Animation

Introduction:

The animation which I will be researching about is called Monster University. The animator for Monster University is Walt Disney. Walt Disney was an american business magnate, cartoonist, film maker, philanthropist and voice actor. A dominant figure within the American animation industry. Him and his brother Roy O. Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company. Monster University is a 2013 American 3D computer animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures released the comedy film. Monster University was absolutely successful with the children and has won several awards. It won BAFTA Award and BAFTA Children's Award which was nominated for Kids Vote for Feature Film in 2013. It won Golden Trailer Awards award, golden trailer for most original trailer and for best animation/family TV spot. It won Hollywood Animation Award on the Hollywood Film Festival Awards. It won International 3D Society award for creative excellence. Monster University also won Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production award to Dean Kelly and Editorial in an Animated Feature Production award to Greg Snyder, Gregory Amundson and Steve Bloom. Monster University went really successful in 2013 when it came out and it was ranked on the first place under the comedy - college genre and tenth place on animation but ninth place on animation - computer, however on the all time worldwide chart, Monster University ranked 60 which did well for itself. This clarifies the fact that Monster University went really successful in 2013 and I believe the reason for that would be it's previous comedy film called Monster Inc which was released in 2012 went well, although not exceptionally well but well enough for people to be intrigued in watching the 2013 Monster University comedy film. However this film in comparison to it's previous films went successful.

Monster University Awards

The content of the film is intriguing and enjoyably startling. What I found intriguing was when I first watched the comedy film it seemed stereotypical to me. Mike was the little green monster who aspired to become into something of a greatness but had an obstacle which was Sulley. Although Mike was intelligent, he was physically incapable of achieving that dream because he didn't seem the part. The way it was portrayed to me about their world, it came across to me as survival of the fittest, and for someone such as Mike, no-matter how hard he studied and and trained his mind, it was physically unrealistic for him to aspire to the greatness of becoming a scarier. As the headmistress informs Mike, "What you lack is something that cannot be taught, your not scary," and from there she expels him from the University because he's not scary enough. 

But then Sulley is presented who seems to have the physical feature of achieving his dream of becoming a scarier. However, I point out that fact because for two several reasons. As I have mentioned already above, it seems that the norm of their world is survival of the fittest, so for someone such as Mike, it would seem dim for him to achieve his dream but for Sulley who has the image of a monster, it would be easy, furthermore the reason he's considered naturally to achieve his dream is because he's born from a well known family that are recognised for amazing people to flourish from who are naturally gifted with the ability to seem scary but be able to scare people too. 

The way the animators presented this film was interesting because in normal audience's mind and in this case children who sometimes majority of them don't pay attention to the wider understanding and message of the film will fail to recognise that, the animator made it seem like since Mike was small and not scary, he would fail to accomplish what he set for himself but since Sulley is massive and scary then he'd achieve what he set for himself, however something was missing from them both. Sulley was massive and scary but he wasn't intelligent or because of his ego and pride, he felt he didn't need to study and he would be able to achieve his dream without working hard, on the other hand Mike was intelligent and read several books but there is a difference between studying and experiencing and he didn't attempt to allow himself to experience things that are just not meant to be studied, so they both had weaknesses but also strength which one and the other needed. They had to overcome the need of wanting to be accepted and being who they truly were. They had to overcome past the norm and peer pressure which had been blinding them, once they did that then we started to see their malnourishment.

Sulley had to overcome his pride. Throughout the film, Sulley was portrayed as a monster who had all the quality a monster would need in the animation such as confidence, self esteem and naturally scary and most of all he was from a family that were known to be great when it came to scaring like celebrity endorsement, he had too much pride and ego which was a good thing that people loved about him, he had to live up to the expectation monsters had of him and he always stood out from the crowd because of those quality and we as the audience thought Mike would reach far because of Sulley, the team will win because of Sulley and nothing would really overcome Sulley because when children see him, they see him as a monster icon for all the others. 

As the animation progresses we start to view him from a different perspective because of the characters he's surrounded with, dialogues with but also the surrounding he's around then we begin to realize he was just painting an image of what his peers that didn't know him tried to portray him as and what society portrayed him as because of his family but no-one took the chance to understand him until Mike and his crew showed and slowly started revealing to us who Sulley truly was. We start to realise in the end that it was not Sulley that brought the team to success and received the headmistress's respect but Mike. Underneath that strong image he was building throughout the animation, there was a really insecure and afraid 'little' monster that needed a true friend. On the other hand, Mike was portrayed to us as a innocent monster that was driven by ambition and aspiration but underneath that image, he was a really angry monster, he didn't completely show that throughout the animation consistently but in different scenes we see that because of the way the university tried to portray him unfit monster and ridiculed him because of his dream, he was fuelled with passion but rage to understand that maybe he won't be able to achieve his dream. We witness this transformation when Mike and Sulley have to work and communicate together as a team with the rest of the crew.

