It is pretty common knowledge that the first feature animated film was Disney’s Snow White released back in 1937. But most people don’t know that the first animated film was actually created back in 1908. The film was called Fantasmagorie and was created via hand-drawn animations.
This was the advent of a new medium of film. Animation has now become a major staple of the entertainment industry. After Snow White was released the world went animation crazy. With a slew of film studios releasing a number of iconic titles. Peter Pan, Treasure Planet, Antz, Shrek, Cinderella. All classics of the genre.
As the years progressed we never lost our love of animated movies. But they definitely started to take a back seat. Tastes moved on. Star Wars, Marvel, Transformers. Live action movies were the predominant medium once again.
The last few years have seen animation pulling back into the limelight in a major way. So much so that we think that animated films are taking over. And the perfect example of this trend are the films Ne Zha 2 and Flow.
Ne Zha 2
The first Ne Zha movie was released back in 2019. This Chinese animation was extremely well received both in China and internationally. And while it didn’t make significant waves, it was a sign of things to come. Ne Zha 2, the anticipated sequel, was released on January 29th in China. And within the span of less than two months it has already become the highest grossing animated film ever.
A startling and impressive feat that has completely shaken the movie industry. We have come to expect western animation to dominate the industry. And this is proven by the fact that the next 29 movies on the highest grossing table are all western productions.
But we know that financial success alone doesn’t tell us if a movie is actually good. But Ne Zha 2 has received glowing reviews across the board. Critics and casual viewers alike have fallen in love with it. And some Reddit users have gone as far as to claim it is the greatest animated movie ever made. Both in regards to the animation and quality of the story. The big advantage of animation against live action is the ability to tell stories that are so drastically different from the human experience. Yet Ne Zha manages to create a compelling human story in a world that is so drastically different from our own.
Flow
Flow is a Latvian film that was released in 2024. The movie’s original Latvian name is Straume and took nearly five and a half years to complete. But the result was well worth the hard work and dedication. The entire movie was made in Blender. Absolutely no story boards were used during production. And, as such, that means there are no deleted scenes. The entire thing is one fluid animated performance.
Flow took the world by storm and broke records by being the first ever film from Latvia to receive and win an academy award. It also won a Golden Globe for best animation. This is no small feat and is a testament to the impact animation is having on the industry.
The movie follows the adventure of a small cat surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. The film features no dialogue at all. It is a beautifully moving story told entirely through the beauty of animation. A lot of modern movie makers seem to think that dialogue is the be all and end all of a movie. Yet Flow has reminded us that storytelling is an art. And art can express powerful ideas through many different modes.
Animation For All Ages
The big issue that faced animation of the past was an emphasis on producing content aimed specifically at children. Disney is the prime example of this. Now we aren’t saying that the classic animated movies are only for children. Many of the best titles can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages.
But what we have started to see is a rise in animated films targeted at an older audience. Titles like Into The Spiderverse and The Boy And The Heron. The former movie is a more mature superhero movie that uses the animated medium to bring the genre to a new world. Whereas the latter is a work of art both visually and mentally. Asking viewers to engage their minds on a more metaphorical level and really dig deep for the movie’s meaning. The Boy And The Heron hides wealths of interpretation beneath the stunning animation. And it is definitely not a title that will be fully appreciated by children.