Animation Movies...where to?
If we take a look at the recent releases, there is no major
movie based on 2D animation. Is 2D animation worn out, or just
not commercial enough? Even if those classic animations are
always a pleasure to watch, you have to admit that the modern
animation is more attractive. They are more real, and people
seem to love that. If we take a look at the box office, we see 2
animation movies in top 10 (Shrek 2 and Finding Nemo) with 1,7
billion dollars revenue. That is amazing. And for both movies
CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) was used.
So, why do studios use CGI, and why do we like it so much? I
tend to say, that from the film fan's point of view, it's the
story that makes the movie so attractive, because, anytime I
would like to see a movie like Shrek, with real actors, scenes,
and other real stuff. But it's the story that does all the
trick. From the creators' point of view, it is cheaper. Because,
with today's special effects, anything is possible with real
actors, and they can't deny that. But, like I said, it's cheaper
than physical methods, such as constructing elaborate miniatures
for effects shots or hiring a great deal of extras for crowd
scenes, and because it allows the creation of images that would
not be feasible using any other method. It can also allow a
single artist to produce content without the use of actors or
other contributors to the project.
The first studio to release a fully computer-generated feature
film was Pixar, with their Toy Story. The movie was a major box
office hit, generating $360,000,000. Pixar is also "responsible"
with other successful animation movies, such as Finding Nemo, A
Bug's Life or The Incredibles. The other real competitor for
Pixar is DreamWorks SKG, with Shrek, Shrek 2(this is the
animation that generated the largest income for an animation
movie, over 880 million dollars), Antz or Chicken Run.
Now that I mentioned Chicken Run, this is a very interesting
animation, because it's not like the other. For this movie
Claymation was used. What exactly is Claymation? Well, in clay
animation, each object is sculpted in clay or a similarly
pliable material such as plasticine, usually around an armature.
As in other forms of object animation, the object is arranged on
the set, a shot is taken and the object or character is then
moved very slightly by hand. Another shot is taken and the
object moved slightly again. To achieve the best results, a
consistent shooting environment is needed to maintain the
illusion of continuity. This means paying special attention to
maintaining consistent lighting and object placement. Even if
Chicken Run was not a huge hit, DreamWorks used Claymation
again, for the remake of Wallace and Gromit.
So, no matter what techniques the creators use, it seems that
the 2D animation days are gone and computer-animated movies
become more real with every release, breaking revenue records.