Analysis of Existing Animations (P1, P2, M1, D1)
Techniques for Producing Digital Animation:
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Snow-White-Animation-Cel/549416FB5FA5A41E
screenshot accesed 2026
One example of techniques is cel animation, this is a traditional version of animation where many companies such as old Disney films used and were created using celluloid sheets which are transparent sheets of film which characters and the scenes were hand drawn. After these characters and the scenes were hand drawn they were then painted to add colour this technique was very time consuming and very expensive as each movement was a new sheet of celluloid. One famous example of this is Disney's Snow white which was the first ever film created using cel animation which took 3 years to produce using over 750 artists who completed more than 2 million sketches and over 250,000 drawings. One advantage of cel animation is the use of creativity as each drawing was hand made and therefore allowed the artists to be create when drawing as well as this another advantage is that it allowed the artist to be very detailed with their drawings and very particular in the use of colour. Cel animation has evolved from painting characters onto transparent celluloid sheets and layering them over static backgrounds to the development of adding colour which led to the bypassing the hand inking stage and directly drawing onto the cels. In the modern era it has now changed to using digital animation and cel animation is not used often anymore. One disadvantage of cel animation is that there is only one copy of each sheet and therefore there are no backups so if work gets lost or damaged they would have to recreate it over again also cels have to be cleaned constantly otherwise dust and fingerprints would have been shown on the animation.
https://youtu.be/W4vrAysxWuY?si=coC4RmfBmExrMaO3
Another technique used in animation is CGI this is computer generated imagery where digital technology. CGI uses 3d models within a virtual space to create movements and visuals. This techniques involves using specialised software to create, manipulate and animate visual content, it uses digital figures. To create a CGI piece you would have
P2:
Two Genres of Animation:
One genre of animation is adventure, these type of animation focuses mainly on the journey wether it be physical, emotional or both. This type of genre for animation they make the environment and background just as important as the characters, they go into a lot of background detail. For example, Spider- Man into Spider-Verse which perfectly portrays the adventure genre.
Another genre of animation is comedy, this is where the focus of the animation is less about realism and more focusing on the jokes within it. Within comedy animation it is normally more exaggerated and therefore allows for comedic effect. For example, Looney Tunes Cartoon use exaggerated characters which perfectly links to the comedy genre.
Uses of Animation:
One use for animation is in video games, video games rely on animation in order for the game to run smoothly and transition from different pints of view and in different backgrounds. It focuses on player feedback and is all about how the player reacts and responds to the game and the different levels or aims of the game.
Another use for animation is on TV, TV main animation aim is to visually tell the story and match the narrative. The animation on tv focuses on the detail of the facial expressions in order to make the shows more realistic, as well as this the use of colour is very important as it can help to set the scene and reflect the emotions for example if its a sad scene the colours of the animation might begin to go dark.
One example of animation is Super Mario, this is a very iconic video game, this follows an action - adventure first person type game where it follows a hero type structure where there is a quest to save Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom. The type of animation is traditionally a 2D animation which later was developed into a 3D animation to match the modern digital style. The type of animation perfectly matches the adventure genre as it reacts to the players choices for example, if you hold down on jump button it either flys or does a single jump. The animation follows a level structure but also has a narrative style which helps to make the game more appealing to viewers. In the game the it follows the genre due to the reactive nature of the game for example depending on how long a gamer holds down the button to jump depends how long the character will jump for and how high which follows adventure narrative also when jumping it uses the squat and stretch visual effect for example Mario when jumping would slightly flatten to show a realistic effect.
Another example of animation is Wallis and Gromit, this is a very iconic stop motion clay animation which is a comedy TV show. It uses stop motion to further the narrative and the comedic effect by using the clay models to exaggerate features. The comedy genre is also seen through the use of the characters, one example is that Gromit is silent and so his comedy relies heavily on micro animations such as facial expressions. It appeals to kids due to the visual simplistic style of entertainment but also adults due to its nostalgia and relatable British northern culture. The choice to make Wallis and Gromit stop motion isn't just for the aesthetic but also shows comedic effect as every frame that is created is made by hand and the creators have control over the exaggeration of facial expressions and character movements. Additionally, the use of exaggeration is clever used within the character of Gromit as he doesn't speak and therefore his humorous is entirely from movements. The genre of Wallis and Gromit is slapstick comedy and as a result can be used over a range of platforms from TV to film, for kids it is appealing due to the bright colours and slightly misshapen characters and objects as it bring in visual entertainment. However for adults it's a source of family entertainment which still has an adult appeal through references to other films to keep older audience engaged.