There are several humorous aspect to the animation such as when the snail heard the bell and wanted to go to class but he was really slow and ended up turning into class when it was the semester end. I believe the animation has several messages that can be took away with but also humorous side too which could probably be to balance for the audience which are mostly children.    

The sound effects contributes well to the animation but as I've mentioned above can be misleading to the audience to truly understand what the characters genuinely are. It portrays the characters in a stereotypical set or a different way that we as the audience wouldn't usually think about, however the sound does not have the complete liability as the surrounding also plays a small factor in that result but the sound effect also is partially responsible. However the positive aspect of the sound effect is that it produces a thrill in the animation and it can sometimes mirror the characters and surrounding but it sometimes it doesn't and that's makes the animation intriguing to continue to watch. It draws the audience into the animation, for example in the first scare game that the team were participating, in a ordinary animation there would be a scary sound effect but in this animation it has a funky sound effect to it which intrigues audience, plays with their emotion in ways they wouldn't imagine but most probably children. It has an impact on them and builds tension in them sometimes such as the drum sound in the second scare game which builds tension and anxiety of whether they would win or lose in a positive way to have them intrigued.

As I have mentioned above, I didn't realise it in the first place, however I admire the way such as Sulley is physically portrayed as a monster that has all the aspects which builds him into a 'real' monster but he's coloured blue with pink spot. Audiences with high awareness would think that it would have made more sense that he was coloured into a darker and more scarier colour but blue and pink is not a scary colour, blue would be the type of colour that could represent someone as sad, insecure and lost, however everyone has their own view of that but we can all agree it's not a scary colour especially for a monster such as Sulley which is seen as an icon in the university. When Johnny Worthington called Sulley "Big blue" and the expression he gave us demonstrated this point of view for us. On the other hand, we have Mike whose small and green but yet so much rage and resentment is built in him, however the colour of Mike doesn't mirror him but I can also argue about that it does. So the colour of the monsters can mirror only certain aspects or personality of the monsters but not all. This can be positive but also negative as it keeps the audience interactive to discover as to what the monsters true personality is but it can also be another factor that can be misleading them. Mike was a small monster that seemed innocent, however he had resentment and rage, now green is not the colour that mirrors rage but it can be the colour that mirrors resentment. There's a difference between their personality and the colour which they are but it's slowly shown throughout the animation.

The other positive aspect of the characters is the fact that the animators designed the monsters with certain ability which is appealing but can have another role on the characters. For example the character Randy has the ability to turn invisible and this happens when he's scared or in serious circumstances, in the first scene it happens when a monster behind him drops boxes but we don't really pay attention to that but we as the audience do turn interested, however later it happens when Sulley and Mike are expelled from the university and he turns invisible, sometimes certain characters such as Randy mirror situations for us and how serious or intense they are with the ways they react to them.

The technique which has been used in this animation is digital application. This is a really strong technique for several reasons. This animation also came out in 3D which is another positive aspect of the animation because it has the audience really interacted as if they're in all the scenes with the monsters coming towards them so it really has them interacted and this could also be thrilling and exciting especially for children which admire 3D animations more, majority of the animation from Walt Disney has also come out in 3D such as Toy Story, Tangled and Meet the Robinsons which also came out in 3D. 

The light effect used in the dance scene of this animation contributes to the thrill for the children.

In conclusion what is good about the animation is the way that sometimes it's the characters that mirror the situation and intense of those situations are with the way they react such as when the KO were invited to a party and the crew were astonished and excited to accept because they wanted to be accepted as the 'cool' monsters but Sulley didn't care to fit in and tried to warn them and we started to see something was to turn wrong with the way he acted but on the other case we can use someone such as Randy who has the ability to turn invisible when he doesn't like confrontation or intense situation such as when Sulley and Mike were about to be expelled. The ability to have characters mirror situations instead of the sound effect or surrounding is a positive aspect but the surrounding also had a factor in that aspect. The way the monsters have certain colour on them such as Mike who is green and Sulley is blue and pink is another positive aspect can also be negative, however the positive is that it provides hint for the audience that are interested to understand more about what kind of personalities they may have. Mike for someone who seemed innocent has so much resentment and rage towards Sulley and that only builds throughout the animation and we would be able to understand that if we pay more attention to the colour as it mirrors the character's personality. Sulley for a monster that seemed to posses all the quality and ability any monster who want and he was born from a well known family was an insecure and afraid monster who just wanted a friend that would understand him as he was trying too hard to live to expectations. The sound effect was another positive aspect as it would be one of the factor that made it unique, the way they used sound effect that sometimes didn't match the scenes but it still gave the ability to build tensions, anxiety and play with emotions on the audience which kept them intrigued and interested to continue watching and find out the outcome of the scenes. The possibility that different scenes could have any outcome but they had to continue to watch to find out which outcome it would be and the sound effects just built tension on that fact. 

