Disney Digs Up Traditional Animators

Traditional 2D animation is beautiful, unique, yet is very time consuming. Even when produced by the most prestigious animation studios, hand drawn animations can take years to complete. In today's world, time is everything, and there has been a dramatic decline in the use of traditional animation over the years. This decline has lead many to believe that hand drawn animation is a dying art form. Technology has advanced to a point where everything has evolved, not only the art, but also the artist.

Animators who have been classically trained in animation would have to adapt to the new three dimensional techniques. While I do have an appreciation for artwork that has been created via the computer, traditional painting and hand drawn artwork is astonishing. There is something more personal about traditionally created artwork, especially if you have the honor of owning an original piece. It's like owning a piece of the artist, that is truly one of a kind, something that can never be replaced by the cold duplicate created on the machine. I realize that with the ever changing world of technology one must adapt to survive, but the beauty of artwork created by hand is irreplaceable.

I find it very refreshing that Disney has revisited its past with the creation of The Princess and the Frog. This has been Disney's first hand drawn animation since 2004. Since the release of Toy Story in 1995, CGI has become the norm amongst various animation studios. While I do not think there is anything wrong with computer animated films, I do feel that 2D animation needs to be resurrected. The beauty of hand drawn animation should be more than a nostalgic past time, hopefully this trend will continue for Disney's future animations as well.