Things That Work in Animation but Not in Live Action

[AnimatedFan01]

What are some tropes which you think are animation-exclusive in terms of how they're handled, meaning that they don't work well in live-action material (in your opinion)?

I'd say gross-out. As much as I don't like seeing bodily functions (e.g. characters burping, farting, sitting on the toilet, drooling) in cartoons, it actually feels much more unsettling in live action works due to being realistically portrayed.

Gags that defy fictional logic, as in characters recovering after fatal injuries which were played for laughs, is another thing that works in cartoons but I can't see being handled well in live action. The live action work would have to be a new level of surreal in order for such a gag to work IMO.

 

[pacman000]

Gags that defy fictional logic, as in characters recovering after fatal injuries which were played for laughs,

Judging by The Three Stooges, that can work if done well.

Weird one: Giant Monsters.

There are live action giant monster movies, but the best ones have almost always used animation to portray the monsters.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

Talking animals. It’s possible to do well in live action (such as Babe), but usually it comes out wrong.

 

[Low Spark of Lyman]

I assume by "work", you mean look convincing, not just being feasible.

Judging by The Three Stooges, that can work if done well.

Yeah, I think that can be pulled off, even if it's more complex than in animation (at least depending on the situation; don't think there was much extreme stuff with the Stooges).

Talking animals. It’s possible to do well in live action (such as Babe), but usually it comes out wrong.

Speaking for myself, I'd think it would be fine if there were more instances where such characters just think instead of talk (assuming they don't communicate with humans, of course). Don't know the actual ratio, but it just seems to me that the thinking approach is done less often.

I've seen it in the Homeward Bound movies, and it was an established thing with Snoopy and Garfield in their respective comic strips. Same with the animated productions, leaving aside the former rarely verbalizing in such and the latter moving his mouth in more recent things.

 

[ShadowBlinky]

I'd say gross-out. As much as I don't like seeing bodily functions (e.g. characters burping, farting, sitting on the toilet, drooling) in cartoons, it actually feels much more unsettling in live action works due to being realistically portrayed.

I agree. I can barely tolerate gross-out on cartoons, but in live action it would be close to unbearable.

 

[ToonsJazzLover]

A lot of fantasy stuff (like Fairly OddParents) just don't work in live-action. You have to rely on a bunch of cheesy special effects/

 

[EJLD4Ever]

"Trick" shots and camera moves like "Eat the Camera" are usually only possible--and seemingly only acceptable--in animation. Seriously, how comfortable do you think a live actor would feel about having a camera lens literally shoved down their throat? I thought so...

 

[ShadowBlinky]

Running in high heels. In real life I bet it can be tricky for many.

 

[Sam the Cartoonist]

Animated works with themes heavily based on figurative surrealism such as Bojack Horseman, Tuca and Bertie, and The Midnight Gospel would never work in live-action without an overblown budget that would still rely on some degree of computer animation which would lack the same raw effect 2D has.

 

[AnimatedFan01]

A lot of fantasy stuff (like Fairly OddParents) just don't work in live-action. You have to rely on a bunch of cheesy special effects/

It's no wonder Grow Up Timmy Turner! was poorly received. If it had been theatrical, it would have been a box office bomb.

 

[AnimatedFan01]

Here's some other stuff:

-Child abuse or animal cruelty portrayed as comedy: Depending on your view, this can be seen as just as unsettling in animation, especially in "adult adult" cartoons like South Park or Family Guy. However in The Simpsons it's usually played for laughs and easy to brush off. But I just can't imagine it being handled in a live-action sitcom. It would feel out of place to see a sitcom father strangle his son while saying "Why you little!", even if no child actors were really harmed. Ditto for animal abuse.

-Extensive limb range: Characters having a flexibility to stretch to extremely far lengths would look awkward being pulled off in live-action CGI effects. One thing I think would feel disturbing is seeing a live character's eyeballs pop out of their eyelids in shock like in cartoons.

-Characters fighting into a giant ball of dust with legs and arms sticking out.

Also because animation doesn't use real on-screen actors, there are some things that would only escape uproar in animated works involving children but would be subject to heavy controversy as a live-action work. For example, Big Mouth, while suffering a fair amount of infamy on social media due to its explicit focus on early teen sexuality, has more defenders speaking out regarding its controversy. Meanwhile Cuties, a live-action film about an 11-year-old twerking troupe, was heavily criticized and controversial once released to the United States despite also being on Netflix.

