Can we talk about the Pixar hate for a minute???
I just saw a video complaining about Pixar’s “animation style” being bean-like and repetitive and uncreative compared to its old movies and honestly I don’t understand the hate.
First off, it’s not the animation style these people are taking issue with, it’s the art style. Animation style is how characters move, art style is how they’re designed. The issue that people have is with the stylization of the models to have more cartoony and exaggerated proportions and specifically “bean-shaped” mouths.
I don’t understand the hate.
Cartoonishly exaggerated models are nothing new for Pixar. It’s almost as if people are forgetting the whole “built like a Pixar mom” debacle??
And it’s not as if Pixar has stopped having model variation across their films. Luca’s models are much slimmer and longer in comparison to the rounder and softer models in Turning Red, and Elio is just straight up aliens.
Regardless, it’s not uncommon for a studio (or any artist in general) to want to have a consistent art style. You never see anyone getting on Ghibli or Laika for their consistency in style. Consistency allows art to be recognizable at a glance, that doesn’t mean an artist is getting lazy. I think people just saw Pixar switch up their style, found the increased stylization weird, and started to pick on the “bean mouths” because they had already been picking on the CalArts style in 2D TV shows like The Amazing World of Gumball and Star vs. the Forces of Evil. People don’t like change and they can really be heinous about it.
Personally, I get the criticism behind the pervasiveness of “CalArts style,” at least when it’s overdone/prevents variation of models. But that is simply not what is happening here. These are three movies done with quote unquote “bean mouth” out of six released in the past 5 years, and each movie is obviously visually - and more importantly narratively - unique.
What’s more, I really love this model stylization because it’s leading to an increase of stylization choices in computer animation. NOW we’re talking about animation style. In Turning Red specifically, I really loved how BIG they went with facial expressions in a way that previously was only seen in 2D pieces. And I LOVE how these techniques are popping up across studios. Sony of course has been putting out gold, especially with the Spiderverse movies and Kpop Demon Hunters.
Are we seeing this???? I love it SO much
There’s been a trend of breaking conventions of traditional computer models to bring big goofy stylized expressions to 3D animation and it’s so. Good. I hope this trend never goes away.
TLDR: I think the hate on Pixar’s art style is not coming from a want for variation or progress. It’s a resistance to change. People say they want progress, and get hypocritically butthurt when they get progress, just not in the way they’re comfortable with.
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