I have just read with interest and pleasure, an article on AWN written by Karl Cohen titled, “What is Great Animation?”  In the article Cohen discusses not only his views but has asked a number of luminaries to provide their personal thoughts on the topic.  Cohen is a teacher and historian with an impressive background.   I found all the various opinions and observations irreproachable and yet, illusive like all attempts to define something without first knowing exactly what it is your trying to define.

We've come along way from The Flintstones to The Simpsons but one thing seems to remain constant when looking at the most succesful Prime Time Animated shows as at the core of most of them is the American Family and its problems, concerns and interactions.  The newer shows keep searchingfor the line they can't cross but after all is said and done the father, mother and kids all rotate around the same age old problems and concerns, just with a more contemporary viewpoint. 

I begin to suspect that this is like trying to write the perfect pre-nuptial, and wonder that perhaps it can’t be done!  I chew on this for a bit before I start to realize that the problem that is stymieing me, needs to be included in the definition.   After all, if art can’t be clearly defined wouldn’t that need to be part of its definition?  I also thought of what Elbert Hubard said, “Art is not a thing, it is a way.”

On the specific topic of film, there is the Francois Truffaut auteur theory, which suggests that in order for a film to be recognized as art, there must be one guiding hand on the entire project.  This is to say that the auteur must be all things to the film – He or she must write the screenplay, cast the actors, direct and edit the film in order for it to be considered a work of art.  Truffaut allows that others may set the lights, operate the cameras and fill other duties but all creative decisions must be solely and strictly that of the filmmaker. 

The question is how does this definitioin fit in animation where the vast majority of films are made with a team of artists and technicians working together, often independently?