Disney was actually one of the earliest studios to start making narrative-based animation films. The production team for Disney developed innovative new techniques that revolutionized how animations could be made. These movies helped to legitimize animation as an art form and turn the studio into a renowned multi-billion dollar company.
Early Colour Films
The first colour Disney animations were hand drawn with great detail. The filmmakers would often take photographs of actresses and draw traces of them to make their cartoon proportions more realistic. In 1937, they released Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs to great acclaim. It was the first feature-length cartoon to be nominated for an Oscar. This was followed by other hits such as Pinocchio, Dumbo, Fantasia and Cinderella. A key component of them was musical numbers. Disney Studios came up with a way of lipsynching the vocals with the mouths of cartoon characters.
Mixing Animation With Live Action
As technology advanced, it allowed movie makers to come up with new and exciting stories. Animated characters could now interact with live-action actors. One of the most famous examples of this is the dancing penguin sequence from Mary Poppins. In Bedknobs And Broomsticks, there is an entire section of the film which takes place in an animated environment. This was achieved by having the actors perform and then adding the animated background in post-production.
From Hand-Drawn to Computer
Eventually, computers began to be favoured over more traditional animation techniques. This was because they made the process faster and more precise. Computers also expanded the kinds of stories that could be told. They were a useful tool for showing the filmmaker’s imaginations on screen. Computer animation allows for enhanced perspectives so that objects and characters appear to have 3D dimensions and increased depth. This makes them seem more real.