What can Walt Disney Animation Studios do to save itself? Ditch digital

I’m going to apologize in advance
for today’s column because I’m sure that it’s going to make a lot of people angry. I have a plan that some might call radical. But it’s a plan that I’m afraid we need. Tough times demand
tough decisions, and here’s one to consider:

Get rid of digital animation at
Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Yep. I said it. I think that WDAS should stop producing CG animated features and should instead concentrate on reviving hand-drawn animation.

Now, lest you think this is some kind of impassioned plea about the
“purity” of hand-drawn animation — think again. This is not some geeky, fan
boy rant about which is the better cartoon medium. Far from it. This is pure business
stuff. Corporate strategy, some might call it. Tough things that you gotta do when
running a business during tough times.

Animation has been going through a
fair amount of turmoil over the past few years. Some “business geniuses” had
the bright idea that animation was going through a paradigm shift. This was all
because a new tool had been invented. A tool that gave us the ability to move
objects in a computer. According to these suits, this brilliant new tool was what would move animation to
the next level. Hand-drawn animation had reached its limit, they said. Digital animation
was the new paradigm. Hand-drawn was dead, and rightly so.

If today’s audiences really think that hand-drawn animation is old-fashioned, then who the heck is buying all of these?

Hold on a second. If hand-drawn
animation is outmoded and passé, then how do you explain Disney’s ability to continue to
sell “Pinocchio,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Peter Pan” in every new technology
that comes along? How many times has Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment repackaged & resold the Company’s old hand-drawn features on
DVD with new added features or new digital transfers?

Kids watch these movies over & over again not because of the film-making technology involved, but because they’re good. The problem here isn’t with the mode — it’s with
the message. The reason that any one film fails at the box office isn’t because of the technology. It’s
all about whether the stories are any good; whether the characters resonate with an
audience. We have to care whether the hero wins and the villain loses.
Unbelievably, it’s as simple as that.

So you see, this is not really a
discussion of the merits of one film production method over another. Each has its points and
that’s perfectly fine. I embrace both, of course, with the nod going to hand-drawn. But then again, that’s just me. However, we’re not here to
discuss art. We’re here to talk business.

Serious question now: Does The Walt
Disney Company really need a digital animation studio? You bet your megabytes they do.
Luckily, they own the finest digital animation studio in the world. A company
that consistently turns out some of the greatest animated features ever produced, and will — in
all likelihood — continue to do so. Now comes the next tough business
question: Are two such studios really a legitimate need?

The trouble is, Walt Disney Animation Studios is already
getting lost in the crowd. That’s the problem with digital animation. There’s
nothing that truly distinguishes one film from another. At one time, WDAS was
unique. It was the premiere animation studio in the world. It was what
everybody who aspired to be an animator wanted to work. Walt Disney, along with his incredible staff, set
the standard and raised the bar so high, competitors could only dream of
hopefully coming close. Once the leader in a business it completely dominated, Walt Disney Animation Studios is now reduced to playing catch up.

  Walt never followed the competition. He was always too busy leading

In this ever-growing field of
animated films from numerous competitors both foreign and domestic, The Walt Disney
Company still has a hole card. A card that’s evident even now as work
continues on WDAS’ first hand-drawn animated feature in years.
A movie that could restore Walt Disney Animation Studios’ identity and remind audiences around the world
that the Company they remember from their childhood is still very much alive.
That it is already beginning to awaken from a deep digital slumber like some beautiful
princess in a fairy tale.

Once again, this is not an artistic
discussion. This is not a debate over which medium is more viable, or what
audiences prefer. This is a business decision that will be made one day, and
that day is quickly approaching.

From time to time, I’ve taken heat
from angry CG guys for being too critical of their recent movie efforts. Most seem
to think I was beating up on them because I had a vested interest in hand-drawn animated features. In truth, I was never taking issue with the medium
— rather the poor films that were being made. I have little doubt that — with today’s column — I’ll once again be accused of
“computer bashing.” As nervous technicians fear future downsizing
and the loss of their jobs.

That said, I still think that it’s time that Walt
Disney Animation Studios grew up. It’s time that WDAS realized that it’s not the cool young kid on the block anymore.
Get over it!  So you’re not young, hip, or cool. Big deal. You’re still the great grand-daddy of
feature animation. And that’s a very good thing to be. In fact, that may wind up being the very thing that saves Walt Disney Animation Studios.

So what to do? I think that WDAS should capitalize on its own historic legacy, remind would-be moviegoers of those not-so-distant days when hand-drawn animation was
still considered magical. When the animators who worked at Disney were looked upon as artists. And it took
decades — not months — to master this craft.

You mean you don’t need workstations and servers? That’s amazing!

Finally, I have a question for all
you executives and managers who keep looking at the bottom line. Which do you think is
more expensive? Software and workstations or pencils and paper? Servers and
digital infrastructure or wooden desks? Yeah, I know. There’s always digital
post, but you get the idea.

Hand-drawn traditional animation is
Disney’s past. But it can also be Disney’s future. What Walt Disney Animation
Studios really needs to do is lead a modern renaissance
of hand-drawn animation.

And when they do that … Guess what? The magic —
because it is magic — will return.