The Renaissance Age of Animation: Difference between revisions

{{Useful Notes}}

 

'''Modern animation of the United States''' from the mid-1980s onward is sometimes referred to as the "American animation renaissance". During this period, many large American entertainment companies reformed and reinvigorated their animation departments following a general decline during the 1970s and 1980s. The United States has had a profound effect on animation worldwide.

In 1993, Disney released ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', the first feature-length stop-motion animated film. Disney's success peaked in 1994, when ''[[The Lion King]]'' grossed $328,541,776. As of 2010, ''The Lion King'' ranked as the 22nd highest grossing motion picture of all time in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=All Time Domestic Box Office Results |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic.htm |work=Box Office Mojo |accessdate=2010-09-15}}</ref> Subsequent Disney films such as ''[[Pocahontas]]'', ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'', ''[[Mulan]]'' and ''[[Tarzan (Disney film)|Tarzan]]'' were box office and critical successes as well, albeit modestly so when compared to Disney's early-1990s releases.

 

 

Public rifts grew between the animation staff and management, as well as between Michael Eisner and Roy E. Disney. Roy resigned from the board of directors in 2003 with a scathing letter that called the company "rapacious and soulless", adding that he considered it to be "always looking for the quick buck."<ref name="Fonda">{{cite web|last=Fonda |first=Daren |author2=Sean Gregory |author3=Julie Rawe |author4=Jeffrey Ressner |author5= Chris Taylor |title=Eisner's Wild, Wild Ride |work=Time Magazine |date=2003-12-15 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1006430-2,00.html }}</ref> He then launched the internet site SaveDisney.com<ref>{{cite web |title=Save Disney |url=http://www.savedisney.com |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051219202236/http://www.savedisney.com/ |archivedate=2005-12-19 |access-date=2018-09-08 }}</ref> in an attempt to preserve the integrity of the company and to oust Eisner, who resigned in 2005 after public opinion turned against him.

===From Hanna-Barbera to Cartoon Network===

{{See also|Hanna-Barbera|Cartoon Network}}

 

Great American wanted out of the entertainment business, and Hanna-Barbera was sold to the Turner Broadcasting System in 1991. Ted Turner had expressed that he mainly wanted ownership of the studio's back catalog; its launch of [[Cartoon Network]] on October 1, 1992 provided a new audience for Hanna-Barbera cartoons, both old and new.

The 1990s saw growth in the use of computer-generated imagery to enhance both animated sequences and live-action special effects, allowing elaborate computer-animated sequences to dominate both. This new form of animation soon dominated [[Hollywood]] special effects; the films ''[[Terminator 2|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' and ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' included Oscar-winning special effects sequences which made extensive use of CGI. After decades of existing as related-but-separate industries, the barrier between "animation" and "special effects" was shattered by the popularization of computerized special effects—to the point where computer enhancement of Hollywood feature films became second-nature and often went unnoticed. The [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning ''[[Forrest Gump]]'' (1994) depended heavily on computerized special effects to create the illusion of [[Tom Hanks]] shaking hands with Presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], and to make Gary Sinise convincingly appear to be a double amputee, winning a special-effects Oscar. The film ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' used computer effects in nearly every scene of its three-hour running time; one of the film's 11 Oscars was for special effects.

 

 

Computer animation also made inroads into television. The Saturday morning animated series ''[[ReBoot]]'' won a large cult following among adults; it was the first of a number of CGI-generated animated series, including ''[[Beast Wars]]'', ''War Planets'', and ''Roughnecks''. The quality of the computer animation improved considerably with each successive series. Many live-action TV series (especially [[science fiction]] TV series such as ''[[Babylon 5]]'') invested heavily in CGI production, creating a heretofore-unavailable level of special effects for a relatively low price.

The most popular and successful competitor in the CGI race turned out to be [[Pixar]]. It originated in 1979 when [[George Lucas]]' Lucasfilm was able to recruit Edwin Catmull from the New York Institute of Technology to start the Graphics Group of its special-effects division. In late 1983, Catmull was able to bring in as a freelance independent contractor a Disney animator, [[John Lasseter]], not long after Lasseter (then unbeknownst to Catmull) had been fired by the Walt Disney Company for his vigorous advocacy of computer animation; Lasseter was hired as a full-time employee about a year later.

 

 

Pixar's string of critical and box-office successes continued with ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'', ''[[Finding Nemo]]'', ''[[The Incredibles]]'', ''[[Cars]]'', ''[[Ratatouille]]'', ''[[WALL-E]]'', ''[[Up (animation)|Up]]'' and ''[[Toy Story 3]]'' all receiving rave reviews, earning huge profits, winning awards, and overshadowing Disney's in-house offerings until ''[[Cars 2]]'' in 2011 ended the streak when it proved a critical disappointment, albeit still a commercial success. Disney produced a CGI/live action feature film of its own without Pixar (''[[Dinosaur]]''), but the film received a mixed reaction, even though it was a financial success. During the later years of Michael Eisner's management, friction between Disney and Pixar grew to a point that Pixar considered finding another partner when they could not reach an agreement over profit sharing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pixar Dumps Disney |work=Money |publisher=money.cnn.com |date=2004-01-29 |url=http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/29/news/companies/pixar_disney/}}</ref> When Eisner stepped down in 2005, his replacement, Robert Iger, arranged for Disney to buy Pixar in a $7.4 billion all-stock deal that turned Steve Jobs into Disney's largest individual shareholder.<ref name = "Holson">{{cite web|last=Holson |first=Laura M. |title=Disney Agrees to Acquire Pixar in a $7.4 Billion Deal |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2006-01-25 |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25disney.html?_r=1&oref=slogin}}</ref> The deal was structured so that Disney Animation and Pixar Animation would continue to operate as completely separate studios under the Disney corporate umbrella; Lasseter was placed in charge of greenlighting all new animated films for both studios in his new role as Chief Creative Officer.

 

===Independents and others===

 

In spite of all its success, computer animation still relies on cartoony and stylized characters. 2001 saw the first attempt to create a fully animated world using photorealistic human actors in ''[[Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within]]'', which met with moderate critical success but did not do well at the box office.