Will 2D Animation Make A Return In Theatres n The 2020s

[Dudley]

I was afraid your going to say that. But I'm not surprise that MLP movie didn't save hand drawn animation. I don't want to be negative, but sometimes I think big higher ups stinks on ice. Sorry, I hate to say that.

Ya know, 2D animated films are still made all over the world. You should try checking them out instead of waiting for big American studios to make them.

According to Amid Amadi over on Cartoon Brew, he speculated the movie cost less than $10 million to make. Regardless of how he came to this number, that should give hope that other US studios will make more 2D animated films, so long as you don't mind it looking like the MLP movie, and that it means more work will be outsourced outside the country.



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[Zanneck]

Anyone who thought the MLP movie was bringing back 2D animation is pretty crazy, IMHO. That... Is a pipe dream of epic proportions. The fact is nothing based off something we've all seen on TV by now has any chance in Hell of doing this at all - it didn't work then with stuff like the PPG movie, and reality is that it ain't working now.

The real solution, IMHO, should have been more original ideas getting frontlined, not stuff we've seen on TV over and over again, hence why while I love the idea of Bob's Burgers getting a big screen film, I know it's only purpose is to get more people interested in watching said cartoon, NOT making 2D films some major reality again, but the niche they are stuck being, unless you venture outside the box that is America.

... And don't expect Japan to save the medium by itself, either - they live or die by their brand of sales (manga, model kits, etc.), just like how America lives or dies by toys. Ask Littlest Pet Shop (2012), for an obscure example.

I'll put it more lightly - making a bunch of movies based off of popular cartoons is not truly helping, let alone bringing back, 2D animation into theaters. If it didn't work in the late 90's - early 00's, why are convinced it will work now? Are we really foolish enough to believe history won't repeat itself because of our attachment to what's popular? Sorry; reality is clearly otherwise and these things we attach ourselves to are niche as hell things that don't put butts in seats on grand scale. FACT.

 

[ToonJay723]

I'll put it more lightly - making a bunch of movies based off of popular cartoons is not truly helping, let alone bringing back, 2D animation into theaters. If it didn't work in the late 90's - early 00's, why are convinced it will work now? Are we really foolish enough to believe history won't repeat itself because of our attachment to what's popular? Sorry; reality is clearly otherwise and these things we attach ourselves to are niche as hell things that don't put butts in seats on grand scale. FACT.

Actually making animated movies based on TV shows hurt 2D animation. After The Rugrats Movie did extremely well, other studios started making movies based off their shows. Since a lot of these were low quality, and Pixar and DreamWorks were making good CG films, adults assumed that 2D animation was just for kids and would only go to the CG ones.

 

[Zanneck]

Actually making animated movies based on TV shows hurt 2D animation. After The Rugrats Movie did extremely well, other studios started making movies based off their shows. Since a lot of these were low quality, and Pixar and DreamWorks were making good CG films, adults assumed that 2D animation was just for kids and would only go to the CG ones.

This, as well. Sorry I missed that, because it's so damn true.

 

[90'sKid]

Actually making animated movies based on TV shows hurt 2D animation. After The Rugrats Movie did extremely well, other studios started making movies based off their shows. Since a lot of these were low quality, and Pixar and DreamWorks were making good CG films, adults assumed that 2D animation was just for kids and would only go to the CG ones.

Even movies based on good cartoons, like Recess, didn't bring in the big bucks like the first Rugrats movie did.


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[TsWade2]

Anyone who thought the MLP movie was bringing back 2D animation is pretty crazy, IMHO. That... Is a pipe dream of epic proportions. The fact is nothing based off something we've all seen on TV by now has any chance in Hell of doing this at all - it didn't work then with stuff like the PPG movie, and reality is that it ain't working now.

The real solution, IMHO, should have been more original ideas getting frontlined, not stuff we've seen on TV over and over again, hence why while I love the idea of Bob's Burgers getting a big screen film, I know it's only purpose is to get more people interested in watching said cartoon, NOT making 2D films some major reality again, but the niche they are stuck being, unless you venture outside the box that is America.

