Having premiered earlier this year at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, a special screening of the new documentary Pencils Vs. Pixels was held last weekend at the CTN Expo in Burbank.
The new documentary serves as an exhilarating celebration of 2D hand-drawn animation and an exploration of how the Disney renaissance of the late 1980s and early 1990s led to an animation boom that was quickly upended by the computer animation revolution that followed with the rise of Pixar Animation Studios and the success of Dreamworks’ Shrek.
This incredibly complex and controversial industry change is discussed in depth, alongside the resurgence of hand-drawn animation with recent films like Disenchanted, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Bob’s Burger Movie and beloved multi-Oscar nominee Flee.
The new film is narrated by Ming-Na Wen, who is no stranger to voice over roles, providing the voice of Mulan in the 1998 Walt Disney Animation Studios film of the same name, and many reprisals of the character since. Ming-Na will appear in Pencils Vs. Pixels in animated form once again, as well as in a voiceover booth providing the narration.
CTN Expo proved to be a fantastic event in which to screen the film, as the event as a whole celebrates animation as a whole, but there is a special emphasis on traditional animation and its techniques. Pencils Vs. Pixels features an all-star list of interviewees who chronicle the tumultuous time in the industry as they lived through it, and for CTN, might have been in the same room that the screening took place. Namely, Tina Price, who is featured in the film and is the founder of CTN. Other interviews in the film include:
- Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc)
- Leonard Maltin
- John Musker (The Little Mermaid)
- Tony Bancroft (Mulan)
- Jorge R. Gutiérrez (The Book of Life)
- Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy)
- Glen Keane (Beauty and the Beast)
- Lorna Cook (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron)
- Kevin Smith (Clerks: The Animated Series)
When the film was originally announced, producer and veteran Disney animator Tom Bancroft said, “Because of my 34 years in the animation industry, mostly as a Disney animator, I still meet people that ask me: ‘What ever happened to 2D animation- why did it go away?‘ ‘Pencils Vs Pixels finally answers that question. Through passionate stories by artisans that made the films that people still treasure today, this film will give viewers the never-before-told answers of what happened to the hand-drawn artistry that is 2D animation.”
This is a celebration of the medium, not just a single studio. Where other films like Waking Sleeping Beauty (a personal favorite) focuses on the Disney Studio during this period, Pencils Vs. Pixels showcases how others fared, including the success of Don Bluth, John Pomeroy and their team with The Secret of Nimh leading into meetings with Steven Spielberg for animated projects.
I was fortunate enough to have seen the film before the CTN Expo, and thought it was fantastic and a refreshing look at the industry, something that usually isn’t afforded by big-name studio documentaries that focus on the topic. You can read my full review of the film here
However, back when I saw the film, it was still making its rounds through the festival circuit and various event screenings, similar to CTN Expo. Now, the film is available with ease, thanks to a digital release. You can now see Pencils Vs. Pixels for yourself thanks to services like iTunes, where you can (as of press time) secure a digital copy for $9.99 and rent it for $4.99, and I highly recommend that you jump on that if you’re interested in this artform.