M1:
Wallace and Gromit:
Primary Target Audience:
Wallace and Gromit are designed to appeal to a wide demographic, the primary target audience is mainly families but prioritises children audience aged 5 - 12 year olds due to its light hearted comedic effect. The demographics while it is inclusive to all genders the show mainly focuses on male narrative due to the male main character. The psychographic are mainstreamer and succeeder as its people who value reliability and family friendly content. The Geodemographics are mainly northern English due to the location it's set for example mainly B-C1 social class but it has a global reach due to its comedy style. The genre of this show is action comedy with also a mix of thriller often in a 30 min short film or episode, the narrative structure follows a typical equilibrium - disruption - resolution. The style is stop motion clay motion where fingerprints are often left on clay to show hand crafted aesthetic. The dialogue is minimal for Wallace while Gromit says nothing just movements and facial expressions. The primary target audience is also very suitable due to the bright styles and colours of the clay this gives the feel of a light hearted comedic effect and as a result it more suitable and appealing to a younger target audience. Wallace for example is suitable for target audience as he has a northern English middle class accents and a bold personality and as a result his voice reaches children through the comedic nature.
Secondary Target Audience:
The secondary target audience for Wallace and Gromit is adults typically between the ages of 25- 55 year olds this is due to the hidden layers of the content and also often parent who are in the Succeeder psychographic as they will appreciate the hand crafted clay animation as well as having a nostalgic feel. The Geodemographic reaches a global audience yet mainly focuses a middle to upper class due to these viewers enjoying the classic British aesthetic it also has a sense of nostalgia of a coast northern home for older generations. The secondary audience is engaged due to the genre due to its comedic effect and the narrative has a deeper meaning which older generation understand and sympathise. Adults will also appreciate the amount of effort is put into the creation if the clay animation of a 30 minute episodes. The animation appeals to a secondary target audience as well due to textures and is left to serve a purpose to make the clay look more family friendly and real this appeals to a succeeder parent who wants to watch something family friendly and nostalgic with their children. The dialogue also appeals to a secondary target audience as the northern accent makes the animation seem more realistic to a UK audience.
Super Mario:
Primary Target Audience:
Super Mario appeals to a primary target audience of 5 - 12 year olds and therefore focuses on children and creating a game which is light hearted while being comedic as well. The target audience appeals to all genders even though it has main male characters such as Mario and Luigi there are other characters such as Princess Peach who appeal to a female audience too. Their main aim is to appeal to gamers regardless of their gender, race, religion class or ethnicity. The psychographic for the primary target audience is mainstreamer as they appeal to a family friendly audience. The geo-demographic reaches a global audience even though it was created in Japan the game is relatable and interests worldwide. The genre of the game is an action game which is also exploration too and follows a simple narrative with an equilibrium, disruption and the resolution. The visual style reaches the primary target audience as it includes vibrant and exciting colours and creates a toy like style which appeals a younger audience. There is minimal dialogue other than iconic catchphrases in order to make sure it's not too complicated for a younger audience.
Secondary Target Audience:
The secondary target audience for Super Mario roughly ages 22- 55 year olds, the secondary target audience is mainly based on the idea of nostalgia and for those who grew up with the early versions of the Nintendo and want to re-live their childhood. This would mean that it reaches adults who are succeeders in the psycho-demographic as they will appreciate the changes and advances in the Nintendo technology. The geo-demographic reach is global and reaches an audience world wide, it also appeals to a middle to upper class audience who are able to afford the technology to access the game for example the Nintendo switch. The secondary audience will enjoy and appreciate the hidden aspects of the game such as the effort the creators have go to create the game to be very detailed and textured to make the game look more aesthetic. This appeals to a succeeder who want to play a game with a nostalgic experience with their child and the simplistic dialogue allows adults to focus purely on the game itself.
D1:
Studio Ghibli:
https://youtu.be/zvY-SlHuDSo?si=20p0acbJVXoVZYC5
Characters:
Studio Ghibli is known for creating characters with a deep level of emotional depth and a unique "lived in" quality and style. Their characters achieve popularity because they often go against the traditional hero characters for example instead of them being invincible they are often portrayed with relatable flaws which helps to make the audience easier to relate to the characters. The studios style was created by Halo Miyazaki and Issao Takahata their main focus was expressive realism, they made the characters movement and reactions close to a real humans reactions and movements. Their signature style perfectly matched and appealed to their target audience as adults are drawn more by teams of realism and something they can sympathise with. Some of the popular key characters are Totoro from the film My Neighbour Toroto which represents the wonder of childhood and a bridge between nature and humanity. Another key popular character was Kiki from Kiki's Delivery service which focuses on her struggle with burnout from loosing her magic mirrors and the real world transition into adulthood. The drawing style is unique as it focuses on a hand drawn style with soft character lines to create a sense of nostalgia and help link with the emotional realism.
Themes:
Studio Ghibli is very well known for their themes of high level of maturity and themes of humanity and nature. They focus on themes that are based on philosophy and the environment. One core theme which Studio Ghibli focus of is environmentalism and balance which is one of the most used themes throughout their animation one example of this theme is in Princess Mononoke which is where the conflict is between the industrial advancements of the town and the ancient gods of the forest, the film argued that the progression often happens at a spiritual cost. Another theme used is the idea of coming of age, for example in 'Spirited Away' Chihiro begins as a dependent child but finds her won way to survive alone this is a well known film as viewers can sympathise as they know growing up is scary. Another theme used by Studio Ghibli is war and the effects of war for example in 'Howl's Moving Castle' and 'Grave of the Fireflies' both show war as a harsh and unforgiving force. All these themes resonate with the audience as they are all themes of honesty and truth while being in a fictional world of fantasy this allows viewers to sympathise with the characters.
Environments:
Studio Ghibli environments are a creative way to support and reflect the emotions within each scene, they typically reflect a rural Japanese/ European inspired cobblestone town with a combination of supernatural realms. There is no set time period for their creations this helps to add a sense of timelessness to each animation. The use of detailed fantasy stories with a mix of detailed painted landscapes makes the impossible seem possible. One iconic environment is a forest which is seen in 'My Neighbour Totoro' and Princess Mononoke which they use deep colours of greens and hints of sunlight to celebrate the power of nature. Another iconic environment is countryside for example the rolling hills in 'Only Yesterday' these landscapes create a sense of homely nostalgia as well as the beauty of the countrysides. The studio likes to focus on micro details such as how the moss grows on a stone or how the shadow and light reflects this forces the audience to slow down and appreciate the world, it also reinforces the message that the environment we live in is often taken for granted and should be appreciated more.
Styles:
Studio Ghibli uses traditional cel animation which links to their focus on fantasy genre with a mix of digital animation, by resisting the full 3D CGI their work remains to have a more timeless and humanistic effect. Their style includes lines and handprinted brush strokes such as watercolour paintings which are essential to bring alive fantasy films such as 'Spirited Away' this hand drawn approach helps to make their animations more realistic. One style they use often is realism this is shown through the animated facial muscles drawn on characters this add more emotion so their facial expressions making each moment have more meaning. Another style they use is sensory animation they focus on the way objects react to each other for example how water splashes or the weight of objects this helps to make their animations more real and lived in. Studio Ghibli used great amounts of detail in their style to show a core message that people take for granted the natural beauty's of the world and therefore the colours and detail within the animation forces the audience to appreciate the minor details.
Narrative:
Studio Ghibli's narrative style is focuses mostly on naturalism and realism, this allows the stories within the films to sympathise across a wide range of audiences. Ghibli's narrative often focuses on a plot which is mostly character driven by a certain characters internal growth and navigation of the world around them. This approach appeals a broad age range while including mature themes of grief, burnout and more for adults. This animation studio appeals to all genders this is due to its use of straying away from gender norms as they sometimes have female protagonists such as in 'Princess Mononoke' and shows resilience and power instead of being the typical damsel in distress. This animation studio appeals to a range of races and ethnicities due to its universal use of human emotions such as love for family and pain of war, it also gives a space for Asian - American viewers a space to feel welcome and included. The animation studio also appeals to a range of classes due to the exploration of class struggle within the film 'Princess Mononoke' this storyline forces the audience to consider those who are less fortunate while also making people of the lower class feel seen and included.
Pixar:
Characters:
Pixar's characters are seen as a comedic style with a sense of realism through emotions. Some characters such as Lightning Mcqueen from Cars and Sully and Mike from Monsters Inc have achieved high well known status because all of their designs have specific personalities and designs. For example, Mcqueen has a smooth racer body which reflects speed while Sully is fuzzy and represents a 'gentle' giant. These characters appeal to a wide target audience through the use of exaggerated features such as large eyes or overemphasised expressions and or features which are often for comedic effect and makes them relatable to children while also complex to also appeal to an adult family audience. This approach makes the characters look like a cartoon yet feel very real within their fantasy film. Another iconic character is Woody from Toy Story whose design is floppy and toy like its iconic due to its relatable story about fear of growing up, leadership and purpose.
Themes:
Pixar's themes are based off of emotional truths often focusing on themes of identity, inevitable change and the difficulty of different relationships. Pixar avoid the easy magical fixes of typical children's films and instead characters must go through a transformation in order to solve their problems, this is one of the main reasons why their films appeal to a wide range of age groups as there are many layers to their films. One key theme Pixar has used is fear of growing up and change especially from Toy Story where the story is based on fear of being outgrown and replaced which mirrors real life when parents watch their kids grow out of toys. Another key theme Pixar has used is legacy and memory from films like Coco which explores cultural heritage and the fear of being forgotten with a specific focus on Mexican culture which achieves a universal appeal and a desire for strong family bonds and connection. Another key theme Pixar has used is environmental and social class this can be seen in WALL-E which shows a future where humans have destroyed the planet it connects with a wide range of people and activists to help create a change in sustainability.
Environments:
Pixar's environments are very cleverly designed, they are created to be believable but yet still fantasy and not real, for example A Bug's Life where they zoom in on a back garden. Pixar's environments are not strictly natural but use the idea of hyper - realism which is exaggerated in the style of cartoons yet with a human like approach. On environment used is a family home or room for example Andy's room in Toy Story or The Incredibles family home, the familiarity of these rooms creates a sense of nostalgia and safety for the audience. Another environment is the wilderness, for example in Finding Nemo or The Good Dinosaur, Pixar uses the animal's natural habitats such as the sea but these environments are designed to feel intimately large which links to the story of the characters vulnerability. Pixar avoid too much realism as they don't want the films to be too relatable that it scares or creeps out the audience.
Style:
Pixar's style is defined as fantasy realism, with a blend of detailed character design and hyper realistic environments. This style is linked to the animations core genres of fantasy, adventure and sci-fi as it provides believability for the audience. For example sci-fi is seen in WALL - E as it uses future like environments and objects where the main character has a sense of realism shown through the rust and dirt on the robot. Pixar's style bridges the gap between realism and the impossible fantasy which allows for a deeper connection and a wide target audience from children to adults. One style used is exaggerated realism seen in fantasy in Inside Out, where the characters are made with glowing particles rather than solid skin this style choice helps audience to understand the characters and their role. Pixar uses this style to not copy real life but also to provide emotional weight to give characters movements more significance and meaning while ensuring they are still comedic and exaggerated.
Narratives:
Pixar uses a narrative style which mainly focuses on a characters transformation with high emotions. The style often follows a "once upon a time" "until one day" style which focuses on a twist in a perfect story where a character who is forced out of their comfort zone to help with their internal growth. Due to the focus on internal growth normally the animation follows an external adventure. Pixar unites demographic divide by making their films accessible to children while also providing a more mature message to engage an adult audience. Pixar goes against gender norms in their newer films such as Brave and Turning Red which focus on female based narratives which appeal to female empowered audience. Race and ethnicity is also celebrated within their films such as Soul which focuses on a black lead and represents minorities which makes people feel more welcome. Pixar also attracts a wide age range and explores themes such as wisdom vs youth for example in UP when the old character of Carl and the young character of Russell show themes of loneliness. Pixar also reaches a range of classes often Pixar uses middle class environments in films but in Ratatouille Remy the rat who is of the lowest class proves himself to be worthy disregarding any social hierarchy challenges and breaks down barriers which make people of lower classes feel seen and welcome.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, both Studio Ghibli and Pixar are both amazing animators and are very detailed and creative and offer different experience for their target audience. Studio Ghibli focuses more on the feeling of a moment with a core message behind it and usually focuses on hand drawn art to show the beauty in the small detail of things. While Pixar on the other hand, focuses on the action and energy as it uses high tech 3D more modern models that feel somewhat real yet fantasy. Studio Ghibli focused on being relatable to humans by having the main message of nature an peace while often having a thoughtful ending and often leaves the audience thinking, whereas Pixar focuses on having creative beings and themes of feelings and growing up and usually leaves the audience feeling happy and usually ends happily.
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