Animation Styles

[Don Bluth]

If I were to ask you if you liked to listen to music, you would probably answer me something like this:
“Well, that depends; what kind of music are you talking about. I like Jazz, but I hate Country. I also like rock and Pop, but please don’t play classical or I’ll leave the room.”
Everyone has their likes and dislikes. I am assuming this is also true in the realm of animation. Unfortunately, in the animation world, no one has taken the time to label the different expressions of it. So, if I were to ask someone if he/she liked to watch animation, he/she would probably say very simply, “yes,” or “no.”
Maybe we should try to rectify this conundrum. I’m going to make an attempt to list the various styles or genres:

Classical Animation:
This is the ever popular Disney style which developed during the Golden Age of Animation; the thirties, forties and fifties. It is best described as romantic realism in which the emphasis is placed on the telling of a story and not the graphics of the medium, (the drawings). Classical Animation is easy to look at and lends itself beautifully to the dramatic form. This style is seldom referred to as a cartoon but rather as an animated feature. It is a close cousin to a live action production because it attempts to tell a story. Animators in this medium are like actors and should therefore, have a solid foundation in acting, music and dance, not forgetting a skill in graphic design.

Disney classical animation has generally been thought of as strictly children’s fair and is usually G rated. Teenage boys that have just begun to grow hair and howl at the moon, often view going to a Disney animated flick as a return to the nursery. For that reason, they avoid it like the plague.

Limited Animation:
This style was first introduced by UPA with its cast of wacky characters such as Mr. Mcgoo and Gerald Mc Boing Boing. Due to limited budgets, the independent studios economized by limiting the amount of drawings to tell a story. TV was hungry for new material. The Rocky and Bullwinkle series inspired other entrepreneurs to branch out. Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera created several captivating series: The Flintstones, The smurfs, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, and many more. The content was still aimed at the children.

Pop Animation:
This is the style you will see in a half hour TV series like The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Southpark, or Ren and Stimpy. Except for The Simpsons, the style is more limited than even the “limited" style of animation, and the artwork is earmarked by unusually flat designs. The movement on the characters is almost nothing, except for the mouths; the half hour series is loaded with clever dialogue which is often witty and sarcastic. The scripts deal with contemporary adult situations often expressed with strong language; it has gained the approval of the teenage crowd. A side note about Pop animation; it is notorious for reusing its own archived animation.

Stop motion Puppets:
This style is unique. It does not involve drawings at all, but instead, uses small puppets and miniature sets to animate its stories. A puppet character is moved ever so slightly and the cameraman shoots a frame. The puppet is moved again, then another frame is shot; and so on. An excellent example of this style would be A Nightmare Before Christmas.

Claymation:
From merely hearing the word “claymation” pronounced, one can assume that it is a type of animation produced by manipulating clay and shooting it one frame at a time. Although some very interesting effects can be achieved with this medium, the clay seems to pull the focus onto itself thereby weakening the emotional impact of the characters and the story.

Computer animation:
This style of animation has become extremely popular with theater-going audiences, both adult and teenage. Computer graphics are used to create a very believable fantasy world with believable characters. The movement of the CG animation is more fluid than that of the classical style; hand drawn scenes may jitter because of poorly drawn in-betweens thus pulling focus onto the artwork. The CG medium does not intrude on the focus of the story so it lends itself beautifully to producing feature length movies.

Anime:
This style of animation originally comes from Japan and is not full in its movements, but “limited.” It has found great popularity with audiences of all ages worldwide. Generally speaking, it is just the opposite of the approach to cartooning. The characters are very realistically drawn, as are also the environments. The subject matter is adult and is often violent with great emphasis on explosions, fire and many pyrotechnics. American animation is a derivative of the Vaudeville Theater with its one-liner jokes and “slapstick” comedy. Anime, on the other hand, found its genesis in the Japanese theater which is highly dramatic.

[zanekohler]

Good Idea, I have often had discussion on styles and there has been confusion on exactly what specifically we are talking about.

It is sad when you mention classical is avoided like the plague(among young male teens). I remember way back when the Little Mermaid came out. I really liked it and was impressed but seemed to be the only one among peers at school. A few years go by and those same friends I still knew admitted to liking it.

