The Renaissance
Once upon a time, there was a yellow brick road. The large army of artisans who built it had grand plans for this promising road. They believed in due time that the path would lead them to the Emerald City. But then the army ran into a terrible spell which slowed down their march towards the shining city on the hill. Yet this did not stop their progress as the yellow brick road continued to grow in the decades to come. Alas, time finally caught up with the builders as its golden shine eventually faded away to the ages. There remained, however, a few believers who carried on their predecessors’ cause. They left behind a book so that others like them would follow their lead. It would be their actions that laid the foundation for the road to be finished someday for all of us to walk on. This was the Animation Renaissance, a truly awesome period in which the art form was revived to fulfill the lost dream of the Golden Age of Animation. It began not with a bang, but through a series of whispers like in a game of telephone. This was seen in the animated works scattered throughout the late sixties to early eighties in America, Europe, and Asia. The gradual build up to the revival was similar to how the paintings of the 13th century predicted the Italian Renaissance that would soon spread across the entire world. The cartoons suggested what the art form might look like in the event of a rebirth should the industry put some genuine involvement and investment. It hinted at a time when the medium could come into its own, the emergence of diverse forms of animation, new schools of animation and beloved studios would be restored to their former glory.
Animation historian John Canemaker observed how there was a period when animators were searching for their Snow White. We see that search begin back in the late sixties. The Beatles’ "Yellow Submarine" (1969) and Charles Schulz’s “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” (1969) were the rare animated films that appealed not only to kids but more so to adults because of their cerebral story lines. On the flip side, Osama Tezuko’s “A Thousand and One Nights” (1969) and Ralph Bakshi’s “Fritz the Cat” (1972) proved that animation could be successful in directly appealing to adults as their sole audience. Hanna Barbera’s “Wait Till Your Father Gets Home” (1972) followed up on that thread as it redefined the themes and topics an animated family sitcom would explore in its stories. The raw emotion and grit of the period would even spill over to Disney’s “The Rescuers” (1977) which brought up the hopeful possibility of the studio’s resurgence. The anticipating discovery for their princess begins to accelerate by the time we head over to the eighties. The same year “The Rescuers” premiered, the classical principles of the Golden Age of Animation were being revived through Richard Williams’ animated musical “Raggedy Ann & Andy” (1977) and his unfinished magnum opus, “The Thief and the Cobbler” (TBA). The growing admiration of Anime as a sophisticated form of animation in the West was reflected by Tokyo Movie Shinsha’s (TMS) action adventure “The Castle of Cagliostro” (1979) and Topcraft’s medieval “The Last Unicorn” (1982). Hanna Barbera’s ill fated “Rock Odyssey” (1982) was the perfect example of a beaten down studio that was showing real sparks of life in its genuine attempts to prove itself worthy. And experimental animation like “Twice upon a Time” (1982) and “TRON” (1982) showcased different sides to the medium, whether it be through something traditional as stop motion or revolutionary like computer animation. Then a great schism occurred within Disney that split the animators into two warring factions. One wing of various art schools was represented by Don Bluth, who offered a darker and ethereal take on the Disney aesthetic. “The Secret of NIMH” (1982) planted the seeds of the Renaissance in its efforts to redefine an animated film of Disney stature. “An American Tail” (1986), then the highest grossing animated film on its initial release, previewed the musical structure that would take over the field in the years to come. Both “The Land Before Time” (1988) and “All Dogs Go to Heaven” (1989) showed how Ireland was becoming a worthy player in the medium with its lush animation and art direction. The war between Bluth and his former studio marked the first time a battle of ideas would be had amongst animators appealing to the same audience since the days of Walt Disney and the Fleischer Brothers. The independent minded animators who worked alongside him, the Cal Arts wing, would have a less positive view on Bluth. Let’s just say there was no love lost after the two wings of the party acrimoniously diverged. That’s completely understandable from their personal experiences with him. The indifference continues to this day whenever Disney animators from that period downplay Bluth’s contributions. Regardless, it should be acknowledged in the big picture how Bluth’s actions did play a major role in reviving the medium. He challenged Disney, as a defense attorney would, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the worth of their animation by their deeds instead of relying solely on their name to the audience. He ignited a much needed debate regarding the direction of mainstream animated films. And had it not been for his presence than Steven Spielberg would not have gotten involved in animation, precluding Roger Rabbit from ever happening. What sets the impact of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988) apart from the previous milestones was how the field responded to the film’s success. In the previous times, the industry did not respond in a collective way that suggested it was going to give animation a serious look as an art form worthy of financial and public support. The film’s animation, led by Richard Williams and his British studio, did just that and more. It was as if the entire field came together to recognize the truly historical opportunity at hand. A new generation of viewers was ready to embrace the medium alongside the older class who returned to it with glee. Animation from that point on would no longer be looked down upon as a genre with niche appeal. Change had finally come. This was the moment everyone had been hoping for soo long. The Renaissance was finally blossoming from its seeds.
