Don Bluth or James Newton Howard? Help me decide....

[Danderson]

Hey guys,
it's been awhile but I'm back...for a short time....
College has been fun, but it's gotten stressful....right now I am working on an informative speech for my COM 101 class, and that's where I'll need ur guys' help.

One of my required sources is an interview with someone about my topic....
Right now I am stuck between doing it on Don Bluth, famous animator/director (The Land Before Time, Secret of NIMH, All Dogs go to Heaven, etc.) or James Newton Howard, famous film composer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Blood Diamond, The Village, Lady in the Water, etc.).....

So, baisically I'm looking for someone to do an interview with about one of these two guys (via messaging) and I really need to find someone as soon as possible because it is due on Monday

So, if anyone is either totally obsessed with one of these two guys, or just knows alot about their films/or film scores, or is simply just a fan, please message me....Thank you....

Here are the questions if you'd like to reply to them:
For James Newton Howard:
1. When did you first notice the music of James Newton Howard?
2. What did you like about his style of what do you think makes him unique from other film composers?
3. Do you know any interesting facts about his involvement with 70's and 80's pop music icons like Elton John, Boston, and Neil Diamond?
4. Which score is your favorite of his and why?
5. Anything else you'd like to say about him?

If you want to do Don Bluth:
1. What was the first Don Bluth film you watched and when?
2. What stands out to you about his style compared to other animation groups, like Disney.
3. Why was it so significant that Don Bluth was competing with Disney during the 80's and early 90's.
4. Anything else you'd like to say about him.
5. Which of his films is your favorite and why?

Also, state why you'd be a reliable source.....even if your just a fan and watched Bluths films or listen to Howards music.

Again, I really appreciate it guys.....

[Radical Dreamer]

Well, I can answer at least a few of your questions about Don Bluth. I'm an illustration major, so naturally, I've always been very interested in animated films. There are a few other people on CAA who know a bit more about Don Bluth than I do, but hopefully I can help out a little!

1. What was the first Don Bluth film you watched and when?

Probably The Land Before Time when I was very little, maybe four years old? I loved the storyline, the characters, and the music always choked me up at the end (and it still kind of does. XD).

2. What stands out to you about his style compared to other animation groups, like Disney?

Don Bluth has a much darker animation style. His stories focus more on the characters overall than Disney's movies seem to, and his stories also have a more emotionally realistic twinge to them; a good word to use might be "gritty." While Disney was all about bright and happy musicals (not that I'm against those), Don Bluth's films were more about exploring the darker side of human emotion. Characters die, become very ill, experience hopelessness and loss, but always work through those emotions in the end. I think that was a good way to introduce human experiences to children who might not know how to relate to such emotions.

3. Why was it so significant that Don Bluth was competing with Disney during the 80's and early 90's?

Well, at this point I'm assuming, but Disney was (and still is) an enormous corporation. But if I'm not mistaken, other animation studios like Dreamworks weren't around to compete with Disney back then, so I'm pretty sure that Don Bluth's animation studio was the only one that really tried to compete with Disney with the force that it did. You may want to research that yourself, however. That's just a guess from me. XD

4. Anything else you'd like to say about him.

Nothing that I haven't already said based on my own limited knowledge, no. XD

5. Which of his films is your favorite and why?

The Secret of NIMH, bar none. I was very impressed with it when I saw it as a child, and even more impressed when I saw it later as an adult. It's dark, it's got a good plot, a healthy amount of comic relief, intriguing characters, and a fitting ending. I think it's a very well-done animated film. XD

[Bobtheduck]

1. What was the first Don Bluth film you watched and when?
2. What stands out to you about his style compared to other animation groups, like Disney.
3. Why was it so significant that Don Bluth was competing with Disney during the 80's and early 90's.
4. Anything else you'd like to say about him.
5. Which of his films is your favorite and why?

1. An American Tail, when it released in Theaters.
2. I'd say detail (at least until he lowers himself to do rotoscoping... ugh) and atmosphere. Disney's movies have nothing on his for atmosphere, particularly Secret of NIMH.
3. Disney essentially had a monopoly otherwise. A smaller group competing with Disney and surpassing them in many ways would force Disney to rethink their methods a bit, and maybe experiment some... Sometimes successful, sometimes not, but it brought life back into the industry, I think.
4. He's my favorite American animation director, and Secret of NIMH is my favorite animated movie of all time.
5. Secret of NIMH. There's just so much to it. It was "on the beaten path" in that it was an anthropomorphic animal piece like so many Disney works, but that's where the similarities end. It's a bit violent, with bloodshed even, it's dark, it's mysterious, and, as the Nostalgia Critic put it, it's a mix of Nature, Science, and the mystical that flows pretty seamlessly together (except for the tractor scene with that ugly rotoscoping...) American Tail and All Dogs go to Heaven tie for second place there.

I'd be an "expert" because I've loved his films for a long time. Except Dragon's Lair. That seems more like it was written by a 13 year old boy. I was also a game art major, so Animation was a huge part of my degree (though a bit of a different kind of animation, of course)

[rocklobster]

1. What was the first Don Bluth film you watched and when?
2. What stands out to you about his style compared to other animation groups, like Disney.
3. Why was it so significant that Don Bluth was competing with Disney during the 80's and early 90's.
4. Anything else you'd like to say about him.
5. Which of his films is your favorite and why?

1. The Secret of Nimh, back when I was very little
2. The fact that he actually doesn't insult his audience and tries to write stories both children and adults would enjoy.
3. Disney had a longtime status as THE company when it came to animation. At the time, no one came close.
4. I still want to know why he jumped the shark and released such terrible work like Thumbelina and any other cartoon with Barry Manilow writing the songs. What happenned to you, Don?
5. I'm torn between the original Secret of Nimh and An American Tail. Secret of Nimh was an excellent story and Mrs. Brisby is one of my all-time favorite heroines. And I still love the song "Somewhere Out There" from An American Tale, one of the best love songs ever written.

[Danderson]

Thanks guys.....I guess I'm doing Don Bluth.....

Pray for me....I still have to put it together and practice it by tomorrow....