2: Animation and the Uncanny

Dear Intraweb,
In chapter 2 of "Understanding Animation" by Paul Wells, Wells refers to the implicit uncanniness of any animation that appears life like.  Sigmund Freud developed the concept of the uncanny, or "unheimlich" in German, in his his essay "The Uncanny".  The basic notion of the uncanny is the appearance of something that is familiar but also incredibly foreign at the same time. Wells argues that the uncanny is intimately connected with animation because it creates "an environment where inanimate lines, objects and materials have the illusion of life" (Wells, 48).  The animated movie by John Lamb called Tom Waits for No One, exemplifies the uncanniness of animation through the use of the rotoscope animation technique.

First, let's watch the short video.  It does contain some animated nudity.

Tom Waits For No One - Animated 1979 - Click here for funny video clips
The process of rotoscoping involves shooting a live action shot, and then frame by frame tracing over the live action, making it animated.  We can see in Tom Waits for No One, how the rotoscope process turn out.  The fluid and realistic style of the animation is a result of this process, giving the short a very uncanny feeling.  Although it is animated, it seems real, familiar.  However this familiarity is betrayed by the fact that it is animated, leaving the audience with a feeling of unease due to the conflicting strangeness and realism of the short film.  This unease is a great example of an uncanny feeling.

To further this, here is some of the live action video that Tom Waits for No One is rotoscoped from.

Here the uncanniness is evident because of its relation with the animation.  They look so similar but are remarkably different.  We can see some liberties that have been taken as well with the animated version of the film.  The woman appears from the cigarette smoke in the animated version, a surreal process which fits Wells idea that within animation "impossible relations can take place" (Wells, 48).

Within Tom Waits for No One, we can pinpoint the aspects of the uncanny in relation to animation.  It seems familiar because it has been rotoscoped from an original live action shot, and the characters act realistically for the most part.  However, the animated style, the impossible relations within the narrative(such as the smoke creating a woman), and the eerie voice and lyrics of Tom Waits, creates a film which seems familiar but strange at the same time, exemplifying Freud's notion of the uncanny.