161-547: Don Bluth Entertainment (formerly Sullivan Bluth Studios ) was an Irish-American animation studio established in 1979 by animator Don Bluth . Bluth and several colleagues, all of whom were former Disney animators, left Disney on September 13, 1979, to form Don Bluth Productions , later known as the Bluth Group . This studio produced the short film Banjo the Woodpile Cat , the feature film The Secret of NIMH ,
322-411: A stop motion technique to two- and three-dimensional objects like paper cutouts , puppets , or clay figures . A cartoon in the animation sense is an animated film, usually short, featuring an exaggerated visual style. The style takes inspiration from comic strips , often featuring anthropomorphic animals , superheroes , or the adventures of human protagonists. Especially with animals that form
483-505: A 1999 direct-to-video prequel Bartok the Magnificent and Titan A.E. , released on June 16, 2000. Titan A.E. grossed just $ 22.7 million against its estimated budget of $ 75 million; Fox Animation Studios had already laid off two-thirds of its staff several months previously, and it closed entirely shortly after Titan A.E. 's release. The departure on September 13, 1979, of animators Bluth, Goldman and Pomeroy, along with
644-553: A 20 percent stake in the common shares of the joint venture, with the remaining 20 percent of common shares held by lawyer and advisor William Gibbs McAdoo . The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford and cowboy star William S. Hart a year earlier. Already Hollywood veterans, the four stars talked of forming their own company to better control their own work. They were spurred on by established Hollywood producers and distributors who were tightening their control over actor salaries and creative decisions,
805-525: A brief animation sequence in the musical Xanadu , and the video games Dragon's Lair and Space Ace . Bluth then co-founded Sullivan Bluth Studios with American businessman Gary Goldman , John Pomeroy and Morris Sullivan in 1985. The studio had initially operated from an animation facility in Van Nuys, California , and negotiated with Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment to make
966-553: A century later. Other successful projects backed in this period included the Pink Panther series, which began in 1964, and Spaghetti Westerns , which made a star of Clint Eastwood in the films of A Fistful of Dollars , For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly . In 1964, the French subsidiary, Les Productions Artistes Associés, released its first production That Man from Rio . In 1965, UA released
1127-628: A competitor, and it was thus decided to shut down Don Bluth Ireland entirely instead of waiting for the Warner Bros. contract to expire. Bluth and Goldman intended to remain in Ireland to complete work on The Pebble and the Penguin , but when they were forced to make changes to the film, they left the studio and began working with Mechanic to set up Fox Animation Studios . With the departure of Bluth and Goldman, Media Assets received offers to have
1288-490: A consistent way to whatever style is employed on a particular film. Since the early 1980s, teams of about 500 to 600 people, of whom 50 to 70 are animators, typically have created feature-length animated films. It is relatively easy for two or three artists to match their styles; synchronizing those of dozens of artists is more difficult. This problem is usually solved by having a separate group of visual development artists develop an overall look and palette for each film before
1449-422: A dedicated Disneyana Fan Club (since 1984). Disneyland opened in 1955 and features many attractions that were based on Disney's cartoon characters. Its enormous success spawned several other Disney theme parks and resorts . Disney's earnings from the theme parks have relatively often been higher than those from their movies. As with any other form of media, animation has instituted awards for excellence in
1610-472: A dog-based story starring Burt Reynolds had been mooted after the completion of The Secret of NIMH , but never progressed beyond rough storyboards . The idea was revisited in late 1987 and developed into a feature-length story, titled All Dogs Go to Heaven . The film entered full production in late 1988, following directly on from The Land Before Time . In 1989, during the production of All Dogs Go to Heaven , Pomeroy and several original crew members left
1771-481: A further four animators and four assistant animators from Disney's feature animation studio, caused a considerable disturbance in the animation industry. The eleven animators who left represented about 17% of the studio's animation staff, a loss that delayed the release of The Fox and the Hound by six months. Ron W. Miller , the future president and future CEO of The Walt Disney Company at the time, remarked that although
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#17327878145791932-473: A local company. In 1941, Pickford, Chaplin, Disney, Orson Welles , Goldwyn, Selznick, Alexander Korda, and Wanger—many of whom were members of United Artists—formed the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers (SIMPP). Later members included Hunt Stromberg , William Cagney , Sol Lesser , and Hal Roach . The Society aimed to advance the interests of independent producers in an industry controlled by
2093-426: A natural predator/prey relationship (e.g. cats and mice, coyotes and birds), the action often centers on violent pratfalls such as falls, collisions, and explosions that would be lethal in real life. A cartoon can also be a still humorous drawing, often with the same elements as animated cartoons but with still versions. The illusion of animation—as in motion pictures in general—has traditionally been attributed to
2254-551: A near collapse in the Irish animation industry. Emerald City closed soon after, and Fred Wolf Films Dublin downsized. By 1997, the industry's annual turnover had dropped from around £12 million to just £100,000. The industry began to recover as numerous smaller animation studios were set up. Several former Sullivan Bluth employees started studios of their own, including Brown Bag Films , Monster Animation and Design and Terraglyph Animation. The animation sector in Ireland has grown to become
2415-609: A new company with Darryl F. Zanuck , called Twentieth Century Pictures , which soon provided four pictures a year, forming half of UA's schedule. Schenck formed a separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. They began international operations, first in Canada, and then in Mexico. By the end of the 1930s, United Artists was represented in over 40 countries. When he
2576-451: A new life on the small screen and by the end of the 1950s, the production of new animated cartoons started to shift from theatrical releases to TV series. Hanna-Barbera Productions was especially prolific and had huge hit series, such as The Flintstones (1960–1966) (the first prime time animated series), Scooby-Doo (since 1969) and Belgian co-production The Smurfs (1981–1989). The constraints of American television programming and
2737-509: A presentation at the 1989 San Diego Comic-Con and sales of animation cels from previous productions. Initially, the new American studio handled only the rough animation, with the drawings then sent to the Dublin studio for cleanup, ink-and-paint, and shooting. As the studio expanded, it took on more and more of the animation process, with the paper animation completed there and sent to Dublin for Xerography and painting. All Dogs Go to Heaven
2898-461: A process that evolved into the studio system . With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before anything was formalized. When he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland , head of Metro Pictures , apparently said, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of then-President Woodrow Wilson ), formed their distribution company. Hiram Abrams
