Re: The Citizen of the Year
Also, the nostalgia factor certainly plays a large roll. I still find myself preferring older brickfilms to newer ones. I usually try to tie this to some sort of magical quality that I must be overlooking, however, in reality, it's probably a subconscious thing...
For me, this film lives off of its charm. Really the film is just such a treat to watch for me because everything, from the voice actors, to the writing, to the set design, even that choppy animation you talked about builds into this beautiful beast.
I usually refer to this as the "heart and soul" of a brickfilm - proof by example that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" really is a thing. Beast by Nathan Wells is probably my favorite brickfilm (if not that, then it's Doug Vandegrift's Pirates or America: Outlawed) And, while the individual parts of each brickfilm (sound design, visuals, cinematography, voice acting, character design, sets, music) may not be the best of the best, they do all come together in a very entertaining way.
The Citizen of the Year, to me, IS a standard to hold brickfilms to, just as the previously mentioned brickfilms are as well.
It's something that's hard to replicate, and I'd say impossible to do intentionally.
That's what I've been trying to overcome. I want more TCotY-like brickfilms, I want more risk-taking brickfilms, I want more people to focus on storytelling (overall) rather than individual elements within (such as animation, or writing, for that matter).
