This weekend I was in a somewhat nostalgic mood. My mind wandered off and came to a place it had not visited in quite some time. That place was flash animations, specifically around 10 years ago. At that time, sites like AtomFilms and Newgrounds were providing a platform for web animation, enabling and encouraging the medium to grow. Every so often there would be a noteworthy short, but on the whole the standard of work was clouded with exploratory and amateur attempts. Through the fog, however, emerge a handful of truly skilled individuals and work. One such individual is the focus of today’s post.
Australian freelance animator Adam Phillips originally worked as a character animator and effects director at Walt Disney Studios in Sydney. Many of his project were sequels to hit Disney movies, including Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride (1998) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996). Applying the Disney school of thought to his own animated series Brackenwood revealed a glaring difference in the quality to that of most web animations that had come before.
Waterlollies was one of the last animations Mr Phillips released in the Brackenwood series, and it is liquid beauty. Throughout the series’ six-year run, it received multiple awards and Waterlollies, deservedly so, picked up the Newgrounds Tank Award for Best Movie of 2007.
