SIGGRAPH: Day 6

I had an early morning shift today, 8am start in registration. Once this shift was over I found myself by chance near the main hall where there was a panel presentation and screening of Disney's new short, Paperman. The short will accompany the new film, Wreck it Ralph (more on this film later).

The really exciting thing about this new short is that it combines both 2D animation and CGI animation. Most people seem to believe that a film has to be one or the other and that 2D is the ancestor of CGI that will eventually see the end of traditional hand drawn animation. However a film such as Paperman challenges this theory with great success.

Booklet for Paperman

I have since seen the short twice (once during this presentation and then later at the D23 conference) and each time I love the look of it, especially the use of 2D over the top of CGI characters and backgrounds. Dare I say it, but the inclusion of hand drawn 2D animation over the top of the CGI seems to give the short a  greater sensibility, more heart; more authenticity. As a 2D animator, seeing a short film use this technique is especially exciting as it hints that studios are not simply throwing away 2D animation in favour of slick CGI.

The story is simple but it works and its focus is on character relationships that may be fleeting or may last a lifetime. I love the black and white palette with added noise to give a real old school look to the film that includes characters reminiscent in aesthetics to that of 101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan. The matching of music to the animation (the director indicated that the music was matched after the animation) is yet another reconnection with old world animation. By the end of the short however, you forget all the technical marvels and may get a little catch in your throat or a tear in your eye.  

Booklet for Paperman