Animation Blog

When Toy Story first came into the consciousness of the world in 1995 as the first movie created through 3D animation, it immediately captured the imagination of many people — kids and kids at heart alike. Here was a new medium with limitless possibilities and was only up to one’s imagination to restrict the number of characters, worlds and narratives available in the silver screen. The pulse of the people was primarily of excitement.

Since the breakout of computer-graphics animation (CGI), more and more animated movie classics came our way. Cult favorites such as Shrek, Monsters, Inc., and The Incredibles gave us memorable laughter outbursts and valuable lessons in movie theaters. Families started to anticipate for the latest offerings of  giant 3D animation studios such as Pixar and Dreamworks. Gradually, 3D animated movies became a culture of its own.

Now with many technological developments under way for the animation industry, it may not be premature to tag the culture of 3D animated movies as a young revolution – one of those pivotal landmarks  in the history of film

“We’re about to step onto the next great revolution in the history of cinema,” says respected animation icon Jeffrey Katzenberg during a recent talk in Seattle. Katzenberg is the co-founder of the influential animation studio Dreamworks.

Dreamworks is one of the major players in this 3D movie revolution. Through their partnership with Hewlett-Packard and Intel, Dreamworks came up with the InTru3D technology. This  brand of stereoscopic three-dimensional animation will be previewed in the upcoming film Monsters vs. Aliens.

However, the typical concern about new technology is the speed by which the world can adapt to it. As with any communication model, 3D animated movies are not primarily about the developers and the animation studios. It is two-way; the public should be able to watch it.

Converting movie theaters to effectively show new 3D technologies are proving to be as costly as creating the expensive movies themselves. In the long run, it is the consumers who will pay more to shoulder the paradigm shift in showing these movies. 3D glasses, an important part of the movie viewing experience (as of now, probably in the future, our kids will laugh about it), have additional charges in movie tickets. Even if the glasses can be re-used (to fit the green trend of the world), the charges remain the same.

However, if 3D animated movie developers can keep the audience coming back for more, the additional charges may be an afterthought. It just might re-ignite the movie industry into a new golden age where viewers would choose to watch in movie theaters even with peer-to-peer torrent downloads and pirated discs circulating around the globe. Upcoming 3D animated movies from Dreamworks include Shrek the Fourth (2010), How to Train Your Dragon, and a Kung Fu Panda sequel.

This movie theater patronage boon can only be achieved if these 3D animation studios will not be overdependent on new 3D technologies. The premium should remain in the content of the stories. It is good to see 3D animation studios adhere to this value system today. Let’s enjoy this run and who knows where this movie revolution will take us as a global village.

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