The Renaissance Age of Animation: Difference between revisions

Some popular Flash animated cartoons include ''[[Joe Cartoons]]'', ''[[Weebl and Bob]]'', ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]'', ''[[Homestar Runner]]'', the ''[[Brackenwood]]'' Series, ''[[Making Fiends (web cartoon)|Making Fiends]]'' and ''[[Salad Fingers]]''.

Despite the box office success of Disney's ''[[Lilo and Stitch (Disney film)|Lilo & Stitch]]'', the failure of their much-hyped ''[[Treasure Planet]]'' seemed to ensure that there would be major cutbacks at Disney's animation studio. In 2004, Disney released what it announced to be its last traditionally animated film, ''[[Home on the Range (2004 film)|Home on the Range]]''. The film received mixed reviews and was not successful at the box office.

That same year, the live-action film ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow|Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow]]'' was released. It was notable for being filmed entirely in front of a [[Chroma key|bluescreen]], with the background being completely computer generated; only the actors and some props were real. [[Robert Zemeckis]]' film ''[[The Polar Express (film)|The Polar Express]]'', starring [[Tom Hanks]] in five roles, was completely CGI animation, but used [[performance capture]] technology to animate the characters. Zemeckis followed ''The Polar Express'' with two other motion capture films: ''[[Beowulf (2007 film)|Beowulf]]'' and [[Disney's A Christmas Carol|Disney's ''A Christmas Carol'']].

However, the release of ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' and ''[[The Secret of Kells]]'' in 2009, both nominated for an [[Academy Award]], marked a renewed interest in traditional animation. In the same year, ''[[Coraline (filmanimation)|Coraline]]'' and [[Wes Anderson]]'s ''[[Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)|Fantastic Mr. Fox]]'' (also Academy Award nominated) renewed interest in stop motion animation.

Historically, despite the continuation of the Best Animated Short Subject category, animated feature films seldom received much recognition from the [[Academy Awards]] for anything other than musical scores. The unprecedented nomination of Disney's ''Beauty and the Beast'' for Best Picture and five other awards changed things, even though it only won two Oscars for its song score. Animation had become so widely accepted by the beginning of the 21st century that, in 2001, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] introduced a new [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature]].

[[Hayao Miyazaki]]'s critically acclaimed ''[[Spirited Away]]'' won the Oscar in 2002. Disney/Pixar's ''[[Finding Nemo]]'' received the 2003 award, defeating nominees ''[[The Triplets of Belleville]]'' and ''Brother Bear''. Since then, Pixar has won the most awards in this category with the current exceptions being ''[[Wallace and Gromit Curse of The Were Rabbit|Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit]]'' in 2005, ''[[Happy Feet]]'' in 2006, ''[[Rango (2011 film)|Rango]]'' in 2011, ''[[Frozen (2013Disney film)|Frozen]]'' in 2013, and ''[[Big Hero 6 (film)|Big Hero 6]]'' in 2014.

In 2013, the March 7 issue of [[The Hollywood Reporter]] magazine published the ballots of eight different Oscar voters in the Academy.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Feinberg|first1=Scott|title=Oscar Voter Reveals Brutally Honest Ballot|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscar-voter-reveals-brutally-honest-682957|website=The Hollywood Reporter|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=22 January 2015}}</ref> Of those eight, four voters abstained in the Best Animated Feature category due to inadequate knowledge of the subject. They admitted to not having seen all of the nominations, one person stating “that ended when I was 6.” Such disregard for animated films is often criticized by American animators, who claim that “Hollywood doesn’t care or know the first thing about animated films.”<ref>{{cite web|last1=Amidi|first1=Amid|title=Definitive Proof That Academy Voters Are Ignorant About Animation|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/award-season-focus/definitive-proof-that-academy-voters-are-ignorant-about-animation-96680.html|website=Cartoon Brew|publisher=Cartoon Brew, LLC|accessdate=22 January 2015}}</ref>