Why The Princess And The Frog Was Traditional Not 3D Animation

Why The Princess And The Frog Was Traditional, Not 3D, Animation

The Princess and the Frog was a throwback to Disney’s Golden Age of classic animation, coming at a time of upheaval and change for the company.

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Why The Princess And The Frog Was Traditional Not 3D Animation

2009’s The Princess and the Frog was, surprisingly, a traditionally animated Disney movie, not 3D. Unlike the rest of the company’s films at the time, it was a throwback to an earlier era when traditional, hand-drawn animation was the norm, not an exception that was quickly growing more obsolete. It was a surprise, considering Disney announced only six years previously that 2004’s Home on the Range would be its last traditionally animated movie.

The Princess and the Frog was unique in other ways compared to the rest of the Disney Princess films, too. Not only was Tiana the first Black Disney Princess, but she was also the first one to have a paying job and work for a living, as well as the first to be a business owner. The Princess and the Frog was monumental in other ways, too. It was the first Disney Princess movie set in 20th century America, unfolding in 1920s New Orleans rather than in a fictional kingdom or old city in Europe. In numerous ways, it was a leap forward for Disney, if a sometimes imperfect one.

In contrast, the movie’s animation style was a throwback. The Princess and the Frog was first announced as The Frog Princess in 2006 (the name was later changed after criticism), and the project was born during a tumultuous time within Disney. This directly influenced the way the movie was developed, namely that it was a return to traditional animation. It came at the end of a two-year fight led by Walt Disney’s nephew, Roy E. Disney, to oust then-CEO Michael Eisner. Over Eisner’s tenure, the once-bulletproof Disney animated movies had faltered, steadily declining in revenue and cultural impact, with the final nail the financial disaster that was 2002’s Treasure Planet. Eisner decided it was the traditional animation style that was the problem, not the stories or the crowded slate, and announced Disney would no longer be making hand-drawn animated movies in favor of CGI animation. It was not a popular decision within the company, and two years after the announcement, Eisner was out as CEO.

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When Bob Iger took over the role in 2005, he adopted a very different approach. Along with acquiring Pixar in 2006, Iger made a number of other impactful decisions, including reversing Eisner’s unpopular “no more hand-drawn animation” policy. He also installed Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter as the CCO for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Both men still believed in Disney Animation’s legacy of brilliance and that traditional animation could be successful.

Lasseter immediately brought back veteran directors Ron Clements and John Musker, who had become legends in Disney for movies like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin but had left the company in 2005 after the strife with Eisner. Lasseter enticed them back to write and animate The Princess and the Frog by allowing them to choose the animation style they wanted. Musker and Clements decided to return to Disney’s roots, making the film a traditionally animated musical inspired by Disney’s Golden Age. Thus, The Princess and the Frog was created in the trademark style of classic Disney animation.

Unfortunately, despite doubling its production budget at the box office and outperforming a number of Disney’s other animated films in that decade, The Princess and the Frog’s financial returns still fell well short of Disney’s animated heydey in the ’90s. The decision was once again made to back off 2D hand-drawn movies, opting for the hybrid of traditional 2D animation and 3D CG animation used in Tangled and Frozen. Yet Iger never fully closed the door on traditional animation as Eisner had. With so many of the people running the animated side of things having grown up as disciples of Disney Animation movies, it’s unlikely traditional animation will ever fully die out at Disney. It will simply evolve.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/princess-frog-disney-2d-animation-no-3d/

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