Q. “I don’t think after Jurassic Park that we can, or should ever accept a model animated dinosaur again” [1].
How has CGI ensured the box office success of the animation genre, paying particular attention to ‘Shrek the Third’ (2007)?
“Animation is about creating the illusion of life”[2]. Since Walt Disney Pixar’s release of the first ever fully computer generated imagery film ‘Toy Story’ (1995); the animation has hit new heights. The introduction of CGI animation has taken the genre to a decade of untold success. This is evident as not only has CGI become the most successful form of animation in history, ahead of traditional cel animation and stop motion, but it has also competed against films outside of the genre. DreamWorks Animation SKG ‘Shrek’ is the most successful franchise in the short thirteen year history of CGI animation, with ‘Shrek the Third’(2007) individually being one of the most successful animated films as proved by having the third highest opening weekend intakes in film history. The film earned a staggering “$122million”[3] with only ‘Spiderman 3’ (2007) at the top and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ (2007) in second place ahead of the CGI film. ‘Shrek the Third’ (2007) demonstrates the overall success of the CGI animation genre and the genre as a whole and to determine this success it is important to look at the impact animation has made on society and the factors that make animation successful.
“Animation is about creating the illusion of life”[2]. Since Walt Disney Pixar’s release of the first ever fully computer generated imagery film ‘Toy Story’ (1995); the animation has hit new heights. The introduction of CGI animation has taken the genre to a decade of untold success. This is evident as not only has CGI become the most successful form of animation in history, ahead of traditional cel animation and stop motion, but it has also competed against films outside of the genre. DreamWorks Animation SKG ‘Shrek’ is the most successful franchise in the short thirteen year history of CGI animation, with ‘Shrek the Third’(2007) individually being one of the most successful animated films as proved by having the third highest opening weekend intakes in film history. The film earned a staggering “$122million”[3] with only ‘Spiderman 3’ (2007) at the top and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ (2007) in second place ahead of the CGI film. ‘Shrek the Third’ (2007) demonstrates the overall success of the CGI animation genre and the genre as a whole and to determine this success it is important to look at the impact animation has made on society and the factors that make animation successful.
CGI stands for Computer-Generated Imagery meaning that the animation is made from computer; however this is not the case in the past as animation started a long time before computers were invented. Creating an animation film is a tedious and time-consuming task and none more that the early animations whereby they were fully hand drawn. Windsor McCay‘s inspirational short animated film ‘Gertie the Dinosaur’ (1914) was one of the early animations that was to inspire generations of animators to bring their cartoons to life, however the drawing aspect of animation still remains despite the arrival of computers. As with the making of all CGI animated films such as ‘Shrek the Third’ (2007), the characters and the stories have to be hand drawn first before being converted to the computer. A storyboard involves an artist translating the script into actions and images. “They make a series of sketches”[4] which tells the story and gives the director a rough idea of how the animation will look visually. The arrival of cels in 1910 was one of the first major steps in the development of animation as it allowed animators to focus on the animation and avoid having to re-draw the backgrounds. Founded in 1923, Walt Disney is one of the most successful animation companies. The well-known world wide company is famous for its animated films as Disney believe that “Animation is central to Disney’s economic strength and cultural influence”[5]. After the release of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’(1937), Walt Disney went on to make many animation feature classics including ‘Pinocchio’ (1940), ‘Sleeping Beauty’ (1959), ‘101 Dalmatians’ (1961), ‘The Jungle Book’ (1967) and many more, thirty seven in total.
As the years past animation eventually developed from 2D into 3D. Stop Motion animation was the next step towards the development of animation and it was clear that stop motion had an impact of society as represented by Aardman’s Oscar award winning productions of ‘Wallace and Gromit’ (1989-95). However as technology advances, the arrival of CGI saw the decline of stop motion. Whilst CGI was developed in the early Twentieth Century it was not acknowledged until ‘Jurassic Park’ was released in 1993 and “It was not long before they sighted their first dinosaur and they’re just as impressed as most of the audience watching the film”[6]. The almost life-like dinosaurs were not only visually spectacular but Steven Spielberg’s film was also to prove to be a defining moment in both animation history and in the film industry. The film acted as a springboard for CGI and the CGI animation genre as a whole. CGI animation companies such as ‘DreamWorks Animation SKG’ (1994), which would later on go on to create the ‘Shrek’ franchise, and ‘Blue Sky Studios’ (1997) were starting to emerge at this period of time. In addition, whilst the film had its impact on animation it also “revolutionized the movie industry”[7] as companies such as ‘Hollywood’ converted to digital techniques.
