Ryan Larkin 1943-2007
February 22nd 2007 08:12
Landreth's 13-minute cartoon is a kind of brief biography of Larkin, called Ryan. It also won an Oscar, in 2004.
It's a brilliant, somewhat surreal piece in which Landreth first explains a little about himself, and why his head has some rather nasty 'wounds' on it, and then goes on to interview Larkin in a dismally-lit bar where the other patrons, few as they are, are derelicts or disabled of one sort of another. Because this is a cartoon, the microphones occasionally take on a life of their own, as does Larkin's mug, which often demands he drink from it, and there are moments when the emotions or the thinking of the two participants are further exaggerated by colours and additional features. The 'drawing' is superb, the characterizations likewise, and the whole thing is an amazing introduction to two cartoonists whose work ought to play in movie-houses all over the world.
During the course of the interview we get samples of Larkin's Walking and another of his cartoons, while the other people who come in on the interview (Larkin's family and friends) are delineated in ways unique to each one.
Larkin had an abusive childhood, and turned to drugs and alcohol after his early successes. Consequently, he is shown throughout the cartoon with a good deal of his body missing: those parts of him, in effect, that have been destroyed by the abuse he's given to his own body.
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Comment by Anonymous
Ryan himself was not a big fan of this short, as seen in Lawrence Green's "Alter-Egos" filmed during and after the production of "Ryan."
I am not sure if you were aware when you wrote this, but Ryan would have just passed away when this was initially published online here, on Feb. 14, 2007, so may he rest in peace.
Comment by Mike Crowl
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