Makin’ Toons by Allan Neuwirth traces the popular rise of animation in features.

Animation, owing to its nature as an art form, is fated to transmute into an ever-changing array of presentations. It is the method by which this is accomplished that draws the attention of critics, analysts and historians; each exploring different facets of change and how they alter previous expressions in the state of the art. No one, for example, could argue that animated cartoons went from Paul Terry’s Farmer Al Falfa to Genndy Tartakovsky’s Samurai Jack overnight.

Even if we allow for the span of almost 80 years that separates their respective debuts, it is evident that something happened, besides the passage of time, that accounts for the disparate appearances and content of the two creations. The identification of that “something” is not always simple, even after the actual revisions have occurred and we are held in thrall by the shock of the new. This month’s column is a humble attempt at defining the methods by which animation has evolved over the years. The biggest surprise may be that animation has never really evolved at all: Revolution, and not evolution seems to have been the true agent of progression.

As I began writing this month's column, Allan Neuwirth’s new book Makin’ Toons hit the stands. This perceptive and entertaining work correctly identifies several events which marked the beginning of the “Toon Boom” that began in 1988 and continues (despite more than a few bumps in the road) to the present. Neuwirth is accurate in his assertion that the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit got the Boom bouncing in the first place. Equally astute are his observations that several key developments followed the release of that film in short order: The Broadway stylings of The Little Mermaid; the advent of The Simpsons; the premiere of John Kricfalusi’s The Ren and Stimpy Show. These four events profoundly shaped the appearance and narrative structure of animated films and television productions. It should also be noted that all four events took place within three short years.

In 1995, the appearance of the Disney/Pixar collaboration Toy Story established a stunning precedent for future CGI presentations; the rest of the Toon Boom notables listed by Neuwirth (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, The Lion King, South Park, Shrek, King of the Hill and Ice Age) were all influenced by the five unique productions first mentioned. Since1988-1995 is a span of only seven years; given that the history of American animation spans roughly 110 years, this spasm of creation truly represents a revolutionary period.

Neuwirth asserts that Who Framed Roger Rabbit started the current animation revolution. © Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.

That these events happened is indisputable, and Neuwirth does an excellent job in detailing them. However, how these events happened (and why at this particular point in time) is a separate story, one that deals with the nature of how animation has progressed since silent ink-and rice-paper toons held sway. The most fertile periods in animation history have been marked by sudden, rapid change rather than slow, painstaking evolution. To discover the reasons for this, it is necessary to examine the process of revolution itself. Revolutions in animation are rarely political but they do tend to follow four other paths: economic, ideological, stylistic and technological. Each path is capable of producing a radical change in a short period of time. Let us explore these concepts, and how they have directly wielded their influences on the art and business of animation.

Economic revolutions in animation are global in their manifestation, and are thus easy to observe. There have been several of these cataclysmic events during the history of American animation, and the following are just a few examples. During the 1950s the rising cost of theatrical animation coincided with diminishing returns from theatrical outlets. This led the major studios to dismantle long-standing animation departments and discontinue the production of theatrical shorts. While it is true that economic pressure had been building towards the death of the theatrical short, the studio closings took place in a very brief amount of time. Between 1957 and 1964 virtually all of them journeyed to extinction, seven years that reversed the previous 30. This threw hundreds of animation professionals out of work and marked the curtain call for the beloved cartoon that once opened for the main attraction.