Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

[Sotiris]

I don't usually post about video games but this one called Cuphead for Xbox features 2D animation in the style of vintage '30s cartoons. Looks pretty cool. Below are a couple of interviews with the creators about the making of the game.

Drawn to greatness: The making of Cuphead
http://www.redbull.com/en/games/stories ... -interview

Cuphead x Warren Spector
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 ... en-spector

Exclusive: See How Cuphead‘s Incredible Cartoon Graphics Are Made
http://time.com/4123150/cuphead-preview/

The Player: 'Cuphead' gives new life to hand-drawn animation and big band jazz
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/he ... story.html

Cuphead Dev Wants to Stick With 2D Animation
http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/11/15/ ... unfiltered

[Marky_198]

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but what do you guys think of this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X2m2WueNcU

I love this design and animation, normal looking animated human beings. This clip actually makes me feel kind of emotional. Like they are on the right track again, compared to the alien-like, bug-looking, betty boop, chucky in child's play looking figures in Frozen and Tangled.

[DisneyFan09]

I liked that short a lot. Very enjoyable and good looking.

[JTurner]

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but what do you guys think of this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X2m2WueNcU

I love this design and animation, normal looking animated human beings. This clip actually makes me feel kind of emotional. Like they are on the right track again, compared to the alien-like, bug-looking, betty boop, chucky in child's play looking figures in Frozen and Tangled.

Who made this? This looks really good.

[Disney's Divinity]

Very cute and it looks great.

[Marky_198]

I'm not sure who made it, but it reminds me a lot of the style of the Wicked animation version concept/fan art:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Ph ... m-20000101


Unfortunately if Disney would actually make that film it would look like this nowadays:

http://umbridge1986.deviantart.com/art/ ... -353908366

[DisneyFan09]

Lol!

Either way, I liked the drawings and designs.

[unprincess]

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but what do you guys think of this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X2m2WueNcU

I love this design and animation, normal looking animated human beings. This clip actually makes me feel kind of emotional. Like they are on the right track again, compared to the alien-like, bug-looking, betty boop, chucky in child's play looking figures in Frozen and Tangled.

oh yeah I think this has been posted here before. Its perfect. Looks lot like the designs from Iron Giant.

Here's a little Mickey Mouse animation done by Eric Goldberg, and Brian Ferguson among others.

Source: https://vimeo.com/84484120

neat!

[Kyle]

Got some fresh (I think) Hullabaloo footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFf-IyImS00

[Sotiris]

Me and My Shadow is being revived at DreamWorks. However, they're completely retooling the project so it's not known yet whether they'll keep the concept of the shadow realm or utilize 2D animation at all.

Edgar Wright to Direct Shadow-Themed Animated Film
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-v ... med-842257

[ce1ticmoon]

Me and My Shadow is being revived at DreamWorks. However, they're completely retooling the project so it's not known yet whether they'll keep the concept of the shadow realm or utilize 2D animation at all.

Edgar Wright to Direct Shadow-Themed Animated Film
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-v ... med-842257

I was wondering about this.... I saw a different article about it, but it didn't mention Me and My Shadow at all. Although, I wonder if it really has anything in common with the original concept besides "shadows." It'd be nice if they keep the 2D concept from the original idea though.

I'm wondering if Dreamworks are willing to give Wright a good degree of creative freedom though? Otherwise, I'm kind of afraid the project will derail again with Wright leaving due to "creative differences."

[Sotiris]

Pixar president Jim Morris talks about 2D animation and how audiences prefer CG animation instead.

Q: Will the 2D style of animation be widely used again?

Jim Morris: 2D animation is a great art form. Very recently, the films of Hayao Miyazaki were all done in 2D. He is a great master of Japanese animation. In the United States, Disney released an animation called “The Princess and the Frog” and it seems that, though there’s an audience for it, viewers tend to gravitate a little more now toward the modern look of computer graphics.

I could say the same thing about stop-motion animation, which is when you make films using puppets. It seems that the audiences are only so large for that kind of look now. There’s something about the freshness of computer-generated imagery and the variety of it that seems to capture the audience’s imagination.

Source: http://entertainment.inquirer.net/18378 ... -president

[unprincess]

I am fine with this statement b/c at least someone is finally admitting some semblance of the truth, however that last sentence...

There’s something about the freshness of computer-generated imagery and the variety of it that seems to capture the audience’s imagination.

