Over the past decade, animation seems finally to have emerged from its previously marginalised status.

(Pilling,1997:ix) Making reference to critical texts discuss the reasons for and implications of animations historical trivialisation and its current status within film and television media.

By Charlie Minnion
The late 19th century and beginning of the 20th century sparked the initial seeds from which western animation would grow from. Looking back long before the arrival of Mickey Mouse we discover several key components that set the stage for Animation. 1895 marked the advent of cinema. By this point comic strips had begun to appear weekly in magazines and were a popular addition to daily newspapers. Early film makers such as Lumire would directly imitate gag scenarios created by cartoonists. Perhaps one of the most well known was entitled Arroseur er aros - (Tables turned on the gardener) (1895). The scenario lifted from Georges Coulombs comic involves a gardener using a hose. He is tricked into thinking its broken. When he looks into the hose, the culprit lets the water back on and the gardener gets squirted in the eye. This style of imitation film making was mirrored in America where actors would take on the roles as popular comic strip characters. At this point comics were not taken into animation format as producers showed no interest and need to develop what was already a successful method of film making. The vaudeville stage played a significant role. They were entertaining theatrical performances set up to amaze and amuse people at that time. Artists would perform Lightning Sketches. This involved the speedy production of an image live in front of an audience. The novelty arose both from the unexpected alterations produced by only a few lines (e.g. turning what may look like a house to begin with into a bicycle) and from the speed of the drawing, indicated by the sketchers dynamic poses. (Crafton, 1993) The drawings performers would create would take on their own life and may tease or seek independence from the artist. The lightning sketch artists would take on the privileged role of magician and were a key part of the performance. It was on these entertaining and
1

illusionist foundations that Animation was built upon. The first truly animated cartoon Fantasmagorie (1908) by Emile Cohl involved 700 drawings being traced onto a light box and was 2 minutes long. So we already have the makings of what seems to be a trivial art form due to its roots functioning as a light entertainment. What made it special was its uniqueness, its ability to wow audiences and suspend their disbeliefs. As we look further along the line to 1919 we come across the invention of Felix the cat who exploited the possibilities of Animation. Felix could do anything. He was master of both the narrative space and the graphic space. [] Felix did not live in the real world , and thus could operate outside its moral and ideological constraints. (Wells, 1998: 21) This ability to do anything using animation gave it credit and value as a unique art form. Animation carried a freedom of expression; it was able to demonstrate liberation from social constraint and the fulfilment of personal desire. (Wells, 1998) In 1923 Walt Disney productions was established. Early Disney films retained animations qualities as a free spirited revolutionary form - several cartoons contained scenes of juvenile rebellion. As time progressed Disneys entrepreneurial approach with regards to the animation industry and the mechanics of animation took centre ground. His ambitions carried him away from animation as unique art form - a utopian language of free expression and infinite possibilities - towards animation as live action imitation and the realm of realism. He demanded verisimilitude through characters, contexts and narratives; animated figures to move like real figures informed by a plausible motivation. (Wells, 1998) Amongst his technical contributions were the first sound synchronized cartoon Steamboat Willie (1928) the 3 reel colour process (1932) and the multi-plane camera. (1937) This camera increased the sense of realism by mirroring real world perspectives and was used successfully in the first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). This film mirrored live action film in terms of realism and the physical world. In doing so it disregarded animations intrinsic values as a limitless medium. Now if we add the Disney realism factor and combine it with Disneys dominance in Industry we can begin to understand the extent of his impact on peoples attitudes towards western animation. Throughout the 20th century we have seen a rise of consumer
2

culture in the West due to industrialisation, mass production and commodification. It was a time of profit making and capitalising. No clearer is this evident than in the exploitation of Mickey Mouse who seamlessly merged the film industry, cultural interests of children and political and cultural interests of reformers - making Mickey a fully commodified cultural icon. (deCordova, 1994) Aided by a symbiotic and lucrative business relationship with Borgfeldt - a toy manufacturer, Disney managed to get Mickey seen everywhere from clothing and toys to key rings and wrist watches. The toys worked as adverts for the films, and the films boosted childrens desire to get the toys. Stores started giving Mickey Mouse birthday parties to boost trade. They also worked closely with Movie theatres and eventually Mickey Mouse clubs formed. It was through these clubs that Mickey managed to become an integral part of the child and community. The clubs would accommodate all kinds of fun activities from singing and baseball to stage shows and watching Mickey Mouse cartoons. By 1932 the Mickey Mouse club had around 1 million members. There was no criticism at the time over the perpetuation of Mickey Mouse merchandising moreover Mickey Mouse toys were seen as innocent, educational and a worthy investment to childrens growth and development. (deCordova, 1994) Furthermore, Disneys product differentiation approach to marketing permeated all areas of society. Mickey Mouse newspaper comics would appeal more to lower class children, adolescents and adults (many of whom were immigrants and less fluent in English.) Mickey Mouse movie stories and Disneys monthly nursery rhymes found in good housekeeping magazine indicated an attempt to get the middle class on board. (Smoodin,1993) Disneys dominance coupled with its broad appeal as a childrens entertainment secured animations widely known reputation as a trivial art form amongst western Audiences. This was reflected institutionally by Hollywoods self regulating production code administered by the Hays office (put in place to stop issues with federal regulations). This made sure that animation would adhere to strict guidelines keeping it appropriate for younger audiences. The arrival of television confirmed animation as a childrens medium by scheduling cartoons to fill childrens viewing hours. Standardisation is another factor that affected the world of Hollywood animation. A
3

