“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); animation has hit new heights. The introduction of CGI animation has taken the genre to a ‘golden age’ 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’s 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 ever, 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 but to understand this success it is important to look at the relationship between animation and society and the repertoire of elements that it draws from.
“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); animation has hit new heights. The introduction of CGI animation has taken the genre to a ‘golden age’ 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’s 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 ever, 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 but to understand this success it is important to look at the relationship between animation and society and the repertoire of elements that it draws from.
CGI stands for Computer-Generated Imagery meaning that the animation is made by computer; however this was not the case in the past as animation started a long time before computers were invented but saying that the animation genre started can be argued as ‘genre are not born, they are made’[4]. 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”[5] 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”[6]. 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 passed, 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 big impact on the box office as represented by Aardman’s Oscar award-winning productions of ‘Wallace and Gromit’ (1989-95). However, as technology advanced, 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”[7]. 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”[8] as companies such as ‘Hollywood’ converted to digital techniques.
In 1995, the world’s first ever fully computer-generated feature length film ‘Toy Story’ was released and grossed a total “$361,958,736”[9] 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 with ‘Finding Nemo’ (2003) which is currently “the best selling DVD of all time.”[10] Through these statistics, CGI is 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 more 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) took ‘$221million” worldwide, whereas ‘Shrek’ (2001) earned a staggering ‘$482million”. CGI is clearly the future at this point in time. However, a question that must be asked relates to the fact both are still animations and both still rely on the same conventions (the only exception being that CGI is 3D), so why is it that CGI animation is far more successful than its predecessors: what makes CGI animation so successful?
First, looking at the conventions of different cycles of animation we can see that they both rely on similar conventions. Levi Strauss’ narrative theory (the binary oppositions in the form of good vs evil) is evident in all animations such as with Simba being the Proppian 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”[11] 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 it is not through Shrek’s appearance that the audience define him as a hero but through his “heroic act”[12] 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”[13] meaning that although ‘Shrek’ is defined as an animation, it still borrows aspects from 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 a 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’ are apparent with conventional horror techniques such as darkness and silence used in order to create tension. Comedy is another genre (or ‘style’ according to some genre theorist) 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”[14] and is also “one of the first things we do when we are born along with crying”[15] which demonstrates the power of the comedy genre as it generates laughter. As the primary target audience of animation are children and young teenagers this works well for its audience as it is healthy for kids to laugh as “it is a way of reducing stress and tension”[16]. Whilst all animations use comedy, the ‘Shrek’ franchise is unique in that it uses intertextuality in its comedy for example when Donkey, who functions as the key comic character of the film, says “Worcestershirey, now that sounds fancy”… like the sauce, mmm, it’s spicy!”
One unique aspect of animation is that “it meets the eight year olds and thirty-eight year olds”[17]. The ability to draw in large mass audiences and not just to appeal to a niche audience in an era of audience fragmentation is another reason that animation has become so successful. Historically, cartoons and animations were seen as “for children only”[18] and that as we grow up we were expected to lose interest lose interest in the genre. However, now as there are animations that are aimed specifically at an adult audience such as ‘South Park’ and ‘Family Guy’. In addition, “the proportion of adults attending the cinema has increased over the years”[19]. For example, ‘in the year 2000 the proportion 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’[20] and this is partly because ‘family’ films such as ‘Shrek’ (2001) appeal towards the mass cross over audience.
One of the more notable differences is the increase in the use of celebrities to provide the voices for characters in animation. ‘Shrek the Third’ provides a great example of this as the film uses a range of ‘A-list’ celebrities here including Mike Myers, who is the voice of Shrek, Eddie Murphy as ‘Donkey’, Cameron Diaz who voices ‘Princess Fiona’ and Justin Timberlake as ‘Artie’. “The media industry relies heavily on the concept of celebrity”[21] and “people may go to see a film just on the strength of the stars who appearing in it”[22]. This can be seen throughout the short history of CGI animated films from ‘Toy Story’ (1995) with Tom Hanks playing the voice of Woody to ‘Madagascar’ (2005) cast with of the likes of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and David Schwimmer.
The ‘Aesthetic theory’ of genre says that genre texts are “all the same”[23] and that they rely on “the putative routine, formulaic and impersonal natures of genres”[24] to define themselves, and are linked by “common themes, styles and iconography”[25], However Maltby argues that for a genre to remain successful it must go through “the process of change and adaptation”[26]. Genres change over time for multiple reasons such as change in society (and its ideologies, values and conventional representations), changes in technology (which is clearly evident here), changes in media institutions and their practices, and also changes in audience expectations and ‘this combination of sameness and variety is the linchpin of the generic contract’[27]. To add to this point, Douglas Pye has described the generic context being ‘narrow enough for recognition of the genre to take place but wide enough to allow enormous individual variation’. [28]The animation genre conforms to this and this has contributed to its success.
