Big Mouth: “The New Me”
Director: Andres Salaff
“There is a part where Natalie, a character who comes back to camp after having come out as transgender, is reacquainted with her fellow campers. Not knowing that comments about ‘passing’ can be harmful and cringey, they provide her with some unsolicited advice about how to best express herself as ‘girly.’ I think this moment really benefited from the visual nature of animation in conveying Natalie’s feelings.”
Image courtesy of FOX. ©2021 by 20th Television.Bob’s Burgers: “Worms of In-Rear-Ment”
Supervising Director: Bernard Derriman
“It’s small but one of my favorite parts of ‘Worms’ is Tina getting her arm stuck in the dress for the whole episode. One of the writers, Wendy Molyneux, originally pitched Tina getting her whole body stuck in the dress, but [the writer of the episode Nora Smith] reduced it to just the arm. It’s a funny sight gag while at the same time being very Tina.”
Image courtesy of Adult Swim.Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal: “Plague of Madness”
Creator, Executive Producer, and Director Genndy Tartakovsky
“My favorite part is the ending. ‘Plague of Madness’ is seemingly very simple, a basic chase cartoon, but not only is the ending amped up and intense, it also finishes with a level of complex emotion. The music is devastating and sad; it helps the audience feel that this was such a senseless, meaningless death. It’s this kind of subtlety that gets me excited about storytelling—told visually with no dialogue, a pure expression of the art form.”
Image courtesy of FOX. ©2021 by 20th Television.The Simpsons: “The Dad-Feelings Limited”
Supervising Director, Mike B. Anderson
“’The Dad-Feelings Limited’ is one of my all-time faves. It’s filled with hilarious Simpsons treasures—big laughs, the origin of Comic Book Guy, and a wonderful middle sequence animated in an entirely different style.”
