Animation has been a prevalent part of filmmaking for a century now, with Disney – a company currently celebrating its own 100th anniversary – and others providing countless beloved animated films. But there’s obviously been a notable difference about the majority of big studio animated films from the recent past, compared to those made for decades prior, as so most of them are now made using computer animation, compared to the 2D hand-drawn films that were previously the norm.
The history of animation on film and the transition from hand-drawn to computers is the focus of the recently released documentary, Pencils vs. Pixels, which is available on Digital. The film features interviews with animation creators from across many different generations and styles, including John Musker, Glen Keane, Pete Docter, Seth MacFarlane, Alex Hirsch and a ton of others. Narrating the film – and seen on screen as well – is an actress with a notably impressive history in animation, Ming-Na Wen.
Wen of course voiced Mulan in the 1998 Disney film of the same name, a character she has reprised several times since, while also voicing roles in animated projects as varied as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, The Batman, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, and the just-released Blue Eye Samurai.
Speaking to Fandom, Wen said when she was asked if she’d narrate Pencils vs. Pixels, it was an easy yes, starting with the chance to once more work with an animator she goes way back with. “I’m working with Tom Bancroft, who I’ve known since Mulan, and my love for 2D [animation] will be everlasting. I’m on the board of Tom and [Mulan director] Tony Bancroft, his twin brother’s, studio, Pencilish. And there’s just something magical about 2D animation… It’s wonderful to see that it’s kind of regained its footing in what is important about the soul of animation. We love CGI, but it’s wonderful that the artists get to really express themselves in the original format.”
STORY WINS OUT
While major studios like Disney and Universal (using subsidiaries like Illumination and, post-acquisition, DreamWorks Animation) have been relying on computer animation, it’s worth noting that kids are constantly falling in love with classic films like The Little Mermaid, with its 2D animation obviously not being a deterrent. As Wen observed, “Ultimately, it’s about the story. When photography was invented, it didn’t completely abolish the painters and that art form. So I think it’s just computers enhancing and evolving the art of animation. I think there was a point when it first came out, everyone was really excited about it, and everything sort of became 100%. CG.”
Now though, not only is 2D art from the past being continually lauded, but projects are coming out in that format again as well, such as the Academy Award-nominated film Klaus. Noted Wen, “There was a quote from one of the animators in this documentary that the old is now new again, because there was a period of time where you didn’t see much 2D animation. And now it’s, it’s back, with the enhancement of CG.”
Though Pixar’s debut feature film, 1995’s Toy Story, introduced the first fully computer generated animated film to filmgoers, Walt Disney Animation Studios was beginning to experiment with computer animation throughout the 90s, such as portions of the ballroom dance in Beauty and the Beast or the magic carpet in Aladdin.
Recalled Wen, of seeing the benefits of computer animation mixed with 2D, “For me, my first experience with it, with Mulan, was seeing all the Huns on their horses coming down the snowy mountain side, and every one of them were different and unique and the movements were different.”
Wen stressed that she was impressed by the computer animation layered into Mulan and still is, even as her heart lies with 2D hand-drawn animation. “[Computer animation] is a very exciting format. It’s beautiful. But I will always love Mulan, because I know a lot of the animators, like Mark Henn, who just did some beautiful animation and of course Tom and Tony participated in a lot of the drawings.”
She added that she felt you could feel “the soul of the artist imprinted in every stroke and every element of the character development of all these amazing beings that didn’t exist until they started drawing it.”
MULAN AND MING-NA
I mentioned to Wen that if Mulan were made today, it would almost certainly be a fully computer animated film and she noted we have seen the character in that element at this point, thanks to appearances in projects like Sofia the First and Ralph Breaks the Internet, observing “It has just a very different feel. There’s something in the artistry of 2D that someone said is like physics on paper, because of the way the hand creates that energy in each stroke. And definitely the heart and soul of the animator is in the 2D. A lot of the CG [animation] also incorporates many, many hand drawings, but it’s [completed] on a computer. So it loses a little bit of that graphite… I can’t express what it is, but it’s magical. There is something in the nature of the pencil that’s just different.”
Though she’s now voiced a ton of animated characters, in Pencils vs. Pixels, Wen gets to voice herself – an animated version of herself, that is, created by Tom Bancroft. Asked her reaction to seeing her animated avatar, she replied, “It was adorable! At first, when Tom suggested the idea, I’m like, ‘Oh, fantastic!’ And he showed me Little Me and I was so flattered that he thinks I’m that cute!”
Said Wen, “I won’t give anything away, but at the very end of the documentary, there’s a really funny little tit for tat between live action Tom and animated me and it came out so great. That’s the other thing I love about animation… You do the voice, you do the acting, and it’s the imagination of the animator that just really brings it to life.”
She added, with a laugh, “And then I get all the credit! I’m like, ’Yeah, I’m that good!’ But they really do bring the expression and the timing and the humor to it. It’s wonderful.”
Pencils vs. Pixels is now available to rent or buy on Digital via Amazon, Vudu, Apple and other online services.
