Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

[Disney's Divinity]

No executive at any major animation studio right now, WDAS, Pixar, Illumination, DreamWorks, Blue Sky & Sony has any thought now of a new 2D animated feature. Each studio has they're own CGI franchises, for the rest of this decade you will be getting sequels to Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Cars, Toy Story, HttyD, Despicable Me, Shrek, Lego, ect. And as long as these films continue to make huge $$$ domestic & abroad, don't expect a new 2D animated feature from the majors. I'm hoping that will all the $$$ WDAS is making now, that someone at the top with greenlight a new 2D feature in the future, hopefully in the 2020s.

That'll never happen either. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney never makes another hand-drawn animated film again. Even a Paperman feature would be unlikely.

[JTurner]

No executive at any major animation studio right now, WDAS, Pixar, Illumination, DreamWorks, Blue Sky & Sony has any thought now of a new 2D animated feature. Each studio has they're own CGI franchises, for the rest of this decade you will be getting sequels to Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Cars, Toy Story, HttyD, Despicable Me, Shrek, Lego, ect. And as long as these films continue to make huge $$$ domestic & abroad, don't expect a new 2D animated feature from the majors. I'm hoping that will all the $$$ WDAS is making now, that someone at the top with greenlight a new 2D feature in the future, hopefully in the 2020s.

That'll never happen either. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney never makes another hand-drawn animated film again. Even a Paperman feature would be unlikely.

I'm not saying I'm sure Disney will start another 2D animated feature in the foreseeable future, but to say that it will never happen is just as extreme. I don't like the situation anymore than you do, but as far as I'm concerned, saying "never" is a bit much.

Trends DO change all the time, and even if things may seem hopeless now, that doesn't mean they'll stay that way. I'm not saying this to give any false hopes, but I don't believe in "never". I'm just staying neutral on this.

Yes, we may get sequels, but I know we're also going to get animation from other studios, notably the smaller guys. Dragon's Lair is one of them.

[DisneyEra]

I wonder what Moana's short Inner Workings will look like? The continuation of the Paper Man/Feast hybrid?

[JTurner]

I wonder what Moana's short Inner Workings will look like? The continuation of the Paper Man/Feast hybrid?

It might. I think there's even rumors that Gigantic might BE the Paper Man/Feast hybrid animation feature.

[DisneyEra]

I wonder what Moana's short Inner Workings will look like? The continuation of the Paper Man/Feast hybrid?

It might. I think there's even rumors that Gigantic might BE the Paper Man/Feast hybrid animation feature.

If that's true then the delay would make sense.

[JTurner]

It might. I think there's even rumors that Gigantic might BE the Paper Man/Feast hybrid animation feature.

If that's true then the delay would make sense.

Probably, probably not. Either way, never say never. No matter how hopeless things look, I feel it's unhealthy to say "never."

[disneyprincess11]

It might. I think there's even rumors that Gigantic might BE the Paper Man/Feast hybrid animation feature.

If that's true then the delay would make sense.

And why the concept art looks so much like 2D animation. But, Disney said it was CGI. What are the sources of the rumors?

[JTurner]

f that's true then the delay would make sense.

And why the concept art looks so much like 2D animation. But, Disney said it was CGI. What are the sources of the rumors?

Actually, maybe I shouldn't say it's "rumors." That's just an educated guess from someone at Wikia because AFAIK, I remember Disney wanted to use Meander for a feature but the technology wasn't perfected yet. Now that a few years have passed I think it might be good to start it.

Meander, technically, is CGI too, I think. So it could go either way.

[disneyprincess11]

^The feature you are mentioning is Moana. Originally, Moana was going to be 2D/CGI, but couldn't do it on time. John Musker said this earlier on in a interview

[JTurner]

^The feature you are mentioning is Moana. Originally, Moana was going to be 2D/CGI, but couldn't do it on time. John Musker said this earlier on in a interview

Yeah, I remember that, I think the movie would have turned out much nicer if they did so.

If Moana couldn't do it, maybe Gigantic can. It would be the closest we get to seeing traditional animation again… unless one of these new indie animated films blows up the box office.

Some people seem to believe they may, though. I recently spoke to one 3D animator who believed that movies like Klaus promised a new technique of making the 2D style relevant, and that if one of these films did catch on, other studios will take notice.

Of course that WILL not be an easy path by any means, but I will be rooting for these movies either way.

[milojthatch]

That'll never happen either. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney never makes another hand-drawn animated film again. Even a Paperman feature would be unlikely.

I'm not saying I'm sure Disney will start another 2D animated feature in the foreseeable future, but to say that it will never happen is just as extreme. I don't like the situation anymore than you do, but as far as I'm concerned, saying "never" is a bit much.

