Disney to Close Imagemovers Studio

[KeithS]

Here is some news I'm not upset about.

Disney have decided to close Robert Zemeckis' motion capture studio which was responsible for A Christmas Carol.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... PzSOz7mt9A

I'm not a big fan of motion capture animation for an animated film - especially when a talented director like Zemeckis makes it his sole way of creating movies. Zemeckis brought us great live action films like the Back to the Future series and Forrest Gump. But his last three films (Polar Express, Beowulf, A Christmas Carol) have foresaken live action for motion capture animation - and all his future films are set for this style too.

I guess my problem with his style is that he tries to make the characters semi-realistic, rather than animated, but leaves them in an animated world. You see, I think these realistic characters take you out of the story, rather than keeping you engaged, because you (or your brain) starts seeing nuances in the movement of these characters that is wrong (eg. Polar Express scary eyes) - so it becomes less engaging than traditionally animated or CGI films (which your brain knows is animated so doesn't try to compare the images to the real world.)

I think hyper realistic motion capture characters in live action films work beautifully (Avatar, Lord of the Rings etc) but in animated films, they lack something. I think Disney and the public know this too, hence the below par box office returns. There is still one more movie to come out of the Imageworks studio ("Mars Needs Moms!" a title that makes me inwardly groan...). It will be interesting to see how it fares in 2011 and as a result, whether production will continue on Yellow Submarine or not (another title that I'm not looking forward too!).

That's my rant for today! I'm sure you'll all post your own opinions!