So media texts tend to reflect the society at the time they are made- the zeitgeist- and this is key way that the animation genre has adapted. Patriarchy and female power are two aspects of society which ‘Shrek the Third’ reflects upon. It is clear that over time 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 Prime Minister 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 a crucial change in 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”[29], whereas now (as representations have changed over time) adverts are starting to having women driving cars with men working in the kitchen, for example in the ‘Mr. Muscle’ advert. Women are also taking on more leading and active in films roles normally monopolised by men such as Angelina Jolie in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ (2001) where she is represented as a combination of strong and sexy. In terms of ‘Shrek the Third’, ‘Princess Fiona’ is represented as a strong female character. In one scene we see ‘Princess Fiona and the other fairytale princess’ break out of jail and go on to rescue Shrek’. A medium shot of Princess Fiona and the princess’ 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 thus reinforcing the enduring idea that however strong the woman is she will always need a 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”[30] was launched. Earlier in the year horrific reports such as “’Bullied’ teenager killed himself”[31] and “child helpline reports bullying rise”[32] demonstrated the growing seriousness of the issue. There are various reasons a person may be bullied with one of the ways being as a result of their appearance as illustrated in ‘Shrek 2’ (2004) where the treatment Shrek receives from King Harold who degrades him as he is an ogre. By reflecting society at the time, the films can also reach audiences who experience the issues allowing them to identify with the characters and this is another way by which CGI animation has become so successful.
“Technology is advancing”[33] is another telling reason as 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”[34] which were not possible but were achieved in ‘Shrek 2’ (2004) which was only a “mere three years”[35] difference and this demonstrates how rapidly the animation is becoming more sophisticated. When watching a CGI animated film it is clear that the visual spectacle of the film itself is stunning and realistic “to an extent that it was easy to forget you were watching a CGI animation”[36]. 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”[37] and that for all the technology, it still requires a human’s creative mind. Whilst Collin Kennedy, deputy editor of the film magazine ‘Empire’ further reinforces this, believing that “computer animation is the way forward”[38] but “you have to have a strong story and sharp scripts”[39] 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”[40] and this is something that animation has done. Through various factors such as embracing hybridity, targeting a mass audience, effective use of the comedy mode, reflecting society through updated representations, advancements in technology and the use of celebrity endorsement, CGI animation has increased the box office gross. The arrival of CGI can be seen as a ‘Golden Age’ but it has only been around for just over a decade which means in terms of film history the “computer graphics industry is relatively a young industry”[41]. This is just the beginning. The best way to describe the future of animation, considering the advancement in technology, the stunning visual effects and the imaginative narratives employed, the toys of ‘Toy Story’ (1995) sum it up in the best way possible: “To infinity and beyond”.
Word Count: 2,837
Bibliography
Books/Papers:
1. Bowker, Julian. (2003) Looking at Media Studies, new edition GCSE'. London: Hodder & Stoughton
2. Branston, Gill and Stafford, Roy (2003) The Media Studies Book. Routledge
3. Langford, Barry (2005) Film Genre: Hollywood and Beyond, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
4. Downes, Brenda and Miller, Steve.(1998) Media Studies. UK: Hodder Headline Plc.
5. Fulton, Helen.(2005) Narrative and Media. UK: Cambridge University Press
6. Maltby, Richard.(2003) Hollywood Cinema, second edition. UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
7. Neale, Steve (2002) Genre and Hollywood. London: BFI,
8. Nelmes, Jill. (1996) An Introduction to Film Studies.USA and Canada: Routledge
9. Patmore, Chris. (2003) The Complete Animation Course- the principle, practice and techniques of successful animation. UK: Thames & Hudson
10. Wall, Peter. (2002) Media Studies for GCSE, second edition. Harper Collins Publisher Limited: UK
Internet Research
1. http://www.zenonic.demon.co.uk/zenocgi.htm
The impact of CGI on Stop-Motion (Footnote 1) & Introduction (Footnote 37)
The impact of animation as to how CGI has made an impact and my study is about the impact of CGI animation and how Shrek the Third is prolonging the genres success.
2. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bradbird177851.html
Brad Bird quotes (Footnote 2)
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6674837.stm
Animation Record for Third Shrek (21st May 2007)
4. http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/
This website is the homepage of the institution which produced and created 'Shrek the Third' and many other animations.
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
Jurassic Park (1993) review by Almar Hafildason
7. http://www.answers.com/topic/computer-generated-imagery
History (paragraph two): This website gives a broad knowledge of CGI and CGI animation.
8. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=toystory.htm
This website is gives statistical figures from the box office
9. http://www.answers.com/topic/finding-nemo?cat=entertainment
This website gives detailed information about Walt Disney Pixar's 'Finding Nemo' (2003)
10. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero
Defines the term hero
11. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=6484&Pos=&ColRank=2&Rank=272
Gives national statistics of cinema attendance (social trends)
12. http://animation.about.com/b/2008/01/09/poll-is-animation-for-kids-or-adults.htm
Debates whether animation is for kids or adults
13. http://www.theage.com.au/news/Arts/Its-no-joke/2005/04/03/1112489345525.html
This website shows study of the human emotion of laughter for children and its effects.
Articles/Magazines/Newspapers
1. Has Disney Drawn a Dud? (11th October 2001) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=77525&in_page_id=1773
2. 'Bullied' teenager killed himself (27th January, 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/3434451.stm
3. Child helpline reports bullying rise (25th August, 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3596200.stm
4. Analysis: Teenage pregnancy (23rd February 2007) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/23/npregnant123.xml
5. NHS Stories: the laughter tonic (22nd August 2003)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3075191.stm
Other Sources
1. 'Shrek 2', DVD Feature, 'Making of Shrek2', Quotes from Andrew Adamson, Jerry Katzenberg, Aron Warner and ED Leonard
Moving Image Texts
1. 'Shrek the Third' (2007), directed by Chris Miller, USA
2. 'Shrek 2' (2004), directed by Andrew Adamson, USA
3. 'Shrek' (2001), directed by Andrew Adamson, USA
4. 'Toy Story' (1995), directed by John Lasseter, USA
5. 'Finding Nemo' (2003), directed by Andrew Stanton , USA
6. 'Jurassic Park' (1993), directed by Steven Spielberg, USA
7. 'The Lion King' (1994), directed by Roger Allers, USA
8. 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937), directed by David Hand, USA
9. '101 Dalmatians'(1967), directed by Clyde Geronimi, USA
10. 'Jungle Book' (1961), directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, USA
11. 'Sleeping Beauty' (1959), directed by Clyde Geronimi, USA
12. 'Pinocchio' (1940), directed by Hamilton Luske, USA
13. 'Spiderman 3' (2007), directed by Sam Raimi, USA
14. 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' (2007), directed by Gore Verbinski, USA
15. 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001), directed by Simon West, USA/UK/Germany/Japan
16. 'South Park'(1997), created by Trey Parker & Matt Stone, USA
17. 'Family Guy' (1999), created by Seth MacFarlane Trey Parker & Matt Stone, USA
18. 'Madagascar' (2005), directed by Eric Darnell, USA
[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] Langford, Barry (2005) pg.5
[5] http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/
[6] http://lass.calumet.purdue.du/cca/gmj/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/Fall2002/Ar
[7] http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/10/25/jurassic_park_1993_review.shtml
[8] http://www.answers.com/topic/computer-generated-imagery
[9] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=toystory.htm
[10]http://www.answers.com/topic/finding-nemo?cat=entertainment
[11] Bowker, Julian (2003) pg. 109
[12] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero
[13] Branston, Gill and Stafford, Roy (2003) pg.59
[14] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3075191.stm
[15] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3075191.stm
[16] http://www.theage.com.au/news/Arts/Its-no-joke/2005/04/03/1112489345525.html
[17] http://chintan-shrekthethird.blogspot.com/2007/09/shrek-third-premiere.html Justin Timberlake, ‘Shrek the Third’ Premiere in California
[18] http://animation.about.com/b/2008/01/09/poll-is-animation-for-kids-or-adults.htm
[19] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=6484&Pos=&ColRank=2&Rank=272
[20] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=572&Pos=1&ColRank=2&Rank=224
[21] Wall, Peter (2002) pg. 48
[22] Wall, Peter (2002) pg. 48
[23] Neale, Steve (2002) pg. 207
[24] Neale, Steve (2002) pg. 207
[25] Nelmes, Jill (1996) pg. 15
[26] Maltby, Richard(1995) pg.24
[27] Langford, Barry (2005) pg.7
[28] Langford, Barry (2005, pg. 7
[29] Wall, Peter, (2002) pg. 35-36
[30] http://education.guardian.co.uk/classroomviolence/story/0,,1356899,00.html
[31] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/3434451.stm
[32] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3596200.stm
[33] Shrek 2 DVD feature, ‘making of Shrek 2’, Adamson, Andrew (writer/director)
[34] Shrek 2 DVD feature, ‘making of Shrek 2’, Warner, Aaron (producer)
[35] Shrek 2 DVD feature, ‘making of Shrek 2’, Katzenberg, Jeffery (Partner, DreamWorks SKG, Executive Producer)
[36] Patmore, Chris, (2003) pg. 116
[37] http://www.zenonic.demon.co.uk/zenocgi.htm
[38] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=77525&in_page_id=1773
[39] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=77525&in_page_id=1773
[40] Fulton, Helen, (2005) pg. 138
[41] Shrek 2 DVD feature, ‘making of Shrek 2’, ED Leonard (Chief technology officer DreamWorks SKG)
