The beauty of Genndy Tartakovsky’s work
As far as iconic modern animations go, Genndy Tartakovsky has some of the finest to his name. An animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist and comic book writer, his style is one of the most instantly recognisable. Through this style, he invariably creates works of profound beauty imbued with a balance of real comedic brilliance and dramatic power, keeping audiences engrossed.
Having worked closely with Cartoon Network and Adult Swim over his distinguished career, some of the best-known titles connected to the animator are Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Primal, and all are lauded for their stark visual tone and stories, with Samurai Jack and Primal some of the most refined and stunning animations audiences are likely to see. It’s a testament to the quality of Tartakovsky’s work that Samurai Jack is still so lauded despite first airing back in 2001 when the world of animation was so different.
Elsewhere in his stellar resume is Sym-Bionic Titan and the first three films in the Hotel Transylvania series. However, the most famous of his other works is The Powerpuff Girls, of which he was a pivotal member of the crew, which is one of the most iconic titles of the 1990s. His list doesn’t end there either, with his credits also including 2 Stupid Dogs and the cult classic Batman: The Animated Series.
“It’s the most natural thing [for me] to do,” Tartakovsky explained to Gizmodo. “To create a world with sound and visuals, and to transport you guys there, is incredible.”
There are many stellar titles that Tartakovsky is responsible for. However, Samurai Jack and Primal are the finest, as they are pretty much flawless in terms of visual presentation and story, with the American creator possessing a knack for telling tales with arcs that are expansive in scope, whilst supporting this with a graphic style that augments the themes perfectly. In many ways, he is the Akira Kurosawa of the animation world.
Notably, Samurai Jack was inspired by the 1972 David Carradine television series Kung Fu which starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk who travels through the American Old West armed only with his training in martial arts. Holding a lifelong fascination with samurai culture, Tartakovsky took the raw materials and ran with them, developing them into the saga of Jack, the titular samurai who is sent forward in time to a dystopian future ruled by the tyrannical demon Aku, and who has to get back to the past to save his family and the future of the world.
A retrofuturistic masterpiece, not only is the story great but so are the set pieces, with Jack battling a whole host of strange creatures in his quest to defeat Aku, including a set of 1920s-style mobsters and the slick Scaramouche. From the Scotsman to Demongo, the series is brimming with memorable characters that indicate just how colourful Tartakovsky’s imagination is and the genius he possesses to bring his work alive in such detail.
Whilst the show’s first four seasons are incredible, 2017’s fifth season is the most impressive, delivered in much more high definition than the original batch of seasons that concluded in 2004. The developments in technology and Tartakovsky’s skill allowed Jack’s arc to be wrapped up so perfectly, with it being something everyone should experience, even if in isolation from the previous four.
Many believe that Samurai Jack is Tartakovsky’s ultimate work, but Primal is giving it a good run for its money with the animation more impressive than his retro-futuristic romp. Set in a purposefully anachronistic vision of prehistory, it portrays dinosaurs, hominids and Iron Age humans coexisting in a brutal period that blends horror, action, fantasy and adventure in a more mature way than Samurai Jack.
The story is centred around a Neanderthal, Spear, and a Tyrannosaurus, Fang, who form a bond and struggle to survive in such a murderous environment. As well as each episode being movie quality, the emotional depth of the series is the best reflection of just how brilliant of a storyteller Tartakovsky is. It’s one of the best character studies of man’s relationship to his surroundings and a telling account of how we experience tragedy, taking cues from The Revenant, Conan the Barbarian and the classic pulp novels.
It’s so profound that, at points it has made people cry, a rarity for animations in whatever format they might come.
Genndy Tartakovsky is such a master storyteller; it’s a genuine mystery how he has remained such a cult figure for so long and is not more widely known in broader popular culture, as his additions have been nothing but progressive. His works are as valuable, if not more, than those of famous auteurs such as Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan, evoking a more profound reaction than any of their works could ever hope to achieve.