... And don't expect Japan to save the medium by itself, either - they live or die by their brand of sales (manga, model kits, etc.), just like how America lives or dies by toys. Ask Littlest Pet Shop (2012), for an obscure example.

I'll put it more lightly - making a bunch of movies based off of popular cartoons is not truly helping, let alone bringing back, 2D animation into theaters. If it didn't work in the late 90's - early 00's, why are convinced it will work now? Are we really foolish enough to believe history won't repeat itself because of our attachment to what's popular? Sorry; reality is clearly otherwise and these things we attach ourselves to are niche as hell things that don't put butts in seats on grand scale. FACT.

I agree. Thinking MLP The Movie will save 2d animation is silly. I don't know why I think of that. I mean, I miss the good old days when Disney does do hand drawn animated movies and I've been obsessing about it for years, but I'm trying to tone that down a little bit, but I'm also trying to move forward from it and enjoy the current cgi films. Also, once in a while I do enjoy some european animated movies like Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and etc. i've must to admit, I've been hoping about 2d animation way too much and it leads me to disappointment, I guess it's hard to be realistic when I have a mental disability. But I can still support people to bring back hand drawn animation and who knows, maybe Disney will do a meander animated feature someday. But I'm going to learn to try not get my hopes yet. I'm working on it.

 

[Dudley]

I dunno, having 2D animated films in theaters is something I always wanted, plus I also wanted movies based on shows to be a thing again. It shouldn't matter if it's an original idea or not.

In fact, that Teen Titans Go! Movie has a better chance of getting more movies like that made, since WB isn't gonna slack of promoting the movie, and the show gets a lot of air time. It's sure to do well at the box office.


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[Zanneck]

I dunno, having 2D animated films in theaters is something I always wanted, plus I also wanted movies based on shows to be a thing again. It shouldn't matter if it's an original idea or not.

In fact, that Teen Titans Go! Movie has a better chance of getting more movies like that made, since WB isn't gonna slack of promoting the movie, and the show gets a lot of air time. It's sure to do well at the box office.


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All true - but remember, unlike the kids who will eat this up all day, I don't see anyone else supporting this. Plus, I don't know how the internet will deal with it if this (TTG, and not MLP) was what was responsible for bringing 2D film animation back into the American Mainstream. I don't know how much faith anyone will have in the industry anymore if such a mixed blessing of a miracle were to happen.

Either way, it ain't happening with MLP, Bob's Burgers, or The Loud House,to be brutally honest - all those shows are far too niche for it to truly work, let alone register (lovely as it would be for some us to see that miracle through, I'm sure.....).

 

[TsWade2]

I dunno, having 2D animated films in theaters is something I always wanted, plus I also wanted movies based on shows to be a thing again. It shouldn't matter if it's an original idea or not.

In fact, that Teen Titans Go! Movie has a better chance of getting more movies like that made, since WB isn't gonna slack of promoting the movie, and the show gets a lot of air time. It's sure to do well at the box office.


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Sadly, I hate Teen Titans Go, so I can't support that. Sorry.

 

[Dudley]

All true - but remember, unlike the kids who will eat this up all day, I don't see anyone else supporting this. Plus, I don't know how the internet will deal with it if this (TTG, and not MLP) was what was responsible for bringing 2D film animation back into the American Mainstream. I don't know how much faith anyone will have in the industry anymore if such a mixed blessing of a miracle were to happen.

Either way, it ain't happening with MLP, Bob's Burgers, or The Loud House,to be brutally honest - all those shows are far too niche for it to truly work, let alone register (lovely as it would be for some us to see that miracle through, I'm sure.....).

Unless all the movies based on TV shows end up becoming CG films, it doesn't matter whether it's based off a show or not. It's still 2D animation, and it's still being shown in theaters.

