The Computer-Animated Film: Industry, Style and Genre

by Christopher Holliday

Overview

Widely credited for the revival of feature—length animated filmmaking within contemporary Hollywood, computer—animated films are today produced within a variety of national contexts and traditions. Covering thirty years of computer—animated film history, and analysing over 200 different examples, The Computer—Animated Film: Industry, Style and Genre persuasively argues that this body of work constitutes a unique genre of mainstream cinema. Informed by wider technological discourses and the status of animation as an industrial art form, the book not only theorises computer—animated films through their formal properties, but connects elements of film style to animation practice and the computer—animated film’s unique production contexts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474427883
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2018
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr Christopher Holliday is Senior Lecturer in Liberal Arts and Visual Cultures Education at King’s College London. He is the author of The Computer—Animated Film (2018, EUP) and editor of Fantasy/Animation (2018, Routledge) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2021, Bloomsbury).

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

List of illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Falling with style? The Computer—Animated Film and Genre

2. Towards a Journey Narrative syntax

3. Notes on a Luxo world

4. Computer—Animated Films and Anthropomorphic Subjectivity

5. Object Transformation and the Spectacle of Scrap

6. Pixar, Performance and Puppets

7. Monsters, Synch: A Taxonomy of the Star Voice

8. From Wile E. to Wall—E: Computer—Animated Film Comedy

9. Dreamworks Animation, Metalepsis and Diegetic Deconstruction

10. The Mannerist Game

Conclusion: Satisfying a Spirit of Adventure

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Holliday persuasively argues that contemporary computer animation feature films constitute a genre in their own right. Re-positioning genre through fresh configurations of how computer animated films relate to each other, he analyzes their ideologically-charged formal and technical characteristics, successfully revealing new systems of textual properties and affordances. Insisting that the very ‘animatedness’ of computer animation invokes a revision of the traditional cartoon, conventional film tropes and digital moving images, Holliday properly traces the influence of animation in the re-invention of mainstream movies per se.

Professor Paul Wells

Holliday persuasively argues that contemporary computer animation feature films constitute a genre in their own right. Re-positioning genre through fresh configurations of how computer animated films relate to each other, he analyzes their ideologically-charged formal and technical characteristics, successfully revealing new systems of textual properties and affordances. Insisting that the very ‘animatedness’ of computer animation invokes a revision of the traditional cartoon, conventional film tropes and digital moving images, Holliday properly traces the influence of animation in the re-invention of mainstream movies per se.

Editorial Reviews

Holliday persuasively argues that contemporary computer animation feature films constitute a genre in their own right. Re—positioning genre through fresh configurations of how computer animated films relate to each other, he analyzes their ideologically—charged formal and technical characteristics, successfully revealing new systems of textual properties and affordances. Insisting that the very ‘animatedness’ of computer animation invokes a revision of the traditional cartoon, conventional film tropes and digital moving images, Holliday properly traces the influence of animation in the re—invention of mainstream movies per se.

Professor Paul Wells

The Computer—Animated Film is ambitious in its scope and comprehensive in its coverage, which alone would make a go—to text in the still—comparatively underserved field of contemporary animation. On top of this, its intelligent critique and potentially controversial genre—based approach make it an engaging read for experienced animation scholars.'

animationstudies 2.0 - Sam Summers

Holliday writes with an appealing style, covering the changing fortunes of the computer—animation industry with verve and appeal.

Projections 14.2 - Paul Taberham

"The Computer-Animated Film is ambitious in its scope and comprehensive in its coverage, which alone would make a go-to text in the still-comparatively underserved field of contemporary animation. On top of this, its intelligent critique and potentially controversial genre-based approach make it an engaging read for experienced animation scholars." — animationstudies 2.0, Sam Summers

From the Publisher