thoughts about American and Japanese animated films
Two of the countries where the animation industry flourishes are Japan and the US. For those who watch a lot of films coming from these two countries may recognize striking differences. First thing that may come to your mind is the cultural aspect, but aside from this, we also get to notice the artistic and technical differences.
 |
photo credit: dennis.pope85 "Ratatouille" (from flickr: license - no changes)
|
US animated films have unprecedented technical achievements in 3D, led by Pixar Animation Studio. Some of the remarkable ones are 'The Incredibles', 'WALL-E' and 'Toy Story 3'. Because of 3D, we notice the visual realism in terms of the environment and the characters. Take for example the movie 'Ratatouille'; we almost experienced the real Paris and rural France visually. For those who have seen the animated films of the 1990's, apart from the technical achievements, we also get to notice the aesthetics; the most remarkable of them is the music, mostly found in Walt Disney animated films. We also have popular songs coming from these films. In terms of the story - the stories are mostly good - the issues tackled in the film are typically candy-coated and softened versions. One of the reasons is that animated films in the US are intended to be universally appealing, and the top target viewers are children. Hence, we get to see a lot of "cute" characters such as 'Nemo' and 'Wall-E'.
 |
| photo credit: Alejandro Molina B "Wall-E" (from flickr: license - no changes) |
 |
| Maxstew7's Cosplay Photography (flickr: license - edited) |
In the case of Japan, for those who have seen feature-length films aside from the usual anime series, one may have experienced 're-thinking' of the animation genre. Of course, Japanese animated films also appeal to the younger audiences, but they have themes that can be appreciated more by adults. Unlike US animated films, they tend to tackle mature themes and complex story lines that are usually depicted in live-action films. Take for example 'The Millennium Actress' and 'Grave of the Fireflies'. If you have seen these films, you might have adjusted your thinking about the animation genre. The spectrum of themes is wider when compared to its American counterpart. Stories may range from ordinary daily life, take 'My Neighbor Totoro' as an example, to the fantastic depiction of the environment and the characters, as examples we have 'Spirited Away' and 'Howl's Moving Castle'.
 |
| photo credit: markheybo (flickr: license - edited) |
Technically speaking, Japanese animation is characterized mostly by hand-drawn style; 3D is also used but mainly intended to artistically enhance the hand-drawn effect. We see this in 'The Secret World of Arrietty', which is one of the most visually stunning animations around. American animation also uses the traditional hand-drawn style but since the past decade, it has resorted mainly to the 3D medium. The case for Japanese animation is different; it is still mainly hand-drawn. Given that Japan has also the technology and capability to do 3D, I think the reason is artistic; and because of that, the films did have a classic effect, relative to the current popularity of 3D movies, which is mostly achieved by Studio Ghibli. A recent example is 'The Tale of Princess Kaguya'. Instead of taking the technically progressive direction, we get to see sketch-like and simple rendering of the story. However, from the artistic point of view, the film is in no way inferior to the more technically advanced animated films.