3059-447: A profitable rental library, including Associated Artists Productions , owners of Warner Bros. pre-1950 features, shorts and cartoons and 231 Popeye cartoon shorts purchased from Paramount Pictures in 1958, becoming United Artists Associated , its distribution division. In 1963, UA released two Stanley Kramer films, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and A Child Is Waiting . In 1964, UA introduced U.S. film audiences to
3220-897: A result and withdrew further funding. The threat of the closure of the studio was raised that month in the Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas , also known as Ireland's national parliament) in the hopes of securing its future. Thirty employees were laid off at the Los Angeles studio, many of the staff at the Dublin studio continued working unpaid, and Don Bluth reportedly met some operating expenses out of his own pocket. On November 12, 1992, Don Bluth Entertainment found investment from filmmaker John Boorman 's production company Merlin Films and Hong Kong-based company Media Assets. Merlin Films and Media Assets invested $ 14 million to purchase
3381-515: A scheme set up by the Industrial Development Authority encouraging filmmakers to invest in the country by offering grants, tax benefits, and lower operating costs. Difficulties with American trade unions that arose when Bluth offered his employees wages below union rates during the financially tense production of An American Tail may also have influenced the decision to relocate. The IDA offered Sullivan Bluth Studios
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#17327878145793542-520: A separate background, computer animation is usually based on programming paths between key frames to maneuver digitally created figures throughout a digitally created environment. Analog mechanical animation media that rely on the rapid display of sequential images include the phenakistiscope , zoetrope , flip book , praxinoscope , and film. Television and video are popular electronic animation media that originally were analog and now operate digitally . For display on computers, technology such as
3703-436: A similar idea into pre-production, though the project stalled following the collapse of Don Bluth Productions in the same year. As work on All Dogs Go to Heaven neared completion, the idea was revived and Rock-a-Doodle entered production in late 1989. During production of Rock-a-Doodle , the studio found itself in difficulties again. Following a buyout of Goldcrest, the new owners of the production company, after finding out
3864-481: A substantial success, Moulin Rouge (1952). As well as The African Queen UA also had success with High Noon in their first year, earning a profit of $ 313,000 compared to a loss of $ 871,000 the previous year. Other clients followed, among them Stanley Kramer , Otto Preminger , Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions , and actors newly freed from studio contracts and seeking to produce or direct their own films. With
4025-450: A true powerhouse of animation production, with its own recognizable and influential anime style of effective limited animation . Animation became very popular on television since the 1950s, when television sets started to become common in most developed countries. Cartoons were mainly programmed for children, on convenient time slots, and especially US youth spent many hours watching Saturday-morning cartoons . Many classic cartoons found
4186-513: A two-story facility in nearby Studio City . The studio's first commission was to produce a two-minute animated sequence for the song "Don't Walk Away" in the live-action musical Xanadu . The brief sequence might ordinarily have taken four or five months to produce; Bluth's studio completed it in under three. The studio then started work on its first feature film , an adaptation of the Newbery Medal -winning children's book Mrs. Frisby and
4347-531: A very long history in automata . Electronic automata were popularized by Disney as animatronics . The word animation stems from the Latin animātiōn , stem of animātiō , meaning 'bestowing of life'. The earlier meaning of the English word is 'liveliness' and has been in use much longer than the meaning of 'moving image medium'. Long before modern animation began, audiences around the world were captivated by
4508-460: A very successful industry as indigenous studios have all produced films and TV series for international markets. Animation Animation is a filmmaking technique by which still images are manipulated to create moving images . In traditional animation , images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets ( cels ) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within
4669-414: A very tight schedule for a feature-length animated film. However, between delays caused by the disruption of the move to Dublin, and the unwillingness of Amblin and Universal to fully commit to the project until An American Tail 's release, production fell behind by several months, and it wasn't until spring 1987 that The Land Before Time went into full production. Spielberg and Lucas's control over
4830-409: A wide variety of styles, relatively often including stop motion and cutout animation techniques. Soviet Soyuzmultfilm animation studio, founded in 1936, produced 20 films (including shorts) per year on average and reached 1,582 titles in 2018. China, Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic, Italy, France, and Belgium were other countries that more than occasionally released feature films, while Japan became
4991-402: A wild idea: let them take over United Artists for ten years. If UA was profitable in one of the next three years, they would have the option to acquire half the company by the end of the ten years and take full control. Fox Film Corporation president Spyros Skouras extended United Artists a $ 3 million loan through Krim and Benjamin's efforts. In taking over UA, Krim and Benjamin created
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5152-688: Is a technique combining hand-drawn characters into live action shots or live-action actors into animated shots. One of the earlier uses was in Koko the Clown when Koko was drawn over live-action footage. Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created a series of Alice Comedies (1923–1927), in which a live-action girl enters an animated world. Other examples include Allegro Non Troppo (Italy, 1976), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (US, 1988), Volere volare (Italy 1991), Space Jam (US, 1996) and Osmosis Jones (US, 2001). United Artists United Artists ( UA )
5313-432: Is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios . In its original operating period, UA was founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin , D.W. Griffith , Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks as a venture premised on allowing actors to control their own financial and artistic interests rather than being dependent upon commercial studios. After numerous ownership and structural changes and revamps, United Artists
5474-413: Is pointless for a studio to pay the salaries of dozens of animators to spend weeks creating a visually dazzling five-minute scene if that scene fails to effectively advance the plot of the film. Thus, animation studios starting with Disney began the practice in the 1930s of maintaining story departments where storyboard artists develop every single scene through storyboards , then handing the film over to
5635-449: Is that once a film is in the production phase, the marginal cost of one more shot is higher for animated films than live-action films. It is relatively easy for a director to ask for one more take during principal photography of a live-action film, but every take on an animated film must be manually rendered by animators (although the task of rendering slightly different takes has been made less tedious by modern computer animation). It
5796-404: Is the best known and most extreme example. Since first being licensed for a children's writing tablet in 1929, their Mickey Mouse mascot has been depicted on an enormous amount of products , as have many other Disney characters. This may have influenced some pejorative use of Mickey's name , but licensed Disney products sell well, and the so-called Disneyana has many avid collectors, and even