I would have to say I enjoy all styles to various degrees. My favorites would be classical and computer. I do enjoy pop, but probably more in the way I enjoy a sitcom. I also do graphic design. So I have a lot of respect for the design aspect of some limited animation. Like UPA or more recently Fosters.

[lavallelee]

I was once contempt at just learning how to do limited animation. Now i look back and think, what was i thinking!

Classical animation i think is the best type of art form ever created. Thanks for explaining the differences.

[asifaarchive]

What about the surrealistic anthropomorphism of the New York studios like the Fleischers, and the blackout style of Warner Bros and post Harmon-Ising MGM cartoons? There's the rubber hose style of the Bosko and Mickey Mouse cartoons too.

[OwenWelsh]

I wonder if we consider Miyazaki animation "classical animation" in the spirit of disney or of "anime" origin since it is a japanese film. Most of his films are conservatively drawn to get the most mileage out of the pencil but I think it's created in the spirit of classical animation.

[Don Bluth]

What about the surrealistic anthropomorphism of the New York studios like the Fleischers, and the blackout style of Warner Bros and post Harmon-Ising MGM cartoons? There's the rubber hose style of the Bosko and Mickey Mouse cartoons too.

The New York history you speak of, the Fleischers, the blackout style of Warner Bros, the post Harmon-Ising MGM cartoons, and the rubber hose style of the Bosko and Mickey Mouse cartoons are all part of the classical animation movement which we now call "The Golden Age" of animation. Disney studio just happens to be the only studio that survived economically. I think the seven styles that I've described came about because of the economics of the business. Classical animation, which is the most expensive, began losing money around the time of Sleeping Beauty (1959); I was there; I worked on that picture. Sleeping Beauty was the last of the inked films. Xerox cels came into being in the production of 101 Dalmatians to try to cut costs. Eventually, smaller studios entered the business to produce for television and the only way they could survive was to limit the drawings needed in a show. That is another era and another animation style.

[Don Bluth]

I wonder if we consider Miyazaki animation "classical animation" in the spirit of disney or of "anime" origin since it is a japanese film. Most of his films are conservatively drawn to get the most mileage out of the pencil but I think it's created in the spirit of classical animation.

In my opinion, I consider Miyazaki to be in the classical genre. The style is full and the focus of his movies is to tell stories.

[asifaarchive]

Your description of classical animation doesn't really describe the style of the Fleischer's films at all... they were created for adults primarily- not kids. Plot was almost non-existent- the films were organized with more abstract musical structures. They were gritty- straight from the streets of New York City- not romantic; and they were extremely surreal, not realistic.

The best of the Warner and Tex Avery cartoons were very dependent on graphic design and the exaggerated funny drawing was the foundation of the whole style. They had almost no story- just a theme with blackout gags building to a topper gag. Again, they were created for general audiences, not kids, they were full of "wiseacre" humor- not romanticism, and they were exaggerated and caricatured to the point of surrealism- not at all realistic.

Both of these styles were 100% dependent on the medium of animation. Tex Avery, Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones were creating a form of entertainment that had no relationship to live action at all, except perhaps for the wildest films of Buster Keaton. Disney was the one that kept pushing towards realism and the romanticism of films like Flynn's Robin Hood. Like you say, he broke the bank trying to make one medium do the job of another one. If Disney didn't have superhuman artists like Milt Kahl and Marc Davis who could actually create "romantically realistic animation" by sheer skill, sweat and force of will, he never would have been able to make those sorts of films at all.

Ironically, Sleeping Beauty was originally intended to be a graphical answer to UPA. You can see some of this kind of design approach in the effects animation and the pleats of costumes. But for some reason, real stylization was steamrolled over by the colored ink lines that cancelled out the the lines, the hyper-detailed backgrounds of Eyvind Earle and the weight of the traditional way Disney animation had always been done. 101 Dalmations is the film where it was OK again to show that the characters were drawings were made up of lines, but even in that film, the animators seemed to resist breaking from the old ways of thinking.

The only Disney films that showed the real possibilities of modern design were Kimball's shorts and commercials, which from what I heard flew under Walt's radar until he picked up the Oscar for Toot Whistle Plunk & Boom and thanked Kimball by telling him to stop making "that UPA crap".

Chuck Jones told a great story about when he briefly joined Disney to work on Sleeping Beauty. He gave a talk to the animation staff and spoke about Tex Avery. None of the animators at Disney had ever heard of him.

