Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

[Mooky]

Have you guys heard about this?

From Academy Award® winning director Roger Ross Williams, LIFE, ANIMATED is the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films. This emotional coming-of-age story follows Owen as he graduates to adulthood and takes his first steps toward independence. The subject of his father Ron Suskind’s New York Times bestseller, Owen was a thriving three year old who suddenly and inexplicably went silent – and for years after remained unable to connect with other people or to convey his thoughts, feelings or desires.

Over time, through repeated viewings of Disney classics like THE LITTLE MERMAID and THE LION KING, Owen found useful tools to help him to understand complex social cues and to re-connect with the world around him.

LIFE, ANIMATED evocatively interweaves classic Disney sequences with verite scenes from Owen’s life in order to explore how his identification and empathy for characters like Simba, Jafar, and Ariel gave him a means to understand his feelings and allowed him to interpret reality. Beautiful, original animations offer rich insights into Owen’s fruitful dialogue with the Disney oeuvre as he imagines himself heroically facing adversity as a member in a tribe of sidekicks.

Owen’s story is a moving testament to the many ways in which stories can serve as a means of persevering through the dark times, leading us all toward the light.

Website:
http://www.lifeanimateddoc.com/

Trailer:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n7fosK9UyY[/youtube]

The hand-drawn bits of the documentary look amazing; however, I'm more interested in the actual story which appears to be very emotional and poignant. I think we're in for a tearjerker.

[unprincess]

^oh gosh, as someone who has Aspergers, I just know watching this will turn me into a wreck.

its odd that Disney didnt pick this up to distribute, it seems mostly positive about their company...
I do notice alot of emphasis on the classic hand-drawn films though, I wonder what the boy, who I thjnk is adult age now, feels about Disney abandoning hand-drawn animation.

[Sotiris]

Now that Andrew said it, can CG animators stop feeling offended when they're compared to puppeteers? CG animation is much closer to puppeteering than hand-drawn animation.

CG animation is basically puppeteering. It's a very complicated marionette with strings.

Source: http://taughtbyapro.com/animation-podca ... interview/

[Kyle]

I don't recall anyone denying that. But even puppeteering counts as animation. Your still bringing life to character through movement.

[Tangled]

Well, stop motion animation is also puppeteering. I've heard nobody deny that either, because puppeteering doesn't make stop motion any less difficult or admirable. Likewise, CGI animation is also incredibly hard, and animators need to have an artistic vision to make animated characters move fluidly no matter what the medium is.

[Disney's Divinity]

Now that Andrew said it, can CG animators stop feeling offended when they're compared to puppeteers?

It sounds like they can’t stand to be compared to any other kind of animators, whether it’s puppeteers or hand-drawn animators. They are superior—the future—so much better than those mediums of the past, don'tcha know.

[ce1ticmoon]

Well, if we're being technical, isn't animation about creating the illusion of motion on a frame-by-frame basis? Whereas something like puppetry is a real-time performance using puppets/objects. So in that sense, since CGI (and stop-motion) films are created frame-by-frame, they'd be classified as animation. Mo-cap would be more in-line with puppetry.

Of course, all that said, there is much overlap between the various mediums to varying degrees, and obviously CGI animation and stop-motion share a lot more similarities to puppetry than hand-drawn animation does, since they are made by manipulating 'objects' (be they physical or digital). I'd also say that creating CGI models and such are basically a digital form of sculpting. So you know, art really isn't so rigid, it's all about borrowing and drawing inspiration from elsewhere, whether that be techniques, ideas, whatever. If many CGI animators really do get offended by being compared to another art form, that is, indeed, quite sad.

[Kyle]

There's no rule that says anything about it being frame by frame. Its mostly about acting through a character that is not yourself.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

There's no rule that says anything about it being frame by frame. Its mostly about acting through a character that is not yourself.

Wait, what? It's all about the frames and the illusion of movement. That's the basis of animation.

Wikipedia: "Animation is the process of making the illusion of motion and change by means of the rapid display of a sequence of static images that minimally differ from each other."

Merriam-Webster: "A way of making a movie by using a series of drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of objects (such as puppets or models) that are slightly different from one another and that when viewed quickly one after another create the appearance of movement."

Cambridge Dictionary: "Animation is also the process by which an animated movie, esp. a cartoon, is made from drawings done by hand or by a computer."

Well, if we're being technical, isn't animation about creating the illusion of motion on a frame-by-frame basis? Whereas something like puppetry is a real-time performance using puppets/objects. So in that sense, since CGI (and stop-motion) films are created frame-by-frame, they'd be classified as animation. Mo-cap would be more in-line with puppetry.

You're exactly right.

[Sotiris]

DreamWorks is producing a TV series based on "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" called "Spirit: Riding Free". This is the first time the studio is doing a show based on one of their 2D movies. It will undoubtedly be made in stylized, Flash animation like the rest of their Netflix shows. It's still not clear if the show is a re-imagining or a midquel. It's definitely not a sequel since they're replacing Spirit's love interest, Rain, with a different female horse named Lucky.