5957-529: Is the process of producing high-quality traditionally animated films that regularly use detailed drawings and plausible movement, having a smooth animation. Fully animated films can be made in a variety of styles, from more realistically animated works like those produced by the Walt Disney studio ( The Little Mermaid , Beauty and the Beast , Aladdin , The Lion King ) to the more 'cartoon' styles of
6118-432: Is the process that was used for most animated films of the 20th century. The individual frames of a traditionally animated film are photographs of drawings, first drawn on paper. To create the illusion of movement, each drawing differs slightly from the one before it. The animators' drawings are traced or photocopied onto transparent acetate sheets called cels , which are filled in with paints in assigned colors or tones on
6279-457: The 1971 screen version of Fiddler on the Roof . However, the 1972 film version of Man of La Mancha was a failure. New talent was encouraged, including Woody Allen , Robert Altman , Sylvester Stallone , Saul Zaentz , Miloš Forman , and Brian De Palma . With UA being the distributor for Woody Allen's Bananas (1971), it started as the distributor for a series of Woody Allen films. With
6440-763: The Internet ( web cartoons ). Rotoscoping is a technique patented by Max Fleischer in 1917 where animators trace live-action movement, frame by frame. The source film can be directly copied from actors' outlines into animated drawings, as in The Lord of the Rings (US, 1978), or used in a stylized and expressive manner, as in Waking Life (US, 2001) and A Scanner Darkly (US, 2006). Some other examples are Fire and Ice (US, 1983), Heavy Metal (1981), and Aku no Hana (Japan, 2013). Live-action/animation
6601-479: The Mirisch brothers , Billy Wilder , Joseph E. Levine and others. In 1961, United Artists released West Side Story , which won ten Academy Awards (including Best Picture ). In 1960, UA purchased Ziv Television Programs . UA's television division was responsible for shows such as Gilligan's Island , The Fugitive , Outer Limits , and The Patty Duke Show . The television unit had begun to build up
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6762-525: The Warner Bros. animation studio . Many of the Disney animated features are examples of full animation, as are non-Disney works, The Secret of NIMH (US, 1982), The Iron Giant (US, 1999), and Nocturna (Spain, 2007). Fully animated films are often animated on "twos", sometimes on "ones", which means that 12 to 24 drawings are required for a single second of film. Limited animation involves
6923-556: The animated GIF and Flash animation were developed. In addition to short films , feature films , television series , animated GIFs, and other media dedicated to the display of moving images, animation is also prevalent in video games , motion graphics , user interfaces , and visual effects . The physical movement of image parts through simple mechanics—for instance, moving images in magic lantern shows—can also be considered animation. The mechanical manipulation of three-dimensional puppets and objects to emulate living beings has
7084-408: The entertainment industry . Many animations are either tradtional animations or computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation , in particular claymation , has continued to exist alongside these other forms. Animation is contrasted with live-action film , although the two do not exist in isolation. Many moviemakers have produced films that are a hybrid of
7245-462: The flip book (1868), the praxinoscope (1877) and film . When cinematography eventually broke through in the 1890s, the wonder of the realistic details in the new medium was seen as its biggest accomplishment. It took years before animation found its way to the cinemas. The successful short The Haunted Hotel (1907) by J. Stuart Blackton popularized stop motion and reportedly inspired Émile Cohl to create Fantasmagorie (1908), regarded as
7406-439: The persistence of vision and later to the phi phenomenon and beta movement , but the exact neurological causes are still uncertain. The illusion of motion caused by a rapid succession of images that minimally differ from each other, with unnoticeable interruptions, is a stroboscopic effect . While animators traditionally used to draw each part of the movements and changes of figures on transparent cels that could be moved over
7567-538: The 1960s, and European producers looking for affordable cel animators relatively often started co-productions with Japanese studios, resulting in hit series such as Barbapapa (The Netherlands/Japan/France 1973–1977), Wickie und die starken Männer/小さなバイキング ビッケ (Vicky the Viking) (Austria/Germany/Japan 1974), Maya the Honey Bee (Japan/Germany 1975) and The Jungle Book (Italy/Japan 1989). Computer animation
7728-404: The 1980s, Disney strove to revitalize its output, and while the next feature after Bluth's departure, The Black Cauldron , was a commercial and critical failure (attributed by Hill to the use of the latest animation technology at the expense of the story), the films that followed ( The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company ) marked the beginning of a period of increasing success for
7889-455: The 1980s, and the opening of Sullivan Bluth Studios brought about expansion in the sector, with Murakami Films expanding to become Murakami-Wolf Dublin (later Fred Wolf Films Dublin), and another studio of American origins, Emerald City, opening in Dublin. By 1990, Dublin's animation industry employed around 530 people. Sullivan Bluth Studios was also instrumental in setting up education programmes in Dublin to train new artists and animators. At
8050-635: The 1980s. As part of the deal, UA acquired MGM's music publishing operation, Robbins, Feist, Miller. In 1975, Harry Saltzman sold UA his 50 percent stake in Danjaq , the holding-company for the Bond films. UA released One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975, which won the Best Picture Academy Award and was UA's highest-grossing film, with a gross of $ 163 million. UA followed with
8211-479: The American , written by and starring Fairbanks, was a success. Funding for movies was limited. Without selling stock to the public like other studios, all United had for finance was weekly prepayment installments from theater owners for upcoming movies. As a result, production was slow, and the company distributed an average of only five films a year in its first five years. By 1924, Griffith had dropped out, and
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#17327878145798372-491: The American film critics. For its next feature film, Rock-a-Doodle , a greater emphasis was placed on audience reception. Several screenings of early test footage were held, and changes were made to the film's content to reduce the intensity or suggestiveness of several scenes and broaden its commercial appeal. Rock-a-Doodle was released on April 3, 1992, and was the last of the studio's films to have Goldcrest involved in its distribution. The Samuel Goldwyn Company picked up
8533-485: The Ballyfermot Senior College an animation department was set up, modelled on the school of Art and Design at Sheridan College , Ontario , Canada . Many of Ballyfermot's graduates went on to work at Sullivan Bluth and the city's other animation studios. In 1989, around 75% of the 350 staff employed at the Dublin studio were Irish, and by late 1990, most of the original American crew had returned to
8694-522: The Beast was the first animated film nominated for Best Picture , in 1991. Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010) also received Best Picture nominations, after the academy expanded the number of nominees from five to ten. The creation of non-trivial animation works (i.e., longer than a few seconds) has developed as a form of filmmaking , with certain unique aspects. Traits common to both live-action and animated feature films are labor intensity and high production costs. The most important difference
