Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

[SWillie!]

Exactly. There is nothing to say that Disney is "turning it's back" or "giving up" on traditional animation, as a LOT of sites seem to be reporting. We know for sure that right now, they are taking traditional animation in a different direction. But there is absolutely nothing to say that a year or two (or five) down the road they won't do another fully traditional film. This isn't anything like the infamous announcement from 2005 or whenever that was. There are no plans to "shut down" traditional animation.

I'm getting seriously sick of this conversation. (And yet, here I am talking about it, I know lol)

[TsWade2]

Let me just listen to this song as a funeral of Hand Drawn.


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[disneyboy20022]

I hope the new Mickey Mouse shorts will be in hand drawn animation though......TsWade2 please stay calm about this statement. They said they don't have plans for traditionally hand drawn films, not shorts so it will probably be hand drawn

[TsWade2]

I hope the new Mickey Mouse shorts will be in hand drawn animation though......TsWade2 please stay calm about this statement. They said they don't have plans for traditionally hand drawn films, not shorts so it will probably be hand drawn

Sorry. It seems people can't make up their freakin' mind. It would of been nicer if Super Aurora stop scolding me. P.S. I'm a Broadway musical fan.

[thelittleursula]

I'm still positive for the future, that one day that there will be a 2D Disney comeback.

After all, when Pandora's box was opened.... Hope was there too.

[Super Aurora]

I hope the new Mickey Mouse shorts will be in hand drawn animation though......TsWade2 please stay calm about this statement. They said they don't have plans for traditionally hand drawn films, not shorts so it will probably be hand drawn

Sorry. It seems people can't make up their freakin' mind. It would of been nicer if Super Aurora stop scolding me. P.S. I'm a Broadway musical fan.

Well if you didn't act liike such a paranoia retard over every fricken news, you wouldn't get such comments from me. Use your head for once.

I still cannot for the life of me understand how "we have no traditional films in development as far as I know" has turned into "Disney will no longer be making traditional films."

Because people here don't read or just pick and choose what they want to read just so they can bitch and cry.

[estefan]

How am I going to survive without hand drawn? It's not fair! It's the end of the world!

Yep, hand-drawn animation is not being made anymore...except from Studio Ghibli and other Japanese studios, Ralph Bakshi, the French and other Europeans, Disney's new Mickey Mouse shorts, that Phineas & Ferb movie in development. But, otherwise, sure, no hand-drawn animation.

[Sotiris]

This isn't anything like the infamous announcement from 2005 or whenever that was. There are no plans to "shut down" traditional animation.

Disney is not going to announce that they are shutting down traditional animation. Not after Lasseter's big claims that he would be bringing hand-drawn animation back and that 2D animation had become a "scapegoat for bad storytelling". It would make Lasseter and the studio look bad in the press. Iger's casual response was unexpected and unplanned.

There's nothing left to 'shut down' anyway. Disney had to announce it back in the day because they were closing all of their 2D animation studios, laying-off their 2D animators and removing all of the 2D equipment from the Burbank studio. They couldn't hide it.

It's become obvious they have now chosen to quietly stop developing any more hand-drawn features instead of making a formal announcement about it.

We know for sure that right now, they are taking traditional animation in a different direction.

I would say that they're taking CG into a different direction since this hybrid form of animation is predominantly CG.

But there is absolutely nothing to say that a year or two (or five) down the road they won't do another fully traditional film.

Likewise, there's absolutely nothing to say they will.

Even if, hypothetically, Disney did produce one last hand-drawn feature in 10 or 15 years, that wouldn't mean they would be bringing hand-drawn animation back.

Yep, hand-drawn animation is not being made anymore...except from Studio Ghibli and other Japanese studios, Ralph Bakshi, the French and other Europeans [...]

Usually when people talk about the "death of hand-drawn animation" they are referring to the lack of widely-released, Hollywood-produced, feature-length films.

[estefan]

Kind of silly, in my opinion. Animation is an art practised around the world and while Hollywood animation is great (I would argue we're in a current Golden Age), Japan, France and the United Kingdom are doing some excellent work as well.

In a way, the three top producers of animation all have their own signature technique of choice that they currently specialise in. The United States with computer animation, Japan with hand-drawn animation and Great Britain with stop-motion animation. It actually doesn't require a lot of searching to find new hand-drawn features being produced.

Disney is not going to announce that they are shutting down traditional animation. Not after Lasseter's big claims that he would be bringing hand-drawn animation back and that 2D animation had become a "scapegoat for bad storytelling". It would make Lasseter and the studio look bad in the press. Iger's casual response was unexpected and unplanned.

There's nothing left to 'shut down' anyway. Disney had to announce it back in the day because they were closing all of their 2D animation studios, laying-off their 2D animators and removing all of the 2D equipment from the Burbank studio. They couldn't hide it.

It's become obvious they have now chosen to quietly stop developing any more hand-drawn features instead of making a formal announcement about it.

Of course, it's going to reach a point where at one press conference or another, John Lasseter will be asked about the current status of hand-drawn animation. He's either going to be completely straight or (more likely) give a bulls--t, PR-written answer. But people are going to ask him about comments he made at the time The Princess and the Frog was released. Heck, there's a YouTube video on Pixar's own page with him talking about how much he loves hand-drawn animation and how it was ridiculous when certain studios stopped producing it.

[SWillie!]

Sotiris, you're definitely right that there's nothing to say they WILL make another traditional film - but that doesn't negate what I'm saying. Iger didn't say ANYTHING we didn't already know, period. So why is it being reported as news?

