This is not to say that I do not appreciate animation. I am actually very fascinated with the art of animation! Especially with how people can create an entirely new universe out of a blank stage and how they can create characters and creatures that exist and interact within that universe. I feel that animation allows creative minds to depict anything they want without any limitations; as opposed to filmmaking – which is exclusively restricted to the physical world.
A work of animation that has recently grabbed my attention is Pixar’s Wall-E. Although the film does not quite meet the criteria of “artistic” or “informational” animation, the science fiction computer-animated film encompasses everything that I look for in animation. Not only does Andrew Stanton’s film have a powerful and thought-provoking plot, but the way he and his team created the graphics and visuals for Wall-E is truly spectacular. Even though the circumstances in Wall-E exist under the realm of computer-animation, Stanton utilized lighting and cinematography techniques, such as lens flare and racking focus, to give the film a realistic feel.
Wall-E has been created using flat color animation. The color tones and effects make locations and backgrounds of some scenes look natural and lifelike. Unlike early Walt Disney Pictures classics, Wall-E is a 3D animation with a few characters that articulate mechanistically, and a few that have human voices. Through the interactions between humans and robots, I think Stanton succeeds in depicting his idea of what the Earth may become in 2805 as a result of megacorporations, mass consumerism and over-trashing.