Trends DO change all the time, and even if things may seem hopeless now, that doesn't mean they'll stay that way. I'm not saying this to give any false hopes, but I don't believe in "never". I'm just staying neutral on this.

Yes, we may get sequels, but I know we're also going to get animation from other studios, notably the smaller guys. Dragon's Lair is one of them.

Agreed, trends come and go. Sooner or later, hand drawn (or something that kind of feels like it) will come back. It could be a few years, it could be decades. Personally, I've grown tired of major Hollywood animation. This "death" of hand drawn might actually help give life to indie projects and would be studios. Remember that 100ish years ago, Disney's studio was independent. Who knows what great new studio is ready to come forth?

[Disney's Divinity]

Gigantic is not going to be like Paperman. Disney only has, what, 2 or 3 hand-drawn animators employed these days?

[Sotiris]

Disney only has, what, 2 or 3 hand-drawn animators employed these days?

Close. It's 4!

[JTurner]

Gigantic is not going to be like Paperman.

And you know this... how? We haven't seen much of it yet other than the concept art. And we know it's been pushed back another two years.

It could still happen. You never know. They said they wanted to perfect the technology for Meander before putting it into production for a feature.

[unprincess]

^it wont be Paperman style b/c most of the animators who call the shots at the studio are not hand-drawn animation fans. You'll notice that the directors of the 2 popular, Oscar winning shorts to utilize a hand-drawn aesthetic(Paperman & Feast) ended up leaving. Hand-drawn is simply not welcomed there.

[Disney's Divinity]

And you know this... how? We haven't seen much of it yet other than the concept art. And we know it's been pushed back another two years.

It could still happen. You never know. They said they wanted to perfect the technology for Meander before putting it into production for a feature.

No, we do know. They don't have the animators, they don't have the interest, it's going to be 3D. This is like someone having a heater on in their house and thinking that cold air may come out of the vent because you never know.

[JTurner]

What about Inner Workings? Isn't that supposed to be a Meander short, too?

I thought that's what I was told.


Anyway, I side with milojthatch on this issue. I don't think hand drawn animation is going to be gone forever. There will come a time when demand will rise for it again, and if another indie studio manages to capture attention and deliver hit hand drawn films, I don't see why big studios will join in.

Bad as things look, I don't believe in "Disney never doing hand drawn animation ever again", just not for the time being. It DOES look bleak, I agree. But things CAN change someday. For better or worse.

Just saying.

With all apologies, I found this particular quote from ce1ticmoon very intriguing, and I've chosen to side with him on this, too.

The landscape changed pretty quickly in going from hand-drawn to CGI, so you never know when things will go the other way. Trends can be very fickle, and often times they circle around. We can never know for sure that 2D will make a triumphant return (or a return at all) at Disney and other major studios, but we can never rule anything out either. I know that's essentially saying anything can happen, and by extension not really saying anything, but it is what it is.

But personally, I do genuinely think it is reasonable to expect the return of 2D at Disney sometime in the future (based on how trends work, and the rich history of 2D animation), and for people to dismiss that as trying to "give false hope" is just kinda presumptuous. How is saying that "Disney will never produce another 2D feature" any more valid of a statement? I mean, it's perfectly fine to be a cynic and have that viewpoint; perhaps it's even the more "logical" way of looking at it, since things certainly look dire now and for the foreseeable future. So I don't think it is at all unfounded of an idea to have. But since none of us have a crystal ball, it just doesn't make sense to entirely dismiss the opposing viewpoint either.

[Disney's Divinity]

A lot of things can happen in the world. But there is no reason to expect them to, sorry. To me, it's just nonsensical and delusional at this point. If by "at the time being," you mean not in the next 20-40 years, then, yes, you never know. There could be another silent, black and white film at Disney, too, you never know. The most anyone could reasonably expect is something like Paperman, which itself is a long shot considering they've dropkicked their hand-drawing staff out the building and John Lasseter does not like artstyles that are complex (see American Dog and Glen Keane's Rapunzel).

[JTurner]

Nothing anyone says can change my mind, sorry. I DO mean the next 10-15 years. And I don't agree that it's nonsensical or delusional. Again, trends shift all the time. Things can change.

I understand why people feel the need to hold onto the cynical viewpoint, and I don't blame anyone for that. But on the other hand, there's no reason to disregard the opposing viewpoint either. My views stand with ce1ticmoon's and milojthatch's.

[Disney's Divinity]

I understand why people feel the need to hold onto the cynical viewpoint, and I don't blame anyone for that. But on the other hand, there's no reason to disregard the opposing viewpoint either. My views stand with ce1ticmoon's and milojthatch's.

"Cynical" being the keyword here. I would describe it as: rational, realistic, practical, pragmatic, in touch with reality, etc. I don't agree with ce1ticmoon or milojthatch on much of anything either, so kudos.