Life in Death My Animated Films 1976–2020

229 Pages·2022·9.329 MB·English

by  Dennis Tupicoff

Life in Death
Te Focus Animation Series aims to provide unique, accessible
content that may not otherwise be published. We allow research-
ers, academics, and professionals the ability to quickly publish
high impact, current literature in the feld of animation for a
global audience. Tis series is a fne complement to the existing,
robust animation titles available through CRC Press/Focal Press.
Series Editor:
Giannalberto Bendazzi, currently an independent scholar, is a
former Visiting Professor of History of Animation at the Nanyang
Technological University in Singapore and a former professor at the
Università degli Studi di Milano. We welcome any submissions to
help grow the wonderful content we are striving to provide to the
animation community: [email protected].
Giannalberto Bendazzi; Twice the First: Quirino Cristiani and
the Animated Feature Film
Maria Roberta Novielli; Floating Worlds:
A Short History of Japanese Animation
Cinzia Bottini; Redesigning Animation United
Productions of America
Rolf Giesen; Puppetry, Puppet Animation and the Digital Age
Pamela Taylor Turner: Infnite Animation:
Te Life and Work of Adam Beckett
Marco Bellano; Václav Trojan: Music Composition in
Czech Animated Films
Life in Death
My Animated Films 1976–2020
Dennis Tupicof
First Edition published 2022
by CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
and by CRC Press
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
© 2022 Dennis Tupicoff
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the
author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or
the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace
the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to
copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any
copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may
rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted,
reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilm-
ing, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written
permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access
www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222
Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. For works that are not available
on CCC please contact [email protected]
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trade-
marks and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-1-032-04220-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-05887-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-19966-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003199663
Typeset in Minion
by codeMantra
Access the videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmDIUY9FaU0wo_at1_
4W4GA
for Giannalberto Bendazzi (1946–2021):
writer and animation historian, archivist,
teacher, mentor, and friend to so many of us.

Contents
Acknowledgements,ix
Author,xi
Preface,xiii
Introduction: Animation: A Matter of Life and Death, xv
CHAPTER 1 ◾ C artoons of Life and Death 1
NOTES 5
CHAPTER 2 ◾ P lease Don’t Bury Me (1976) 7
NOTES 21
CHAPTER 3 ◾ D ance of Death (1983) 25
NOTES 41
CHAPTER 4 ◾ T he Heat, The Humidity (1999) 43
NOTES 56
CHAPTER 5 ◾ D ocumentaries of Life and Death 57
NOTES 60
CHAPTER 6 ◾ T he Darra Dogs (1993) 61
NOTES 75
vii
viii ◾ Contents
CHAPTER 7 ◾ H is Mother’s Voice (1997) 77
NOTES 92
CHAPTER 8 ◾ H ybrids of Life and Death 93
NOTES 96
CHAPTER 9 ◾ I nto the Dark (2001) 97
NOTES 110
CHAPTER 10 ◾ C hainsaw (2007) 111
NOTES 126
CHAPTER 11 ◾ A Photo of Me (2017) 127
NOTES 139
CHAPTER 12 ◾ S till Alive (2018) 141
NOTES 157
CHAPTER 13 ◾ T he River (2020) 159
NOTES 168
CHAPTER 14 ◾ T he End of the Matter 169
NOTES 174
APPENDIX 1: TEN ANIMATED FILMS BY
DENNIS TUPICOFF 1976–2020, 175
APPENDIX 2: OTHER FILMS BY DENNIS TUPICOFF
(WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/CO-PRODUCER), 183
BIBLIOGRAPHY, 185
INDEX, 199
Acknowledgements
Afer 45 years of making flms, and living a life along the way,
there are really too many acknowledgements to make, and too
many people. In trying to do so, I can only allude to the minds,
hearts, and hands that have made all the works, and engaged in
all the conversations, that have given me so much pleasure and
inspiration. Just a few have found their way into this book and its
references. But I can thank directly the many people and organi-
zations who helped make these ten animated flms (see their cred-
its in Appendix 1) particularly Fiona Cochrane, my co-producer
for many years. And many thanks to my family and friends, espe-
cially Lou Hubbard and our daughters Zelda and Anna, for their
afection, advice, and patience over the decades.
A diferent form of this book was written as part of the require-
ments for a PhD at Deakin University. Tanks to my supervisors
Dr Dirk DeBruyn and Dr Lienors Torre for their advice. I’m very
appreciative of the careful reading and comments by readers at
various stages, including Alan Wilson, Anne Richards, Judith
Hall, Lou Hubbard, and Max Bannah. Te shortcomings are, of
course, my own.
Educated in the law, Giannalbert Bendazzi became a histo-
rian and archivist of animation. Educated in history, and briefy
an archivist, I became an animation flm maker. As a student of
ix