In 1995, the worlds first ever fully computer-generated feature length film ‘Toy Story’ was released and grossed an total “$361,958,736”[8] at the Box Office to become the year’s highest grossing film both domestically and worldwide. The ‘Walt Disney Pixar’ film signalled the birth of the CGI animation genre and from here on some of the most successful films in film history were created whilst many records were being broken along the way such as ‘Finding Nemo’ (2003) which is currently “the best selling DVD of all time”[9] Through statistics CGI has shown to be successful against both its animation predecessors and against other live-action films. ‘DreamWorks Animation SKG’ is ‘Walt Disney Pixar’s’ biggest rival when it comes to animation however when we look individually at 'DreamWorks SKG 2D animated features and DreamWorks SKG CGI animated features, it is clear that the CGI animated features have earned an overwhelming amount at the Box Office compared to the 2D animation features. For example, one of ‘DreamWorks SKG’ highest earning 2D animated feature ‘The Prince of Egypt’ (1998) earned ‘$221million” worldwide at the Box Office, whereas ‘Shrek’ (2001) earned a staggering ‘$482million” worldwide, that is a $261 million difference. From the large difference between the worldwide box office figures it can be seen that CGI is clearly the future at this point in time. However a question that must be asked is that both are still animations and both still rely on the same conventions of animations with the only exception being that CGI is 3D, so why is this that CGI animation is far more successful than its previous animations and what makes CGI animation so successful?
First looking at the conventions of animations we can see that they both rely on similar conventions. Vladimir Propp’s good vs evil narrative theory is evident in all animations such as ‘Simba’ being the hero and ‘Uncle Scar’ being the villain in Walt Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ (1998) and in a more modern animation’ Shrek the Third’ (2007) where ‘Shrek’ is portrayed as the hero whilst Prince Charming is depicted as the villain, however it can be said that “Shrek is an upside down fairytale”[10] as stereotypically the hero is illustrated as someone who is big, strong, brave and handsome which in fact are the words that would be associated with the villain Prince Charming, whereas ‘Shrek’ is a ‘large, big, green ogre’ however its not through Shrek’s appearance that the audience define him as a hero but through his “heroic act”[11] such as the scene involving Shrek attempting to save Princess Fiona from Prince Charming.
It can be said that “genre films have always involved some kind of ‘hybridity’ and are never pure westerns or horrors”[12] meaning that although ‘Shrek’ is defined as an animation, it still borrows aspects of other genres. For example, the genre of action and adventure are both used in ‘Shrek the Third’ where Shrek goes on a quest in search for the next heir for the kingdom, whilst lots of fast cuts and variety of shots are used to both engage the audience and to convey action when Prince Charming leads a gang of fairytale villains to take over the kingdom of ‘Far Far Away’. Elements of the horror genre such as the scene involving Shrek’s ‘baby nightmare’ with conventional horror techniques such as darkness and silence used in order to create tension. Comedy is another genre that it is not only used in ‘Shrek’ films but in mostly all animations and can be seen as one of factors contributing to the success of animation. Laughter is said to be “the most powerful form of communication”[13] and is also “one of the first things we do when we are born along with crying”[14] which demonstrates the power of the comedy genre as it brings out laughter. As the primary target audience of animation are kids and young teenagers this applies well for its audience as it is healthy for kids to laugh as “it is a way of reducing stress and tension”[15]. Whilst all animations use comedy, the ‘Shrek’ franchise is unique in that it uses intertextuality in its comedy for example when Donkey, who is seen as the comedy character of the film, says “Worcestershirey, now that sounds fancy”… like the sauce, mmm, it’s spicy!” which refers to the ‘Worcestershire’ sauce product.
One unique aspect of animation is that “it meets the eight year olds and thirty-eight year olds”[16]. The ability to draw in large audiences and not just to appeal to your target audience is another reason that animations, in particular CGI has become so successful. Stereotypically cartoons and animations are seen as “for children only”[17] and that as we grow up we lose interest for cartoons as adults are too old for cartoons anymore, however this can be argued as there are animations that are aimed at an adult audience such as ‘South Park’ and ‘Family Guy’. In fact is has been shown that over recent “the proportion of adults attending the cinema is increased over the years”[18]. For example, ‘in the year 2000 the number of adults between 25-34 that attended the cinema was roughly thirty one percent whereas in 2003 that number rose too roughly thirty seven percent’[19] and this is because ‘family’ films such as ‘Shrek’ (2001) appeal towards the audience.
One of the more notable differences is the increase in the use of celebrities to provide the voices for characters by animations. ‘Shrek the Third’ provides a great example of this as the film uses a range of ‘A-list’ celebrities to carry out the voices of the including Mike Myers who is the voice of Shrek, Eddie Murphy as ‘Donkey’, Cameron Diaz who voices ‘Princess Fiona’, Justin Timberlake as ‘Artie’, and many others. “The media industry relies heavily on the concept of celebrity”[20] and “people may go to see a film just on the strength of the stars who appearing in it”[21] shows the power and impact celebrities have in the media industry. This is also a difference between 2D animations and CGI animations over time in that CGI films are starting to use celebrities to help them reach larger audiences. This can be seen over a widespread of CGI animated films such as ‘Toy Story’ (1995) with Tom Hanks playing the voice of Woody and ‘Madagascar’ (2005) who’s cast consist of the likes of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and David Schwimmer. When watching a film or television or looking at magazines celebrities are always seen as “images of thin, attractive, young women and good looking muscular men”[22] which injects the audience and sends the message that appearance is important. This also relates to the cultivation theory in that as images of celebrities are seen “everyday in magazines and on film and television”[23], the message becomes stronger than it would if only few texts illustrated this. In the ‘Shrek’ films we see ‘Shrek’ seen as an outcast to society due to appearance as Shrek is an ‘ogre’. Appearance being important can also be seen as a dominant ideology within our society and this can relate to the hegemonic model. All media texts send “‘hidden messages’ that we subconsciously receive everyday”[24] with some messages becoming dominant that it affects the structure of our lives. Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) defines hegemony as “the process by which the dominant ideology was able to naturalise aspects of how society is organised”[25]. Various make-up adverts such as ‘Rimmel London’ send the message to their passive audiences that this make up will make you beautiful and attractive.
The ‘Aesthetic theory’ of genre says that genre texts are “all the same”[26] and that they rely on “the putative routine, formulaic and impersonal natures of genres”[27] to define themselves and are linked by “common themes, styles and iconography”[28], whereas Maltby argues that for a genre to remain successful it must go through “the process of change and adaptation”[29]. Genres change over time for multiple reasons such as change in society, ideologies, values and representations, change in technology which is clearly evident in animation, media institutions and there own influences and styles and also audience expectations. The animation genre has considerably changed through most of these reasons and can be one of factors that have contributed to the success of CGI animation from 2D animation.
Media texts tend to reflect the society at the time and this is another way that not only the animation genre has adapted but how it contributes to its success. Patriarchy and female power are two aspects of society which ‘Shrek the Third’ reflects upon. It is clear that over time the feminism has helped women gain more equal rights in our society today than at any other time in history. Powerful women such as Margret Thatcher who become Britain’s first ever female president in 1979 and Condoleezza Rice who is the U.S. first ever African American to become U.S. Secretary of State are examples of women who reflect female power within society. This is also evident in the media industry as in the past women were traditionally being “used in advertising to sell products”[30] whereas now as representations have changed over time adverts are starting to having women driving cars with men working in the kitchen, for example the ‘Mr. Muscle’ advert. Women are also taking on more lead roles in films such as Angelina Jolie in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ (2001) who is represented as a combination of strong and sexy. In terms of ‘Shrek the Third’, ‘Princess Fiona’ is demonstrated as strong female character. In one scene we see ‘Princess Fiona and the other fairytale princess’s break out of jail and go on to rescue Shrek’. A medium shot of Princess Fiona and the princess’s posing ready to fight suggests the strong active female role within the film. However as always we are reminded that we live in a patriarchal society as ‘Artie’, who is a male character, saves the day which reinforces the idea that for however strong the woman is they will always need the man in the end.
The film also tackles other issues such as bullying and pregnancy. Bullying is a serious issue and this is also reflected upon in the ‘Shrek’ franchise, in particular ‘Shrek 2’ (2004), the same year that the “first national anti-bullying week”[31] was launched. Earlier in the year horrific reports such as “’Bullied’ teenager killed himself”[32] and “child helpline reports bullying rise”[33] demonstrated the growing seriousness of the issue. There are various reasons a person may be bullied with one of the ways being through appearance as illustrated in ‘Shrek 2’ (2004) where the treatment he receives from Kind Harold degrading him as he is an ogre and when Artie was verbally bullied by being called “the major of loserville”. Although by ‘Shrek the Third’ (2007) society seems to have accepted Shrek there is still evidence of his difference such as when he arrives at the high school the girls on the bus yell at the grotesque appearance of Shrek. Pregnancy is also another issue tackled in the film. It was “revealed that in England during 2005 7,462 girls under sixteen got pregnant, an increase of 281”[34]. In ‘Shrek the Third’ being pregnant is represented as being both ‘stressful’ and a way of strengthen a love between couples. Shrek’s nightmares about babies and reflecting on the prospect of becoming a farther seem to represent the idea of ‘stress’ and this is further reinforced when the princess’s are gossiping with Princess Fiona about how having a baby means “your tired all the time, you’ll start letting yourself go”[35] however “having a baby is only going to strengthen the love Shrek and Fiona have”[36]. By reflecting society at the time, the films can also reach audiences who fall into the category of issues such as bullying and identify with the audience through their characters and this is another way in which CGI animation has become successful at the Box Office.