Had Disney remained in the wilderness a little longer, history would have told a tragic tale with untold consequences for all. Fortunately Walt Disney’s nephew, Roy, understood that and made sure the animators still had their place in the sun. This most consequential decision led to the Disney Renaissance, where the new guard of animators rediscovered that ol' Disney magic. “The Little Mermaid” (1989) and “Beauty and the Beast” (1991) successfully revived the animated feature and the musical picture as one entity. The best in animation matched with the most poetic of musical lyrics were the most perfect of unions. “Aladdin” (1992) and “The Lion King” (1994) further cemented Disney’s status as the dominant force in the Animation Renaissance. They were able to set the terms of the animated debate just as Bluth had done in the eighties. The world was in awe as the mouse roared back to life. Walt would have been proud. Andy Gaskill once said of Disney how it was the great oak tree from which the animation industry sprung from. This was true of this time as new animation movements were born from Disney’s legacy. The folks at Pixar, like John Lasseter, thought their future would be at Disney. Yet just as Don Bluth found out history had a different path for them. Their place would be nurturing an experimental form of animation from its infancy to a fully fleshed out art form. After the collective talents of traditional and stop motion animators over the years came the world’s first computer animated film, "Toy Story" (1995). It was a game changer that would be rivaled later on by “A Bug’s Life” (1998) and “Toy Story 2” (1999). The Buddy Comedy flavor of their pictures gave audiences an alternative to the Disney style as well as giving the mouse an unexpected challenge from within as well. Another studio that sprung from Disney came from an acrimonious split similar to Don Bluth’s departure. Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney in 1994 to create a new studio that would rival his former employee. If Pixar was the challenge from within, then Dreamworks was the opposition from the outside. It would be comprised of key Disney animators who Katzenberg worked with and the British animators from Spielberg’s Amblimation studio. Unlike other bigwigs in town, Katzenberg knew what made Disney cartoons successful just as he was also aware of the limitations the name carried. So just imagine Disney animation without the creative restraints of the brand to tackle adult or subversive situations. "Antz"(1998), "The Prince of Egypt" (1998), and "The Road to El Dorado" (2000) clearly distinguished themselves based on that ambition. That’s what made Dreamworks a worthy competitor to Disney because they understood how to play their game and even win some points from them too.
