Collector's Corner- Charles Solomon!

Meet respected authority, writer and critic of Anime- Charles Solomon.

Thank you Charles, for taking the time to do this interview and congratulations on your new book available at Amazon- Disney Lost and Found: Exploring the Hidden Artwork from Never-Produced Animation
(Our Book Review will be up shortly!)


As one of the top chroniclers of the history of Animation and critic in the field, how did you become interested in Animation and which film was your “first love” ?

Chas: I can't remember when I wasn't interested in animation. Some of my earliest memories are of watching cartoons on TV when I was about 4. I grew up watching old theatrical shorts--Bugs Bunny and all the Warner Bros. cartoons; Betty Boop and the Fleischer films; the great Disney films. The first movie I was ever taken to in a theater was a re-release of Pinocchio. It's hard to pick a favorite, although Sleeping Beauty fascinated me as a child.


In your new book, Disney Lost and Found: Exploring the Hidden Artwork from Never-Produced Animation ,what is the one thing you would have liked to have seen on the screen?

Chas: During the mid to late 1930's Walt Disney and Samuel Goldwyn talked about collaborating on a biography of Hans Christian Andersen. MGM would do the live action of Andersen's life, and Disney the fairy tales in animation. The artwork for it staggeringly beautiful.

What is your favorite Disney Animation, artist, character?

I've watched the films so many times and known so many of the artists, it's impossible to chose.


When did you become fascinated by Japanese Animation?

I started seeing Japanese animation in the early '80s. Over the next several years, as I saw more Japanese films, I became more interested.

Which Japanese Anime is your favorite ? Artist? Character?

Again there are too many. One of the things I find most exciting about Japanese animation is its diversity. In the space of a few years, it can encompass works as diverse as Spirited Away, Millenium Actress, Full Metal Alchemist, Samurai Champloo, Full Metal Panic, Bleach, Mushi-Shi and School Rumble. That to me is the sign of a vital, intriguing art form.

That said, I believe Hayao Miyazaki is the third genius the art of animation has produced--the first two being Winsor McCay and Walt Disney.

What do you collect?

I'm not really a collector per se, but I like to study cels, drawings, etc. from films that interest me. So I occasionally pick things up, usually with an eye toward something that might make a good illustration for an article or a book.

What is your “dream” item?

An original drawing of Miyazaki's.

What is your favorite item that you have found thru Rinkya?

An animation drawing of the title character from Kiki's Delivery Service.



Links on YJ:
Disney on Japan Auction
Miyazaki on Japan Auction
Anime on Japan Auctions


[disney][kiki's delivery service][anime][Miyazaki]