 

[zoombie]

I do feel the opposite when it comes to anticipation humor. The humor in the Honeymooners, the timing, the setup that Jackie and Art does, you coudn't do that on The Flintstones.

 

[Low Spark of Lyman]

-Child abuse or animal cruelty portrayed as comedy: Depending on your view, this can be seen as just as unsettling in animation, especially in "adult adult" cartoons like South Park or Family Guy. However in The Simpsons it's usually played for laughs and easy to brush off. But I just can't imagine it being handled in a live-action sitcom. It would feel out of place to see a sitcom father strangle his son while saying "Why you little!", even if no child actors were really harmed. Ditto for animal abuse.

Unless you're W.C. Fields. Although, I'm not sure if even he would go for strangling.

 

[the_joker]

In animation, characters can have stylized designs that wouldn't look awkward while watching the show. Good luck doing The Simpsons or Spongebob Squarepants in live-action.

 

[AnimatedFan01]

In animation, characters can have stylized designs that wouldn't look awkward while watching the show. Good luck doing The Simpsons or Spongebob Squarepants in live-action.

Or Hey Arnold!. Characters with odd-shaped football-like heads simply wouldn't appeal in live-action. The only genre I can see it, along with many other surreal cartoon tropes, working in is sci-fi. But in a plain sitcom or comedy show, it would look grotesque to say the least.

 

[Zanneck]

In animation, characters can have stylized designs that wouldn't look awkward while watching the show. Good luck doing The Simpsons or Spongebob Squarepants in live-action.

Don't even joke about that, m8. That show would get canned in a heartbeat, unless it's some sci-fi / fantasy joint. Or, of by some beyond evil behavior going on by whomever made it, thinking they got a hit on their hands - OH THE DELUSION OF ALL THAT! - it goes on for a long time, despite critical and financial reception being all-out negative and people everywhere en masse (by majority) are baying for its end.

And to not think, but see as clear as day, that it's all simply for being too awful to look at for too long, due to such an awful decision to make something live-action that should have been animated, instead. Expensive as animating said show likely otherwise is, but still better than doing it in live action, where it's all just an eyesore!

As for how something like such would otherwise only in a sci-fi / fantasy - based setting, here's the required catch. Such a thing would definitely preferably have to be one with a High to God Tier makeup budget, first and foremost. I won't say examples; we know what most of them are by now.

Furthermore, it really doesn't help that most of those mainly sci-fi / fantasy - based examples? THEY EMPLOY CGI, as well, to save on makeup costs, nowadays - thus completely violating the full-on live-action clause we're trying to adhere to here, honestly.

So yeah, without a crapton of money on make-up and some CGI use to save time and cash, provided THAT is good enough, of course - trying to make something like Craig of the Creek in live action, for example?
Yeah, that's a BIG OL' HELL NO (BIG FAT NO-GO!) from me.

Seriously, now: It's bad enough TLH/Casagrandes (by extension) has been ruined by this crap - as if these shows haven't ruined themselves in overall quality, some way or another, in their true animated form, already, by being so damn unfortunately mediocre (IMHO, anyway.).

 

[Sam the Cartoonist]

So yeah, without a crapton of money on make-up and some CGI use to save time and cash, provided THAT is good enough, of course - trying to make something like Craig of the Creek in live action, for example?
Yeah, that's a BIG OL' HELL NO (BIG FAT NO-GO!) from me.

In the case of COTC, it's down-to-earth enough to be feasible as a live-action show without looking as odd as some of the other examples. However, it would lose a lot of its whimsical charm, especially during the more fantastical scenes which work best in animation.

 

[Classic Speedy]

Quite a bit, actually. Animation can get away with so much more that live action can't, largely on the basis that it's not real.

For example, there's no way bare asses would fly in a live action sitcom, but they're seen quite often in classic era Simpsons.

 

[EJLD4Ever]

Something else that seems to never work in real life, and it's not specific to animation: Quick and Severe Infatuation and Love at First Sight.

Example: In The Little Mermaid, when Ariel sees Prince Eric for the first time, she immediately becomes smitten.

I had been so used to seeing this trope in media that I thought it was the norm. It's what happened to me when I met my most recent (now ex-) girlfriend. Only after talking to her later in discussing what went wrong in our relationship she said that "the fact that I saw [her] for like two seconds and [ I ] thought [she] was [my] 'one and only'" seemed a little creepy, and suggested we should've gone on one or two outings as "just friends" before going out on an "actual" date.

 

[ShadowBlinky]

Shots within mouths facing the outside, like Lisa biting a carrot: