What Defines Disney Animation Disney Movies, Music, TV, Theater & Books Discuss What Defines Disney Animation in the Miscellaneous Disney forums; As a cg-animator I am in the pre-production stage of a short animated film that I hope will make the rounds of film festivals in the next year or so. ...

[pharris430]

As a cg-animator I am in the pre-production stage of a short animated film that I hope will make the rounds of film festivals in the next year or so. I am looking to give it the "look and feel" of the classic Disney animations. To that end I am polling Disney enthusiasts and artists on various forums to try and get a feel for what others think makes a Disney animation.

Think back on your favorite Disney animated movies and shorts, and try to put into words what makes it Disney to you.

thanks!
(and yes this is a perfect excuse to have a Disney movie-a-thon!)

[tdf192]

Its all about the story and the characters. Needs a heart warming ending, some witty lines, a hero and someone or something that the main character can bounce off

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

The background scenery needs to be detailed, attention to shadow, mood, time of day, etc...

[Meeska]

I think the more recent Disney animation stands out with three distinct elements; character types, fluid movements, and attention to fine details. The character types include: the hero, the young boy, the princess, the massive sized villains, the fool or clown and a small sized sidekick. In motion, The Disney characters seem to just float along. When they move, it's smooth. The expressions, gestures and settings all seem of equal importance. Oh, and don't forget the story and music!

With the classics or shorts, I think Disney animation was brilliant at economy of line, using simplicity along with the full knowledge of anatomy. There's a great sense of " real life drawings" behind all the characters.

[nicks10]

Story!

[pharris430]

Hey guys thanks for your input, all valid points. But I'm still thinking there's more. For instance, if you really look at the "classics" you might notice that Disney seemed to stick to a certain color palate. No I haven't really looked at the trailers for the "Princess and the Frog", so I don't know if that is true for this movie. So I'm curious, have you noticed the same?

[DisneyGuy81]

I really feel like it is the attention to detail. Not just the scenery and background but to the simple smiles, body movement, and overall general appearance of characters. All Disney characters seem to appeal to all ages and I believe that is one of their defining characteristics.