Animation and the American Entertainment Experience - Essay Example

The History of Animation: Drawing on the Past, Present, and Future Due INTRODUCTION There is very likely not a single person who cannot remember, when they were a kid, running home every day from school and getting up early every Saturday morning to watch cartoons. Whether you grew up in the era of The Road Runner and Wild E, Coyote, He-man, Transformers, Smurfs, Rugrats, or any number of other series of popular animation. However, today not all animation is geared towards children’s cartoons, but there are now many animated sitcoms aimed at an adult demographic, we see this in today’s Simpsons and Family Guy. Most people find humor and entertainment in animation for one reason or another. Perhaps it is the silliness, the magic, or that it brings out the Kid in all of us. Regardless of the reason animation has become part of the American popular culture, as well as, all over the world. BACKGROUND Although there have been a number of “animation” concepts developed in the earliest years of the industrial revolution, like Emil Reynaud in France at the turn of the 19th century and Thomas Edison. (McLaughlin 1). Peter Foldes, a Hungarian animator and artist demonstrated free hand drawings that represented early animation in Britain. John Whitney, an American inventor and animator invented the idea of placing the images on 3 layers and rotating tables and photographing them as they spin. However, it is true that animation can lay gratitude for its development, at least in part, to an experiment among well-to-do gentleman. In 1872 the Governor of California, Leland Stanford, wanted to prove that when a horse is in a trot or gallop at some point, all four feet were off the ground. In order to prove that scientifically he hired a photographer named Muybridge to photograph the horse’s movement frame by frame. As can be seen below in this famous set of pictures, that Stanford was quite right, there is a point in the horse’s stride where all four feet are off the ground. Much like a flip book we can take the images and speed them up little by little and the motion of the horse is essentially animated before you dependent on how fast the images are flipped (McLaughlin 1). DISCUSSION Just about anybody can name dozens, if not hundreds, of cartoons, both television and big screen, however, most people do not know the differences between animation techniques and the styles of the different, famous animator and animation companies. The topic of animation, its history, concepts, formats, and styles from every era is a very broad one. In order, to understand those styles and techniques better it is best to address the different techniques and some of the strongest examples of those techniques individually; as well as the great creators behind the technology and styles that brought to life the lifetime of cartoons we all know and love. For the longest time animation was solely the environment of cartoonish, unrealistic drawings and anthropomorphized animals, like Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, and Bugs Bunny. In fact, some of the original animation was so simplistic that it was essentially pencil sketches, like the one seen on the previous page. Gertie the Dinosaur is an example of animator and cartoonist Winsor McCay. The outlines are rough, the motion a bit choppy, but at the time it was an amazing and fascinating sight for viewers. Rotoscoping Animation was revolutionized in the early 20th century by Max Fleischer when he introduced the concept of the “rotoscope.” (McLaughlin 1). The Rotoscope process allows the animators to film the actions of live performers and then drawing over the actors frame by frame, creating a very realistic simulation of animated human movement; this is probably one of the most popular and widely used forms of animation. We recognize this sort of movements in Disney films, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1939. This format truly changed the way animation, which up until this point had been rather silly or simplistic. Many artist felt that rotoscoping was the lazy solution to animation and others felt flat-out that it is cheating (Basile 1). All the same, this style of animation became incredibly popular, efficient, and became the standard for a long time. Stop-Motion While it does not involved the use of artistic drawings, Stop-Motion animation requires the making of 3-dimensional figures an photographing each finite movement of the character, foreground, and background, until they have essentially created a tangible 2-dimensional filmed flip-book (Basile 2). Fantastic examples of this technique of animation is the classic Gumbi, more currently, the Adult Swim, very tongue and cheek, Stop-Motion used in the Cartoon Network series Robot Chicken, as well as, the very popular gothic works of Tim Burton, like The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride. Cutout and Collage This is probably the simplest and singularly least costly form of animation. This style has