Disney to increase it's computer animation prescence?

[DisneyKidds]

Disney to increase computer animation. Announcement sends fresh chill through an industry founded on hand drawing.
By Laura Sturza
The Leader - LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/burbank/news/la-blr-disney03may03,1,6142318.story

May 3, 2003

BURBANK — Word that Disney's animation studio plans to move further away from hand-drawn features and produce more computer- generated movies under new director David Stainton, has industry pros bracing for the change.

"Personally, I think it's an irresponsible decision," said Charles Zembillas, founder and president of Burbank's Animation Academy. "I think the greatest traditional hand- drawn animation talent is here in Burbank, and all he's doing is making that available for somebody else."

Stainton, who announced plans to expand the use of computer-generated work at a staff meeting this week, could not be reached for comment. But in a prepared statement issued Thursday, he said the studio is not abandoning "any of our tools, including the pencil and paper we are just adding to our toolbox."

Studio officials could not say what percentage of Disney's animation operation will become digital, but added they plan to retrain animators to work on computers.

Animators are already reeling from the effects of runaway production to mostly Asian countries, where work is produced more cheaply.

The Animation Guild, a local industry union, has been providing retraining, but the changes at Disney will mean some people will be displaced, said Burbank resident Steve Hulett, the guild's business representative.

"There's a lot of mourning going on, because a lot of people love the art form [of traditional animation] and the art form is at least going away temporarily," Hulett said.

The move to expanded computer work can be attributed to the strong response Disney has had to it's Pixar computer generated releases, including "Monsters, Inc." and "Toy Story," though hand-drawn work like "Lilo and Stitch" continues to perform well, Hulett said.

While audiences are likely to see less traditionally animated films from Disney, studios including Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network are resisting the change to computer generated work, Zembillas said.

In addition, Zembillas predicts many artists will turn to independently releasing hand-drawn animated features because "there is something fascinating about things that are created by virtue of the human hand. There is a marvel to that as much as there is a marvel to technology."

Interesting article, although I have not seen the 'announcement'. We all know that Disney is shopping out much of it's CGI work and that it had apparently shut down it's in-house CGI capabilities. This article talks about Disney training more of its traditional animators to work on computers. Could Disney possibly be making a move to get back into doing their own CGI animation?

As for a move away from traditional hand drawn to CGI animation, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I love the old hand drawn classics, but movies like Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. show that CGI can produce great results. Maybe it is like the difference between listening to vinyl versus cd's. Vinyl has that certain sound that has helped it to make a comback for true audiophiles, even though digital provides clearly superior sound. Will this be the case with animation in the future, or will traditional animation disappear, especially if Disney completely abandons it? Don't you think Walt would have moved full force into CGI if he were alive today. After all, he always was on the forefront and cutting edge of animation, and CGI fits that bill, no?

 

[KNWVIKING]

Well, films used to be silent, with musicians in a pit and a sound effects man. Then came talkies. They were all black and white, then came color. Walt was one of the technological innovators of the film industry and he loved technology in general. I think he would embrace CGI with open arms.

Of course,this could just be a ploy to aide in the upcoming Pixar negotiations, but I hope not. I hope this attempt at CGI by Disney is going to be the real deal.