Thursday, May 13, 2010

BBC Shakespeare Animated Tales - Macbeth - Part 1


I chose this because I think it's an interesting interpretation of Macbeth, and probably the first time I've seen Shakespeare animated. I like how the witches are kind of trippy, and it almost paints them in a hallucinatory light, as if they all might have been imagined. Also the "unsex me" visuals are epic. This is off youtube where they have a collection of these old BBC animated Shakespeare plays. I don't like the summations though, where they kind of fill in for what they're cutting out. There are obviously lines cut, and I think that is unfortunate as I hate to see any of Shakespeare get the axe. For the purposes of the animation I understand that this is probably aimed toward children, but I felt it could use a little more Shakespeare and a little less summary. I also wonder why they're aiming Macbeth at children. I understand adults want to introduce Shakespeare to children because they think he's a great writer, but that doesn't mean that what he's writing is appropriate for young children. My questions about this would be:

1. Is Macbeth really suitable material for children?

2. How does summary hurt or help the plot progression?

3. Is animation an appropriate medium for a Shakespeare interpretation?

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