been around since animation first began and has been the choice animation of television and commercials. The process is incredibly basic. It involves the cutting out of all the different parts of the characters, locations, and settings and then interchanges those images to alter expressions, make needed mouth movements, and to simulate motion. In today’s television this simplicity is personified in the earliest seasons of the irreverent Comedy Central animated comedy South Park (Basile 3).The simplistic and silliness of the animation lends to the stark and sometimes shocking humor. However, in fairness it should be mentioned that over the series, nearly, 20 year run the time consuming cutout and collage technique has been exchanged for computer animation, which will be discussed in greater detail later. Cell Animation This animation technique is one of the most time consuming and requires a great deal of patience and detail orientation. A cell is a single piece of celluloid, which his clear, the images are painted directly onto the cell and then placed, either, in the foreground or background of other images and then photographed. This gives the animated images a sense of depth and distance. Once photographed the images can be filmed and then sped up to create the appearance of a 3-Dimensional world (Basile 5). This style is probably most beautifully personified by Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Computer Generated Imagery With the improvement and advances in technology the innovation of animation was inevitable. Computer Animation, or CGI as it is often called, allows the use of computers to create characters, create backgrounds, and move these unreal characters in ways that is far less time consuming than the hand drawn option. There are a number of types of CGI has many facets. For example, Disney Pixar’s Toy Story saga, we see genuine CGI in a format common among children’s movies and cartoons. However CGI is a kind of animation that also lends itself to live action. When Disney animated the film Mary Poppins we saw the mixing of animators characters directly interacting with live action ones; this was a magical thing at the time. However, by the time films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit hit the big screen CGI was in its earliest inceptions. Again that same CGI animation is used to today to create live action, incredibly realistic looking characters and creatures, that are blended into live action in am very often, seamless way (Verrier 1). A prime example of that would be the work of Avatar and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings Trilogy and, the most recent, Hobbit franchise (Basile 6). This form of animation is the most innovative and is becoming ever more and more common. It is likely that it is also a great part of the future of animation yet to come. Mix and Match It is more common than not in modern animated series and films to mix and match the techniques that are used. They may intermix painted cell images with computer graphics (Basile 6). By layering the different styles every animated “product” is uniquely different and achieved through differing means. There are even animated and live action films that have blended the concepts behind rotoscoping with CGI to allow a animation style that is so realistic it is difficult to distinguish between what is animated and what is not. A fantastic example of this is the feature film, Beowulf. Another current example is the ABC series Once Upon a Time relies on fantastic costumes and makeup, however, almost every fantasy environment they perform in, be it a castle or cabin, is a computer generated animated environment that is visible to performers as nothing but a large flat green screen (Basile 6). The Big Names in the Realm of Animation Believe it or not, not all of the animation that has been invented for the sole purpose of entertaining the masses. NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has adopted many of the techniques and styles, particularly today with computer animation, that have been used to translate images from the Mars Rover and the other images that are sent via satellites and images that are taken. It allows the scientist and researchers to get a clear image of what is out there. However, by and large, the bulk of animation has been for the purpose of entertainment, for kids, adults, and the adults who may be kids at heart. There are a certain number of animators, animations companies, and production companies that have all become the representative of the pinnacle of their industry. Hanna Barbara is the name of the company that culminates the animated works of William Hanna and Joseph Barbara answered for audience’s first view of what life might have been like in the stone age when they introduced the Flintstones, while at the same time introducing us to what the future may look like through the perspective of the Jetson family, and allowed teen hippies to solve crimes on Scooby-Doo. These are just three of the iconic shows that produced