One would expect that a winner of two Cable Ace Awards, who had also been nominated for an Emmy® and an Oscar®, would be enjoying a comfortable living by this point in his career. But we know this does not always follow, especially if the person dedicates his life to the artistic exposition of worthy moral tales, eschewing the flash and the fad of the shallow attention getters in the service of the good and most true of the uses of animated films. In these cases, the funders do not pay as well. Then it becomes Sporn's choice: to make the films he wants to make with these low budgets, or to make the films that pay better. Obviously he has chosen the former, and has assembled around him the help he needs, grateful that they also will work for such pay, to make such films as few can equal anywhere. In fact, no one in this country, in my opinion.
His method is the artist's: to apply his own original ideas to the solving of a problem, which for him is always to tell a story. "In my films, the story is paramount, the most important element," says Sporn. So, all the other elements: the sound, the music, the design and the animation all must serve the story. I believe that it is in the choosing and combining of these elements that resides Sporn's genius, so that the sum exceeds the parts. "I don't make films for animators," Sporn says, "I make films that need to be made because they have something to say about life." Two of his most recent films, CHAMPAGNE and WHITEWASH, stand apart from the rest of American films made in these days of the "toon boom." They come at the end of a long line of films he's made in New York which are about socially conscious issues. THE RED SHOES, done for HBO in 1989, moves Hans Christian Andersen's story to a black neighborhood, where a little girl learns the value of humility and true friendship; another HBO production of an Andersen tale was THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL in 1990, where another little girl inspires compassion for the homeless (but does not die, as in the original).
1991's JAZZTIME TALE tells the story of the discovery of Thomas "Fats" Waller through the encounter of two girls, one white and one black. Their circumstances reveal a gentle lesson about racial harmony. The story was written by Maxine Fisher, who went on to adapt a Creole folktale to address modern problems of lonely poor older people and young female children with too much responsibility for their age in THE TALKING EGGS, made in 1992 for PBS. The film's main character, Selina, is encouraged to follow her dreams in spite of her situation. Helene Angel, the little girl in WHITEWASH (1994) who is the victim of a racist attack, also learns to trust in her future when her family and her community rally around her. In Sporn's latest film, CHAMPAGNE (1996), it is as if he's found the real-life embodiment of the positive outlook and life-affirming lessons of his own films.
CHAMPAGNE is the story of a 14-year-old girl who lives in a foster home for children whose mothers are in prison. "It's an animated documentary," Sporn said. "In fact, I entered it in this year's Academy Award competition in the Documentary Category!" The voice track is a monologue spoken by the title character, a real girl named Champagne, who was brought to Michael's attention by Maxine Fisher, the story and screenwriter of many of has films. Maxine had volunteered for a literacy program, which brought her to the convent where Champagne lived along with several other girls in the same situation. Maxine began taking Champagne to cultural events around the city, and in time, brought her to see Michael's studio one Saturday. After seeing the place and Sporn's work, Champagne said to him "You should make a film about me!" Immediately, he set up a tape recorder and taped Champagne's answers to questions posed by Maxine and himself. The resulting 90 minutes of tape was edited down to 15, and Maxine's voice was added back as the interviewer. When Sporn brought the idea to a backer with whom he had worked successfully before, he was surprised to hear that they were not interested, in fact, could not imagine anyone being interested in such a story. Michael decided to do it himself. Over the next three years, as his time and money would allow, CHAMPAGNE became a 13-minute film, designed by Sporn and Jason McDonald, and scored by Caleb Sampson.
Much of the expressive movement in Sporn's films is accomplished with less than full animation. He doesn't like the term "limited" when it comes to his films: he prefers to quote Howard Beckerman, veteran New York animator and historian, who says, "It's not limited animation, it's enough animation." More or less drawings are used as the action requires, directed with a practiced eye.
In CHAMPAGNE and WHITEWASH, the design of the characters is based on real people, but not the idealized, exaggerated forms of "reality"-based shows like "Batman" or "Superman." The influence of John Hubley, for whom Sporn worked for years, shows in both the design and visualizing techniques of some passages, which are reminiscent of EVERYBODY RIDES THE CAROUSEL, on which Sporn was assistant director. "Hubley was one of my heroes. Ever since I knew about him, I wanted to work for him," Michael said simply.
To accentuate the differences in as-quoted passages of time in his films, Sporn will use a change in graphic style and/or camera technique to set those dream or flashback sequences apart. In addition, his story structure is often modified to incorporate deliberate changes in tense or point of view. Michael says he is "fascinated with the use of time in film," and that, although it is difficult to do in animation, he forces himself to "play around with the story structure... anything to change the as-usual straight-ahead telling out of the story." He then can satisfy his impulse to experiment in the context of the storytelling he loves so well.
Sporn's films let kids talk; they also do not talk down to them. Words like "sophisticated", "refreshing", and "thought-provoking" are often used by reviewers to describe his work, as well as that "they're entertaining for adults as well." Does Sporn intend his films primarily for children? "No", he said, "I make all my films for myself first. It just so happens that the children's market has been the most receptive." He wants his films to be seen: the unyielding format is not a burden; in fact, he'd never think of making a film without considering the potential market, even if the distribution outlet is not always clear, as was the case with CHAMPAGNE. "Nobody wanted to put it on television at first, but it's been doing very well in the nontheatrical educational market." It's a film for young girls who need the sort of confidence-building triumph over adversity that is personified by Champagne, who says, "Just because you've had a bad life, doesn't mean you're ruined forever."
Sporn has always wanted to do features in New York. He's saying now that it looks very likely that he will be able to start work soon on one of the several projects he has been promoting over the last few years, an urban update of THUMBELINA. He admits that the story is a bit more "commercial" than the films noted above, but with the introduction of modern elements, including the race question, it's certain that the result will be more meaningful than any fairy tale-based film to date. "How a tiny woman helps the world !," is Sporn's jocular encapsulation of the plot.
Nominated for Short Films (Animated Films) 1984: DOCTOR DE SOTO - Producer (w. Morton Schindel)
1 nomination