Storytelling is a constant pendulum, moving back and forth from the extremes of traditional hand-drawn animation to capturing realism with the help of computers. Where the extremes meet in the middle, they make a beautiful blend of both worlds. 

As time ticks by in the realm of animation, storytelling skills continue to advance and inspiration and principles of the past are utilized. The trend we are seeing is that animators are using advanced technology to create a sense of nostalgia from prior periods while evolving the style altogether. 

Each new film release evolves new techniques to enhance a story’s visuals. Looking at the bigger picture on the evolution of animation: How has animation changed? How did we get here? And how is it being received by the audience? 

Academy-award-winning “Spiderman Into the Spider-Verse” and nominated Best Animated Film of 2023 “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” have one thing in common: they incorporate a type of unique animation style into their story. Where people may see these films diverge is how they individually take on a style to fit the tone of the story. 

“Spiderman Into the Spider-verse” is known as the herald of this new age of animation, as its extraordinary visuals mimic the comics they were inspired by. 

In comics, artists are limited to a few frames to convey action and emotion, leading to the visual effects in the animated Spider-verse. Every hit and bite of a spider has visual weight to it. The goal was always to break that repetition in animation, and it didn’t just start with Spider-verse but was the stepping stone to define the trend.

The “Spider-verse” process, just like any other innovation, came with a series of tests. 

Unlike 2D animation, to have such visuals follow the camera, flow and bend with characters is a mathematical endeavor but essential in following the vision for the project.

Bret St.Clair worked on the visual effects for Spider-verse and had to do many tests to render the entire project to keep this graphical effect. This use of rendering and 2D principles of animations are coined by the term 2.5D animation, which creates an eye-catching experience for viewers.

“The problems of stylization often forced us to adopt entirely new ways of working,” St.Clair said. “We spent much of our time, especially in the early stages, far from the beaten path.”  

The success of “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is further proof that audiences love the idea of this new hyper-realized form of non-realistic animation. Winning a global box office amount of $484.6 million, outdoing Spiderman by $102.3 million.

The outspoken characters and valuable theme of mortality would not be as impactful to the audience without the film’s unique fairytale art style.

Director of “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” Joel Crawford states that every colorful frame was purposeful in reinforcing the storyline.

“Us as filmmakers, we don’t just do it because we think it’s cool,” Crawford said. “Everything is for a story reason, and when you can make more specific choices, you’re expanding the tools in your tool belt to bring the audience into a story that is unlike anything they’ve ever experienced…That’s what we were really excited to do, just really keep pushing the boundaries of what animation can be.”

Although it is easy to believe that animation has just randomly found new footing to keep things fresh, consumer preferences have influenced what 3D animation is supposed to look like in a new age. Animation fundamentals have been developed, and it’s time to innovate even more to find ways to mix mediums in a 3D plane. The animators’ hard work pays off, as the audience can view the contrasting new and old animation styles that shape our movies today.