Animation. What first comes to mind when you hear this one word? Perhaps you think of Disney or possibly even the different forms of animation such as 2D or 3D. Nevertheless, whatever you picture likely pertains to animation in some shape or form. Over the generations animation has evolved and with it our society has as well. It has morphed and grown into something all too familiar in our culture. Animation has had a great impact on our culture, and our culture has had a great impact on animation. What is it about animation that makes it so fascinating and so eye-catching? Perhaps it’s the storyline? The characters? The style? Or maybe, just maybe it’s all of these things combined that create and invoke such a powerful feeling within us. Now take a moment to think and imagine one of your favorite animated films. That movie likely left quite the impression on you whether it be the character, story, or even the producer of the film. All of these factors have an effect on whether or not it is a success or not. Being able to instill a sense of emotion in the viewer is a very essential part of filmmaking in general. This allows the viewer to feel like they’re a part of the movie and helps to instill a sense of realism. No matter what we can all agree that it has made a great deal of emotional impact on our past and present generations, allowed room for all sorts of new career opportunities, and has even been affected by events in our society today.
Animation involves the creation of multiple frames or pictures in order to create the illusion of movement. The process is tedious and the duration to complete all depends on the size of the animation team and the processes used. All sorts of detail go into creating a perfect and or successful animation. Color, style, character design, and sound are all, to name a few, several essential details that have an effect on whether a film is a hit or not as all of these details combined have the ability to invoke emotion in the viewer. If the color scheme is dark then the viewer is likely to be left with a feeling of dread or mystery. Take Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, released September 16, 2005, for example, the land of the living is depicted as being dark and dreary while, on the contrary, the land of the undead is depicted as being colorful and lively.
Animation has also allowed room for many job and career opportunities for people around the world. [1]Take Disney’s Snow White, released February 4, 1938, which held 570-750 animators or water-color artists. A huge effort went into the creation of this prized, traditional Disney film. Many thought this film would spell the end of Disney and leave them bankrupt, however, this was only the beginning. Different forms of animation began to arise which made way for all sorts of amazing variations and led to even more ways of creating animation. For example, take xerography, [2]an electro-photographic (or dry photocopying) technique developed by Chester Carlson in 1942. It was then first tested by Ub Iwerks for use in animation and during the production of the beloved film Sleeping Beauty and Goliath II. Many people continued to create techniques that would go to advance the development of animation. This development would lead to more jobs being created and an even better style of animation.
As animation has had an effect on history, history itself has had an effect on animation. For example, the events of September 11, 2001, or the September 11 attacks, greatly affected many films and forms of animation that were in production. Take Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, released June 16, 2002, there’s a scene where they’re all flying through Jumba’s spaceship through the mountains. This scene, originally, took place in the city but was changed before the film was released the following year due to the attacks. Speaking of history, lets travel back in time to World War II. [3]The year is 1914 and the countries of Germany and Great Britain have entered a war that would change the world. President Woodrow Wilson declared the United States would remain neutral to the conflict, however, they were left to make the crucial decision to get involved after many key issues. A war was declared. The rise of war brought forward many works of propaganda films, advertisements, war stamps, and much, much more. All of this media would prove to be very beneficial and important to our history as well as the history of animation. Newspaper comic strips even began to seem the limelight as animated cartoons. [4]The Katzenjammer Kids, introduced to the New York Journal in 1897, was adapted for the stage in 1903 and later spawned a number of plays and cartoons.
Animation is by far one of most amazing forms of media that is still alive to this day. It’s amazing to thing how it has been along for so long and for so many years and has developed thus far. No matter how big or small, old or young you may be animation is an incredible thing that touches many people’s hearts. The work and the process that goes into making a film such as a live-action movie is nothing compared to what goes into making a full-length, animated feature film. [5]The process is pretty simple: someone writes a script, the studio gives notes, the screenwriter tries to incorporate them into the script, a director is then chosen and also gives feedback on the script. The animation process is very similar to this but there’s way more work involved and a lot more essential factors that come together to make an animated feature film. However, not all films who meet all of these factors do well at the box office. The moment a film is a released in theaters is when it comes time to wait for the profit to pile in. Disney’s Frozen, released on November 27, 2013, had a budget of approximately $150 million and raked in $1.287 at the box office. However, not all films are successful, even if they manage to meet all of the factors listed they can still make a total and complete flop at the box office. Take Dreamworks’ The Road to El Dorado, released March 31, 2000, for example, [6]which had a budget of approximately $95 million and only earned $76.4 million. This left them with a loss of approximately $19 million, a loss not anywhere close to cheap. As tragic as it is, filmmakers know the risk they’re taking before they even start the development of a film.
Animation. What comes to mind? Hopefully after reading this article you’ve managed to learn more about this art of filmmaking or at least more than you knew before you took the time to read this article. As you know there are many factors that affect animation and how much of a success it is. The history of animation is broad and ongoing and you can’t help but wonder what developments are there in animation right now. Next time you visit the movies or decide to make a stop at your local movie rental, ask yourself this one simple question: what makes a film?