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The Invention Of Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping was invented by Max Fleischer. It involves tracing over live-action film frame by frame to create a realistic animated motion. -
Rotoscoping Gains Popularity
Rotoscoping began to gain popularity in the late 1920's. Which was brought on by Fleischer film “Poor Cinderella". It was a Betty Boop short released in 1928.
You can watch here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/orD7WIDTAvY?si=IqTmLBlnj_5te6cV -
Fleisher's Patent expired
The patent the Max Fleischer had, expired in 1934. The Disney Corporation soon adapted the style in their new movies. -
Snow White
The classic movie "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" came out in 1937. It influenced live action animation hybrid films by demonstrating that audiences could engage with animated characters in a feature-length format. This went on to start what is commonly known as the golden age of animation. -
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The Silver Age of Disney
The silver era created cult classic animations including "Cinderella" (1950), "Sleeping Beauty" (1959), and "101 Dalmatians" (1961). This caused tremendous growth for Disney. -
Mary Poppins
As the animation industry evolved, Disney continued to explore new techniques and formats. This soon led to the development of live-action animation hybrid films. Productions like "Mary Poppins" (1964) laid the ground work to help create this genre of movie. -
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The Bronze Age of Disney
This era was a shift in animation due to a more economical focus. The era was created shortly after Walt Disney's death, and many original animators were either retiring or passing away as well. Animation became faster, but at the cost of it being sloppy or reused. It introduced films such as "The Aristocats" (1970) and "Robin Hood" (1973). -
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The Dark Age of Disney
Due to changes in leadership, budgetary constraints, and competition of cheap television animation, Disney's animation studio was extremely unsteady. Their movies began to flop in the box office and take a darker tone. People began losing interest in animation. -
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The success of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" demonstrated the technical and storytelling possibilities of combining live-action with animation, capturing the audience's imagination and proving that animation can once again be successful. It re-wrote the rules of animation. Instead of keeping the camera still, we got action shots, and props to help the animators and the actors create the film. -
The Success of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
The collaboration between Disney and Amblin Entertainment created the box office hit and classic that is "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". With engaging characters, an appealing story line, and clever writing and humor, it is no wonder that it earned many awards. It received Academy Awards for Film Editing, Sound Effect Editing, and Visual Effects. It brought back the public's spark towards animation. -
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Disney Renaissance Age
The success of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" heavily influenced this age of Disney Animation. It brought back a new interest in animation and Disney took that and ran with it. They began to commit to high-quality animation, creating gorgeous pieces such as "The Little Mermaid (1989)", "Aladdin (1992)", and "Mulan (1998)" to name a few. -
Space Jam
The next movie to really embrace animation and live-action after "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was "Space Jam". It utilized CGI animation and hand drawn animation to enhance the visual spectacle. It brought back the original Looney Tune characters in a fresh new way. -
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
"The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" used a combination of traditional hand-drawn animation and CGI. The film incorporated live-action segments with animated characters, continuing the tradition of the original animated television series. This hybrid approach allowed for the integration of traditional animation and CGI to help create a visually dynamic and entertaining film. -
Enchanted
"Enchanted" is a unique film because of instead of having animation beside live-action characters it flip-flops from an animated world to a live action one. However, the boundary is blurred with characters moving between the two realms. -
Today
Today most movies that include fictional animated characters are made with CGI. Very little of today's film is made with classic pen and paper. Some may argue that it's better due to how fast the process is. Others say it's worse due to the lack of charm the computer characters have.