characters that people are still familiar with today. From the poster above there are dozens of characters throughout the 60s, 70s, and even the 80s that are part of the American experience, as well as other places all over the world (McLaughlin 1). The next very important genre of animation that has earned a huge place in history and in the culture of the United States and other nations all over the world is Anime. This style of animation is an import from Japan. It use had drawn art and computer imagery to create dozens of Anime series and films that are critically acclaimed; for example the work of Hayao Miyazaki who animated the film Spirited Away (Inez-Chambers 94-102) The tone and themes of Anime can vary from the very silly and ridiculous, like the Pokémon era to the more serious storytelling, like the 1981’s The Last Unicorn. Anime is very much its own artform. While it continues to become more innovative and ahead of its time it also, like many animators and studies today, are adapting to incorporate more and more use of computer technology, like CGI. Warner Bros. is one of the most successful film and animation studios of all time. However, when the original characters most associated with Warner Bros, did not belong to this company but to Leon Schlesinger Productions for example Bugs Bunny, voiced by the irreplaceable Mel Blanc. However, eventually the company would merge and change hands. from there the years and years of Bug’s antics, Elmer Fudd’s speech impediment, Daffy’ Duck’s slobbering S’s. and the unending rivalry between the road Runner and Wild E. Coyote has continued to entertain audiences young and old to this day. Warner Bros has also adapted its animation from early cell animation all the way to the present day computer assistance. As can be seen in the image there is a unique evolution of the characters as the animation opportunities were also evolving and being perfected. Bugs went from the most simplistic vision of the “Wasscally Wabbit” to the most modern rendition that most people are familiar with (McLaughlin 1). Finally the singularly most contributive animators, company, and studio is Disney. Founded by Walt Disney, approximately, a century ago. He left an animators job with another studio to start his own, which in many ways began in a garage (McLaughlin 1). The fledgling company did suffer at first, however with the creation of particular mouse would change everything for the Disney Company. Originally named Mortimer, Mickey Mouse, like Bugs Bunny, began as the figurehead of the Disney brand and has, also, gone through an evolutionary change from the earliest and most simplistic version to the Sorcerer’s Apprentice version to the most modern Mickey, as can be seen above (Furniss 1).But that is hardly the only legacy of the Disney Studio. There are films like Bambi, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. These film not only have created some incredibly iconic images but also scores upon scores of songs that inevitably get stuck in one’s head. Disney is most well known for a great deal of the cell animation that was used in its initial animation. However, today Disney has an ally company called Pixar, allowing Disney to produce computer animated features as well, like, as mentioned earlier, Toy Story and Finding Nemo (TIME Magazine). CONCLUSION Animation is as much a part of the American entertainment experience as drive-ins and amusement parks. From the stories of superheroes and fairytale princesses, to elves and dragons and from Fantasia to Sponge-Bob Squarepants. There is a cartoon, animated series, and feature films that meets the sense of hour or other sensitivity of everyone potential audience member. So much of who we become as adults is formed from our memories of childhood, animation plays such a huge part in that. We see animation benefitting science and physics. Finally, we see it changing the realism and potential creations that can appear in a live action environment. Animation remains relevant in today’s society because it has been able to evolve and change with society. Animation, in all of its forms, from hand painted detail to CGI construction has a place in the minds, hearts, and culture of its viewers and most importantly will continue to be a huge part of the future of art and entertainment. WORK CITED Basile, Nancy. "Animation Techniques." Animated TV. (2014): 1. Web. 8 May. 2014. . Furniss, Maureen. "ANIMATION LITERATURE REVIEW." Animation Journal. Spring (1999): 1. Print. Inez-Chambers, Samantha Nicole. "Anime: From Cult Following to Pop Culture Phenomenon." Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications. 3.2 (2012): 94-102. Print. McLaughlin, Dan. "A RATHER INCOMPLETE BUT STILL FASCINATING HISTORY OF ANIMATION." University of Claifornia Los Angeles. (2001): 1. Web. 8 May. 2014. . Verrier, Richard. "A happy medium between animation and live action." Los Angeles Times 2 January 2011, 1-2. Web. 8 May. 2014. . TIME Magazine, , dir. The Top 10 Animated Movies of All Time. TIME Magazine, Film. 8 May 2014. . Read More