Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

[disneyprincess11]

Good Lord! Disney needs to go back to hand drawn animation. Just because Frozen made billion dollars, doesn't mean they have to give up hand drawn animation forever.

100000000000000% correct!

[TsWade2]

Good Lord! Disney needs to go back to hand drawn animation. Just because Frozen made billion dollars, doesn't mean they have to give up hand drawn animation forever.

100000000000000% correct!

Thank you.

[Disney's Divinity]

Q: Do you think Disney will ever bring this kind of hand drawn animation back?

Nik Ranieri: No, with a billion dollars from Frozen, why would they? The only way that would happen is if someone made a hand-drawn film and it made a lot of money. Then Disney would do one of two things. Either copy it or buy the company.

But I wonder if they really would have went through with it if they could have got the rights to Mort. Somehow I doubt it considering The Snow Queen was switched from 2D to 3D overnight around this time.

[estefan]

Do you know what would be really refreshing? If Sotiris actually posted some positive news.

Actually, in regards to how Disney might return to hand-drawn, Nik Ranieri's comments aren't that far off. I probably sound like a broken record now, but I think the huge success of Peanuts will lead to a willingness from other studios to try a more, I guess the right word is, "flat" style. Hollywood loves to copy other successful movies and if they can do it cheaper, they would. It wouldn't surprise me if some studio executive found a cheaper method of using the Peanuts look that will prove popular with audiences: using pencil and paper.

So, strange to say, I think it will take computer animation borrowing from hand-drawn animation to bring the medium back in a big way.

[ajmrowland]

Am I the only person who doesn't find computer animation to be "cold" and who doesn't think all CG animated films look the same?

In short, no. I actually agree with your entire post, though I think we could use a few more animated movies without candy color schemes.

To quote Harvey Korman's character Ed Higgins on the Carol Burnett Show: "Oh lord would this fued ever end??"

Agreed. In fact, this topic is really depressing. Nik Ranieri is a great animator. And why the layoffs last April?

[Mickeyfan1990]

Good Lord! Disney needs to go back to hand drawn animation. Just because Frozen made billion dollars, doesn't mean they have to give up hand drawn animation forever.

Not to mention Get A Horse! received an Oscar nomination.

[Sotiris]

Do you know what would be really refreshing? If Sotiris actually posted some positive news.

I would, if there was any. Coming up with wild, far-fetched theories about if and when 2D animation will make a comeback and giving people false hope is not exactly news. Besides, that's your thing anyway.

[unprincess]

Has anyone seen this videogame, Child of Light, done in a handdrawn style? It looks like a moving storybook, absolutely breathtaking. If Disney did an animated movie that looked like this, I may weep for joy. It looks very different from their typical 2D style so I think people wouldn't associate it with the 'old outdated 2D handdrawn' if that's what they're worried about. Here is the website for it: http://childoflight.ubi.com/col/en-US/home/index.aspx

thats just gorgeous! what I wouldnt give to see an animated film like that. But I can see a Hollywood studio exec looking at that & thinking "its too pretty, boys wont want to see it."

if Peanuts is a big success I dont think that will push studios to change their style just yet, theyd probably chalk up its success to nostalgia for Peanuts characters. It would need to be a few films with different flatter styles for them to risk something different.

[Warm Regards]

Has anyone seen this videogame, Child of Light, done in a handdrawn style? It looks like a moving storybook, absolutely breathtaking. If Disney did an animated movie that looked like this, I may weep for joy. It looks very different from their typical 2D style so I think people wouldn't associate it with the 'old outdated 2D handdrawn' if that's what they're worried about. Here is the website for it: http://childoflight.ubi.com/col/en-US/home/index.aspx

thats just gorgeous! what I wouldnt give to see an animated film like that. But I can see a Hollywood studio exec looking at that & thinking "its too pretty, boys wont want to see it."

if Peanuts is a big success I dont think that will push studios to change their style just yet, theyd probably chalk up its success to nostalgia for Peanuts characters. It would need to be a few films with different flatter styles for them to risk something different.

^ Have I agreed with you before? Because it's that second paragraph that's most agreeable for me: that nowadays any hand drawn success is seen as a fluke, yet any CG bomb is not seen as a hindrance.

[unprincess]

Ive had people here agree & disagree with me...& my memory sucks. Maybe!

yeah Im convinced from interviews Ive read like Nik Ranieri's that there was more to the 2d downfall than just box office numbers, it seems there's a very influential contingent in American animation studios that just dont want it around. Its gonna take more than a couple of hits to make 2d come back

[dollover]

thats just gorgeous! what I wouldnt give to see an animated film like that. But I can see a Hollywood studio exec looking at that & thinking "its too pretty, boys wont want to see it."

if Peanuts is a big success I dont think that will push studios to change their style just yet, theyd probably chalk up its success to nostalgia for Peanuts characters. It would need to be a few films with different flatter styles for them to risk something different.

