Don Bluth and Gary Goldman are one of the most renowned animators and had worked on animated films such as The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail and The Land Before Time.
Recently, Doug Walker, whom is known for his Nostalgia Critic persona had a chance to interview both Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. In the interview, they were asked about their feelings about modern day animation. Don Bluth replied that when the early 3DCG animated films were successful, every other studios had switch from 2D animation to 3D, resulting them looking the same. The characters felt like puppets and lost the human touch. He also expressed that 3D animated films are trying to be more realistic to the point where it looks like a live-action film.
As someone who love animation, I can understand and feel for him. 2D animated films is becoming a dying art in the west. Heck, Disney even announced that they do not have plans for 2D animated films for the next decade. This doesn't mean that there is no market for this type of animation. The success of many crowdfunded 2D animation projects such as Don Bluth and Gary Goldman's Dragon Lair Returns and Hullabaloo Steampunk by veteran Disney animators clearly shows that people still do care and appreciate for 2D animation.
With that said, why did many institutions, schools and universities stop offering traditional hand-drawn animation classes to students? Some of my classmates were also eager to learn too. We did ask one of the lecturers and he wasn't sure why 2D animation was not included in our Digital Arts course. This is sad but it did not stop me from learning hand-drawn animation myself. I hope someday I could create my own full-length animated film.
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