Transitioning of Design in Animation

Transitioning of Design in Animation

Recently I've really fallen in love with older Disney films. Especially the ones created between 1950 and the late 60's. They had this simplistic design and style to them that I feel is lost in modern day three-dimensional animation. I watched 101 Dalmatians the other day and truly enjoyed the overall look of the film. It wasn't bombarded with underhanded advertisement or numerous references. Although it did utilize some of the beloved characters of Lady and the Tramp. The best part of the film was I didn't feel exhausted after watching it. Also, I really enjoyed the fact that they placed the credits at the beginning. It took a lot of people to make animated films even back then. This made the audience actually view the credits before they could watch the film. I feel in the present that people who create animated films are taken for granted. That the audience can barely comprehend the amount of time and effort a "child's cartoon" can take. Animated films are very much under appreciated today. The beauty of old animation design is lost and ignored by modern viewers that desire "the new." Also, during the opening credits of 101 Dalmatians I loved how they gave basic visual explanations of the people being credited. An example would be moving dalmatians during the animators credit and background designs being drawn during set credits. These small details are what I notice most about older animations. It's so hard to see these minute parts in present day films. Look at The Sword in the Stone, there are so many details to Merlin's character that I love deeply. His animation is so fluid and he uses his beard as a duster so naturally. They made his character so well rounded that even his bad traits and habits make him adorable in my opinion. This attention to detail is sometimes lost in quickly made modern animation at times I feel characters can be half-baked. I usually have to watch a film once for the plot and then several times to notice all the details. Although I do passionately love animation in all its forms and how it has changed so rapidly in the past few decades, it's sometimes nice to be able to take a step back and rewind with the simple narrative of older films.