capitalist ideology became consistent throughout cartoons in a bid to bring about a unanimous cultural identity. This gave America something to protect and fight for in the war. (Smoodin, 1993) Cartoons would contain scenes of romance and characters demonstrated their potential to progress up through a class system and own possessions. Long gone were the days of Felixs freedom to operate outside its moral and ideological constraints (Wells, 1998: 21) This was a new era of creating a shared culture based on families, leisure, and heterosexual couples. (Smoodin,1993: 20) This display of animation used more purposely as a vehicle of belief creation marked the onset of western animation as a tool of propaganda. As Irene Kotlarz suggests, animation has the ability to function as The iron fist in the velvet glove. (1983) This idea was evident in Halas and Batchelors Charley cartoons. Shown between 1948 and 1950 to over 3000 cinemas in post-war UK and funded by the newly elected Socialist government. These cartoons were an effort to inform the public of new legislation. Charley represented the man-in-street type who at first would voice popular objections [] but was capable of being won over by persuasion. (Manvelle, 1980: 10) For example Charleys black magic (1949) showed Charley initially complaining about the price of coal but soon getting won over by the coal spirit who shows Charley - through some visually exciting diagrammatic animation - the inner workings of a coal mine convincing Charley that its worth it. The cartoons proved to resonate with audiences (an estimated 30 million throughout the 2 years {Wells, 2006} ) consequently it was an effective campaign. Explanations as to why it was so successful could range from the studios ability to simplify complex procedures to the playful use of space time and logic but ultimately it was the trivialisation of animation that had made it the ideal subversive medium. As John Southall suggests It seems audiences generally saw them as simple escapist entertainment and therefore were more open to the ideas discussed in them. (1999)

The use of animation as propaganda has continued to this day. Predominantly in the form of advertising. This increased level of commercial interest has led to the success of studios in London such as Studio AKA and Passion Pictures who produce a wide range of animated commercials. Protecting babies and toddlers (2002) is one such commercial. Its
4

powerful and shocking content convinces viewers to contribute to the NSPCC. Animation provides it with the key to its success. The viewer places their empathy with the ill treated cartoon son of an angry and abusive father figure. The cartoon style allows the audience to hold a certain detachment with the child as we see him get beaten over the head, set on fire by a cigarette, thrown against the wall, become incontinent due to fear and thrown down the stairs. The last scene shows the cartoon child transform into a real child unconscious on the floor thus giving the advert impact. Animation makes the advert possible because to film a real child shown to receive the same abuse may not have been allowed. It also makes it powerful because of animations association with children - emphasising the injustice of the fathers actions and the innocence of the child. Advertising has had a long history of playing a significant role in the production of animation directly and indirectly - and can be said to have played a part in bringing new values and redefining western animation in the latter half of the 20th century. This is evident in the development of Channel 4 in the UK. The channel was created to complement ITV and was securely funded by ITVs advertising revenue. The purpose of it was to stand out from the other more 'predictable' channels by being open to the ideas of a multiplicity of different voices. (Kitson, 1998 : 20) It was stated in its remit that it must encourage innovation and experiment in the form and content of programmes (The Broadcasting Act, cited in Kitson, 1998 : 21) The path was laid wide open to accommodate and finance an influx of independent animation from many talents including the likes of Nick park, Joanna Quinn and Jan Svankmajer all of which have gone on to become well recognised and win major awards. To take it a step further into the 21st century; the dawning of globalization has allowed large corporations such as Sony and Nike to indulge themselves by being able to risk funding alternative films and put them out into the mainstream. Philip Knight, Nikes co-founder and Chairman owns the animation studio Laika which is responsible for creating the horror/fantasy/comedy family feature adaptation 2010 Oscar nominee Coraline (2009). Sony pictures entertainment have created an autonomous division Sony Pictures Classics that have gone on to help produce and distribute independent animated features such as Waltz with Bashir (2008), Persepolis (2007) - both of which could be described as emotive war dramas; and also Belleville Rendez-vous (2003) an animated
5

