How 'Spider-Verse' forced animation to evolve

Non-photorealistic rendering has opened up an alternative to the ubiquitous “Pixar look.”

When you think of CGI animated films, you likely think of Pixar. The studio practically invented the genre with 1995’s Toy Story — the first CGI animated feature film.

After Toy Story, almost all animation studios wanted to follow in Pixar’s successful footsteps, straight down to their style. Many studios sought out “The Pixar Look”: extremely high quality, physically based, and in some cases almost photorealistic.

It’s an appealing approach that remains popular at the box office — but animated movies started looking kind of homogeneous. And while studios and independent artists tested out more stylized approaches in short films, no studio would commit to a feature-length animated movie that looked so different.

That is, until Sony Pictures/Imageworks took on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Instead of chasing the look everyone was after, the team wanted to create something visually new. They did it with “non-photorealistic rendering.”

And since Spider-Verse, non-photorealism has taken off, with almost every studio set to incorporate it in the next five years. Check out our video to learn more about how non-photorealism works.

Note: A version of this was previously published with a spelling error. The error has since been corrected.

[alexvu]

Animation is a medium, NOT a genre. It’s time we as a society start respecting animation as much as any other medium

[jessical]

Klaus (2019) was also a breakout example of new animation. They embraced the old paper, hand-sketched animation style but supported with new technology, which captured the charm of a children’s storybook the way Spiderverse captured the quintessential superhero comic book. Both movies didn’t just pioneer new animating techniques, they specifically chose ones that would enhance the narrative of the film.

[localtavernsluteplayer]

I'm seriously so glad people are getting over the whole "everything has to be realistic" trend, bring the art and magic back into art!!

[XXSQUIDGLEYXX]

The real crime was death of 2D animation. Princess and the frog was such a beautiful film especially compared to newer Disney

[Shaboops]

After watching "The Bad Guys" I immediately saw the effect that Spider-Verse had on modern animation. It set a new bar and made it feel so fresh

[fireaza]

Sony was one of the first studios to realize you're never going to beat Disney and Pixar by copying Disney and Pixar.

[didyouwashyourlegstoday]

I think The Lego Movie, The Peanuts Movie, Captain Underpants, and Klaus deserve a mention as stepping stones that lead up to Spiderverse. Spiderverse didn't come out of nowhere but it was def game changer for the industry.

[Adan__bg]

After watching the new Spider-Man across the spiderverse movie it’s going to push it even further. The amount of art style blending with eachother was amazing to watch. Especially the opening sequence

[insertcoolnamelater]

Being a fan of Japanese animation, I've seen many different animation styles which are all amazing it their own way. The medium has so much potential if a studio is willing to be more creative.

[alejandrosantos]

I think Arcane on Netflix is a good example of breaking the formula. Also, I think video games are an untapped source of inspiration because there are SO MANY VIDEO GAMES that are 3d, with 3d cutscenes, that don’t follow the pixar standard. The Walking Dead comes to mind, also the Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact, Journey, Sky: Children of Light, and Alice Madness Returns.

[madmarble]

Animation should be a medium meant to express creativity. Glad to see that we’re going into a new era of more creative style of using this amazing medium! :3

[Roarchop]

The reason animation exists is to make people and objects in a way that isn't possible in the real world. It doesn't need to get more and more realistic. It needs to be artistic (just my opinion btw)

[ZaheerSooliman]

Arcane is another great example of success outside the Pixar look!

[TiasTravels]

The history of Bolt makes me sad! Films like Klaus, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers and Into The Spider-verse (and shows like What If) are SO COOL and bring something new and exciting to the table. Would love to see more stylized work coming out of the big studios

[mrrager]

After watching the new Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse yesterday. I must say I am extremely happy they took this route. The movie was so visually beautiful and intense. The creativity they can produce because it doesn’t have to be realistic makes the movie standout. Great movie and excited for the next.

[onepresence]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Paperman, Klaus, Arcane, The Mitchells vs. The Machines and The Bad Guys are changing the Animation industry forever. And for the better of course. I’m really happy that they are starting to take risks, studios are willing to give more money and time for the animators to create high quality stuff. Hopefully they keep this way 👍

[Calikid]

I wish they mentioned Arcane. The art style of the show is literally 10/10, not to mention an amazing story.

[theokid]

Both Arcane and Bad Guys, i feel are the newest followups to this trend. Its really been a breath of fresh air for animation, and I'm so thankful that spiderverse broke the ice on it.

[MemesAreFriendsNotFood]

Not only does Monster House’s concept art look so much better than the final, it also matches the story much better. It’s so unfortunate that it’s normalized to just do whatever’s popular at the time

[KacperPL]

I am not a massive Spiderman fan, but I will forever be thankful for Into the Spiderverse for breaking out of the boring and overdone Pixar style into the incredible stylized masterpiece