Animation has been around for many years, with the period known as the ‘classical’ period from 1937-89, very few films were made in this era but Disney were the lead dominators of the area; with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 being the first of the Disney Princess film which again started a stream of princess films that continue today, with the likes of 2013’s Frozen which made $1.27 Billion in the box office alone. During this current time period, we are now experiencing the post-classical or contemporary period and animation has grown and become a huge phenomenon with the major companies such as Disney, Dreamworks and Pixar, creating films that have a huge range of diversity not only in their style but also in the genre and themes, a growth in the production of the films and an increase in the popularity and importance of animation in film. One of the biggest examples of this was Avatar (James Cameron, 2009) and more recently, Alita: Battle Angel (James Cameron, 2019) both of which incorporated live action and animation elements to create blockbuster films; animation has become a very popular and sure way of making money in Hollywood.
In recent years, Disney has found that recreating their older animation films into live action films is a huge success; one of their most popular animated films, The Lion King from 1994 was recreated in 2019 with an array of all black actors and celebrities such as Beyonce and Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) whom were playing the African lions and animals; this was a major selling point for Disney as it was showing the audience that they are aware of the diversity problems in Hollywood and are making changes. Disney have also remade classics such as Dumbo, The Jungle Book and Lady and the Tramp. Again, this is a clear example that animation is a huge selling point in Hollywood and Disney are taking advantage of this.
However, with the new era of animation brings about new themes to include and sell within the animation sector of Hollywood. With indie style directors such as Tim Burton who has created and produced some very popular animation films like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, James and the Giant Peach. These films have a distinct animation style that can be described as gothic and a homage to the German Expressionism of the 1920s, this connection comes from the oblique angles, exaggerated makeup (or in the case of animation, the facial features) and distorted settings. The German Expressionism films were usually in the genre of horror and sci-fi which also lends a hand to what category Burton’s films fall under. Both his animation and live action films share this same distinct style and have been a favourite amongst those who identify within Gothic culture.
Although his animation films are aimed towards children, they have a sense of adult themes mixed within, his style is described as,”dark, demented, and nightmarish, but they also have a strange innocence and element of childlike wonder” (Renee, 2016). This is apparent in his dark, children’s films such as a remake of his 1980s film Frankenweenie, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland. Although these films are catered for younger audiences, the style is dark in tone and focuses on more adult themes. Frankenweenie is loosely based on the story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley but focuses on a young boy wanting to bring his dog back to life after the dog is hit by a car; this focus of death and the afterlife, when spoken about this would not usually be a typical theme of a Disney’s children film, but Burton makes it work.
Moreover, Burton’s most known animations are his stop motion films such as Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas. These films again have adult themes and are explicit in their origins of it. Burton’s stop motion style has strong influences from the Latin America Day of the Dead, Burton is said to have done this by including, “reanimated skulls and skeletons known as calaveras, and calacas, skulls and skull masks worn during ceremonies.” (Romano, 2019). This can be seen in the character styles of both Emily from the Corpse Bride, Sally and Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Their faces are over exaggerated skulls. This theme of the Day of the Dead is most prominent in The Corpse Bride, when the character reaches the underworld he is met with colourful faces of skeletons wearing hats and performing musical numbers which is explicit in it’s Dead of the Dead origins and influence. Additionally, Burton takes many influences from other holidays such as Christmas and Halloween, which is seen in one of his most popular stop motion animation films The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The Nightmare Before Christmas was and stays popular from it’s release in 1993 to the present day, this animation is easily one of Burton, and Disney’s most recognised amongst many audiences and becomes particularly popular during Halloween and Christmas time. The film is unequivocal and dripping in Burton-esque style; with connotations and examples of the German Expressionism, although it is not shot on a real camera, Burton is still able to replicate the ‘chiaroscuro effect’, by creating atmospheres with geometric shapes, the houses and buildings in ‘Halloweentown’ are spiral or curved and crooked, this effect was used in German Expressionism to highlight the chaos in the world. (Leow, 2016). The film also focuses on children’s fears such as skeletons and monsters under the bed, this is highlighting the dark themes of Burton’s animations but with a twist.
To conclude, animation in Hollywood has, and always will be, a very popular and high selling point for directors and companies. Although, with the classical period over, it paves the way for a new type of animation to be brought to life on screen. Tim Burton’s distinct and popular stop motion animation gives light to this and continues to be original and entertaining.
References
Renee, V. (2016). ‘Burtonesque’: Breaking Down the Gothic Cinematic Style of Tim Burton. [online] No Film School. Available at: https://nofilmschool.com/2016/09/burtonesque-breaking-down-gothic-cinematic-style-tim-burton [Accessed 16 Jan. 2020].
Romano, A. (2019). Tim Burton has built his career around an iconic visual aesthetic. Here’s how it evolved.. [online] Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/4/17/18285309/tim-burton-films-visual-style-aesthetic-disney-explained [Accessed 16 Jan. 2020].
Leow, J. (2016). German Expressionism in Tim Burton’s films – J’s. [online] Oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg. Available at: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/janl0001/german-expressionism-in-tim-burtons-films/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2020].
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