You say that there isn't anything to shut down, and yet as we speak, there is an entire team of traditional artists at work at Disney. Regardless of what they're working on, they are still traditional animators. Regardless of whether you think the hybrid is more in the vein of CG, it DOES require traditional animation.

I just think this whole issue is a non-issue. They'll create a traditional film when they create a traditional film. Hopefully sooner than later, but regardless of when, Disney is doing great animation, and that's all that should matter.

[Sotiris]

Iger didn't say ANYTHING we didn't already know, period. So why is it being reported as news?

Well, we knew but I don't think the general public did.

Regardless of whether you think the hybrid is more in the vein of CG, it DOES require traditional animation.

Yes, I know that. I need to clarify that I didn't say that disparagingly. I like and support this new hybrid. Heck, anything that deviates from generic-looking CG is a positive development in my book. But I think it's accurate to say that this hybrid animation Disney is developing is CG-based.

Disney is doing great animation, and that's all that should matter.

That's a perfectly valid and understandable opinion. But for me the medium matters. Different mediums bring different aesthetics to a film.

[Kyle]

Doug Walker had this to say on Facebook regarding Disney having no plans to make 2D animation films

Sad news: Disney has announced they no longer have plans to make any more hand drawn animated films. I adore hand drawn animation and how far Disney has pushed it over the years. Their art has been a large part of many childhoods, including my own, showing us how to convey great stories, great characters, and great art through animation. They have helped us grow, learn, and imagine beyond what we thought we could imagine. I connect these words to the end of any great artistic phenomenon, "I'll be back when you call me, no need to say good bye.

No one cares about what doug has to say about this, he's not even in the industry for crying out loud.

[Disney's Divinity]

There's nothing left to 'shut down' anyway.

This is what I had been thinking already. It's never going to see consistent release at Disney again; it will only be irregular, years and years between, easily shut down, with some hard pushing to even get Disney to greenlight it. (And, yes, I know about the shorts and...Phineas & Ferb... The films are mostly all I have ever cared about, personally.)

I just think this whole issue is a non-issue.

I'm sure you're fine with 3D films. And if you are, that's perfectly okay for you. Hard as it is to believe, some people don't care for 3D or prefer it less than other mediums (and I personally feel it is being done better at other studios, like Dreamworks and Pixar), so for them it is an issue that Disney 2D is no longer a guarantee. I don't know why that's so hard to grasp, rather than stirring up 3 pages of back and forth everytime someone is down that there won't be any 2D films coming anytime soon.

[SWillie!]

I just think this whole issue is a non-issue.

I'm sure you're fine with 3D films. And if you are, that's perfectly okay for you. Hard as it is to believe, some people don't care for 3D or prefer it less than other mediums (and I personally feel it is being done better at other studios, like Dreamworks and Pixar), so for them it is an issue that Disney 2D is no longer a guarantee. I don't know why that's so hard to grasp, rather than stirring up 3 pages of back and forth everytime someone is down that there won't be any 2D films coming anytime soon.

To be honest, I didn't feel I was stirring up anything - I certainly wasn't meaning to. On the contrary, I'm trying to stop the stirring of things that aren't actually news. But I apologize if I'm unintentionally the one doing the stirring here.

All I'm trying to say is that, as much as it sucks that Disney isn't currently doing any full-out traditional animation, isn't it better to look forward to the day they hopefully do while enjoying what it is they're doing in the meantime, rather than whine and whine that we aren't getting what we want right now? I just feel many people's response is soo overly pessimistic, and I prefer to lean towards optimism.

[Disney's Divinity]

rather than whine and whine that we aren't getting what we want

I consider it laughing bitterly through the (expected) disappointment.

[SWillie!]

rather than whine and whine that we aren't getting what we want

I consider it laughing bitterly through the (expected) disappointment.

Hahaha well, that's fair enough then. But be hopeful! You never know, they could come put of nowhere and surprise us with something awesome.

[milojthatch]

In a way, the three top producers of animation all have their own signature technique of choice that they currently specialise in. The United States with computer animation, Japan with hand-drawn animation and Great Britain with stop-motion animation. It actually doesn't require a lot of searching to find new hand-drawn features being produced.

If you like Japanese animation. I personally can't stand it! Maybe instead of saying I miss hand drawn, I should say I miss hand drawn American animation. These dime a dozen CG films are starting to wear on me. I'm starting to not even like Pixar films as much, and for me that's saying a lot.

The world NEEDS new American hand drawn animation, especially from Disney. Hopefully we'll get more sooner than latter.

[thelittleursula]

No one cares about what doug has to say about this, he's not even in the industry for crying out loud.

I did. I like Doug and it was nice to hear his opinion.

[estefan]

If you like Japanese animation. I personally can't stand it! Maybe instead of saying I miss hand drawn, I should say I miss hand drawn American animation. These dime a dozen CG films are starting to wear on me. I'm starting to not even like Pixar films as much, and for me that's saying a lot.

The world NEEDS new American hand drawn animation, especially from Disney. Hopefully we'll get more sooner than latter.

Well, if you don't care for anime, the European studios also do plenty of hand-drawn work. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend The Illusionist, which is an absolutely beautiful hand-drawn animated film from France. I also hear the upcoming "Ernest & Celestine" is great.

[Sotiris]

If you like Japanese animation. I personally can't stand it!

How can you be so absolute? Anime is not one big homogeneous entity. It is very diverse both in visual style and in subject matter. There are anime that even resemble the Disney look.