narrative feature film that contains almost no dialogue. These unusual films mark an emergence of western animation as a more serious art form and several of them have become major hits thanks to the support of these Autonomous companies. These independent film makers may not have received the same backing from institutions such as Hollywood - who are prone to conforming to their institutionalised film conventions and have huge marketing costs that dwarf production costs. Films such as those listed in the last paragraph have served to counteract the perpetuation of 'Disneyfied' animated features that come out year after year with a tendency to follow formulised story structure and appeal to family audiences. Whilst being successful with children they tend to fail to stimulate a more intellectual audience. However things are looking hopeful towards animations widely spread reputation as more then just childrens entertainment. Not only have animated feature films diversified, we have also seen a proliferation of animated series in the form of both family and adult comedy. America have produced popular cartoons such as The Simpsons and South Park. And out of the UK we have seen the wonderfully dark and socially critical Monkey Dust. These series have created mass appeal through both younger and older audiences. Writers of The Simpsons spend up to 9 months per episode just working on the script making sure the humour resonates with both child and adult audiences. South Park continue working on their hotly topical shows right until a day before airing, this way they can keep their content fully up to date with the headlines. In the West people are beginning to value animation as a unique medium that can be widely appealing just like they have always known in the East. ( Japans animation culture is huge, with 50% of all releases being animated and catering for all tastes. {Gustines , 2004} ) Technology is another key factor playing a significant role in the emergence of animation. The development of new technologies have always been considered a high selling and marketing point of animation right until this day. As Moszkowicz says about the current state of CGI animation In film press [] Attention is paid to the host of improvements made to existing techniques (2002) From the early days of Disney, attention has usually been payed on technological advances over the content matter and this in part could have contributed to the historical
6

trivialisation of animation. In recent times we are seeing a huge rise of CGI being integrated into film - epitomised in the latest Hollywood big budget blockbuster Avatar (2009) astonishing audiences everywhere. This latest form of film can be seen as the result of years of development in the field of technology from Jurassic Park (1993) where we saw the first CGI dinosaurs through to the first full length CGI animated feature Toy Story (1996.) In the last decade CGI has proliferated in films. Whilst this conveys an emergence of animation there has been considerable discourse over the subject of spectacle and narrative. These latest films may be dazzling audiences senses in terms of visual spectacle and aesthetics but as a result we are seeing the decline of narrative and intellectual engagement. From the birth of animation right until the present day, we have marvelled over its illusionist qualities. In the West we have seen it become trivialised as childrens entertainment in order to fill many pockets and as a result create the ideal medium for propaganda. This has also led to advertising playing a role in the development of animation. A mixed blessing - whilst using animation as a vehicle to sell products and ideas it has also been able to fund it as an independent art form, consequently creating a wider and less trivial reputation for animation. In Modern times CGI has bought back the wow factor of visual spectacle reminiscent of early 20th century lightning sketch artists; But in turn this has led to less focus on story and narrative which could be said to be trivialising film form. However in contrast there have been a few gems such as Waltz with Bashir, which have bought back and identified animation as a unique and expressive art form able to demonstrate liberation from social constraint and the fulfilment of personal desire. (Wells 1998)

Bibliography:
Crafton, Donald. (1993). Before Mickey The Animated Film 1898 - 1928. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. DeCordova, Richard. (1994) The Mickey in Macys Window: Childhood, Consumerism, and Disney Animation. In: Disney Discourse: Producing the Magic Kingdom. Los Angeles: American Film Institute. Gustines, George. (2004). Girl Power Fuels Manga Boom in U.S.. In: New York Times. 26 December 2004. Kitson, Clare. (2008). British animation: The Channel 4 factor. London: Parliament Hill Publishing. Manvelle, Roger. (1980). Art and Animation, The Story of the Halas and Batchelor Studio 1940 - 1950. London: Halas and Batchelor. Moszkowicz, Julia. (2002). To infinity and beyond: assessing the technological imperative in computer animation. In: Screen, Vol.32:3 Autumn 2002. Southall, John. (1999). Cartoon Propaganda and The British School of Animation. In: Animation Journal, Vol. 8, 1999. Tustin CA: AJ Press. Smoodin. (1993) Studio Strategies. Sexuality, the law and Corporate competition. In: Animating Culture. Oxford: Roundhouse. Wells, Paul. (1998). Understanding Animation. Oxon: Routledge. Wells, Paul. Halas, Vivien. (2006). Halas & Batchelor Cartoons. London: Southbank Publishing.

Films:

Arroseur er aros. (1895). Directed by Lumire. [film]. Avatar. (2009). Directed by James Cameron. [film]. USA: 20th Century Fox Belleville Rendez-vous. (2005). Directed by Sylvain Chomet. [film]. France: Sony Pictures Classics. Charleys black magic. (1949). Directed by Halas and Batchelor. [film].
8

Coraline. (2009). Directed by Henry Selick. [film]. USA: Focus Features. Fantasmagorie. (1908). Directed by Emile Cohl. [film]. Jurassic Park. (1993). Directed by Steven Spielberg. [film]. USA: Universal Pictures. Persepolis. (2007). Directed by Marjane Satrapi. [film]. France: Sony Pictures Classics. NSPCC. (2002). Protecting babies and toddlers. [advertisement]. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. (1937). Directed by David Hand. [film] USA: RKO Radio Pictures. Steamboat Willie. (1928). Directed by Walt Disney. [film] USA: Celebrity Productions. Toy Story. (1995). Directed by John Lasseter. [film] USA: Walt Disney Pictures. Waltz with Bashir. (2008).Directed by Ari Folman. [film]. Israel: Sony Pictures Classics.