Artistic direction in any animated film is very important! In this episode, Paislee will discuss more about this idea and how it’s shaped animation today!
Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. JSK Stories is not affiliated nor sponsored from any of the films discussed on this channel. Ratings and parental guides for each film may be found on https://www.imdb.com.
Greetings, pals! Today we are going to be discussing the artistic direction in Disney’s 1959 animated film, Sleeping Beauty.
First off, what is animation? Animation is a method where images and art are manipulated to appear as moving images. How cool is that?! Eventually technology in future years would make 3D animation possible, as well as other neat effects, but back in the 1950’s 2D animation was extremely popular and is still a medium we use today.
I just love looking at the images for this movie. I believe that Walt Disney’s early animated films, such as this one, really set the precedent for what animation could be. The animation and backgrounds are so beautiful that in 2019, Sleeping Beauty was chosen for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress because the film was “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.”
Artist Eyvind Earle painted the backgrounds for Sleeping Beauty. He was inspired by French Renaissance art, Persian art, and Japanese prints. I think it’s super cool that artists took inspiration from other styles and cultures of art in order to shape the fantasy world of Sleeping Beauty!
Walt Disney wanted the characters to move and have emotions as life-like as possible! So, the artists that animated the characters in this movie used live actors to gain inspiration. They filmed them doing actual scenes with a script from the story which is super cool!
Even though this movie came out just over 60 years ago, it is still a beloved classic and a family favorite for many. The art direction really set the stage for animators to think bigger, gain inspiration, and to embrace their talents. Do you have a favorite animated film? Be sure to submit it on jskstories.com! Thanks for watching and have a POP-tastic day!