But who am I kidding? In the end, people basically just want Disney to be the one to bring back 2D animation. If Disney turned one of their shows into a movie, would that count?

I'm starting to wonder why people would even want the major animation studios to bring it back in the first place (except 2D animators themselves). They're not going to do anything new with it anyway. They're just going to churn out the same family friendly formulaic crap you've all seen a million times over.

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[DeanBurrito25]

Something that hasn't been brought up yet: between TTG and The Loud House, we also might be seeing more symbol based/tween based/Flash animated movies hit theaters.

It's funny, ever since Flash animation went on the rise in the early 2000s, you'd never see it used in mainstream cinema, as that was still reserved for hand drawn animation when that was still the norm. But I think that might change with these TV adaptations.

Technically, we already got that with the My Little Pony movie: granted, that was animated with Toon Boom as opposed to the show's original Flash pipeline, but the former is much more robust and suited for animation, and judging by the trailers and previews it really pays off in the long run. The Loud House is animated in Toon Boom, Bob's Burgers uses Toon Boom (although they started using a mix of tween and hand drawn animation starting in season two), Teen Titans Go definitely uses Flash, though I wonder if they'll stick to that or switch to Toon Boom for the movie. Only time will tell.

When utilized correctly, that form of digital animation can look just as good as classic animation (again, going back to the MLP movie). Whether you liked the writing or not, I think season three of Rick and Morty demonstrated this well at times, especially in episodes like "Pickle Rick".

 

[ToonJay723]

I'm starting to wonder why people would even want the major animation studios to bring it back in the first place (except 2D animators themselves). They're not going to do anything new with it anyway. They're just going to churn out the same family friendly formulaic crap you've all seen a million times over.

For artistic reasons. Outside of Sony Pictures Animation, Warner Animation Group (which outsources their work to Sony Imageworks), Brad Bird, and DreamWorks and Blue Sky on rare occasions, most CG films use the standard Pixar style which gets boring. Back when features were hand drawn the art was more varied. Pocahontas, Mulan, The Prince of Egypt, The Iron Giant, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Lilo & Stitch all look different from each other.

 

[Red Arrow]

Weirdly enough, I agree with both Dudley and ToonJay723. On one hand most Disney / Pixar movies really aren't that special. The only ones that really stand out to me are The Emperor's New Groove, because of its humor, and Wall-E and Inside Out, because of their message.

But on the other hand, 2D AT LEAST gave us something new to look at. Now these animated features both look and feel the same. This wasn't the case in the 90s and 00s.

This is basically why Jungle Book and Brother Bear are still on my watchlist after all those years :') I'm not a movie guy, I suppose...

 

[Toon4Thought]

This image shows the MLP Movie's budget was slated to be $25-30 million.

Unfortunately, this means the film will struggle to break even, since as of now it's only at $15 million worldwide. I really hope it somehow pulls through, because it so does not deserve to be a financial failure.

 

[ShadowBlinky]

Can someone tell me why the movie was barely or not advertised?

 

[Dudley]

$30 million? That does sound believable, much more than something less than $10 million like what Cartoon Brew said.
As for this movie underperforming, I think it's because Hasbro's not too concerned about how it performs in theaters so long as they can make money off licensing the movie to Netflix and other streaming services. Otherwise Hasbro would've forked more money to promote the film.


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[Yum]

It looks like those John K posts were right after all...

 

[TsWade2]

It looks like those John K posts were right after all...

He's not always right. He's just a jerk with no class, no respect, and he's a horrible cartoonist. I'm sorry if this is over the top, but I just don't like him or his horrible Ren and Stimpy show.

 

[EJLD4Ever]

If you really wanna see some feature-quality hand-drawn animation in the future, you should see Hullabaloo. It's a trilogy of short films and even though it's a work in progress right now, but even now, it'll blow you away. It's got Disney legends like James Lopez (directing) and Bruce Smith (animating) working on it.

 

[Dudley]

It looks like those John K posts were right after all...

I'm afraid to ask, but what did he say?


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