8855-590: The Beatles by releasing A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965). At the same time, it backed two expatriate North Americans in Britain, who had acquired screen rights to Ian Fleming 's James Bond novels. For $ 1 million, UA backed Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli 's Dr. No in 1963 and launched the James Bond franchise . The franchise outlived UA's time as a major studio, continuing half
9016-645: The California studio, and to cover all aspects of the animation process and even film processing. To build up this workforce, the studio brought young Irish people to the USA studio to train, and Bluth helped to set up an animation course at the nearby Ballyfermot Senior College. Despite the majority of operations eventually being moved to the Dublin studio, an executive office was retained in Burbank, California to maintain ties with US producers and distributors. During
9177-486: The Dublin studio sold off and delayed the company's closure to consider them. After the release of The Pebble and the Penguin on April 14, 1995, the studio was renamed to Screen Animation Ireland Limited as they could no longer use Bluth's name while US branches were dissolved. New York-based investor Richard McDonald was in serious talks to acquire the studio but negotiations broke down in September 1995 after his group
9338-541: The Dublin studio to return to the United States, setting up a studio in Burbank, California named West Olive, later to become Sullivan Bluth Animation Studios . The new studio handled some of the animation for All Dogs Go to Heaven , as well as some television commercials. The move helped strengthen the studio's presence in the North American market, and early promotion for All Dogs Go to Heaven included
9499-597: The Extra-Terrestrial , which had been released the previous month (which most likely brought NIMH nearly into obscurity). Between this and an industry-wide animators strike in 1982, the studio found itself in financial trouble and filed for bankruptcy . Reforming under the name Bluth Group, the studio's next project was to produce the animation for Cinematronics ' arcade video games Dragon's Lair and Space Ace , which were released in 1983. The games were very successful, attracting considerable attention for
9660-712: The Friendly Ghost (1945), Warner Bros. Cartoon Studios ' Looney Tunes ' Porky Pig (1935), Daffy Duck (1937), Elmer Fudd (1937–1940), Bugs Bunny (1938–1940), Tweety (1942), Sylvester the Cat (1945), Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (1949), MGM cartoon studio 's Tom and Jerry (1940) and Droopy , Universal Cartoon Studios ' Woody Woodpecker (1940), Terrytoons / 20th Century Fox 's Mighty Mouse (1942), and United Artists ' Pink Panther (1963). In 1917, Italian-Argentine director Quirino Cristiani made
9821-560: The James Bond, Pink Panther, and Woody Allen films, UA had a series of films based on well known characters in the 1970s. In 1973, United Artists took over the sales and distribution of MGM 's films in Anglo-America . Cinema International Corporation assumed international distribution rights for MGM's films and carried on to United International Pictures (made from CIC and UA's International assets being owned by partner MGM) in
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#17327878145799982-461: The Magnificent and Titan A.E. . After this the studio closed and was folded into 20th Century Fox Animation . Banjo the Woodpile Cat , Thumbelina , A Troll in Central Park and the international distribution of The Pebble and the Penguin were acquired by Disney (via 20th Century Studios ) on March 20, 2019; while The Secret of NIMH , All Dogs Go to Heaven , Rock-a-Doodle and
10143-543: The North American distribution of The Pebble and the Penguin are still owned by Amazon MGM Studios (via United Artists and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer respectively), and An American Tail and The Land Before Time are still owned by Universal Pictures (via Amblin Entertainment). On September 13, 1979, Don Bluth , an animator and animation director at Walt Disney Productions , fellow animators John Pomeroy and Gary Goldman , and eight other animation staff left
10304-405: The Penguin , was also dogged by production difficulties. MGM/UA stepped in to become distributors for the film in the United States, and at a relatively late stage in production insisted on making extensive changes, cutting some sequences, removing some characters, and re-recording many of the voices. The changes meant that the animation, the effects animation in particular, fell behind, and some of
10465-496: The Rats of NIMH . Backed by Aurora Productions , The Secret of NIMH started production in 1980 and was completed in 1982. Though generally well received by critics, who praised the richness and fluidity of the animation, some found the narrative unsatisfying. The Secret of NIMH earned $ 12 million in the United States, which was blamed on distributor MGM/UA 's poor promotion, regionally staggered releases and competition from E.T.
10626-594: The Tramp (1955) failed at the box office. For decades afterward, Disney would be the only American studio to regularly produce animated features, until Ralph Bakshi became the first to also release more than a handful features. Sullivan-Bluth Studios began to regularly produce animated features starting with An American Tail in 1986. Although relatively few titles became as successful as Disney's features, other countries developed their own animation industries that produced both short and feature theatrical animations in
10787-524: The US. Successful producer John Randolph Bray and animator Earl Hurd , patented the cel animation process that dominated the animation industry for the rest of the century. Felix the Cat , who debuted in 1919, became the first fully realized anthropomorphic animal character in the history of American animation. In 1928, Steamboat Willie , featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse , popularized film-with-synchronized-sound and put Walt Disney 's studio at
10948-648: The United Artists brand as United Artists Digital Studios for the Stargate Origins web series as part of its Stargate franchise , but retired the name after 2019 and instead used its eponymous brand for subsequent releases. A local joint distribution venture between MGM and Annapurna Pictures launched on October 31, 2017 was rebranded as United Artists Releasing on February 5, 2019, in honor of its 100th anniversary. However, Amazon , MGM's now-parent company, folded UAR into MGM on March 4, 2023, citing "newfound theatrical release opportunities" following
11109-487: The United States to be replaced by Irish artists and animators. Some senior staff at the studio became part-time instructors at the college. The success of the animation course at Ballyfermot spurred the creation of an animation programme at Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology , focused more on experimental and arthouse techniques compared to Ballyfermot's traditional animation approach. The closure of Sullivan Bluth Studios on October 31, 1995, brought about
11270-574: The animated feature An American Tail . During its production, Sullivan began to move the studio to Dublin , Ireland, to take advantage of government investment and incentives offered by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA). Most of the staff from the US studio moved to the new Dublin facility during production on the studio's second feature film, The Land Before Time . The studio also recruited heavily from Ireland, and helped set up an animation course at Ballyfermot College of Further Education to train new artists. After The Land Before Time ,
11431-403: The animated visuals quite unlike the simplistic graphics of other games of the era, but were criticized for their limited interactivity. The collapse of the video game industry in late 1983 and early 1984 halted production on the sequel Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp . Cinematronics, now in debt and trying to cut its own losses, froze fees and royalties of over US$ 3 million to Bluth Group, driving
