Image © Disney
Did you get a chance to see the beautiful animated short “Paperman” from Walt Disney Animation Studios that’s been playing in theaters in front of “Wreck-It Ralph”? Disney Animation recently posted the entire short film on YouTube. It’s definitely worth watching (and watching again).
Last summer, Jerry Beck, animation historian and editor of the great animation website CartoonBrew.com, posted an interview with “Paperman” director John Kahrs. The short uses an innovative technique and software system that makes computer generated (CG) animation look more like hand-drawn animation. Kahrs stated:
“It really came out of working so much with Glen [Keane] on Tangled. Seeing all that drawing, being at Disney, being surrounded by that legacy. How exciting, and how much punch there is in the drawn line, how expressive it can be. And how hard the CG guys have to work to try to match that charm. I thought, Why do we have to leave these drawings behind? Why can’t we bring them back up to the front of the image again? Is there a way that CG can kinda carry along the hand drawn line in a way that we haven’t done before?”
“Paperman” has also been nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Animated Short Film. We’ll find out if it wins on The Oscars® broadcast on February 24, 2013 on ABC.
Stanford Clark 