Disney has always been at the forefront of animation trends, and no other studio has quite managed to copy their model. Studios like Dreamworks or Ghibli have their own styles and have carved out their own unique properties that have become media staples, but it still seems that Disney is the biggest trendsetter. Now that Disney has pivoted to making exclusively 3D animated features, other studios have followed close behind, to the point where it’s rare to see 2D animated features anymore. Even Studio Ghibli, known for their beautiful, hand-drawn, 2D art style, has released the 3D animated film Earwig and the Witch.
Many fans of animation will lament the loss of the 2D animated feature, especially if they grew up watching Disney classics like The Little Mermaid or Beauty and The Beast. Despite how good a lot of the 3D animated Disney features are (Tangled is a favorite of a lot of Disney fans, and Moana and Frozen 2 boast some truly incredible and beautiful animation), many people would be thrilled if Disney were to make another 2D movie. It also might be a fantastic marketing move on Disney’s part to go back to 2D animation, even if it’s just for one film.
A move back to 2D would give Disney an edge in a number of respects. First of all, it would set them apart from nearly every other animation studio. Disney has always set themselves apart with the quality of the movies that they put out into the world, so they don’t really need a ton of help in that regard, but with the growing feeling amongst the public that Disney is just a money-hungry corporation that doesn’t care about their art as much as they used to, a move to 2D could prove the opposite.
2D animation feels inherently more artistic, and requires a lot of time and talent, especially if it’s hand-drawn. It’s understandable that in order to make the process easier, Disney has pivoted to these 3D releases, but some people feel that Disney films are starting to lose that “Disney magic”, and they would easily be able to bring that feeling back by going back to their roots.
Because almost every animation studio has pivoted to 3D, Disney moving back to 2D would almost feel revolutionary, even though it’s an older art form. It would just be so different from the kinds of movies that other studios are making, and could create a lot of buzz around the movie’s release. It feels as though Disney has really perfected 3D animation, and that there’s not much more improvement they could do to their animation without it becoming a little too realistic and losing the fun and fantasy of animation, so going back to 2D might revitalize them.
It would be a nice change of pace from the onslaught of similar-looking 3D animated movies that we’ve been getting in recent years, and the idea of a classic-feeling 2D animated film would really excite fans, and might make people excited about Disney again.
Disney’s never been averse to a little fan service, and so listening to the fans who grew up with and fell in love with the original style of Disney animation would be a move that could make the fans who are growing ever-cynical of Disney and its media empire warm up to the company again. Plus, it would give a sense of hope to the industry that 2D animation isn’t a totally lost and obsolete art form. In fact, 2D animated TV shows have had a lot of success in recent years, and it would make sense for the film industry to follow suit.
A perfect example of revolutionizing animation as an art form (rather than just making your movie animated for the sole purpose of appealing to a young audience) is the movie Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. The animation style is so unique and was specifically made to feel like you’re watching a comic book come to life in front of your eyes. Disney could even employ a similar strategy, and use a mixture of 2D and 3D animation like Into the Spider-Verse did, if they believe that going straight back to 2D animation would be too much of a sharp left turn for the company, considering the momentum they’ve gained with 3D over the past 10 years.
With the upcoming release of Raya and the Last Dragon, it seems that Disney does not have any immediate plans for another 2D feature, and they will likely continue to make 3D animated movies as long as they continue to be successful. It would, however, be really interesting to see them try something new, or rather, something old, and go back to the kind of artistry that put Disney on the map in the first place. Fans would love it, it would be a perfect marketing campaign, and it might help the Disney critics feel a little bit of that Disney magic once again.
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