...is pure bs. Freshness? variety? there's nothing fresh about the current CGI product being churned out by most of the big name studios. Though I think there could be, and there should be an effort to go beyond the generic "Pixar/Dreamworks" look...

[Disney's Divinity]

unprincess, I agree with you on both points. I'm okay with the first part, because at least he's being truthful in saying that they're going with 3D films because of audience size while also recognizing that, yes, 2D does have an audience--considering TP&TF met it's cost + some more.

I only wish there was some variety in the 3D films. Not that it'd necessarily make me happier about 2D being dead, but at least I'd feel film animation as a whole hadn't become as repetitive, characterless, and unimaginative as possible.

[DisneyFan09]

viewers tend to gravitate a little more now toward the modern look of computer graphics.

Duuuuh.

...is pure bs. Freshness? variety? there's nothing fresh about the current CGI product being churned out by most of the big name studios. Though I think there could be, and there should be an effort to go beyond the generic "Pixar/Dreamworks" look...

Agreed! It's just like Albert said on the "Hunchback" commentary; All CGI Movies are starting to look like each other.

I don't despise CGI/3D animation completely. It has it's perks and it makes cute and fuzzy animals well. While it may sound preachy, I think there should be room for all types of animation. But it's a pity that all designs are getting generic and derivative. At least "Shrek" (for all of it's faults) had more compelling and interesting designs and the humans that at least looked realistic. If I didn't know that "Frozen" had the Disney logo, it could easily be mistaken for a DreamWorks Movie.

[Sotiris]

Sergio Pablos' movie Klaus is finally getting off the ground. His studio is teaming up with Toon Boom to produce it. It's expected to be released theaters in 2019. Here, you can watch some rough animation for Klaus by Jorge A. Capote.

Unfortunately, Don Bluth's Kickstarter campaign for Dragon's Lair: The Movie has failed. However, they're going to give it another try at Indiegogo this time. The campaign there goes live on December 1st, so please make a note of it if you wish to contribute.

[unprincess]

really excited about Klaus! Im curious about what the distribution model for it will be though. Who will fund and release it? Does Spa have enough funding to release it on their own?

[Semaj]

Unfortunately, Don Bluth's Kickstarter campaign for Dragon's Lair: The Movie has failed. However, they're going to give it another try at Indiegogo this time. The campaign there goes live on December 1st, so please make a note of it if you wish to contribute.

On a side note, Bluth actually guest starred in two of Nostalgia Critic's latest reviews.

http://channelawesome.com/conquest-of-t ... ia-critic/

http://channelawesome.com/dragons-lair- ... ia-critic/

[Kyle]

I'm kinda surprised they didn't just start on indiegogo the first time around. This way they can keep the money even if they don't make their goal.

[milojthatch]

Pixar president Jim Morris talks about 2D animation and how audiences prefer CG animation instead.

Q: Will the 2D style of animation be widely used again?

Jim Morris: 2D animation is a great art form. Very recently, the films of Hayao Miyazaki were all done in 2D. He is a great master of Japanese animation. In the United States, Disney released an animation called “The Princess and the Frog” and it seems that, though there’s an audience for it, viewers tend to gravitate a little more now toward the modern look of computer graphics.

I could say the same thing about stop-motion animation, which is when you make films using puppets. It seems that the audiences are only so large for that kind of look now. There’s something about the freshness of computer-generated imagery and the variety of it that seems to capture the audience’s imagination.

Source: http://entertainment.inquirer.net/18378 ... -president

I strongly disagree with the Disney Executives takeaway from PatF. Out of all the complaints I have heard about the film, the use of 2D animation was not one of them. In fact, that was normally listed as a plus. I think what it really is is that audience gravitate towards 3D animation because that is mostly what there is to gravitate too these days. Most of the hand-drawn options are either foreign or small independents.

Hand-drawn does just well if the story is one that captures people's interests. Case in point, Disney re-released The Lion King a few years ago and it actually did better at the box office then a number of newer movies did. On the other hand, there are a large number of CG animated films that flop. Just as DreamWorks about that! The point is that story is king. PIXAR used to believe in that motto. Somewhere in the last decade, I fear they stopped and sadly, most of the industry has followed suit. There is very little that is "fresh" about CG animation.

It would never happen as it would cost too much and be too much work, but the best way to test the theory of audiences preferences over format is if the studios started releasing the exact same film as both a CG animated film and as a hand-drawn animated film and then let the audience decide which version they like better. After a number of releases like that, I think this argument would be settled enough for now.