Comments on: mommy i am scared...

mommy i am scared...

ShawnString — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 06:34:05 -0800

Up and coming artist's versions of some preschoolers drawings of their favorite scenes from Winnie The Pooh. some are very charming and sweet...some are down right scary.

By: SmileyChewtrain

SmileyChewtrain — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 06:37:34 -0800

Wow, I think the Pooh Launch is my favorite so far.

By: SmileyChewtrain

SmileyChewtrain — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 06:40:43 -0800

Heh, and these two.

By: SmileyChewtrain

SmileyChewtrain — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 06:40:58 -0800

What a great idea, too. I want more. I want this every day.

By: SmileyChewtrain

SmileyChewtrain — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 06:43:57 -0800

Alright, I almost posted more links to other ones I liked, but then I didn't because no one else has posted any comments yet. And that wouldn't be fair.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 06:53:53 -0800

The trees in "Pooh launch" are fantastic. Having said that, painting directly on wood and then leaving part blank for the grain to show through is becoming a little tiresome.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 06:54:46 -0800

Terrific, thanks ShawnString.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:00:44 -0800

Bodnar/Wood is brilliant. It all reminds me of the childrens-drawing-world in Pratchett's Hogfather, too.

By: j.p. Hung

j.p. Hung — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:19:07 -0800

Did you say up and coming artsits? Are they the ones on the left? Cool concept though.

By: artifarce

artifarce — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:23:17 -0800

Interesting interpretations of an old favorite. "Sing ho, for the exposition!" Love 'em.

By: cosmicbandito

cosmicbandito — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:25:11 -0800

Are these all by one artist? If so, amazing versatility.

By: NinjaTadpole

NinjaTadpole — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:27:26 -0800

(the original and interpreting artists are listed beneath the artworks)

By: Brainy

Brainy — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:29:39 -0800

I'd like it better if they stayed closer to the children's work.There was a guy who did monsters like this and it was much more impressive. The children's art here leaves so much open to interpretation that in some cases it's almost pointless to use it as a source. Obviously the Pooh Launch trees are the exception.

By: gnomeloaf

gnomeloaf — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:39:19 -0800

The Pooh Bear picture and plush toy are so adorable that I'm almost teary. And given that my favorite kid-picture url before today was this one? That's an impressive reaction.

By: empath

empath — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:41:17 -0800

See also: The Monster Engine Discussed here.

By: NinjaTadpole

NinjaTadpole — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:41:58 -0800

Some of the interpretations (or literal representations) of what the children have produced are really wonderful, but there are others which seem to have taken a "yeah, well, whatever" approach. I suppose the organisers couldn't tell the up-and-coming artists that the submissions would need to take effort, because that's contraining the artisting muse. Piglet's melting eyes in Simkins/Wood really remind me of the "Pink Elephants on Parade" scene in Dumbo.: frightening. But I agree, nothing was ever going to top those trees.

By: Bugg

Bugg — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:43:52 -0800

So, do the preschoolers share half the artist's profit on the sale?

By: ShawnString

ShawnString — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:54:14 -0800

Bugg, i was wondering the exact same thing....also i wasnt the one who said they were up and coming...it was in the copy from the gallery.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 08:01:04 -0800

What the hell is "Pooh Launch?" Why is Pooh stuck in a tree? When I read the phrase "scenes from Winnie The Pooh" I assume it to mean "scenes from the actual Winnie the Pooh stories written by Milne," not some latter-day Disney apocrypha. I guess I shouldn't expect better from "The Hollywood Schoolhouse." That said, these are truly fascinating displays of the art of adaptation/interpretation. I love this one, perhaps because it sticks the closest to the original. But the deviations are interesting too.

By: NinjaTadpole

NinjaTadpole — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 08:10:33 -0800

As Disney hold all the rights to Pooh, all Disney stories about Pooh are as legitimate as the originals. I have no idea why you might have imagined that children were more likely to draw scenes from a book than an animation.

By: mendel

mendel — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 08:10:54 -0800

When I read the phrase "scenes from Winnie The Pooh" I assume it to mean "scenes from the actual Winnie the Pooh stories written by Milne," not some latter-day Disney apocrypha. I bet the children who were asked to draw pictures from Winnie the Pooh haven't yet developed your level of Pooh connoisseurship yet.

By: fnord

fnord — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 08:13:15 -0800

These were some fascinating images. The artists seemed to stay fairly close to some of the interpretations, but I did have Maddox's voice in my head on a few of them. Poking around on the site led me to these images. Some great artwork from the 8bit world.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 08:57:15 -0800

I bet the children who were asked to draw pictures from Winnie the Pooh haven't yet developed your level of Pooh connoisseurship yet. What is this, the "Checkers" speech? I wasn't criticizing the kids, I was saying the phrasing in the post was misleading. But if no one else sees any difference in quality or "legitimacy" between the actual Pooh stories and the Disney-factory tripe, I guess no one else was misled, so all's well that ends well.

By: joseph_elmhurst

joseph_elmhurst — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 09:28:12 -0800

You are so being taken off of Cory Doctorow's Christmas card list.

By: ShawnString

ShawnString — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 09:29:25 -0800

its funny you mention his name...i posted this to Boing Boing as well.

By: sarahnade

sarahnade — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 10:29:03 -0800

soyjoy, In addition to the possibility that Disney changed the stories that the preschoolers heard, I think there are 2 potential factors at work: 1) The kids are getting their stories mixed up, i.e. Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit's Hole + Pooh going up in the tree via balloon to get the honey=Pooh stuck in a hole in a tall tree. 2) The kids do not have the motor/drawing skills to accurately represent the scene they chose (duh, they're pre-schoolers), thereby making the artists' renderings like a game of telephone, revealing things that were not in the original story.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 11:41:48 -0800

I think there is more of the artists in the final paintings than the preschoolers. (And I think a lot of that comes from the Disney versions than the original books, meaning they contain at least 8% travesty content by weight.)

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:14:10 -0800

sarahnade, thanks for a considered response, and yes, I guess that's possible, but it seems unlikely. There are six different renditions of Pooh stuck through a tree, including one referencing a near-horizontal angle (in the original kid's version). It's much easier for me to believe that Disney did some book/movie re-using (and cheapening) the "Pooh stuck" shtick than that these kids all happened to misinterpet or misdepict the real source material.

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:18:26 -0800

Great stuff. I think the better ones are those that stuck more to what the original kids drew though. It reminds me of something I saw in Mad (old issue reprinted in their Best of the 50s book, IIRC) where someone had taken "children's drawings" of what toys they would like to see, and then made literal 3D models of them.

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 13:00:07 -0800

As Disney hold all the rights to Pooh, all Disney stories about Pooh are as legitimate as the originals. Commercially and legally, perhaps. Artistically -- sorry, but I just don't see it. One of the things that was interesting about the exhibition though, was the way that the impact of the Disneyfied Pooh on the artists overwhelmingly outweighed the impact of EH Shephard. Great post though.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 16:33:35 -0800

This is awesome. Also, these kids draw way better than the herd of preschoolers that I teach. Perhaps they are kindergarteners in disguise.