie Chaplin in The Kid, and other early films like "Train Pulling into the Station."
Hugo movie trailer:
First Full-Length Animated Feature: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs~
We concluded the 30s by learning about the first full-length animated feature. We learned that most people thought Walt Disney was foolish to embark on this venture to make a movie out of a cartoon. He nearly bankrupted their business without even knowing if their movie would succeed.
The One That Started It All: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Part One.
Part Two
We watched a video from the bonus features DVD about the voice talents and animation from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs before Aidyn couldn't take it anymore and HAD to watch the film. We snuggled up and watched, remarking here and there what might have happened had Walt listened to his naysayers and gave up on his dream to make the first animated movie.
Well, that's all for the 20s and 30s! But we are continuing our film and animation unit study through the 40s this week (and possibly back-pedaling to look into The Wizard of Oz). Check back for more!
Last summer, I picked up The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Bauer and began barreling through Don Quixote. Fall semester snuck up on me and brought along piles (and piles!) of other books, so DQ found a nice quiet place in a box somewhere. Luckily, throughout the semester I read through a few WEM books including: A Portrait of a Lady by Henry James, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift, and Tartuffe by Moliere.
So while I was slacking with Don Quixote, I was essentially reading other WEM books (because I had to).
With the fall semester over, holidays over, training-for-a-half-marathon over, I dug out DQ and cracked it open to Chapter 25 where I left off and re-familiarized myself with the gallantly silly adventurer.
I plan on returning to my WEM reading challenge and posting semi-regularly with thoughts, questions and reflections.
