no hate for u specifically op, b/c ur far from the first person I’ve seen making this argument, but I’m getting sick of ppl failing to grasp that realism isn’t the failure here
one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen– and easily one of the most realistic in terms of CGI animals– is Guardians of Ga’hoole
now I’m not gonna get into how the movie was adapted or how certain changes may or may not have affected the story/characters, I’m only talking aesthetic and style here
and y’know what this highly realistic style does?
it delivers scenes like this
realism doesn’t just make this scene look real– it punches you in the goddamn gut with the color, framing, and intense zoom-in
and what about the characters? do they show any real emotion?
look at these expressions– these microexpressions! I bet you can easily name every expression here w/o even knowing the context of the scenes! and the realism is absolutely critical here– from the slight pulse of contracting pupils, to a twitch of the cheek. realism shines best in the subtle details
the people animating Ga’hoole clearly had a clear, vibrant vision which they were passionate to deliver. they knew how to bend light and color to grip the audience, they knew how to map gorgeous landscapes and feathered bodies alike, and most importantly they knew where to emphasize owl body language vs. where to emphasize anthropomorphic body language
realism isn’t failing these stories– Disney is
Disney doesn’t fucking care about these stories. if they did, then we’d be getting more Ga’hoole-esque realism– it’s not like they don’t have the budget for it compared to other studios. they rly don’t have any excuse beyond apathy, b/c ppl are gonna shill out to see any movie Disney’s name is attached to, no matter how shit
I have a great respect for both cartoony and realistic styles, and I’m tired of ppl blaming the tool instead of the person wielding it
