Moana Could've Saved 2D Animation!

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Did you know that Moana could’ve been a 2D animated film? It’s true! Early into production there was a debate around whether Moana should be animated using the popular 3D techniques of the time or whether they should continue the legacy of hand drawn animation that the studio had pioneered. But this debate didn’t just affect Moana. The decision to create this story in CGI led to the complete abandonment of traditional animation at Disney, and today I want to explain how that happened.

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ABOUT ME
I'm Isaac Carlson, a creator based in Orlando, Florida, and ever since I can remember I’ve loved Disney. My fondest childhood memories come from visiting Walt Disney World with my family. I grew up loving Spider-Man, Star Wars, Pixar, and the classic animated films from Disney. The stories, characters, and worlds I adored as a child eventually inspired me to create videos of my own here on YouTube, and it changed my life. On this channel, I explore the characters and worlds that ignite the child within all of us! My goal is to create a community built on wonder, positivity, and optimism where passionate fans can unite to celebrate the magic of animated films. Here, we believe dreams can come true.

Have a magical day! #disney #animation #history #animationhistory #moana

[MrWaspMan]

I can only imagine how beautiful this film would've been in 2D. It's such a shame that studios, let alone the one that pioneered the art, refuse to give fully 2D films a chance.

[bad-girl-coventhe-owl-club]

We don’t talk enough about how beautifully animated Princess and the Frog actually is. It's the last and best Disney’s 2D animation has ever been.

[yildizofyiti]

Disney: You cannot make profitable 2D animation anymore.
Miyazaki: Guess I have to get out of retirement... again.

[ashtonhashbrown]

I imagine 2D Moana would've resembled Lilo and Stitch a lot.

[Jonathan_Collins]

It's funny that I grew up on 2D animation thanks to Disney, but they've left it behind completely. In Japan, 2D is flourishing brilliantly. The best use of CG in anime shows or films is typically barely noticeable or minimally used.

[alexmouse]

You know what is the hardest part? The person who publicly said 2d animation had too many limitations wasn't a random out-of-touch executive at Disney. It was Jennifer Lee herself, the current head of the Walt Disney Animation Studios

[deshawnedwards]

You could say that about Encanto, Raya, and especially Wish.

Disney should attempt to return back to 2D animations or at least try doing more 2D film. Nothing wrong about doing both 2D and 3D films at the same time. Once Upon a Studio prove that they can.

[joaopereira]

I dunno what goes in the mind of these Hollywood executives to have this grudge for 2D in these last decades
The Boy and the Heron defeated them in this year's Oscars, proving that this technique is timeless and it's still going strong

[andrewchung]

The failure of recent 3D animated films like Strange World and Wish should be telling Disney that 3D is no longer a guarantee of profitability, yet they still will stick with the whole 2D cannot be profitable mantra. It's just tragic, really.

[reesrodriguez]

I hope that one day will see 2d movies in theaters again not just by Disney but by other studios and have the good old days back

[pablo-znmg]

I feel like Disney could take some inspiration from the Spiderverse saga and blend both mediums to create something that propels animation forward, while remaining uniquely Disney.

[isaiahwilliams]

While I've lost some of my faith in Disney animation, especially with the immense amount of sequels crammed into their current pipeline. I have hope that another studio will take that leap of faith again and make 2D animation a viable mainstream medium again. After two decades of CGI artists pretty much perfecting the craft, and as a result many of the films aesthetics becoming too samey, audiences are hungering for more stylization and unique art forms, as evident by the success of "Spiderverse, " "The Bad Guys, " and "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish." And even "The Boy and the Heron" Winning the Oscar for best animated feature is telling how the market is shifting back in favor of 2D.
Hopefully that and potentially Genndy Tartakovsky's "Fixed" get the ball rolling and gets Disney back on the 2D movie train that they built back in 1937.

[icecreamhero]

What if they had a separate 2D studio that only made 2D movies. That way they wouldn't have to go back and forth between the 2.

[jazzy]

I might be the only person here who thinks Moana was one of the only Disney movies that seriously would have looked worse in 2D rather than 3D. I love 2D animation but Moana’s visuals are S tier and hand drawn would not have been able to capture that. I constantly use Moana as an example of when 3D is really good and at its full potential as a medium for creating art. Her hair, the water, the colors, the lighting, the monsters and the fights would all have ended up watered down. Like remember the dance scene in beauty and the beast? They needed 3D animation to do that, they just wouldn’t have been able to make it look as good hand drawn. It’s the same thing with Moana.

If you want an example of 3D that definitely would have worked better in 2D that would be tangled (and more lol)

[aquaarietta]

2D animation is only dead in America. Sad how Disney animation inspired 2D animators around the world, and now those other animators have left Disney in the dust and showed Disney how much they messed up.

[biancab.]

I feel like wish would have been the perfect opportunity for disney to bring back 2d in some form. I really hope they change their minds as long as the 2d legends from the 90s and before are still around

[TurboPikachu]

Man I just adore the character designs of the 2D prototype for the movie. Most 2D shows/movies that have come into existence after princess & the frog have lacked the style that made Disney (and WB at one point) so amazing. The only film of any kind that really seemed to recapture that Disney magic was 2019’s Klaus; and that was 5 years ago now.

[gerawallstar]

I found out that this was originally going to have a Paperman style using 2D/3D hybrid. IMO, Disney should've used this style for their modern 3D films like Frozen and this film. Yeah it wouldn't be the same as it was using 2D but it would've been a better compromise for the company to get with the times but also never abandon what they have used as a foundation for the company using 2D.

[shadowmarauder]

This is another reason many indie projects do well, since many of them are hand-drawn and have such unique and /or nostalgic design.

[TheRyanLamont]

To save Walt Disney Animation, they NEED to do another 2D feature and it needs to be a classic fairytale. A princess always ushers in a new era at Disney, The Little Mermaid ushered in the renaissance, Princess and the Frog ushered in the success period post-2000s flops, and we’re in a flop era now.

Wish could have and should have been that, but it was a contrived mess created by Lee, who’s flopped since Frozen