The negative aspect of the animation was the way that sometimes the sound effect could mislead the audience or drift us apart from what we as the audience are sometimes are close or wanting to know which is what are the monster such as Sulley's true personality. This can also be said about the colours that different monsters are and how sometimes it doesn't define them for us if they really are how they are.

However I believe the technique has been used successfully. The bit I really enjoyed was when the slow motion occurred in the first scare game scene when Mike and Sulley were close to the finish line and the sound effect also contributed well to that scene. It was good how the style, effects and techniques contributed to each other to build an overall successful outcome.

Animation 2:

The second animation I will be researching about is called The Lion King. The animator for The Lion King is Walt Disney. Walt Disney was an American cartoonist and film maker and amidst other he was also business magnate, philanthropist and voice actor. He was and is regarded as a cultural icon, recognised for his contributions and influence to the entertainment industry during the 20th century. He and his brother Roy O. Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company which released animation such as Chicken Little, The Princess and The Frog and Frozen. The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and Walt Disney Pictures released the animated musical adventure film. The Lion King was really successful with the children and has been awarded several awards, furthermore the success of the animated musical adventure film was widened when it was made into a theatrical play in London. It was awarded the Academy Awards, USA in 1995, it won the best music, original song and best music, original score. It was awarded the Golden Globes, USA in 1995 and it won the best original score, best original song and best motion picture. It was awarded the Annie Awards in 1994 and it won the best animated film, best individual achievement for story contribution in the field of animation and best achievement for voice acting. It was awarded the BMI Film and TV Awards in 1995 and it won BMI film music award and most performed song from a film. It was awarded CFCA Award in 1995 and it won best original score. It was awarded with the KCFCC Award and it won the best animated film prize. It was awarded with the LAFCA Award in 1994 for the best animation. It was awarded Casting Society of America in 1995 and it won best casting for animated voice over. In 1995 and 1994 it was awarded with the Golden Screen in Germany, it won golden screen, golden screen with 1 stars and golden screen with 2 star. It was awarded with the Grammy Awards and it won the best male pop vocal performance, best musical album for children and best instrumental arrangement with accompanying vocals. It was awarded for Kids' Choice Awards in 1995 and it won the blimp award for favourite movie. It was awarded with Golden Reel Award and won for the best sound editing music and best sound editing animated feature. It was awarded with the NBR (National Board of Review) Award and won for the best family film. It was awarded with the satellite award in 2004 and it won for the best youth DVD, furthermore it won the same award in 2011 too and finally it was awarded with the Young Artist Awards and it won the best performance by a young actress in a voice over for TV or Movie and best performance by a young actor in a voice over on TV or Movie. The Lion King won 28 awards and it was nominated for 24 awards altogether. It was ranked on the second place on box office under the category animation for genres. However on the chart for the all time worldwide it was ranked on the twentieth place. This clarifies how successful it went when it was released up until now. However the difference is in the audience, it's used to be popular with the children but now it's turning popular with adults too.

