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Indie Animated Features: Are They Possible?
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X. © Clamp Studios.
Photo courtesy of Manga Entertainment.
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Why Bother?
With limited budgets and even more limited distribution, it's
a wonder that filmmakers even bother to pursue the independent route,
yet such endeavors offer their fair share of rewards as well. Most
obviously, it affords the filmmaker an opportunity to create a film
that doesn't necessarily fit into the conventional Hollywood mold.
Russell Boland comments, "With the budget restrictions, every dollar
has to be on the screen and in fact you have to be inventive in such
a way as to make your $15 million film look like it has the production
values of the $40 million film coming from the major studios. Of course,
this will cause creative tensions but nevertheless allows the studio
and the creative production team genuine freedom within the limitations
of the budget."
In the case of filmmaker Bill
Plympton, by producing independently he is able to create extremely
unorthodox animated films such as The Tune and I Married
A Strange Person, and still stand a chance of making a profit
because of the films' low production costs. Plympton's films don't
have to gross $100 million or spur sequels to be considered a financial
success.
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Bill Plympton's next independent
feature, Mutant Aliens, is based on his book
of the same name. © Bill Plympton.
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"There is less external pressure," Ron Merk points out as another
advantage. "Generally time schedules are more flexible when there
is no definite release date. You don't have executives breathing down
your neck as you push your pencil. Time gives you the opportunity
to reflect on your work, make changes, improve character and story."
Only a Matter of Time
While it's unlikely that the independent animated features being
produced now will pose a serious threat to the traditional studio
fare anytime in the near future, there is no doubt that Hollywood
is taking notice of their work. When independent studios like Pixar
and Aardman
Animations wanted to try their hands at creating animated features,
majors like Disney and DreamWorks quickly stepped in to finance, market
and distribute their projects. The end results were Toy Story
and Chicken Run, two high-caliber entries with an independent
spirit that were both critical and financial successes. With or without
Hollywood's involvement, it definitely looks like independent filmmakers
will continue producing unique animated features for many years to
come. Now, if only there was a way to see them in theaters. . .
Amid Amidi is the publisher and editor of Animation Blast
Magazine (www.animationblast.com). He lives in Los Angeles, where
he enjoys stealing sand from the local beaches.
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