O'Connor, assistant professor of Broadcasting. Digital Media and Journalism said, "Film and TV is visual storytelling With animation, you go so much beyond what we can actually see." Simon expressed a similar sentiment, saying, "Animation displays things that just can't be told with reallife actors. It can display truths and ideology, and connects with audience in a way live action movies can't." Not only can animation push past the boundaries of live-action films visually. but the heightened reality of an animated world can also often be the perfect background against which to reflect important t ruths about values and the world around us. However, while in the right context an animated film can create a deeper connection with its audience, all animated films have an uphill battle to establish these connections. When we see real people on the screen it is much easier to immediately associate ourselves with them and to feel that their story is real. whereas with animated characters it is easier to feel detached. However, with the overuse of CGI in live- action media - when done poorly can be a huge distraction in a film - it is possible that animated movies, with one cohesive style, may feel more cohesive. Fall 2022 "9" Courtesy of Universal Pictures What decides if a story should be animated1 As fi lm franchises like "Lord of t he Rings, " "Star Wars" and the Marvel Cinematic Universe prove, fantastical elements in a film don't automatically mean it must be animated. O'Connor said, "Knowing what characteristics of your film will lend themselves to animation· is the key to making this decision. All the franchises listed above have characteristics that would lend themselves well to animation. All these franchises have made animated projects at one point or another. but they also have characteristics that work better in live action. Ultimately, it will all come down to storytelling. Simon gave several examples of potential questions to decide which medium to choose: ■ What do I need to show visually in the storytelling? ■ Which style will fit better? ■ What is the source material coming from? ■ Do the antics and exaggeration need to push beyond reality? Superhero stories are a complicated case study. Obviously, t he source material - comic books - leads itself easiest to animation. While there were successful early liveaction comic book adaptations, the superhero genre in the 90s was dominated by the iconic animated Batman, X-Men and Spider-Man shows. It wasn't until the release of "Spider-Man· and "X-Men· in the early 2000s that superhero stories started to work in live-act ion. While comic books can be most accurately adapted in animation, liveaction comic book movies work well because of the realism factor. The moral of many superhero stories is to inspire positive change and act ion in their audience, something made easier with a live-action actor on the screen. For this reason, superhero stories can work well in both mediums. Nei ther animation nor live-action is better than the other. Both mediums have their storytelling strengths and weaknesses, and both can be visually stunning. A savvy filmmaker will know which medium will best serve the story t hey are striving to tell. And while animation is often the best choice for a child's film, it can do so much more. Both O'Connor and Simon had ideas about what they would like to see more of in animat ion going forward. O'Connor misses the days when Pixar had something to say and feels that t hey've been too on the nose recently. Simon misses the hand -drawn animation style and wants to see more films like "Into the Spiderverse" and "Mitchells vs. the Machi nes." Films that use animation's strengths to the fullest. I want to see a larger variety of genres within animation. I want to see romantic comedies, dramas, sci-fi, fantasy, all of it. I want to see animation embraced not as its own, limiting genre, but as the powerful visual medium that it is. Janie Wa/e:nda is a sophomore Global Business major and the A&E c-:ditor for Cedars. She is passionate abou t musicals, animation and cold brew. Graphic by Corrissa Smith cm,u 11
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