[dartzy]

Not to change the on going subject of what is classical animation that is going, I had a question for Mr. Bluth.

I was wonder how he felt about the computer process eliminating the use of good old brush and paint ala cels. Having been a animation art collector a few years ago, I find myself very mixed about the way the industry is going now. Don't get me wrong- I love the things that computers can do today. I mean more along the lines of software like Flipbook and not actual 3-D animation.
As a collector, I am always amazed about what time and talent it takes to put into a film like your own Secret of Nimh. All those cels and the wonderful painted backgrounds! To be able to hold and appreciate one captured moment from the film always amazes me. With the no films today, there are no cels to admire other than the pre-made ones on the marked today by Disney and the others. There is just something lost there. I was wondering how you personaly felt about not using celluloid anymore as a animator and as a Director? I realise it's a time saver but other than that how do you feel? I mean, it's a part of the process that made classical animation as we know it today.

Was curious. :laughing:

Kelley

[jeremyhopkins]

How about live action rotoscoped features like 'Waking Life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iDAaS3QiNk)'. Do you think they would be a specific category or part of something else?

[CanAur]

Don Bluth

Computer animation:
This style of animation has become extremely popular with theater-going audiences, both adult and teenage. Computer graphics are used to create a very believable fantasy world with believable characters. The movement of the CG animation is more fluid than that of the classical style; hand drawn scenes may jitter because of poorly drawn in-betweens thus pulling focus onto the artwork. The CG medium does not intrude on the focus of the story so it lends itself beautifully to producing feature length movies.

I disagree that computer animation is a "genre" of animation.
Saying "CG" you cant be sure that I mean the same thing than you do.

Computer animation also can be hand-drawn, anime, 3D, 3D-mocap, 2d-puppets, 2D vector anmation... everything.

[Don Bluth]

Don Bluth



I disagree that computer animation is a "genre" of animation.
Saying "CG" you cant be sure that I mean the same thing than you do.

Computer animation also can be hand-drawn, anime, 3D, 3D-mocap, 2d-puppets, 2D vector animation... everything.

When I refer to the term "Computer Animation" I mean the successful CG feature films recently produced by Pixar or Bluesky, etc. Computer animation is also a process. I don't want to confuse the process with the style.

Those of us in the animation business have never been able to put a handle on the different styles of animation that have made a successful reign on the big movie screen. I am making an attempt to put handles on the different styles so that we can talk intelligently about animation with each other. There are even animation pieces done with push pins or with Avery labels or even with sand and a stop motion camera. I am deliberately leaving these out because they are sub-categories of other styles already listed.
Push pin animation is not a major influence in the animation business.

There is a category that asifaarchive also brought to my attention which I think is a good addition to the list. This category is the 3-6 minute cartoon short that preceded the first feature length animated film, Snow White. As asifaarichive describes, it is the surrealistic anthropomorphism of the New York studios like the Fleischers, and the blackout style of Warner Bros and post Harmon-Ising MGM cartoons, as well as the rubber hose style of the Bosko and Mickey Mouse cartoons and Disney’s Silly Symphonies. This style is true Vaudevillian humor characterized by visual gags.

Jeremy suggests that we add rotoscope animation which for now may be a good idea. It still remains to be see if it is to be a successful influence on the business. I've used the criteria, "If it makes money, it is a successful style."

[asifaarchive]

I would also suggest the "auteur" style animated films, which includes Bakshi's features and independent animator/directors like John Canemaker, Don Herzfeld and Bill Plympton. These films are typically more personal artistic statements drawn in a particular artist's own style. They are generally independently produced and distributed. This particular style is the one that holds the most possibilities for growth in the future because of the open nature of the internet. Sita Sings the Blues, Waking Life and Waltz With Bashir would also be in this style.

[Rodney]

Perhaps 'Experimental Animation' is a category that could collect the majority of other styles?
Yes, its more of a category than a style.

I know for many years it seemed books focusing on experimental animation were the norm (Kit Laybourne's 'The Animation Book', 'The Shoestring Animator', 'The Kodak Animation Book', etc) seemed all that I could find in bookstores. It was fun to read about these techniques but at that time I really wanted to learn more about traditionally drawn animation in the classic Disney style.

