Good Trick (lost animated short film; 1984)

A cel from the short film.

Status: Lost

Good Trick was an animated short film directed by Cam MacMillan and animated with David Nethery and Andy Bartlet of Sheridan College between 1983 and 1984. Its significance was due to it being the first documented use of tracing computer animation for complicated computer shots. A similar technique would be used in Disney's 1986 film The Great Mouse Detective, though that system, with the animation being printed directly on animation paper with a plotter, was more practical compared to what was done with Good Trick.

Plot

Not much is known about the film's plot other than it being about the misadventures of a magician and his rabbit assistant.

Production

Animating Good Trick was considered rather experimental compared to traditional animation techniques. Instead of being animated on pencil and sent to ink and paint on celluloid, it used an entirely different approach. Animation would be done on paper before being inked directly with a felt tip pen. The coloring was done with Pantone markers on the back of the sheet, letting the ink bleed through to the front. Highlights and shading were added with colored pencils and finally, the character would be cut out of the paper and pasted onto a cel. This was inspired by early animation techniques during the early 20th century before cels were common usage for character animation.

One particular shot with a series of playing cards was first animated in 3D using "Apple World" with an Apple II. The wireframes were filmed from the computer monitor and traced by hand after being projected onto a the drawing table to achieve complicated movements and perspectives without the technical precision needed for fully analog animation.

Release

Good Trick was released in 1984 and allegedly screened at multiple film festivals, winning a handful of awards. It was also shown on HBO, Cinemax, and on the television program The Great Space Coaster in the United States as well as other television stations in Canada. However, no documentation of this has been discovered as of this writing.

In a comment left by animator Andy Bartlet, who worked on Good Trick, he suggests at the idea of uploading a copy of the film from his own 16mm print. However, Bartlet seems to have never gotten the chance to do so. In a phone call with director Cam MacMillan, he states he has a copy both on 3/4 inch tape and 16mm, though lacks the equipment to have either digitized. He is also in possession of most, if not all the animation cels.