11592-469: The animation begins. Character designers on the visual development team draw model sheets to show how each character should look like with different facial expressions, posed in different positions, and viewed from different angles. On traditionally animated projects, maquettes were often sculpted to further help the animators see how characters would look from different angles. Unlike live-action films, animated films were traditionally developed beyond
11753-521: The animators only after the production team is satisfied that all the scenes make sense as a whole. While live-action films are now also storyboarded, they enjoy more latitude to depart from storyboards (i.e., real-time improvisation). Another problem unique to animation is the requirement to maintain a film's consistency from start to finish, even as films have grown longer and teams have grown larger. Animators, like all artists, necessarily have individual styles, but must subordinate their individuality in
11914-512: The anticipated George Stevens' production of The Greatest Story Ever Told and was at the time, the most expensive film which was budgeted at $ 20 million. Max Von Sydow, in the role of Jesus Christ, led an all-star cast which included Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowell, Martin Landau, Dorothy McGuire, Sal Mineo, Ina Balin, Joanna Dunham, David McCallum, Nehemiah Persoff, Donald Pleasence, José Ferrer and Ed Wynn. The film did not make back its budget and
12075-417: The box office, grossing almost $ 4 million in the United States. The film performed better on home video when released that August, becoming a fast seller alongside other animated films released in the same month. Bluth did not remain disassociated with The Pebble and the Penguin , supervising a high-definition remastering on March 27, 2007, that corrected some of the animation and shooting errors caused by
12236-507: The box office, grossing just over $ 11 million. The studio's next feature suffered a much weaker commercial performance. A Troll in Central Park , almost complete at the time of the Merlin deal, was given a limited regional release on October 7, 1994. Like Thumbelina before it, A Troll in Central Park was poorly received by critics, and it grossed just $ 71,000. This poor performance has been attributed to Warner Bros.' lack of promotion; there
12397-700: The box-office opening success of Creed III . In July 2024, Amazon MGM Studios announced the company's revival, entering a multi-year first look deal with film producer Scott Stuber , who will also be involved with all releases under the freshly revived banner. In 1918, Charlie Chaplin could not get his parent company First National Pictures to increase his production budget despite being one of their top producers. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks had their own contracts, with First National and Famous Players–Lasky respectively, but these were due to run out with no clear offers forthcoming. Sydney Chaplin, brother and business manager for Charlie, deduced something
12558-443: The business world with Bluth and his crew's talent to form Sullivan Studios (later becoming Sullivan Bluth Studios). Moving out of the smaller Studio City facility and into a dedicated building in Van Nuys, California , the studio opened in 1985. In its early days, the studio worked on undeveloped projects—which included Beauty and the Beast and Satyrday —and commercials while seeking a suitable feature film project. In 1984, as
12719-642: The byline "A Transamerica Company" be removed on the prints and in all advertising. At one point, the parent company expressed its desire to phase out the UA name and replace it with Transamerica Films. Krim tried to convince Transamerica to spin off United Artists, but he and Transamerica's chairman could not come to an agreement. Finally in 1978, following a dispute with Transamerica chief John R. Beckett over administrative expenses, UA's top executives, including chairman Krim, president Eric Pleskow , Benjamin and other key officers walked out. Within days they announced
12880-415: The company was facing a crisis. Veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. He had produced pictures for a decade, and brought commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge , his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge , and his brother-in-law, Buster Keaton . Contracts were signed with independent producers, including Samuel Goldwyn , and Howard Hughes . In 1933, Schenck organized
13041-408: The company. The company made Marty which won 1955's Palme d'Or and Best Picture Oscar. 12 Angry Men (1957) which according to Krim before home video, was being seen on TV 24 hours a day, 365 days a year some place in the world. By 1958, UA was making annual profits of $ 3 million a year. United Artists went public in 1957 with a $ 17 million stock and debenture offering. The company
13202-518: The completion of this short film their first project. After four years of production, much of it part-time, Banjo the Woodpile Cat was completed and given theatrical screenings in two theatres in December 1979. The short was then offered to various television stations, airing on HBO in February 1980 and ABC in 1982. After the completion of Banjo , the studio moved out of Bluth's house and into
13363-570: The creation of a feature animation division. While Bluth and Goldman wanted to remain at the Dublin studio, arguing that because Media Assets was owned by Fox's parent company News Corporation, Fox effectively had a working animation studio already, and Mechanic wanted Bluth and Goldman to head up a new studio in Phoenix, Arizona instead. Fox had seen that Bluth's Dublin studio had a seven-year distribution contract with Warner Bros. Pictures, meaning that they would have to give up their distribution fee to
13524-714: The demand for an enormous quantity resulted in cheaper and quicker limited animation methods and much more formulaic scripts. Quality dwindled until more daring animation surfaced in the late 1980s and in the early 1990s with hit series, the first cartoon of The Simpsons (1987), which later developed into its own show (in 1989) and SpongeBob SquarePants (since 1999) as part of a "renaissance" of American animation. While US animated series also spawned successes internationally, many other countries produced their own child-oriented programming, relatively often preferring stop motion and puppetry over cel animation. Japanese anime TV series became very successful internationally since
13685-422: The drawings and simulate camera movement and effects. The final animated piece is output to one of several delivery media, including traditional 35 mm film and newer media with digital video . The "look" of traditional cel animation is still preserved, and the character animators ' work has remained essentially the same over the past 90 years. Some animation producers have used the term "tradigital" (a play on
13846-409: The end results of their previous film, decided to end its dealings with Sullivan Bluth Studios. Shortly after, Goldcrest took steps to liquidate the studio, claiming it could not pay back a $ 300,000 loan and other debts. However, the petition was withdrawn and the issue was settled outside court. Though the precise reasons for the withdrawal were not made public, as part of the settlement the ownership of
14007-868: The field. Many are part of general or regional film award programs, like the China's Golden Rooster Award for Best Animation (since 1981). Awards programs dedicated to animation, with many categories, include ASIFA-Hollywood 's Annie Awards , the Emile Awards in Europe and the Anima Mundi awards in Brazil. Apart from Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film (since 1932) and Best Animated Feature (since 2002), animated movies have been nominated and rewarded in other categories, relatively often for Best Original Song and Best Original Score . Beauty and
