Is the art of 2D animation better than the art of 3D animation
I’ve decided to use Spirited away and Toy Story 3 as examples for this argument because they are both visually stunning films with strong stories that i am sure will help me prove my point. Both are very different films, aimed at the same target audience, from two very different studios. I will be explaining why i think both animated movies are unique and successful in their own way, and why they can be just as good as each other, depending on certain factors.
Firstly i chose these films because for me they represent all the feeling we remember growing up with in our childhood and teenage years, something we can all identify with. Like being in a new place and not fitting in but learning to adapt to diverse situations or being separated from someone you hold dear and feeling like you don’t really have a purpose without them. Disney is well known for its family fairytale films but Disney pixar has a whole new way of telling stores that can be enjoyable for al ages with its hidden jokes and beautiful world building which is quite captivating. Studio ghibli is well known for its deep story lines that often centre around kids dealing with family or environmental issues. However, both studios always bring something new to the table with every film they make, wether its toys that come alive when we’re not looking or boys who turn into flying dragons.
Spirited away is a film which follows a young girl who gets trapped in a world filed with spirits and ends up being persuaded to work in a bath house run by an evil which. This film was so creative and different filled with random plot lines – in my opinion – that just work. Its engaging and unpredictable, but much more than that, has an emotional hold over the viewer because it really makes us feel for the main character and empathise with what she’s going through. The soundtrack has a huge impact on the film and how we perceive it. I remember this film always making me feel nostalgic for a place i’d never been. The music in this film is so powerful and fits so well with the animation style.
ToyStory 3 is one of the most sentimental films I’ve watched because i feel like i’ve grown with the the franchise, which actually doesn’t have much to do with the animation at all but more my attachment to the characters and the story. That being said, i think the animation in this film was superb, the characters were complex enough that you felt sorry for the bad characters and you could fall in love all over again with the good ones.
For any film to be great it has to have something about its story that engages the audience from start to Finnish, like toy story and spirited away. Both films were made in different mediums using different software in different styles, yet they were both able to captivate their audience. Some, however, disagree with this and believe the future only holds space for 3D animation. One such person would be Jeffery katzenberg, the former Walt Disney animation studios Chairman who probably sill harbours bitterness after he went and started up his own animation company, Dreamwork’s. Reported in the telegraph was an account of Jeffreys views on 2D animation which weren’t very favourable. “ I think the idea of a traditional story being told using traditional animation is likely a thing of the past” He announced. S, Johnston. 2003 The Telegraph – The pencil vs the computer [online] [Accessed 11th December 2014] This could be the result of his disappointment in the lack of success in the film Sinbad, which dream works animated in 2D with some 3D sequences. But as i said before, The story is everything and it was most likely that the story was just not strong enough. I say this because i actually found the animation to be the best and only interesting part so it couldn’t have been the problem.
This brings me to the artwork and camera angles and how different and equally pleasing they were in either film. In Toy Story allot of different angles and camera shots were used as this is probably less time consuming to achieve using a computer, but with Spirited Away, i felt, even though they had a tight schedule and almost ran out of time animating the film they still managed to achieve some really beautiful camera angles but i’ve realised the tone of this film is allot more muted than toy story 3 which has allot of movement and action happening almost throughout, whereas in spirited away things come to a hold for a while. Not only do the camera shots reflect the mood of the film, but the framing of the characters also play into this. In toy story 3 allot of the shots consist of close ups and medium shots or medium close shots. I suspect this to be so we can see the acting of the faces more closely and can see when the mood changes as the film is quite fast paced in comparison to spirited away so you would need to have a closer look at things to be able to keep up. Ofcourse Toy Story 3 has its fair share of emotional scenes – the ending particularly – and so the angles for those shots, I’m sure, were more closely thought through and developed. All of this, ofcourse did not appear over night and was not created by the software alone. Artists play a huge role in animation and i think its more dependant on the artists capabilities – as well as the storyline- for wether an animation is both visually and emotionally pleasing. You can have the best animation software in the world, but it wouldn’t mean your animations would be any better if the narrative isn’t working.
This brings me to the artwork. Both films had amazing artwork in they’re different styles but in general i find 2D animation – even when rough – more pleasing than 3D as i feel like the audience has a connection with the animator as well as their work, whereas when a 3D animation is poorly done its very hard to believe it and you cant properly engage with the characters and the story because your too busy picking out all the faults in the animation. John lasseter talks about something similar where he says that when you see something so hand drawn its hard not to focus on the artwork, but in this case he was referring to a Japanese film “The story of princess kaguya” and complimenting how good the story was because when you watched it you weren’t distracted by the artwork but completely drawn in. A.Amidi. 2014 John Lassater talks about hand drawn animation with Japanese TV crew [online] [assessed 11th December 2014]
However the artwork for Spirited away was breathtaking. Each background was so intricately painted with the tiniest bits of detail to the point where its mesmerising to look at. Likewise the colours in toy story are blindingly beautiful with its upbeat and happy tones and the animation done is so spectacular it has you feeling as if your in the actual room with the characters. Both films play on their visual strengths quite well in the sense that the intricate art suits spirited aways varied – but mostly smooth – pacing well whereas if toy story were to have that sort of art it wouldn’t be seen or even noticed much as things would be moving around too much and close ups would prevent any of the arts appreciation. Thats not to say that the background art in toy story 3 – especially in sunny side – for the day care, where most of the film is set, must have had allot of work put in but my point is that it wouldn’t have realised this when watching the film.
Spirited away was he first anime – and longest – film to be nominated for and to have one an academy award. Spirited away IMDB, Trivia [online] [assessed 11th December 2014]
Toy story 3 was the first animated film to make 1 billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Toy Story 3 IMDB, Trivia [online] [assessed 11th December 2014]. This just goes to show how that the audience don’t really care about what medium software is used to animate the film – although its always nice when its done well and animated beautifully – because all they want is a good story. Ofcourse animators and art enthusiasts will care more about the way its done and how it looks but with these two films theres no disappointment with artwork, software or medium.
In conclusion i feel like i have shown how both typed of films could succeed – using Toy story and Spirited away as examples – as long as the story is good. I’ve looked at the different qualities in both and how i feel that there is no reason why both cant coexist without one dominating the other. They each have their ups and downs and, as i have stated, some stories just work well in 2D and others in 3D.
The pencil Vs the computer ,The Telegraph 2003, viewed 11th December 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3601321/The-pencil-vs-the-computer.html
John Lassater talks about hand dawn animation with Japanese TV crew 2014, Cartoon Brew, viewed 11th December 2014,
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/pixar/john-lasseter-talks-about-hand-drawn-animation-to-japanese-tv-crew-95404.html
john lasseter
Spirited Away, IMDB, Viewed 11th December 2014
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv
spirited away
Toy Story 3, IMDB, Viewed 11th December 2014
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435761/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv
esharaanimation 