The Lion King Awards

The content of the film animation is astonishing and appealing. From my understanding, the father is the ruler of the kingdom, as Mufasa informs his son himself, "everything that touches the sun is yours to rule." However there is one place that is not meant for the ruler to travel to which is for the hyenas that despise the lions because they believe they're undermined by them as they said it themselves "we are at the bottom of the food chain." Then we see Scar who despises his brother Mufasa because he wants to become the ruler after Mufasa but Mufasa has a child which will be destined to become the ruler of the kingdom after Mufasa. He's persuasive but also manipulative and he tries to use that against the hyenas but also Mufasa's son so he dies. However no matter how much attempt he makes, he always fails. For example, when Mufasa told his son not to travel to the 'underground' place where it doesn't belong to the lions and then Simba asked his father why he shouldn't travel there but Mufasa didn't inform him. Simba then went to his uncle who was Scar and asked him what lies to the 'underground' place and through his manipulative and persuasive skills, he convinced Simba to travel to the dangerous place with his best friend Nala. He then told the hyenas to try and kill him but just as the hyenas were about to do that then Musafa came to protect his child fearlessly. This is one example amongst other several failed attempt to kill Simba until Scar decided that Mufasa should be killed first and then Simba so he can become the new ruler. He used his persuasive techniques to tell the hyenas they'll have all to eat, they won't need to fear the lions and they'll always be beside Scar who wishes to become the ruler of the kingdom. Scar tells the hyenas of the plan on how to kill Mufasa and they abide by him. He calls for Simba to stay put near a palm tree and that he has a surprise for him but he needs to get his father Mufasa. However here comes the part we really begin to witness how evil, sinister and devious he is when he tells Simba to work on his roar because it's too soft and he won't be able to turn into a king like that as Simba's roar is unable to scare any animal. On the top of the cliff, there are several of buffalo and Scar is planning on using them to run Simba and Mufasa over with the assistance of the hyenas. Simba sees a chameleon and practices his roar but doesn't realize the louder it gets, the more chance there is of him scaring the buffalo which then will scatter and run towards him. Unfortunately when Simba alerts the buffalo, Scar runs towards Mufasa and tells him of the dilemma which is a trap but Mufasa doesn't realize that. Mufasa sees his son in danger, struggling and holding on to a stick whilst the buffalo are running, Mufasa without thinking jumps in the face of danger to save his son and does but he doesn't survive as he's killed by Scar. Simba sees his father die in shock and denial as he runs towards him trying to wake him but it doesn't work. Simba starts to blame himself but also tries to justify himself not to make himself depressed and shift the blame on something else beside him. However Mufasa comes and once again uses his manipulative skills to convince it was Simba's fault and he should run away from the kingdom and never to return... Simba does. Mufasa tells the rest of the lion lies and then rules from there with the hyenas beside him as the new king. On the other hand, Simba wanders around in guilt, denial and afraid to face his fears and past which continues to haunt him even whilst he meets Pumbaa and Timon which is a pig and meerkat. They live life in balance, harmony and peace alongside with nature with clear minds and they try to teach that to Simba. Simba learns the ways of Pumbaa and Timon until he meets Nala which is his best friend from the past. She tries to convince Simba to return and take his rightful place as the ruler of the kingdom... he's needed as things are in bad shape because of Scar but Simba is afraid to admit to his mistake and face his fears. Rafiki whose a spiritual monkey and responsible to present new born lion kings to the animals in the kingdom then meets Simba and tries to persuade him gently through action and rhetorical questions. For example, Rafiki hits Simba with his stick and Simba in pain asks Rafiki why he did that, then Rafiki tells Simba it doesn't matter because it's done and it's in the past but then Simba says the most important speech which is he admits that when he was hit with the stick it hurt and then Rafiki informs Simba that the past can sometimes hurt but you can run from it or learn from it. Rafiki tries to hit Simba with his stick but Simba evades it, this time round. Rafiki asks what Simba plans on doing and that's what convinces him to face his past with Nala and his best friends Pumbaa and Timon to take his rightful place as the king. Simba returns to the kingdom and faces his uncle Scar but whether he's learnt his lesson and is prepared to face his past with his family comes now. Scar tries to his manipulative and persuasive skill towards Simba's family that he is the enemy and the one that killed Mufasa. He tries to make Simba feel afraid and guilty when it was Scar who killed Mufasa, Scar pushes Simba back with powerful words blaming the death on Simba until Simba slips and falls on the cliff about to be burnt by fire. Scar then tells who truly killed Mufasa just as he is about to kill Simba but when Simba finds out he climbs and jumps statically on Scar demanding he informs everyone on who truly killed Mufasa and Scar confesses with interrogation from Simba. A battle between the hyenas and lion commences until Simba finally corners Scar and tells him why he did it, out of fear Scar shifts the blame on the hyenas to try to use them as a way out from his dilemma. The hyenas over hear him and realize they were being manipulated and persuaded to believe Scar was with them as 'friend' who tried to help them. Scar who thought Simba was going to kill him then realised Simba was providing him with the same opportunity as he did as a child which was to run away and never return, still as deceptive as he is, Scar pretends he has accepted Simba's demand and then takes some sand and throws it in Simba's eyes so as to not to see anything then Scar can finish his mission to kill Simba but fails. Simba and Scar have their final battle, however Simba prospers and the hyenas end up destroying and eating Scar even though he tries to use them till the end but fails. Simba then takes his rightful place as the king alongside his wife Nala and best friends Pumbaa and Timmon with a new child which will be the future king. Simba was able to face his fears and see the light of a new day alongside all the other animals. 

