Hand-Drawn Animation division gutted

[Genie of the Lamp]

Found this article on Business Insider that gives us some reasons as to why the Disney Layoffs came to be:
http://www.businessinsider.com/disney-layoffs-led-by-poor-dvd-sales-2013-4

 

[imagineer boy]

That's like saying that artists should just give up painting in oils and exclusively use watercolors because "times are changing" and we need to "move along".

Hand-drawn animation is not a genre distinct from CG. It is a medium of expression through which, theoretically, any story can be told.

The medium is not the problem. Disney's marketing and increasingly restrictive creative culture is the problem. Limiting the range of expression available to their artists, by arbitrarily saying that the hand-drawn medium is the problem, is not going solve anything. Disney has deeper issues on the creative side of their business than they care to admit, and this latest move by Disney does nothing to address them, which is bad because all of their movies, not just the hand-drawn ones, will be negatively affected.

Well said! The medium really shouldn't matter as long as it's used effectively to convey the story and characters while having it's visual pop of it's own. PatF was a good solid movie, but there were problems. While it did try some new things like the Jazzy New Orleans style, it also was very bland in some areas like hiring people from the 90s renaissance to direct when they should've been looking for new talent and many other things (like the 90's style self-reliant Disney princess and doofus prince, cliche themes like wishing on stars, and the "just okay" Randy Newman music).

If Disney ever does take a crack at 2-D animation again, then they're REALLY going to need to up the ante. They'll have to bring something totally new and innovative to the plate and bring something no one has ever seen before while staying true to the Disney roots. Really allow the creative team and the animators express themselves, and bring forth a new style of 2-D animation (perhaps utilize the 3-D painted background technology that was first used in Tarzan. I seriously want to see more of that!).

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Just because it's computerized and/or (especially) 3D - does not mean it's better. And suggesting artists "get with the program" is just silly. An artist uses whatever medium THEY want to express their vision; what others use is irrelevant.

Are we not supposed to paint in watercolors and oils because you can do it on the computer now? Lame.

I certainly appreciate 2D, hand-drawn cel animation far more.

 

[erasure fan1]

If Disney ever does take a crack at 2-D animation again, then they're REALLY going to need to up the ante. They'll have to bring something totally new and innovative to the plate and bring something no one has ever seen before while staying true to the Disney roots. Really allow the creative team and the animators express themselves, and bring forth a new style of 2-D animation (perhaps utilize the 3-D painted background technology that was first used in Tarzan. I seriously want to see more of that!).

Yea I agree, but the problem is I just don't see with how anti risk the company is at the moment, that would ever be an option. If they wanted to put forth the effort they would have followed up princess and the frog with something and built on the great things that movie did. But instead they said "Oh well, see people really don't care about 2D."

 

[BoarderPhreak]

To see just what this loss means, vid this. Amazing, and sad.