The time had finally come for stop motion animation to shine under the limelight. Tim Burton and Henry Selick’s studio, Skellington Productions, was another branch that grew from the Disney tree. While producing only two films, “The Nightmare before Christmas” (1993) and “James and the Giant Peach” (1996) redefined the look and feel of a stop motion animated feature. While its darkly whimsical source may not have fit easily into the brand of Disney, it certainly lived up to the Disney standard in more ways than one. Another rising stop motion animation studio was Aardman Animation from Britain. They brought attention back to the Animated Short category through a series of acclaimed shorts from “Creature Comforts” (1989) to a trio of “Wallace & Gromit” (1990-95) cartoons. Their success foreshadowed the ambitions of "Chicken Run” (2000) as it elevated stop motion as a commercially competitive format in features. All three crowns of animation were now fulfilled. The great thing about the period was how anime entered into the mainstream. Its contrast to American animation began to be noticed. Sociopolitical themes regarding nuclear holocaust, war, and technology were commonly found in anime because the Japanese viewed animation no different than any storytelling medium. TMS’ groundbreaking “Akira” (1989) was the first to break through into the American psyche for those reasons. No wonder Studio Ghibli, the Disney of the Far East, was comprised of animators from TMS alongside TopCraft like Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Their landmark films, “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988) and “Graveyard of the Fireflies” (1988), showcased the beauty and sorrows of the human condition we all share regardless of where we come from. The increased awareness of anime played a part in the once unimaginable success of a foreign cartoon playing stateside like “Pokemon: The First Movie” (1999), the rare phenomenon that captured for a moment the country’s zeitgeist. Disney tried to monopolize the field and it worked for a while through aggressive tactics like reissuing their popular cartoons on other animated films. But there’s only so much a heavy hand can do. Disney would not have the field all to themselves like before as inevitably the floodgates opened up. The old time animators would have been overjoyed to find that their dream of animation finally coming into its own. You now had Hyperion, Universal, Fox, Hanna Barbera, Warner Brothers, Turner, MGM, Nickelodeon, and Paramount jumping in on the game. But the increasing competition showed that the stakes were raised. For every classic [“Batman Mask of the Phantasm" (1992), “Cats Don’t Dance” (1997), “The Iron Giant” (1999)], there was an underappreciated one [“Bebe’s Kids” (1992), “Ferngully: The Last Rainforest” (1992), “Balto” (1995)] and even a trap [“The Nutcracker Prince” (1994), “Quest for Camelot” (1998), “The King and I” (1999)] along the way. It also wasn’t enough anymore to release a cartoon every several years or to rush out a mediocre cartoon for a quick buck. Expectations had changed. High quality animated films needed to be produced at an annual rate in order to keep the momentum going. This was made possible by new software like the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) which allowed for drawings to be digitally inked and painted, integration of traditional and computer animation, and more complex multiplane camera set ups. Satellite animation studios were established around the world to help out on the work load of an animated feature, often contributing their own unique artistic flavor into the movie. Along with the expansion came the hiring of hundreds of animators who worked day and night on very stressful schedules to churn out these films on time. So the economic spell that had surrounded the field since the war years was finally broken.
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Don’t believe all of the action was happening over on the feature side. In fact, television animation was going through an artistic evolution as well. It would veer away from the short term strategy of formulaic cheap animation to a long term strategy that would redefine the purpose of the outlet for a generation of viewers. This was carried out by three very important points on weekday and Saturday morning blocks. The method of syndicating a cartoon across various networks meant that the animators and writers dealt with the more open minded censors of their studio instead of the more strident censors of one network. Big financial investments allowed for the hiring of well-regarded Japanese animation houses like TMS, Toei, and Sunrise to craft highly valued work that distinguished their works from the rest of the field. Finally, they just simply told better stories by creating engaging characters and situations instead of formulaic tropes.
The Disney Afternoon and Warner Brothers Animation blocks first started that trend back in the mid to late eighties. Both studios were able to successfully reintroduce their iconic characters to a new generation of viewers without having to sacrifice the dignity of those classic cartoons. Just as important, the two blocks created a new set of inspired characters that could be enjoyed alongside the original cartoons on any given day like with “Ducktales” (1987) and “Tiny Toon Adventures” (1990). And the shows pushed the boundaries of television animation in terms of the content they showcased. This would vary from sharp satire to serial drama demonstrated in the impeccable cartoons “Animaniacs” (1992) or “Gargoyles” (1994). The mindset behind these works would continue onto their spiritual successors, One Saturday Morning and Kids WB. It really was a universal form of storytelling that set a new threshold for all cartoons on television to look up to.
The networks however were going to find some serious competition from cable. Nickelodeon, the fledgling children’s network, wanted to create high quality cartoons that veered away from the toyetic animated shows that once dominated the eighties. What the network was really pushing for was an old school form of storytelling from the Golden Age of Animation that was driven by the creator instead of the toy companies and network executives. Ralph Bakshi’s “Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures” (1987) gave birth to this way of thinking. Nicktoons like Klasky-Csupo’s “Rugrats” (1991), John K.’s “Ren and Stimpy” (1991), Craig Bartlett’s “Hey Arnold” (1997), and Steven Hillenberg’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (1999) followed that mindset with glee. The unique sense of humor, deepness, and artistic vision espoused by their creators was what made these cartoons special apart from their corporate driven counterparts. It is one of the reasons why cable would eventually become the go-to-place for original cartoons.