Inspired by the Oscar-nominated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Spirit Riding Free follows the heartfelt journey of a wild mustang who could not be tamed. A whole new generation will experience all the daring adventures when Spirit meets a girl named Lucky whose courage matches his own. Together they push limits, harness the power of friendship and discover what it means to be free. With their best friends by their side, they explore a world filled with endless rides, magnificent horses and never-ending fun. Premieres exclusively on Netflix in 2017 in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the Nordics, Benelux and France.

Source: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2016 ... netflix03/


Update: The poster has been released. From the looks of it, the show's going to be CG. As it turns out, the series is set in contemporary times and Lucky is not a female horse but Spirit's new human friend. In the image below, you can see Lucky riding Spirit, Prudence riding Chica Linda (which oddly resembles Spirit's mother, Esperanza), and Abigail riding Boomerang.


Source: http://dreamworksmoments.tumblr.com/post/151405003611


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BQBGcE_lsrF/

[DisneyEra]

Speaking of DreamWorks, Here's the full trailer for Trolls, enjoy!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyjm5VQ11TQ[/youtube]

[ce1ticmoon]

Call me crazy, but I'm really digging it. Love the overall look and the use of color. The concept sounded really unappealing way back when it was announced, and the teaser trailer was horrendous, but this trailer has really upped my interest in the movie. Seems like it is taking a page out of the ADD Cartoon Network style, which could go either way, but for now, I'm cautiously optimistic.

[estefan]

Yeah, I'm getting a Wander Over Yonder vibe from the animation. This must have been a treat for the character designers and concept artists to work on. This used to be a "I'll see it, because I try to see every animated release" kind of deal. But I'm now legitimately excited for it. At the very least, it'll be a marvel to look at.

[disneyprincess11]

Wow. This was actually really good.

[unprincess]

DreamWorks is producing a TV series based on "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" called "Spirit Riding Free". This is the first time the studio is doing a show based on one of their 2D movies. It will undoubtedly be made in stylized, Flash animation like the rest of their Netflix shows. It's still not clear if the show is a re-imagining or a midquel. It's definitely not a sequel since they're replacing Spirit's love interest, Rain with a different female horse named Lucky.

Inspired by the Oscar-nominated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Spirit Riding Free follows the heartfelt journey of a wild mustang who could not be tamed. A whole new generation will experience all the daring adventures when Spirit meets a girl named Lucky whose courage matches his own. Together they push limits, harness the power of friendship and discover what it means to be free. With their best friends by their side, they explore a world filled with endless rides, magnificent horses and never-ending fun. Premieres exclusively on Netflix in 2017 in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the Nordics, Benelux and France.

Source: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2016 ... netflix03/

umph, this is my favorite Dreamworks animated film, so I want to be excited for this, but it will probably be something unrecognizable to appeal to the MLP crowd. They'll probably talk too.

[Sotiris]

The hand-drawn bits of the documentary look amazing.

Those segments were animated at the French studio Mac Guff.

Q: How did you come to Mac Guff?

Roger Ross Williams: I started looking at animated shorts. First I looked at some Oscar shorts. I was inspired by the sort of French 2D look and feel. Owen connects with 2D animation because he likes the emotion of hand-drawn animation. I knew Mac Guff really didn’t do 2D, they did stuff like Despicable Me, but I was put in contact with them anyway. At first I thought I'll just ask their advice about French animators.

Philippe [Sonrier], the owner, kept part of the studio after part was sold to Universal and Illumination – I think that’s what happened. They have hundreds of people who work at Mac Guff’s studio outside of Paris. Philippe kept a small group at his original office, which is in the neighborhood right beneath the Eiffel Tower. You look out every window and you see the Eiffel tower. So I went to meet him. Philippe is this eccentric character who lived for many years on a boat on the Seine. He fell in love with Owen’s story and said, "I want to take this on." He bought in Mathieu Betard and Olivier Lescot, these really brilliant, talented French animators. Together with Emily Hubley, who was our animation advisor, we created Owen’s world.

Source: http://www.awn.com/animationworld/roger ... y-animated

I do notice a lot of emphasis on the classic hand-drawn films though, I wonder what the boy, who I think is adult age now, feels about Disney abandoning hand-drawn animation.

He can't be happy about it. The director said Owen specifically feels connected to 2D animation. Not that Disney gives a damn about that.

Owen connects with 2D animation because he likes the emotion of hand-drawn animation.

Source: http://www.awn.com/animationworld/roger ... y-animated

When Owen was younger, he preferred hand-drawn animation “because it does expressions and feelings.” Now, he likes computer animation as well, perhaps because it has come closer to hand-drawn in its expressiveness and richness of detail.

Source: http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/mov ... mated.html

[Disney's Divinity]

Yeah, the article I read from a while back didn't have any mention of 3D films that I could remember. But it has been a long time since I read it, I could be wrong. When he was on The View this week (along with Gilbert Gottfried and his mom), they only mentioned TLM, TLK (because Whoopi was there), and Aladdin.

[Sotiris]

New gag sketch by Floyd Norman.


Source: http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/b ... -animation

[Kyle]

Animation discs for 10 dollars? I'll take two please. Seriously those things are expensive and I've been trying to find a good price.

[Disney's Divinity]

Norman never fails to provide the laughs.