Cheer and Loathing

Chris Robinson is a Canadian writer and author. He is also the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) and is a well-known figure in the animated film world and was recently given the 2020 award for Outstanding Contribution to Animation Studies by the World Festival of Animation Film - Animafest Zagreb. In 2022, Robinson received the Prix Rene Jodoin for his contributions to Canadian Animation. Robinson has been called “one of the stylistically most original and most provocative experts in the history of animation. He made a name for himself with a unique and eclectic magazine column Animation Pimp, which became a book of the same name (the column was later renamed into Cheer and Loathing in Animation). Mastering different methods and styles in critical and scholarly approaches, Robinson covers a broad range of Canadian and global subject matters in his books Estonian Animation: Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy, Unsung Heroes of Animation, Canadian Animation: Looking for a Place to Happen, Ballad of a Thin Man: In Search of Ryan Larkin, Animators Unearthed, Japanese Animation: Time out of Mind and Mad Eyed Misfits: Writings on Indie Animation. Robinson’s most recent animation writing includes Earmarked for Collision, the first ever history of collage animation. He is currently writing Dreaming a Way (of) Life, a book about the legendary collage filmmaker, Lewis Klahr (CRC Press, 2024). In addition to his writing on animation, Robinson also wrote the Award-winning animated short, Lipsett Diaries (2010) directed by Theodore Ushev. He recently completed the illustrated novel My Balls are Killing Me with artist, Andreas Hykade, and wrote the script for Idling, a live action feature directed by Theodore Ushev.

Introduction/Acknowledgements

A Boy and His Atom (2013)

She Can Fly Anything Right: The Golden Touch of Marcy Page (2014)

You Look Like Me (2015)

Au Hazard Bear: Another by Sean Buckelew (2014)

Pig (2015)

Paradise Awaits (2015)

Nuggets (2015)

Creation Myth (2015)

Small People with Hats (2015)

Old Man (2016)

Horse (2016)

Do the Collapse - The Night of the Carrots by Priit Pärn (2016)

A Tale of Two Titties (2016)

An Ordinary Blue Monday Morning (2016)

Teeth (2016)

Peace through poetry: Ann Marie Fleming on Window Horses (2016)

Elizabeth Hobbs (2016)

Yoriko Mizushiri (2016)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: Non-Absorbing? (2017)

La Chair de ma chere (2016)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: Of Course You Are (2017)

On the Other Side of the Woods (2017)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: The Dark Side of the Toon (2016)

Daisy Jacob’s The Full Story (2017)

Half Smiles of the Decomposed – The films of Rao Heidmets (2017)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: Taciturn Caves (2017)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: Jargon of Clones (2016)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: Other Dogs Remain (2017)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: When Machines Attack (2017)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: The Power of Pärn (2016)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: Mix up the Satellites (2017)

Cheer and Loathing in Animation: Some Things Are Big (And Some Things Are Small) (2017)

Edmunds Jansons: The Wondering Wanderer (2019)

Reruns: The Final Chapter Of Rosto’s Dreamworld (2019)

NFB’s Montreal Studio Remembered: Filmmakers And Studio Employees On Building’s Legacy (2019)

Kirby Atkins On The 20-Year Journey To Bring Mosley To The Bigscreen (2019)

The Imprints of Jacques Drouin (2021)

Raw Power – The films of Terril Calder (2022)

Diggin them Bones - Joaquín Cociña And Cristóbal León Discuss Their New Short Los Huesos, (2021)

The Meaning of Love – Making The Windshield Wiper (2021)

Animating Anxiety (2021)

Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People (2021)

Remembering Bordo (2022)

Editing Flee (2022)

It’s Not Just The Beginning – Animation Has Always Pushed Boundaries (2022)

Lei Lei: Navigating The Personal Side Of Chinese History (2022)

Saving Israeli Animation (2022)

Making Bread with Alex Boya (2022)

It Never Felt so Good (2022)

Home Sick- The films of Michelle and Uri Kranot (2022)

F is for Flake: The (Not So) Great Animation Robbery? (2023)

Georges Schwizgebel - Galloping Towards the Abyss (2018)

Crossing the Rubicon - Remembering Gil Alkabetz (2023)

Sigh Soothing - The films of Xi Chen and Xu An (2023)

A Change Comin' On - Exploring the Mindscapes of Masaaki Yuasa (2023)