"Incredibly" Real Computer Animation !

The article "How to Become Incredibles", posted on CNN.com on November 8th 2004 discussed the newest Disney- Pixar computer animated movie "The Incredibles". This movie is about a dysfunctional family of superheroes, and looks at superhero movies and spy movies in a very lighthearted comedic way.
This article can relate to our course in many ways. First of all, computer animation itself was a result as well as an innovation in the Information Highway that we currently are living through. Disney has profited much from the Information Highway with the production of box office computer animated hits such as "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story".
Another factor that makes this article relevant to our course is the technique through which computer animation is made. The artists at Pixar studios use 3D blueprints to build the characters as well as their backgrounds. These are quite similar to and are influenced by the blueprints that Paulo Uccello drew at the beginning of the Perspective Age, the age which has, more than any other, affected our way of life.
On a sad note, the article also relates to the means through which we strive to achieve reality. Since computer 3D animation better depicts reality than hand drawn animation, as seen in "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo", it has led to the slow death of hand drawn 2D animation. This resembles the invention of photography which did away with painters trying to achieve reality by painting. Although I like computer animation, I find the fact that hand animation is dying quite sad. Despite the fact that 3D computer animation is closer to reality, it lacks the fluid movement and the artistry of hand drawn 2D animation, as well as it's timelessness. In ten years, computer animation will probably be so much better than computer animation now that people will actually find older computer animated movies quite backwards. But when we watch a Disney classic like "Fantasia" it is flawless and looks brand new, despite the fact that it was made in 1940.

Sources:

(2004)How to become Incredibles. Retrieved November 30, 2004 from
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/08/film.the.incredibles.ap/index.html