To be fair to Walt, he didn't actually start out making movies for children either - that crept in during 50s.
But ever since then the perception that "cartoons are for kids" has predominated - despite the absurd contradiction that so many golden age shorts have had to be edited or excluded for television consumption.
Too many animated features today seem to be made 'back-to-front' - rather than building around a basic story concept they appear to start with the premise 'this is a kids film' and then try to build it on a perceived pre-existing formula to this end.
It is worth noting that the original Disney features were created by building on the most memorable elements of the source material, then letting the characters' personalities determine the way these played out. There was no attempt to shoehorn elements into the plot that were not in someway already present.
Nowadays the original source seems to be the first thing to go.
February 05, 2014 4:18 AM
Anonymous said...
Ed Hooks is kind of a fraud, in that his "acting for animators" is responsible for some of the worst habits in animation over the last few decades. I wouldn't put too much weight in ANYTHING he says.
I don't put too much weight on ANYTHING said anonymously.
February 08, 2014 9:36 PM
Ed Hooks is an actor and acting teacher who has run workshops for animators. He has a monthly newsletter where he talks about animated acting and comments on animated films. This is from his latest:
"Even
a cursory glance at the evolution of feature animation in the United
States reveals a lack of thematic diversity. Walt Disney started out
making movies for children, and that is still pretty much the situation
today. For one brief moment in history, it looked like John Lasseter and
his Pixar crew were going to break the mold. "Toy Story" was for
adults, as was "Monsters Incorporated", "The Incredibles" and
"Ratatouille". These movies worked for the kids in the audience, but
they had adult themes and featured characters with adult wisdom. Pixar
gave Hollywood animation a real Camelot moment. But then Disney bought
Pixar, and we are back where we started, with movies for kids. The
stories invariably are about good vs. evil, virginal first love or
non-life-threatening bravery. There is definitely sufficient talent in Hollywood to handle tough
adult-world issues, but there is more money to be made with kids' movies
and their tentpole merchandising opportunities."
"Ed Hooks on Hollywood Animation"
4 Comments -
I think he's overstating Disney's purchase (CARS, released the year of the buyout, stunk, so the seeds were already there), but I agree.
February 04, 2014 1:51 PM
To be fair to Walt, he didn't actually start out making movies for children either - that crept in during 50s.
But ever since then the perception that "cartoons are for kids" has predominated - despite the absurd contradiction that so many golden age shorts have had to be edited or excluded for television consumption.
Too many animated features today seem to be made 'back-to-front' - rather than building around a basic story concept they appear to start with the premise 'this is a kids film' and then try to build it on a perceived pre-existing formula to this end.
It is worth noting that the original Disney features were created by building on the most memorable elements of the source material, then letting the characters' personalities determine the way these played out. There was no attempt to shoehorn elements into the plot that were not in someway already present.
Nowadays the original source seems to be the first thing to go.
February 05, 2014 4:18 AM
Ed Hooks is kind of a fraud, in that his "acting for animators" is responsible for some of the worst habits in animation over the last few decades. I wouldn't put too much weight in ANYTHING he says.
February 08, 2014 9:28 PM
I don't put too much weight on ANYTHING said anonymously.
February 08, 2014 9:36 PM