Monkey Punch (モンキー・パンチ) is the pen name of Japanese manga artist Kazuhiko Katō (加藤一彦, b. 1937). He is the manga-ka behind the popular series Lupin III which began in 1967 and has been adapted into various animated series and movies. The most famous adaptations of his work being the Lupin III TV anime series and Hayao Miyazaki’s film Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) – the latter of which gets a nod on Monkey Punch’s selections for the top 20 animations of all time.
The biggest influences on Monkey Punch creatively have been the work of Mad Magazine comic artists Mort Drucker (b. 1929) and Sergio Aragonés (b. 1937). His favourite animation ranges from American cartoon classics to contemporary video game animation. In addition to popular fare, Monkey Punch also demonstrates an interest in art animation such as Aleksandr Petrov’s beautiful paint-on-glass animation The Old Man and the Sea (1999), Dianne Jackson’s pastel and crayon cel animation The Snowman (1982), and Osamu Tezuka’s Jumping (1984).
Judging from this list, one can see that Monkey Punch enjoys the fantastic and in particular, he seems to admire people who take risks with their animation. From the cult classic fantasy films of Ralph Bakshi to innovations in animation styles and technologies by the folks at Pixar and MTV, Monkey Punch seems open to both the wild and the wonderful. Sticklers will point out that the Thunderbirds is not really animation but puppet drama, which Monkey Punch also acknowledges, but he seems to have a pretty broad interpretation of the definition of animation. He writes, for example, that he had to include the video game Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² because he likes it so much that he just can’t help himself. One could say that Monkey Punch is enthusiastic about animation in all its forms from hand-painted to CGI.
List Source: Laputa’s Top 150 World and Japanese Animation(2003)
1
Fantasia
(ファンタジア, Disney, James Algar et al., 1940)
2
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
(白雪姫, Disney, David Hand, et al., 1937)
3
Tom and Jerry
(トムとジェリー, Hanna-Barbera/Gene Deitch/Chuck Jones, 1940-1967)
4
The Old Man and the Sea
(老人と海, Aleksandr Petrov. 1999)
5
The Snowman
(スノーマン, Dianne Jackson, 1982)
6
Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro
(ルパン三世 カリオストロの城/Hayao Miyazaki, 1979)
7
Heavy Metal
(ヘビイメタル, Gerald Potterton, 1981)
8
The Lord of the Rings
(指輪物語, Ralph Bakshi, 1978)
9
Wizards
(ウィザーズ, Ralph Bakshi, 1977)
10
Watership Down
(ウォーターシップダウンのうさぎたち, Martin Rosen, 1978)
11
Æon Flux
(イーオン・フラックス, Peter Chung, TV anime, 16 eps., 1991-1995)
12
Thunderbirds
(サンダーバード, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson)
(Supermarionation TV series, 32 eps., 1965-66)
(Supermarionation TV series, 32 eps., 1965-66)
13
Wallace and Gromit Series
(ウォレスとグルミットシリーズ, Nick Park, 1989-on)
14
The Nightmare Before Christmas
(ナイトメアー・ビフォア・クリスマス, Harry Selick/Tim Burton, 1993)
15
Final Fantasy
(ファイナルファンタジー, video games/animation, Hironobu Sakaguchi, 1987-)
16
Luxo Jr.
(ルクソーJr, Pixar, John Lasseter, 1986)
17
Yellow Submarine
(イエロー・サブマリン, George Dunning, 1968)
18
The Simpsons
(ザ・シンプソンズ, Matt Groenig, 1989-)
19
Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.²
(ヘビイメタルFAKK2, video game, Ritual Entertainment, 2000)
20
Jumping
(ジャンピング, Osamu Tezuka, 1984)
© Catherine Munroe Hotes 2011
