Examples of who have imitated or been influenced by it:
The example I can think of that mimics Disney’s real animation aesthetic is from Universal pictures: The Voice of Joy. The setting of characters and camera editing in Disney animated movies can always give people a strong shock. The Voice of Joy, in both editing and character design, imitates Disney’s hyperreal animation aesthetics. In particular, the Voice of Joy mixes the songs with the plot of the movie, which is where Disney is good at. In the film, montage editing is used in many places, and the lens narrative is smooth, concise and the theme is clear. At the same time, each character has a distinct personality, and the film integrates songs and dances with the plot. One of the characteristics of classic Disney animation is broadway-style songs and dances, which undoubtedly strengthens the sense of melody and affinity of the whole cartoon film, thus making it easier for the audience to accept the emotions and attitudes conveyed by the cartoon film.
Examples of who resist it:
The example I can think of against Disney’s authentic animation aesthetic is Tom and Jerry, created by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, Fred Quimby, and Chuck Jones. First of all, the biggest difference between it and Disney animation is that the expression of the protagonist’s emotions and intentions is not in language, but in the facial expression, body and movement of the role. We can see that the emotional communication and inner activities of Tom and Jerry are all conveyed through their rich and accurate facial expressions and body movements. They almost have no dialogue, but the animator can fully express their inner emotions through animation. This is completely different from Disney’s real animation aesthetics, and Tom and Jerry further magnifies the unique charm of animation in expression and body expression.
In many cases, language weakens their emotional and inner reaction expression. Tom and Jerry can accurately express the inner activities of characters by depicting a series of facial expressions and exaggerating and refining their body movements. For example, the little moments, the little hesitations, the little silences: when Tom floats in the air and realizes that there’s nothing down there, and then he falls off, the excessive exaggeration, the subtle humor, not only brings laughter, it’s also different from Disney’s animation aesthetics.
The second Tom and Jerry episode