Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The "cartoon"in the output of the all conquering Disney studio, the anarchic antics of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in Looney Tunes, and the satiric vision of the Simpsons on television is synonymous with the United States, but the genre rarely is taken seriously. Nevertheless, cartoons are important artistic and cultural achievements, and are an essential ingredient in how America is viewed, both by itself and by others.

In Animation and America, Paul Wells looks afresh at this unique art, discussing the distinctiveness of the cartoon form, as well as myriad other types of animation production. Insisting upon the "modernity" of the genre, Wells examines its importance as a barometer of the social conditions in which it is made and which it reflects. This book is not a standard history of animation in America, but rather uses animation as a way of discussing social and political change. Wells concentrates on the ways in which the form continues to grow, experiment, and remain subversiveand, increasingly, gaining acclaim and recognition. Now in the vanguard of visual culture, animation occupies an important position in representing both the outcomes and impacts of new technologies, and it also has laid the foundations for a new understanding of social and artistic practice.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Wells presents a compelling case for the deserved place of animation studies alongside other critical disciplines in the academy. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Wells's latest book differs from the recent spate of animation books. Rather than concentrate on vilifying or glorifying Disney (he does both at times) or honing in on a particular studio or animator, he looks at broader issues: how the avant-garde, the media, and other constituencies, in addition to Disney, shaped animation's development; how animation has been grounded in social reference points almost from the beginning; how animation has stretched the boundaries of comic representation; how animation is coincident with late modernism; how Disney studios colonized the field; how a group of maverick animators (Avery, Jones, Clampett, Tashlin, etc.) reclaimed the freedoms of the cartoon form. Wells also discusses a wide range of influential animators not normally in the forefront--Don Bluth, Ron Clements, John Musker, John Lasseter, Harry Selick, and Bill Plympton. This readable, analytical, and rather full treatment touches on the artistry and the commercial and technical aspects of animation. The book would have been greatly enhanced had the publisher gotten as excited about the subject as Wells and provided a more attractive layout and cover, some illustrations, and a better edit. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. J. A. Lent Temple University