The animated film may be one of the quintessential American
film genres. Hand-drawn animation in movies began its almost one-hundred-year
success story with the work of Walt Disney and his rendering of a small mouse
steering a steamboat. Since those humble beginnings, the Walt Disney Company
has become one of the leading global media company. Its popularity and success,
however, tend to overshadow the rich and diverse history of the animation. This
seminar will look at that history in detail.
Our
chronological approach will begin with a look at early animation by Walt Disney
but also the Fleischer Studios and Warner Studios. While Disney films will play
a part in the seminar, we will also look at releases from various film studios,
mainstream and experimental animation films, TV shows, and video games. We will
also study the explosion of animation since its shift to the digital in the
1990s. In the seminar we will learn how to analyze the aesthetic and
technological dimensions of (hand-drawn and computer-animated) animation such
as, for example, camera work, voice acting, and use of music and sound. We will
further situate animation in its cultural and social context exploring
questions of race, gender, class, able-bodiness, and sexuality. The seminar
will eventually explore the complexity and diversity of animation throughout
the twentieth and the twenty-first century.