This was a fact not lost on Hanna Barbera, for if they did not change their tired ways they would have gone down the Filmation way. Quantity over quality was dead. So a new generation of animators was hired to breathe new life into the stone house that Fred Flintstone built. And what better way to reinvent themselves then with producing new content for the new Cartoon Network. They moved away from the formula cartoons to the creative driven animation inspired by Nickelodeon through an innovative show called “The What a Cartoon Show” (1995). It was an in-studio factory where theatrical minded animated shorts like Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Dexter’s Lab” (1996), David Feiss’ “Cow and Chicken” (1997), Craig McCracken’s “The Powerpuff Girls” (1998), and John Dilworth’s “Courage the Cowardly Dog” (1999) played to viewers. The experiment saved Hanna Barbera as they were able to create memorable and original cartoons for the first time in a generation. If Disney was feature animation;s standard bearer, then Matt Groening's “The Simpsons” (1989) carried the torch for television animation. They were equals in the influence they left behind. The first nine years of the show came to represent the collective ideals of the Animation Renaissance, perhaps more so than any other work from the period through its richly textured world, ambitious stories, and unique animation. The two hundred plus episodes from that era encompassed the very best of the storytelling principles from the Golden Age of Animation in how it challenged audiences, brought people laughter, and moved viewers to tears. It echoed the political and social commentary of the Boyle family and the character driven plots that made up Bedrock those many years ago. It’s no surprise that some of the animators who worked on the series went on to studios like PIXAR and Disney, where the spirit of those golden years carried on in their works. The show's success not only brought in a revival of fortunes for prime time animation, but it also reopened consideration for adult oriented animated shows on television. What was considered a financially risky proposal for feature animation could now flourish freely through the outlet of television. Now it was fine for cartoons to be made for a specific quadrant of the audience in mind, from adults to teenagers. A flood of cartoons following the mold of adult situations within a family setting came out through “The Critic” (1994), “King of the Hill” (1997), “Futurama” (1999), and “Family Guy” (1999). Cable got wind of this too by catering their animated shows to a strictly mature audience with Comedy Central’s “South Park” (1997). MTV appealed to their college aged crowd through their creator driven animated show “Liquid Television” (1991), which showcased soon to be series “Aeon Flux” (1991) and “Bevis & Butthead” (1993). Unless you thought of a few special animated films that were ahead of their time, music videos were not on everyone’s minds. But all that changed when MTV first came on to the scene in 1982. The opportunity gave animation a permanent outlet to play around with songs in bold, unique, and experimental ways. It also played a huge part in elevating music videos from the status of mere commercials to works of art on par with the song. The works showcased on the channel shone the spotlight on the mainstream and independent animators who were behind the films. Anyone who watched the network back then would know that some of the best music videos ever made were the animated ones. They include a-Ha’s “Take On Me” (1985), Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time” (1986), Paula Abdul’s “Opposites Attract” (1989), Michael Jackson’s “Do The Bartman” (1990), Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” (1997), and Pearl Jam’s “Do The Evolution” (1998). Foreign animation has always had a presence on television. But its exposure increased by the demands of more animated fare during the revival. Not only could foreign cartoons be syndicated on networks but also on cable channels through the Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon. The British “Danger Mouse” (1981) & “Count Duckula” (1988) and the French-Canadian “Rupert” (1991) & “The Adventures of Tintin“ (1991) were some of those wonderful cartoons we could watch on a channel on any given weekday. Normally the end of the road for any cartoon would be if it was canceled by a network due to low ratings. Cable however provided those cartoons with a second life to flourish like the Canadian-American "Reboot" (1994) and the Japanese “Sailor Moon” (1995) and “Dragon Ball Z” (1996). These shows and more gave a slice of their animated culture to our shores and we embraced them just as much as our native cartoons.