14168-435: The film making business, and put United Artists on the market. Kirk Kerkorian 's Tracinda Corp. purchased the company in 1981. Tracinda also owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1981, United Artists Classics, which formerly re-released library titles, was turned into a first-run art film distributor by Nathaniel T. Kwit, Jr. Tom Bernard was hired as the division director, as well as handling theatrical sales, and Ira Deutchman
14329-427: The film to Disney's film distribution unit, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution . The trustee ultimately declined Disney's offer to distribute the film as they were also trying to find a new owner for the studio. Warner Bros. Pictures picked up Thumbelina and subsequent films for worldwide distribution. The film was released on March 30, 1994. Critical reception was generally negative, and the film performed poorly at
14490-459: The film was released in November 1986, accompanied by a major publicity campaign. An American Tail was very successful at the box-office, grossing $ 47 million in the United States and becoming the highest-grossing animated film on an initial release. During production on An American Tail , Morris Sullivan drew plans to move the majority of the studio's operations to Ireland to take advantage of
14651-458: The first feature-length film El Apóstol (now lost ), which became a critical and commercial success. It was followed by Cristiani's Sin dejar rastros in 1918, but one day after its premiere, the film was confiscated by the government. After working on it for three years, Lotte Reiniger released the German feature-length silhouette animation Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed in 1926,
14812-528: The first studio without an actual "studio". Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. UA leased space at the Pickford/Fairbanks Studio but did not own a studio lot. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance, or the expensive production staff at other studios. Among their first clients were Sam Spiegel and John Huston , whose Horizon Productions gave UA one major hit, The African Queen (1951) and
14973-406: The forefront of the animation industry. Although Disney Animation's actual output relative to total global animation output, has always been very small; the studio has overwhelmingly dominated the "aesthetic norms" of animation ever since. The enormous success of Mickey Mouse is seen as the start of the golden age of American animation that would last until the 1960s. The United States dominated
15134-410: The formation of Orion Pictures , with backing from Warner Bros . The departures concerned several Hollywood figures enough that they took out an ad in a trade paper warning Transamerica that it had made a fatal mistake in letting them go. Later that year, it entered into a partnership with Lorimar Productions , whereas United Artists would distribute Lorimar's feature films theatrically, while Lorimar
15295-452: The future of Don Bluth Entertainment was uncertain. Three further films were already well into development; A Troll in Central Park had been in production since mid-1990, Thumbelina since early 1991 and The Pebble and the Penguin since late 1991. The studio's in-development features were going over budget, and the studio's Belgian investors and a Netherlands bank, who had invested heavily in them, suffered financial difficulties as
15456-461: The group ceased operations. Needing a turnaround, Pickford and Chaplin hired Paul V. McNutt in 1950, a former governor of Indiana, as chairman and Frank L. McNamee as president. McNutt did not have the skill to solve UA's financial problems and the pair was replaced after only a few months. On February 15, 1951, lawyers-turned-producers Arthur B. Krim (of Eagle-Lion Films ), Robert Benjamin and Matty Fox approached Pickford and Chaplin with
15617-542: The group was consolidated into one entity as United Artists Records and in 1979, EMI acquired the division which included Blue Note Records . In 1959, after failing to sell several pilots, United Artists offered its first ever television series, The Troubleshooters , and later released its first sitcom, The Dennis O'Keefe Show . In the 1960s, mainstream studios fell into decline and some were acquired or diversified. UA prospered while winning 11 Academy Awards, including five for Best Picture, adding relationships with
15778-611: The humour it can provide. Some animated characters in commercials have survived for decades, such as Snap, Crackle and Pop in advertisements for Kellogg's cereals. Tex Avery was the producer of the first Raid " Kills Bugs Dead " commercials in 1966, which were very successful for the company. Apart from their success in movie theaters and television series, many cartoon characters would also prove lucrative when licensed for all kinds of merchandise and for other media. Animation has traditionally been very closely related to comic books . While many comic book characters found their way to
15939-405: The ink-and-paint work had to be farmed out to Hungarian animation studio Reflex Animation Ltd. to meet the release deadline. Directors Bluth and Goldman were so dissatisfied at the enforced changes that they insisted on their names being removed from the credits (though the company name "Don Bluth Limited" remained). The Pebble and the Penguin was released on April 14, 1995, and again made a loss at
16100-444: The instability in the film industry due to theater divestment, the business was considered risky. In 1955, movie attendance reached its lowest level since 1923. Chaplin sold his 25 percent share during this crisis to Krim and Benjamin for $ 1.1 million, followed a year later by Pickford who sold her share for $ 3 million. In the late 1950s, United Artists produced two modest films that became financial and critical successes for
16261-685: The label was briefly rechristened in 1984 as MGM/UA Classics before it ceased operating in the late 1980s. The merged studios became known as the MGM/UA Entertainment Company and in 1982 began launching new subsidiaries: the MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group , MGM/UA Classics and MGM/UA Television Group . Kerkorian also bid for the remaining, outstanding public stock, but dropped his bid, facing lawsuits and vocal opposition. In 1981, Fred Silverman and George Reeves via InterMedia Entertainment struck
16422-431: The largest grant in the country's history to relocate to Dublin , in return for a 5% government ownership of the studio. This, along with Sullivan's own investment, funded the foundation of a large and sophisticated new animation studio near Dublin's Phoenix Park . The studio opened with a staff of 85, mostly handling the ink-and-paint process, but expanded to employ over 300 people, including some 100 staff relocated from
16583-435: The late 1980s, in a style similar to traditional cel animation. The so-called 3D style, more often associated with computer animation, became the dominant technique following the success of Pixar's Toy Story (1995), the first computer-animated feature in this style. Most of the cel animation studios switched to producing mostly computer-animated films around the 1990s, as it proved cheaper and more profitable. Not only
16744-428: The live action and distribution plans were put on hold when the studio struck a deal with British producers Goldcrest Films in early 1988 to partially finance and distribute a further three animated films. Later that year, the plans were revived, along with the possibility of opening a television animation division to produce high-quality Saturday morning cartoons, but these plans were halted by April 1989. Out of all
16905-507: The loss of financial backing for several other features the studio had in development, led the studio to declare bankruptcy in October 1992. Despite the bankruptcy being reported to have been connected to Rock-a-Doodle's financial performance, it was reported by Variety on November 1, 1992 that Rock-a-Doodle was already successful in its home video sales, having already grossed $ 28 million through 2 million shipping units. Rock-A-Doodle
