I love animation. Todays animation looks amazing. It boggles my mind that a hundred years ago it was drawn frame by frame. What a journey that must have been for the illustrators. The most universally recognized animated film in history to this day is Snow White. Well before the world was globally connected, it kept its reputation as the most culturally iconic animated film of the 20th century and into the 21st. Why has it remained a household name over all others? What made it so impactful? Are the stories told today an evolution of stories told before or are they just a rinse and repeat of the stories written by the "Gods" of our industry?
Animation : Are todays animated stories better than those of the "Golden Age"? by Michael Teisan
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Great question Michael Teisan I think there are 2 ways to look at this. Are the majority of stories today better than the majority back then? NO! but there were far fewer animations back then and animation took longer to do, so they had to be very intentional about what they animate.
Today, animation is so accessible, that people put out a lot of crap. With that said, there are amazing animations and stories out there today, that tackle topics that society would not have been comfortable talking about back then, so we definitely have great stories that rival those old ones.
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Yeah I'm with Kevin here, I mean, there is a lot of great stuff and then there is a lot of bad stuff and before you had to be 100% sure to do the best scene posible since there are no reshoots in animation, you get what you animated.
Answering your question I think what makes an animated piece memorable is how revolutionary is in its time, when Snow White was created eveyrone was saying that making an animated movie was a dumb idea, they got proven wrong, I thinks what lack now at day is that, I'm going to do this even against all odds factor.
Now it days I feel the industry is playing it too safe, and everyone is focussed on moral discutions about what is right or wrong to show to kid in cartoon media, AI, what hollywood celebrity said what, but too little in, this movie made this kind of character in a different way, or this writer used this trope in a new way.
I, as a writer and creator, been trying to get that with very interetingly positive results. The more you try new things, the more you'll succeed, I guess.
One last think, my mom told me once: the once who are willing to take a risk and deal with the consecuences when failing, and grow out of them, are condemn to success.
That's been a life motto to me my whole life, and here I am.
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Alex Olguin I agree with everything you said. I thought about the whole revolutionary thing with Snow White, but although it was a gamechanger I don't think that matters to even today's children who fall in love with it for the first time. I think it has more to do with the storytelling and its timeless message and story structure. To this day it's on every kids list, at some point during their childhood, who has access to it. During the "Golden Age" it was extra special because it was new, but now it holds a special place in almost everyone's heart because it's just a great film.
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This is an awesome question. First, I am an animation fan. From the 80s, "G. I. Joe," "Transformers," and "Thundercats." Then it's just progress to Japanese anime like "Robotech," "Fist of the Northstar," and "Record of Lodoss War." Comics and animation are among the reasons I started writing. I think that with the introduction of new animation technology, new stories are being told because animation can keep up with the writer's imagination. From fight sequences to flashback scenes, the right animation can leave you in your seat speechless. Examples: "Demon Slayer: Infinite Castle," Netflix's "Castlevania," and Netflix's "Love, Death, and Robots."
Now, don't get me wrong, some of the classics that were drawn frame by frame can still hold their own with the new animation. And the stories told that way or through animation still hold weight in the industry, like "Ghost in the Shell," "Ninja Scroll," and "Akira." Now, if you are comparing this to animated features like "Snow White," "Bambi," and "Lady and the Tramp," I think the new-age audience would prefer the new animation. It's the faster pace of the movements, color, and storytelling.
John E. Bias totally agree. I guess my question should also be what makes some animated movies stand the test of time? Maybe it's because some writers retell stories in more interesting and relevant ways. All the stories of today are basically modern versions of what's been done by the likes of Homer, Shakespeare, Cervantes, even the tales in the bible and so on. Kind of like how we've reached a point in history where there are no new chords in music, just new combinations, and some of those combinations are more everlasting than others.