Early animated films were based on print comics because they were recognizable. The public commonly read comic strips, so the chances of the film’s success were higher. The visuals for the comic strips were simple, making the production of props and movement much easier to translate onto the big screen. Not only were print comics familiar and simple to recreate, but the characters in the comics were established so the animators already had a headstart for the storyline. Comics made appropriate subjects for film because of the range they were able to have in terms of plot, characters, and settings. Print comics were a widely consumed art form as well.
Daily Archives: September 18, 2024
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Prompt 2:
I believe that many of the early American animated films were based off print comics for a few reasons. The first is that it was easy to use the already existing art and characters/ illustrations so that more focus could be put into the actual technical aspect of the animation. Another reason is that comics typically feature action and incorporate onomatopoeia along with visual illustrations in an attempt to bring the story to life. It would only make sense that the comic writers who try so hard to get their stories to pop and become lively would gravitate toward trying to animate them. Finally, from a business perspective if you are spending all this capital on this new technology and staff it’s less risky to use an established IP than risk the investment on something new. Much easier to just sell the existing fan base to a new format like Marvel comic readers will probably attend the Marvel movie screenings so it is a safer business move.