And yet, millions of boys went to see Frozen, a very pretty movie with not one but two singing princesses. Anyways I'm sure they can modify the style to make it more boy friendly.

I agree that it is super annoying that when a CGI animated movie flops, CGI is not blamed. But when a 2d handdrawn movie only does ok, it's because it's handdrawn. I can think of tons of other reasons PatF 'underperformed', and it being handdrawn is not one of them.

[Musical Master]

thats just gorgeous! what I wouldnt give to see an animated film like that. But I can see a Hollywood studio exec looking at that & thinking "its too pretty, boys wont want to see it."

if Peanuts is a big success I dont think that will push studios to change their style just yet, theyd probably chalk up its success to nostalgia for Peanuts characters. It would need to be a few films with different flatter styles for them to risk something different.

And yet, millions of boys went to see Frozen, a very pretty movie with not one but two singing princesses. Anyways I'm sure they can modify the style to make it more boy friendly.

I agree that it is super annoying that when a CGI animated movie flops, CGI is not blamed. But when a 2d handdrawn movie only does ok, it's because it's handdrawn. I can think of tons of other reasons PatF 'underperformed', and it being handdrawn is not one of them.

Well Elsa is a Queen but other than that...

[dollover]

Well Elsa is a Queen but other than that...

Haha yeah well she was also a princess in the movie briefly too.

[TsWade2]

Well as far as I'm concerned, this whole overly obsessive of CGI has to end somehow. I mean, I don't necessarily hate CGI, but this is just too much CGI movies. Disney needs to stop blaming on the medium and just do another hand drawn film! They always said this hand drawn is alive, but it's CGI crap thing. They're not being honest and their not respecting of Walt Disney's legacy of hand drawn animation. But what is worse, those Disney Executives deliberately fire some of the hand drawn animators, which is totally unfair and a total disgrace. No matter what they say, they're still doing CGI. And now, we still have to wait two years more to get a new CEO who hopefully has respect with hand drawn animation than Bob Iger.

[DisneyJedi]

Guys, shut up! Just... Shut up! I'm sick of seeing a new post and it's anything but good/better news. I'm already mad enough that Disney's basically wasting any hand-drawn animators' potential/talent on pencil test for stupid CG movies when they should be utilizing them for a full-blown 2D film!

[TsWade2]

Um............bye!

[DisneyEra]

Guys, shut up! Just... Shut up! I'm sick of seeing a new post and it's anything but good/better news. I'm already mad enough that Disney's basically wasting any hand-drawn animators' potential/talent on pencil test for stupid CG movies when they should be utilizing them for a full-blown 2D film!

I'm with ya. WDAS has made it clear, they have no intention of doing a new 2D film this decade. After an off year in 2015 & Zootopia in 2016, they will either announce Giants/Moana or sequels to WiR & Frozen. Hopefully in the 2020s, WDAS will give 2D animation another go. And with rival studios announcing sequels to established franchises: HttyD, Kung-Fu Panda, Nemo, Ice Age, Minions & Penguins of Madagascar, 2D animation will stand no chance against this. Also, existing properties being turned into hit films: Lego & upcoming Peanuts from Blue Sky, Angry Birds from Sony Animation & Trolls from Dreamworks. A new 2D animated feature from WDAS will need total commitment from the executives, Lasseter, the animators & directors, and that's not happening anytime soon.

[DisneyEra]

Do you know what would be really refreshing? If Sotiris actually posted some positive news.

I would, if there was any. Coming up with wild, far-fetched theories about if and when 2D animation will make a comeback and giving people false hope is not exactly news. Besides, that's your thing anyway.

Your updates are very appreciated Sotiris, be it good news or bad. I will never forget back in late May 2012 you posted 2 images of Wreck-It Ralph, but then had to remove them cause you said Disney Publishing contacted you to do so. You were the first to show us Wreck-It Ralph in his final CGI desgin

"Waiting patiently for Big Hero 6 news"

[DisneyJedi]

Look. As much as I love CGI, it can't make up for the fact that I love and want more hand drawn films. And I hate to be brutally honest....

But I'm f****** sick and tired of all the CGI movies all over the place. It's freaking CGI, here and CGI, there. CGI, this. CGI, that!! Even with TV programs having 2D animation, I can't escape CG!! All this constant CGI needs to stop!!!

[universALLove]

Look. As much as I love CGI, it can't make up for the fact that I love and want more hand drawn films. And I hate to be brutally honest....

But I'm f****** sick and tired of all the CGI movies all over the place. It's freaking CGI, here and CGI, there. CGI, this. CGI, that!! Even with TV programs having 2D animation, I can't escape CG!! All this constant CGI needs to stop!!!