Animation and Story

Even before I wanted to make live-action films, I was into drawing and cartoons. I have a deep respect for animation, especially hand drawn. I grew up on the old Looney Tunes, as well as the Disney animation revival. The first film I ever saw in theaters was the Lion King. It has been cool getting to watch animation for a couple weeks. 

I don't want to get into this debate over mediums and beauty and art that seems to be raging on. But, I think no matter what you're trying to make, the number one thing you should be going for is keeping your audiences interest. That doesn't mean explosions, but I do think there should be a lot of thought put into the story and characters. I didn't really like the film about the family and whatever incest that was happening. I did love the rotoscoped film When the Day Breaks. I think these are both "weird" films, so its not that them being abstract bothered me. 

One cool thing about animation is its being democratized. Pixar used to be the only studio that could pull off a short, now a few guys can crank one out and have it look a million times better than Tin Toy. This is an exciting time for CGI, but I don't want people to forget about hand drawn. Again, I think relatable characters and interesting story trumps any type of aesthetics. That's why Toy Story kicks butt, even though it doesn't look as good as Brave. Story and characters matter more than anything else, if you want people to care.