Animation Blog #2

Ch. 2. What is caricature? What is more true, caricature or realism? Why? Does your selection rely on realism or caricature or both? How so, or not?

Caricature is when you exaggerate a characteristic or feature of someone to give them larger than life attributes. Caricature in animation can also refer to applying exaggerated personalities to the characters or living things. When we think of caricature, usually we envision the artist drawing an over-expressive sketch of someone, especially celebrities. That is a form of caricature, but it doesn't merely apply to drawings. It can also be shown in animation and often cartoons.

The animation I chose, Octopodi, appeals to caricature more-so than realism. It is an account of an octopus who is given life-like personality. The octopus is personified and exaggerated to appeal to the emotions of his character. The other character, a person, is also exaggerated. A lot of the animation is based on the expressions of the characters, because there is no dialogue. It is mostly based on what you see, not what you hear. Realism is more true to real-life and the world we live in, where-as in this animation caricature conveys a more inter-active reality. Usually we don't attribute life-like emotions to an octopus. This animation relies heavily on caricature and pulls it off well.