There was three thing that was learnt or I learnt though from this film which Mufasa said whilst he was alive which was:

• Everything live in a delicate balance. It's every animals responsibility and especially the lions in this film animation and to respect each animals. Simba then wonders how can lion respect animals when they eat animals and Mufasa tells him that when lions die, they become into the grass and then the antelope eat the grass and so everyone is connected to the great circle of life.
• Being brave doesn't mean that you should be looking for trouble but you should be brave only what it's necessary and that everyone has fear regardless of whether it's a king or not.
• Just like Simba was not alone even when Mufasa passed away that means nobody should feel alone and if you do then something will always guide as Mufasa was guiding his son through the stars.

The sound effect contributed well to the film animation. Especially when each time they felt something much more passionate then they sang to explain to us as the audience what they felt through their music and this was fantastic furthermore what contributed to this style was the background effect when the characters began to sing. It played with the audience's emotions but it also had the ability to attract audience from all age although it was made for children, it would be a film animation that has the ability to attract even adults because of the songs and message of those songs. The surrounding, background and music mirrored the characters, for example Scar was a lion that was driven with envy, resentment and evilness so majority of the time there would be a dark background and we would hear him singing in a deep and dark voice, however Simba was a young lion that was innocent but was tangled in situations far above his understanding and capability of doing something to make an impact until he grew but his background was always lively, positive and colourful suiting well with the songs he sang sometimes such as Hakuna Matata. 

The use of these effect builds excitement and thrill in the audience alongside the catchy but also meaningful songs at some occasion such as Hakuna Matata which is a really catchy phrase but means 'no worries' in Swahili. However another good technique I liked was in 'I just can't wait to be a king' in which the animals changed colour to mirror how superior, demanding and mighty Simba felt in a fun way but then all the animals played a role in the end to demonstrate the food chain when Simba was standing on top of all the animal to show us that he is going to be a ruler of the kingdom. The way the parrot and Simba were able to communicate whilst it fitted with the music and lyric was another positive aspect that also brought a thrill and laughter.

 The music and background contributed well together and it mirrored character's and the intensity of situations however sometimes it also had the ability to forecast something bad was to occur. Mufasa's voice and even Scar or Simba was another great technique in which when situations were calm then their voice sounded relaxed, however when situations were intense or serious such as when Mufasa was scolding Simba then his voice started to sound much more deeper and intense along with the situation and this was a great technique because it provided the audience especially children to grasp when things were serious and intense through this tension would build in them but they would learn as most of the parts of this film animation had a lesson to be learnt from and when the time comes to be in excitement and laugh. Occasions when those time occurred with the voice technique, alone wouldn't be enough to build as much tension as it could be built in audience especially in children so the sound effect is a really great contribution too and that's what I mean that in this film animation there is a balance and harmony between the sound effect, voice act and music too. Sometimes the music and background had the ability to shape the characters, alongside other factors but for example, when Simba felt depressed that would usually mean that he would try to find a place more darker to mirror that kind of emotion but he was in a bright place with sunshine and two new positive characters were introduced which would be the factors in shaping up Simba. As time gradually progressed because of the music, background and Pumbaa and Timon he then became a little more positive so sometimes it's the small factors that add up to determine a strong outcome and in this case Simba became a little more positive as he was depressed. 

Cel animation was the right choice for this film animation as there was many opportunity to use different techniques and styles but what the audience will be intrigued by is the drawing of the animation, it has the ability to make the audience admire and appreciate it in thrill, the animals and nature are a solid combination of beauty that the audience would admire so cel animation was exploited to it's full potential and suited well with other factors such as the music and voice actors and actresses.

In conclusion the positive aspect of this film animation was the wisdoms that it had but it informed it to children and even adults such as 'the cycle of life' and 'past' through simple but lively and positive way using cel animaiton which would be easy for children and adults to remember none of the less that's what makes this film animation unique but of the message it provided through wonderful examples contributed well with the music. The music was another positive impact as it had the ability to make the audience feel intense, anxious but also excited and thrilled so it was able to manipulate the audience to feel different feelings but it was catchy and appealing. The voice actors was another positive aspect as it provided the audience with the opportunity to realize when situations or circumstances were intense or not but also forecast that something bad were to occur soon which it did. There wasn't much negative aspect to this film but there could have been more background effect as there was in 'I just can't wait to be a king.'