“Technology is advancing”[37] is another telling reason to the success of animation and this change in the genre is very clear from 2D cel animation to CGI animation. “There are many things we wanted to do in the first Shrek particularly with lighting”[38] which were not possible but were achieved in ‘Shrek 2’ (2004) which was only a “mere three years”[39] difference demonstrates how rapidly the animation is becoming more sophisticated. When watching a CGI animated film it is clear that the visual image of the film itself is stunning and realistic “to an extent that it was easy to forget you were watching a CGI animation”[40] .John Lasseter, an American animator, reminds us that “the term CGI is a misnomer- the computer doesn’t generate the images. That would be like calling traditional animation pencil-generated imagery. No matter what the tool is, it requires an artist to create art”[41] and that for all the technology, it still requires a humans creative mind. Whilst Collin Kennedy, deputy editor of the film magazine ‘Empire’ further reinforces this believing that “computer animation is the way forward”[42] but “you have to have a strong story and sharp scripts”[43] in order for the animation to be successful.
To conclude, it is clear that for a genre to be or remain successful the “genre must adapt”[44] and this is something that animation has done. Through various factors such as the hybrid of genres, the large audience appeal, the effective use of the comedy genre, the reflection of society and representations, advancements in technology and the use of celebrity endorsement, CGI animation has increased in gross made at the Box Office. The arrival of CGI can bee seen as the ‘Golden Age’ for the animation genre however CGI animation has only been around for roughly over a decade which means in terms of film history “computer graphics industry is relatively a young industry”[45] and that this is just the beginning. Finally, the best way to describe the future of animation, considering the advancement in technology, the stunning visual effects and the imaginative stories that can be created, the toy’s of ‘Toy Story’ (1995) sum it up in the best way possible, “To infinity and beyond”.
Word Count: 3,559
[1] http://www.zenonic.demon.co.uk/zenocgi.htm
[2] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bradbird177851.html
[3]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6674837.stm
[4] http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/
[5] http://lass.calumet.purdue.du/cca/gmj/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/Fall2002/Ar [6] http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/10/25/jurassic_park_1993_review.shtml
[7] http://www.answers.com/topic/computer-generated-imagery
[8] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=toystory.htm
[9]http://www.anwsers.com/topic/finding-nemo?cat=entertainment
[10] Bowker, Julian (2003), p.g. 109
[11] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero
[12] Branston, Gill and Stafford, Roy (2003), p.g.59
[13] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3075191.stm
[14] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3075191.stm
[15] http://www.theage.com.au/news/Arts/Its-no-joke/2005/04/03/1112489345525.html
[16] http://chintan-shrekthethird.blogspot.com/2007/09/shrek-third-premiere.html Justin Timberlake, ‘Shrek the Third’ Premiere in California
[17] http://animation.about.com/b/2008/01/09/poll-is-animation-for-kids-or-adults.htm
[18] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=6484&Pos=&ColRank=2&Rank=272
[19] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=572&Pos=1&ColRank=2&Rank=224
[20] Wall, Peter, (2002), p.g. 48
[21] Wall, Peter, (2002), p.g. 48
[22] Cooper, Alison (1997), p.g. 8
[23] Cooper, Alison (1997), p.g. 8
[24] Cooper, Alison (1997), p.g. 8
[25] Downes, Brenda and Miller, Steve, (1998), p.g15
[26] Neale, Steve (2002), p.g. 207
[27] Neale, Steve (2002) p.g. 207
[28] Nelmes, Jill (1996), p.g. 15
[29] Maltby, Richard(1995) p.g.24
[30] Wall, Peter, (2002), p.g. 35-36
[31] http://education.guardian.co.uk/classroomviolence/story/0,,1356899,00.html
[32] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/3434451.stm
[33] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3596200.stm
[34] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/23/npregnant123.xml
[35] Quote from characters ‘Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel’’ in ‘Shrek the Third’(2007) film
[36] Quote from the character ‘Doris’ in ‘Shrek the Third’ (2007) film
[37] Shrek 2 DVD feature, ‘making of Shrek 2’, Adamson, Andrew (writer/director)
[38] Shrek 2 DVD feature, ‘making of Shrek 2’, Warner, Aron (producer)
[39] Shrek 2 DVD feature, ‘making of Shrek 2’, Katzenberg, Jeffery (Partner, DreamWorks SKG, Executive Producer)
[40] Patmore, Chris, (2003), p.g. 116
[41] http://www.zenonic.demon.co.uk/zenocgi.htm
[42] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=77525&in_page_id=1773
[43] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=77525&in_page_id=1773
[44] Fulton, Helen, (2005), p.g. 138
[45] Shrek 2 DVD feature, ‘making of Shrek 2’, ED Leonard (Chief technology officer DreamWorks SKG)