The most important contributor to the success of the Animation Renaissance was education. What was once seen as an under the radar study on university campuses gradually become a highly respected academic course in character and experimental animation. Emerging animation schools offered students the chance to learn about the principles of the medium from veteran (Eric Larson) and current (Tom Sito) animators alike. Not just one school, as many played a role. University of Southern California, University of Central Florida, Cal Arts, Tish School of the Arts, Sheridan College, Ballyfermot College of Further Education and other rising programs cultivated a new generation of animators during the period. While these schools had different ways of teaching animation, they nevertheless shared the philosophy of instilling in their students a passionate intuitiveness towards the art form. Like the seeds of a dandelion drifting to different lands, so too did up and coming animators spread out across the field. The Animation Renaissance was also boosted by the fact it occurring during the Information Age, an innovative time where the world shrank as technology came to touch everyone’s’ lives. The wealth of knowledge spread to all in far reaching ways similar to how the Italian Renaissance vexed its influence throughout society. Through new home entertainment options like the VHS, every family around town could get their hands on a classic cartoon, whether from long ago or today. The format’s popularity led to the creation of cartoons made for video, creating another arena for animation to thrive in. Laserdisc, the precursor to the DVD, presented animation in a scholarly context so that viewers could learn the thought process behind their favorite animated films. And the internet served as a digital library for research into cartoons, discussion boards on any animated topic, and even as an outlet to showcase new forms of animation like Flash. As amazing as the Animation Renaissance was, there were some disappointments and unintended consequences. The people who were responsible for the revival regrettably fell by the wayside as a consequence of others building on their successes. The absences of Ralph Bakshi, Don Bluth, and Richard Williams were difficult for anyone to fill because of the enormous impact they left behind. Unfortunately direct to video cartoons came in time to cheapen the value of the animated films they spun off from. The budgets for animated films increased dramatically due to the growing expense of technology, the amount of creative turnover in a feature, and the jaw dropping salaries as a consequence of studios keeping or stealing one’s animators. All this turned into a Pandora's Box in the long run as it made it harder for those films to earn a profit into the Millennium. Animators tragically paid the price for their hard work in the end. If there was any mainstream animation studio back then that could build on its success to create truly ambitious films, it would be Disney. In the middle of the decade, Disney did what Pixar would do years later by going out of their comfort zone through more mature and less commercial friendly animated films like “Pocahontas” (1995) and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1996). You could tell Disney wanted to channel in the sociopolitical themes explored successfully by Ralph Bakshi. Yet as much as Disney wanted to take animation to the next level, they still felt the need to creativity box themselves in because of their brand. Those two noble films fell short of their ambitions as a consequence of that issue. Disney eventually retreated from that front along with others like Dreamworks following “The Prince of Egypt” as mainstream animated films started to avoid making risks that were seen as far too great. Since Disney’s musical formula had worked like gangbusters they kept repeating it throughout the decade. This was a misstep as their films soon became tired and predictable. When Disney got wind of this it was too late since audiences already saw the man working behind the curtain. In addition, everyone in town tried to emulate the studio’s formula with little pay off due to those films appearing to be rip-offs. Disney ironically became a victim of their own success. This monotonous atmosphere created an opening for PIXAR to take advantage of as their films, which happen to be computer animated, were NOT musicals as were the traditionally animated films in the field. While PIXAR routinely use the Buddy Comedy formula for their pictures, they were able to find a way to not make it soo apparent to the point of it becoming cynical. This miscalculation came back to haunt traditionally animated films down the road.
We tend to focus a lot on the big parts of the story at the expense of the tale’s more nuanced aspects. History however views all chapters in the grand scheme of things. Every piece of the puzzle is important, no matter how small or big, round or sharp, and native or foreign the block may appear to be. People don’t realize how much of an impact the piece will have until after the fact. Only when the dust has settled does one see the legacy that is left behind from those efforts. So when all the pieces do fall into place, we have right in front of us a gilded road brimming under the golden sun. The yellow brick road was completed at long last as a result of the right people within the precise place at the perfect time. Their radiant princess had been found, thus closing the book on the Animation Renaissance. Animators have dreamed of a moment when the art form could finally come to its own ever since the days of Snow White. Unfortunately, the uncertainties of the times they lived in prevented them from ever reaching that dream. It would ultimately take several decades of longing and hoping before the wish ultimately came true. The fact that the Animation Renaissance was able to fulfill a timeless dream within a span of just ten years is simply an amazing achievement alone. So we owe it to all those artists for allowing it possible the awesome cartoons we have today, for it was built on the road of which they finished for all of use to walk on. I personally feel that way because it was their animated works alongside the cartoons of long ago that inspired me to become the animator l am today. And I’m sure there are many who feel the same way.
