Kawaii

Definition: the quality of being cute, or items that are cute.

In my essay I'm talking about Gromit and pikachu in terms of kawaii, whether or not either relate to the Japanese popular culture term. 

Semiotics

Semiotics Definition: the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

Gromit and pikachu have a lot of similar features, with their round character designs. But 

what does this mean?

Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism Definition: Attribution of human motivation, characteristics or behaviour to inanimate objects, animals or natural phenomena.  

I was think about our lecture about Anthropomorphism, and it made me think about my own characters I'm analysing. Gromit does show human signs. I can imagine he would sit up at the table and play cards with these guys. And win.

Nick Park interview

Question

My question will will:

'Compare and contrast what cultural influences both Gromit and Pikachu have on the audience?'

With this in mind I went to my tutor and asked for advice, and she told me about 'Kawaii' the japanese term for 'cute'. Somthing I was already familiar with, but I wasn't intending to add it to my essay.

The Day The Powerpoint Messed Up - A Helpful Information Story

Initial ideas

We were asked to make a list of characters that we found interesting, a few of mine were;

GROMIT - He speaks only with his eyebrows, he is the brains and looks after Wallace.

MUSHU - Sassy character that beats the odds.

RANGO - Intelligent and funny.

CHEESE - Odd loveable character.

MULAN - Attempts to save her father, honourable.

DARIA - Extremely sarcastic, takes the piss.

JACK SKELLINGTON - Scary but has soft emotions.

BA1a - Character (Research)

In this project I have to consider aspects of characterisation in the animated form, contextualising both historically and culturally how representation has evolved, from pre-animation through the contemporary animated landscape, and on to future trends.

I MUST SUBMIT

• A Research Blog [Tumblr] which must contain audio/visual assets and utilize the medium’s interactivity by adding links to relevant resources.
•  A 1000 word text based on your research findings contained within your blog. This content will be presented in PDF form for submission.