At the end of my film school career in 1999, the program flew us out to Los Angeles to meet industry pros and visit various studios. After four years of hearing about Hollywood, we were getting to experience it. During our tour of Disney’s studios and offices in Burbank, our line took a turn and I came face to face wtih an animation legend. It wasn’t a person. I encountered the Multiplane camera that Walt Disney and his crew invented that gave a 3-D look to 2-D animation on so many of his classic films. There was a velvet rope around the towering legend. I didn’t try to hug the rig that was used for Fantasia, Cinderella and so much more. No one else in my group recognized the Multiplane camera. They kept walking. I didn’t want to make a scene because they were too caught up in the CGI Animation revolution that was taking place after the success of Toy Story. They’d rather see the banks of computers used by Pixar. Pencils Vs. Pixels is a documentary about this moment in animation history that arrives on Video On Demand this Tuesday (November 7).
The movie starts off explaining how animation works with major industry animators. The Pencil Test gets a lot of reaction since this is the first time they know how the animated figures look in motion. This is the first sign of movie magic. At the same time, we’re given a concise history of animation in cinematic history. Walt Disney becomes a major player of the era as he builds his studio on ink and paint. The key to Walt’s involvement in the field is that he wants to keep making things look better. He doesn’t seem to be fixated on how his studio can do it cheaper. He creates lavish productions. He elevates veteran artists into Disney’s Nine Old Men to insure a level of quality is kept up. He brings on Mary Blair who creates concept art that lifts up so many of the classic films. He oversees the invention of the Multiplane Camera to create depth in a 2-D environment. He builds an animation empire so huge and admired by millions that other Hollywood studios don’t try to rival him for feature films and stick to shorts. After Disney’s death, his studio keeps producing the same kind of animated films even though things in the late ’60s have changed with the arrival of Easy Rider. The film doesn’t deal with the arrival of Ralph Bakshi and his X-Rated animated feature Fritz the Cat (1972). We are shown how in 1979 Don Bluth and other Disney animators left the House of Mouse to create their own family-oriented feature film with The Secret of NIMH. While the film was flattened at the box office by E.T., Steven Spielberg adored the animation and ended up producing the next Bluth feature film An American Tale. Disney finally had an American based rival.
The history takes a techno turn with the arrival of computers in the ink and paint process. While you’d imagine Disney would be stuck in their traditional ways, the company first explored using a computer to create the clockwork background in The Great Mouse Detective. We get to see how a small crew made this transition happen. There are also discussions in how during the late ’80s and early ’90s comeback of classics, Disney animators used computer graphics to create a few dazzling effects. During this segment, one of the clip highlights is the CGI test from when John Lasseter and another animator pitched making Where The Wild Things Are (never made for lack of rights). Their test clip shows a painted Max in a 3-D CGI bedroom. Instead of spearheading this new technology, Lasseter is fired from Disney and finds himself working for Pixar. This is when things really change. Toy Story is a complete 3-D CGI feature film that becomes a massive hit for Pixar. The movie is distributed by Disney so it’s not one of those stories about a major company being toppled by the people it rejected. Experts such as Leonard Maltin, Kevin Smith, Seth McFarlane (Family Guy) discuss how the success starts Disney to move away from traditional hand drawn and painted animation.
The animators at first don’t see CGI as a threat to their work. They view it as another way to make an animated film like stop motion or claymation. The studio executives don’t see it as a choice, but the hot new direction. All the studios get into the 3-D animation business with the perception that by using computers, the films are cheaper and faster to make. Quite a few of the industry professionals point out that they are not. They require as many people, have budgets that can be higher than the traditional animated film and need as much time. But do studio heads really listen to reason when they see dollar signs?
While the movie might be seen as a swansong to 2-D animation, there is hope in the final act as seen in the work of Seth McFarlane and Alex Hirsch (Gravity Falls). Pencils Vs Pixels is a movie that does a lot in 82 minutes. We receive an understanding of what it takes to create an animated film in both hand drawn/painted 2-D, devised in 3-D CGI and even “drawn” in computer animation for 2-D. There’s a history of how animation developed and thrived in cinema. Animators with all sorts of experience are given a forum to discuss not only their past, but visions for the future of animated entertainment.
You might be wondering why is Kevin Smith all over this documentary? Kevin sounds like an uber fan for most of the film, but he’s also part of the animation community. He turned his movie Clerks into an animated series that lasted six episodes. He had a little better luck with Masters of the Universe: Revelation. The Multiplane Camera also appears in the film.
Pencils Vs Pixels doesn’t force viewers to take a side so much as appreciate what goes into making an animated film. By the end of the film your kid (or yourself) will be eager to get a drawing tablet. You can experiment with animation and post the results post online. Pencils Vs Pixels is inspirational above all.
Strikeback Studios present Pencils Vs Pixels. Directed by Bay Dariz & Phil Earnest. Screenplay by Bay Dariz. Featuring Ming-Na Wen, Kevin Smith, Seth McFarlane, Leonard Maltin, Alex Hirsch, Glen Keane & Andreas Deja. Running Time 82 minutes. Video On Demand Release: November 7, 2023.
Pencils Vs Pixels – Official Trailer (2023) – YouTube
WEBSITE:STRIKEBACKSTUDIOS.COM/PENCILS-VS-PIXELS
INSTAGRAM:@STRIKEBACKSTUDIOS
