Couple of weeks back I saw Ratatouille with my in-laws and by the end of it my Father in law turned and asked me ” Are you sure the crowd in the background ( in the hotel scenes) are not real ?? and I dont think Linguini is animated he looks so real ” I was really surprised and amazed at this question as from animators point of view the crowd moved so little and in contrast Linguini had such a broader actions and still a common man buys them as a real actors, which shows what amazing job you guys have done Congratulations !!

And as an animator it made me think,it is so important to strike a balance between doing broader and subtle actions as in this case Linguini’s broader actions are enough broad where it still makes audience believe that he is real and same goes for the subtle actions of crowd in the restaurant. I sure got to learn something from this experience and I am equally grateful towards you guys for creating such a marvelous Performances which keeps all of us motivated. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I am looking forward to exciting 2008 from Spline Doctors

Thanks,

Vin

Great post and thank you for the link! I really adore Woody Allen and it was quite interesting to listen to. I absolutely understand what you mean by saying that animation is great in terms of being free. The sky is the limit and it’s totally the same to me why I’m so addicted to deep into something that’s so different from every day life. But for me there are two sides of the coin.

Let me compare it with Wendy from Peter Pan. When Peter took her to Neverland, she was almost an adult. She should leave the nursery the very next day and by that also leave all her childish imaginations and dreams. But she “escaped” from that. On one hand that’s exactly what an artist needs: Seeing real life through the eyes of a child and “play” with the impressions, anyways if he/she is an animator, a sculptor, a painter, writer … what ever. But on the other hand every artist has to combine the two worlds of reality and imagination. Maybe it is little bit nitpicking, but I have a little problem with the word “escape”, because that could also implicate that there is something wrong in the real world that forces you to “escape” and live the whole day in Neverland like Peter. For me I’m absolutely sure that every artist has to find its own way to grow first in real life as a strong personality being always grateful for your skills and remember Neverland every time. Only then he/she will be able to get strength and inspiration from that to discover new ways of expressing his/herself through whole life in a “healthy” way.

But unfortunately many of the greatest artists became “Peter Pans” and had so many problems in real life that they “escaped” each day from that and that’s maybe a reason why they could work like crazy their whole life over and doing what they are now so famous for.

But that’s just what I think.

Cheers Frank

Thomas.