17066-421: The magic of moving characters. For centuries, master artists and craftsmen have brought puppets, automatons , shadow puppets , and fantastical lanterns to life, inspiring the imagination through physically manipulated wonders. In 1833, the stroboscopic disc (better known as the phenakistiscope ) introduced the principle of modern animation, which would also be applied in the zoetrope (introduced in 1866),
17227-444: The move to Ireland, production had started on the studio's second feature, The Land Before Time . Again, Amblin and Spielberg backed the production, with additional input from friend of Spielberg and Star Wars creator George Lucas , who had worked with Spielberg on the initial story treatment. The film had been rushed into its early production stages even before the release of An American Tail to meet an autumn 1987 release date,
17388-595: The next two years' Best Picture Oscar winners, Rocky and Annie Hall , becoming the first studio to win the award for three years running and also to become the studio with the most Best Picture winners at that time, with 11. However, Transamerica was not pleased with UA's releases such as Midnight Cowboy and Last Tango in Paris that were rated X by the Motion Picture Association of America . In these instances, Transamerica demanded
17549-824: The oldest extant animated feature. In 1937, Walt Disney Studios premiered their first animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , still one of the highest-grossing traditional animation features as of May 2020 . The Fleischer studios followed this example in 1939 with Gulliver's Travels with some success. Partly due to foreign markets being cut off by the Second World War, Disney's next features Pinocchio , Fantasia (both 1940), Fleischer Studios' second animated feature Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941–1942) and Disney's feature films Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Lady and
17710-510: The oldest known example of a complete traditional (hand-drawn) animation on standard cinematographic film. Other great artistic and very influential short films were created by Ladislas Starevich with his puppet animations since 1910 and by Winsor McCay with detailed hand-drawn animation in films such as Little Nemo (1911) and Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). During the 1910s, the production of animated " cartoons " became an industry in
17871-451: The plans to diversify, only the studio's commercial animation department was kept, producing advertisements for American and European television. They also formed the video game division Sullivan Bluth Interactive Media to supervise home computer ports and console versions of the Dragon's Lair games. During the production of The Land Before Time , development work was already beginning on
18032-408: The poor box office returns of its most recent films and budgetary over-runs in its in-production films, Thumbelina , A Troll in Central Park and The Pebble and the Penguin . Another British film company, Merlin Films, and Hong Kong media company Media Assets invested in the studio to fund the completion and release of the three partially completed films. Bluth and Goldman were drawn away from
18193-409: The record for the highest-grossing animated film on its opening weekend, and would have retained the record for highest overall gross ($ 48 million) had Oliver & Company not surpassed it ($ 53 million). During the production of The Land Before Time , Morris Sullivan detailed plans to diversify the studio's output into other areas. In late 1987, a further $ 4.5 million was invested in improvements to
18354-517: The resignation of Albeck, who was replaced by Norbert Auerbach. United Artists recorded a major loss for the year due almost entirely to the box-office failure of Heaven's Gate . It destroyed UA's reputation with Transamerica and the greater Hollywood community. However, it may have saved the United Artists name; UA's final head before the sale, Steven Bach , wrote in his book Final Cut that there had been talk about renaming United Artists to Transamerica Pictures. In 1980, Transamerica decided to exit
18515-467: The rights for its distribution in the United States. The production's goal for success failed abysmally (even worse than All Dogs Go to Heaven ), as the critical reception was poor to indifferent, and it performed poorly at the box office, grossing just $ 11.7 million, losing to its apparent competitor, Kroyer Films, Inc. / 20th Century Fox 's FernGully: The Last Rainforest (which grossed over $ 32 million). The film's poor theatrical performance, along with
18676-529: The rushed production. In addition, MGM hired the Dublin studio to work on the animation for their All Dogs Go to Heaven sequel , albeit with no involvement from Bluth himself and no creative input. In late 1993, shortly after the Merlin Films/Media Assets deal, founders Bluth and Goldman met with then-President of 20th Century Fox Television Peter Chernin , and CEO and Chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment Bill Mechanic to discuss
18837-768: The screen (which is often the case in Japan, where many manga are adapted into anime ), original animated characters also commonly appear in comic books and magazines. Somewhat similarly, characters and plots for video games (an interactive form of animation that became its own medium) have been derived from films and vice versa. Some of the original content produced for the screen can be used and marketed in other media. Stories and images can easily be adapted into children's books and other printed media. Songs and music have appeared on records and as streaming media. While very many animation companies commercially exploit their creations outside moving image media, The Walt Disney Company
18998-458: The side opposite the line drawings. The completed character cels are photographed one-by-one against a painted background by a rostrum camera onto motion picture film. The traditional cel animation process became obsolete by the beginning of the 21st century. In modern traditionally animated films, animators' drawings and the backgrounds are either scanned into or drawn directly into a computer system. Various software programs are used to color
19159-405: The sole owner of the studio. MGM/UA, who planned to distribute the films in the United States, had already backed off in the wake of Don Bluth Entertainment's bankruptcy, doubtful that the pictures would ever be completed. J&M Entertainment, which was slated to release the films overseas, sold their rights to Media Assets. During Sullivan Bluth's bankruptcy proceedings, the court trustee presented
19320-472: The story and production of The Land Before Time was notably greater than with An American Tail ; substantial changes to the story were imposed mid-production, and around 10 minutes of footage, an expenditure for the studio of over $ 1 million, was removed. Production was completed in 1988 for a November release, the film vying for box-office receipts with Disney's Oliver & Company . The Land Before Time received positive reviews from film critics and broke
19481-464: The studio and a further $ 6 million to acquire the rights to partially completed films A Troll in Central Park and Thumbelina and ensure their completion, with further investment to follow on the third film, The Pebble and the Penguin , then still in early development. A condition of the investment was that Merlin Films and Media Assets would have a close involvement in the management of Don Bluth Entertainment's financial operations, following reports of
19642-530: The studio as part of a plan to move into television. At around the same time, plans were also announced to go into live-action film production, and to purchase a film distribution company to distribute not only the studio's own in-house output but also other outside Irish productions, and Michael T. Murphy was hired by Don Bluth to head the company's live-action operation and the company would employ more than 300 people, including 90 animators and technicians from America who were transferred from Los Angeles . However,