This category might allow for styles as diverse as Lotte Reiniger's silhouette puppetry and most of the films from the National Film Board of Canada. Important styles, although usually not hand drawn and almost always with a flare of personal expression.

[Wearedoomed]

This is a good topic, Mr. Bluth!

Out of the ones listed, my favorites would have to be "Classical" (also commonly known as "Traditional") and "Anime". Visually speaking, they're more colorful, the characters move more fluently, and helps tell the story better. Just a question though, since Anime usually incorporates hand-drawn animation, wouldn't it actually be considered to be a branch-off of "Classical"? Like a sub-class of it?

[JoelMayer]

There is also a lot of great work being done in the Cut Out Animation Style. Recent examples are of course the South Park Series and Film.

There i always a discussion, if this technique belongs more to stop motion than to classical or limited animation, since its basically moving 2D puppets around.

I really think this technique shouldnt be underestimated. Sure thing, the animation is never as smooth and detailed as in a classically animated film, but due to the fact that you dont have to redraw every frame, the Characters are often much more detailled in painting and texture.

Good examples are:

Fantastic Planet - Cut Out Feature Film by René Laloux

Monty Python - Animated Segments - Probably one of the most influential Cut- Out Animation stuff ever created, by Terry Gilliam.

Twice upon a Time - Feature Film executive produced by George Lucas.

Hedgehog and the Fog - Beautiful short by russian legend Yuri Norstein

Ubu and Labyrinth - Features all done by one man: Poster Designer Jan Lenica

Do it yourself Cartoon Kit - Hilarious classic by Bob Godfrey. Terry Gilliam was very influenced by him.

Angela Anaconda - Recent example for the use in television animation (other than South Park)

The Romantic (http://www.theromanticmovie.com) - A Feature Film created by Michael P. Heneghan. It is set to be released this year.

The list goes on and on and on. Most of these films are hard to find on DVD but you can check them out on YouTube ;-)

cheers!

[ManWithGoodTaste]

Classical Animation, Claymation and Anime.

Anyone knows that the latter is often limited because of the SMALL BUDGET?The animation industry of Japan started in an era when the country wasn't one of the richest.

[BigFanOfBluth]

I know this is 2 years late, but...
I agree with what Don said about Claymation being about the clay - with one fascinating exception. There is a movie out there that my wife and I caught on ABC TV around Easter a few years ago - The Miracle Maker. It was the story of Christ. Neither my wife nor I are Christians, but this little movie just pulled you in. Story, characters, emotion -- it really handled the presentation of the story like a champion. 2 or 3 times I found myself saying "I can't believe this is claymation". Usually, my thoughts about claymation are "that took hours" or "nice work with the clay" -- it was more about the clay technique than the story. But somehow, the script, directing, voice actors and animators pulled together an emotional statement that was about the story, first. I might change my opinion with a second viewing, but I was stunned by what I saw.

[GdeSouza]

Generally, I would say I love golden age classical cartoons but to me, and I do not wish to be cliche, there is only good entertainment and bad entertainment; that is, does it entertain? I've seen technically perfect animation bore me to tears. I've seen crudely technically animation make me forget about the technique through good writing and story such as Bullwinkle or the Rankin/Bass Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer. I disagree that UPA is necessarily limited animation. It could be full, stylized, celebrating the fact these were drawings using a 2d clarity that had been in American print cartoons for years. Later UPA as the Mr.Magoos and Dick Tracys produced for TV were limited.

I love Warner Bros, MGM and Fleischer cartoons; I can watch hours on end. I love all the features produced under Walt Disney the man. I can generally only watch a couple golden age Disney shorts in a row (except Goofys which I can watch endlessly). I find them technically perfect yet somewhat "out of touch". I think the funniest Mickey Mouse is Plane Crazy and I semi-jokingly add, it's all downhill from there. MGM cartoons generally have a balance of the technical perfection and entertainment. I've enjoyed many Japanese features just because the storytelling seemed a respite from the Hollywood formula.

I guess I'm back to my original point. It's a bonus, though, when the animation and story are virtually flawless together in any style.

[GdeSouza]

There's digital 2d animation like Flash animation. I've have like many things produced in it but I find it a very limited medium even when the artist does their best. It will always look like sophisticated computer -aided cut-outs which has a limited appeal to me. I said elsewhere on the web that the best Flash animation still looks like 2004. For its appeal, i think it's hit a wall.