In 1937, Disney Animation
Studio produced its first feature film, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, the film won an honorary award for
the "Significant Screen Innovation". Later other
fairy tales and children’s stories from all around the world were presented through the big screen. Although the main aspects of a classic fairy tale were retained in most of this works (The charming prince, the beautiful princess,
the villain witch, and of course the happy ending), Disney touch was quite
obvious in the hand drawing style, music and motion harmony, and the amusing secondary
characters. However the studio couldn’t
ascend the throne of animated cinema
without the hard work of talented illustrators like the Nine Old Men, who
drew with their pencils the studio legacy frame by frame.
CG Animation is Taking Over !
In 1995, a new
generation of animators will realize a dream
that born a decade earlier inside Pixar Animation Studio. Producing the first CGI (Computer Graphic Image) feature film was a great step in
the realm of animation for the young
studio and the old company, but this time
it wasn't about a fairy tale or
a classic story, It was simply a Toy Story. The film honored with a " Special Achievement " Oscar, and its unrivaled success opened the door widely to
other CG feature films production. Disney great interest in this promising and profitable industry was at the expense of
the traditional animation which disappears little by little from the scene, for instance, among the several Disney animated features produced in the last few years, the only prominent classic animation was a modern version of The Princess and the Frog.
A Princess Without a Prince; and a Good Villain !
A Princess Without a Prince; and a Good Villain !
Lately, Brave brought to Pixar its seventh academy award for the best Animated feature. Unlike Disney classic princesses,
Pixar first one is totally
different. Rebelling against the traditions of her ancestors , Merida prefers the life of
adventures and archery rather than spending the rest of her days with a silly prince.Through
an other nominated film, Wreck it Ralph, Disney tells us the story in a new wonderland, the arcade game world, where Ralph a villain character decides to change his role in the game , and begins a journey looking for an inner hero. Except the happy ending in
both CG animations,
there is a significant
change in the other aspects of the classic tales. Clearly, what happened in the world of animation wasn’t just an
Inevitable transition from pencils to pixels, it was the beginning of a new age of animated children’s stories.
CG or Not CG That is Not the Question :
CG or Not CG That is Not the Question :
Even with the dominance of ِtechnology, the classic animation's spirit is still alive (Paperman), beside the main plot of a fairy tale is not a sacred rule, and breaking it can make the story interesting and gives it more flexibility in time and space. Certainly, animation films offers a moment of entertainment for children with their parents, and turning it to a moral sermon will ruin such precious family time.
I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.Disney, Walt
However, I believe that children's stories (books,animations,songs...) should emphasize the human values more and more, if everything changed in these tales for a reason or another, the value of friendship, family should not. Perhaps the future will surprise us with other revolutionary achievements, and CG animation may become an old fashion, but I hope that the meaning of pity,wisdom and faith will not disappear between the worn pages of a forgotten tale.
