The evolution of animation in the past decade has seen incredible advancements. With new and unique projects continuously being released, the field feels like it is at a time of flourishing never seen before. Despite the immense skill required for animation, the time and effort of artists behind animated works is unfortunately often overlooked and underappreciated. Here are three recent animated works that brilliantly showcase the field’s expansion and unlimited potential.
Arcane
The animation of Arcane is insane. The show is incredible on all fronts, but its artistic identity, as the show’s co-creator, Christian Linke, puts it, is its “superpower.” Arcane’s animation is a unique blend of 2D and 3D, marking a new, super-cool wave of 2.5D. The show’s plot centers around the relationship between science and art, and its animation is a reflection of that. Animated by Fortiche Studios, Arcane was originally seen as too ambitious a project. Everything about the development of the show was an experiment, but that is exactly what made it so revolutionary.
The most expensive animated show of all time, Arcane’s animation took years to make, and it’s noticeable. The character’s micro expressions, unique features, and expressive styles make for animation that is heavily stylized but feels real. For example, each of the characters in the show has its own unique set of teeth. The attention to detail is astounding.
Fortiche Studios, based in France, had originally only ever animated music videos for Riot Games, the company that created the game League of Legends, which the show Arcane is based on. Creating seven hours of footage was a daunting task for everyone involved, but rather than honing it down, the studio and animators at Fortiche expanded on their skills and delivered a visual masterpiece. What I love about Arcane is that the level of care the animators put into every frame can be felt while watching. One example, which I learned while watching behind-the-scenes footage on the show, is in one of my favorite scenes, where viewers see a brief flashback to a character’s younger self running towards the camera. The animator who was assigned that scene used his 10-year-old son as a reference, creating an everlasting memory between them.
With each frame being hand-drawn in the storyboarding process, not a second of Arcane is overlooked. It’s an incredibly detailed show — from slowing down certain scenes and seeing characters’ pupils dilate to pausing any frame of the show and being able to find something new, the show is crafted in a way that leaves viewers wanting to study and rewatch it.
Despite the show coming to a close with its second season last year, the world of Arcane is far from over. It’s really only just beginning, with multiple future animated projects exploring the League of Legends franchise having already been greenlit. The next show is rumored to explore Noxus, a region separate from Piltover and Zaun, which were the focus of Arcane’s two seasons. Although it is unknown whether these projects will use the same style as Arcane or feature Arcane’s beloved characters, I’m already so seated. The bar has been set to a billion, but I put full faith in the animation and visuals to deliver.
Animation Appreciation at the Oscars: Flow
This year’s Oscar’s pick for best animated feature went to the heartwarming and beautiful Flow. With a budget of $3.8 M dollars, the movie was animated entirely by a small, independent company called Dream Well Studios, led and founded by Gints Zilbalodis, the movie’s 29-year-old director.
Flow tells the simple story of a solitary black cat who loses his home in a flood, following his journey in making surprising new friends while reassessing what home really means. The animators of Flow depict the cat’s journey through wondrously vibrant shots that capture how grand our world really is. Flow was entirely created through Blender, a completely free and open-source 3D software. With its unique story, which is void of any dialogue, and in having a cat as its main protagonist, Flow would have been completely impossible to do live-action. Watching the different animals’ facial expressions and body language highlights the animator’s attention to detail and storytelling. Alongside that, the movie’s dynamic camera angles build suspense and allow viewers to feel as if they are really there alongside the characters.
Despite its small origins and expectations, the film has met great success, and serves as inspiration for future independent animation. The universal story that began its creation in Belgium and France has captivated the world, showing animation’s special ability in bringing otherwise impossible-to-tell stories to life.
What I am Most Looking Forward to next: Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
A core memory of my life was walking out of the theater after having watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018. Paired with a powerful story and a lovable main character, the movie’s animation, specifically, left me in awe. I had no idea that type of animation was even possible. Done by Sony Pictures Imageworks, the Spider-Verse movies rely on CGI animation combined with a comic book style, highlighting the film’s origins. Like Arcane, the Spider-Verse movies use a blend of hand-drawn 2D elements and 3D simulations. The use of animation allows for the movie to explore Miles Morales’s insane Spider-Man superpowers in a way never seen before, making him feel as though he has popped out of his comic book pages. On top of that, the animation of the films’ New York City landscapes to the scenes of Miles going through the fabric of time are filled with color and vibrancy that leaves viewers feeling hypnotized and truly immersed. The Spider-Verse movies, already iconic films of our generation, are built to be watched in theaters.
The third and last installment of the Spider-Verse franchise, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is set to be released in June 2027. We already have our first look at what it is going to look like, and I didn’t think it was possible, but my expectations have already been exceeded. Phil Lord, one of the movie’s producers, says it’s “going to be a massive finale to the trilogy.” I cannot wait to see what the animators have in store.
Final Thoughts
Watching the expansion and increased variation of the animation field has been so exciting. With more and more studios releasing their own projects, the field has never looked so creative and diverse. The hard work and talent of animators are reminders to artists around the globe to keep creating and sharing their stories. Especially in an AI-growing and increasingly money-driven society, it’s important to be reminded that human creativity and skill can never be replaced. These three projects listed, each with their own set of unforgettable visuals, are testaments to years-long collaboration and dedication, and all showcase animation’s unique power in storytelling.