19803-567: The studio during production on The Fox and the Hound . Bluth cited as his reasons dissatisfaction with the studio's stifling bureaucracy and its "churn 'em out" attitude to filmmaking. Bluth, Pomeroy and Goldman had been working for four years prior to leaving Disney on a project of their own, Banjo the Woodpile Cat . Upon leaving Disney, they and the other defecting animators formed the independent studio Don Bluth Productions, working out of Bluth's garage and home in Ventura, California , and made
19964-468: The studio in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with each successive film earning 40–50% more than its predecessor, culminating in The Lion King earning nearly $ 800 million worldwide in 1994. Sullivan Bluth Studios has also been regarded as a major influence in the development of Ireland's animation industry. Animator Jimmy Murakami had been operating his studio Murakami Films in Ireland throughout
20125-495: The studio once again into bankruptcy. The unfinished sequel to Dragon's Lair , despite having almost all of its animated footage completed, remained unreleased until 1991. During Bluth Group's period working with Cinematronics, Don Bluth met Morris Sullivan , a mergers and acquisitions broker and enthusiast of traditional animation , who quickly saw the potential in the studio. When the studio declared its second bankruptcy, Sullivan stepped in to assist, combining his experience of
20286-537: The studio severed its connection with Amblin and negotiated with UK -based Goldcrest Films , which invested in and distributed two additional features, All Dogs Go to Heaven and Rock-a-Doodle . In 1989, during the production of All Dogs Go to Heaven , founding member John Pomeroy and many of the remaining American staff members returned to the United States to form a satellite studio in Burbank , California . The studio found itself in financial difficulty in 1992 when Goldcrest withdrew funding due to concerns about
20447-607: The studio system. SIMPP fought to end what were considered to be anti-competitive practices by the seven major film studios—Loew's (MGM), Columbia Pictures , Paramount Pictures , Universal Pictures , RKO Radio Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros./First National —that controlled the production, distribution, and exhibition of motion pictures. In 1942, SIMPP filed an antitrust suit against Paramount's United Detroit Theatres . The complaint accused Paramount of conspiracy to control first-and subsequent-run theaters in Detroit. This
20608-430: The studio was preparing to move to its new headquarters, Bluth was approached by Steven Spielberg with an idea for a feature film about a mouse family emigrating to America, An American Tail . Bluth and Spielberg worked together to develop the story for the film, and production began in earnest later that year. With backing from Spielberg's production company Amblin Entertainment , and distributors Universal Pictures ,
20769-433: The studio when they were approached in late 1993 to set up a new animation studio for 20th Century Fox . Sullivan Bluth Studio's films continued to suffer losses at the box office, and the studio was closed down on October 31, 1995, after the release of their final feature, The Pebble and the Penguin . Don Bluth and Gary Goldman went on to head up Fox Animation Studios in Phoenix, Arizona to work on Anastasia , Bartok
20930-553: The studio's artwork was turned over to Goldcrest, putting an end to the studio's selling of animation cels. Around this time, Sullivan Bluth was contracted by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Universal Studios to provide animation for The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ride at Universal Studios Florida and they provided additional services for Hyperion Films ' Rover Dangerfield . In January 1992, Sullivan Bluth Studios renamed itself to Don Bluth Entertainment following Morris Sullivan's retirement. With Goldcrest's withdrawal,
21091-409: The studio's next feature. Sullivan had been keen to fund the next feature with a combination of the studio's own revenue and Irish investment, as opposed to Hollywood producers; the deal with Goldcrest (which had an Irish office) would make this possible. Working under Goldcrest also afforded director Bluth more free rein over the development of the story than under Amblin and Spielberg. Early ideas for
21252-411: The studio's past mismanagement. On July 27, 1993, Star TV , the parent company of Media Assets, was purchased by News Corporation , also owner of 20th Century Fox. Although A Troll in Central Park was closer to completion, Merlin and Media Assets decided that Thumbelina was more likely to be a commercial success, and pressed for its completion and release first. By March 6, 1993, Media Assets became
21413-467: The studio's previous two features, grossing $ 27 million domestically, but it was a great success when released on home video; accompanied by a $ 13 million advertising campaign, the video sold over three million copies in the first month alone, topping the charts and becoming one of the top-selling VHS releases of all time. The unspectacular reception for All Dogs Go to Heaven led the studio to reconsider its approach to public relations in hopes to impress
21574-425: The synopsis stage through the storyboard format; the storyboard artists would then receive credit for writing the film. In the early 1960s, animation studios began hiring professional screenwriters to write screenplays (while also continuing to use story departments) and screenplays had become commonplace for animated films by the late 1980s. Traditional animation (also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation)
21735-505: The timing of their departure was unfortunate, it was "possibly the best thing that could happen to our animation group". Bluth expressed concerns that as Disney's productions became more technically advanced, the story seemed to lose importance. The aim of his new studio was to "return animation to its glorious past", concentrating on strong stories, and using traditional animation techniques that had fallen out of favor at Disney. Animation historian Jerry Beck observed that Don Bluth Productions
21896-462: The two . As CGI increasingly approximates photographic imagery , filmmakers can easily composite 3D animations into their film rather than using practical effects for showy visual effects (VFX). Computer animation can be very detailed 3D animation , while 2D computer animation (which may have the look of traditional animation) can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth, or faster real-time renderings . Other common animation methods apply
22057-791: The use of less detailed or more stylized drawings and methods of movement usually a choppy or "skippy" movement animation. Limited animation uses fewer drawings per second, thereby limiting the fluidity of the animation. This is a more economic technique. Pioneered by the artists at the American studio United Productions of America , limited animation can be used as a method of stylized artistic expression, as in Gerald McBoing-Boing (US, 1951), Yellow Submarine (UK, 1968), and certain anime produced in Japan. Its primary use, however, has been in producing cost-effective animated content for media for television (the work of Hanna-Barbera, Filmation , and other TV animation studios ) and later
22218-565: The value had increased to an estimated US$ 370 billion. Animated feature-length films returned the highest gross margins (around 52%) of all film genres between 2004 and 2013. Animation as an art and industry continues to thrive as of the early 2020s. The clarity of animation makes it a powerful tool for instruction, while its total malleability also allows exaggeration that can be employed to convey strong emotions and to thwart reality. It has therefore been widely used for other purposes than mere entertainment. During World War II, animation
22379-401: The very popular 3D animation style was generated with computers, but also most of the films and series with a more traditional hand-crafted appearance, in which the charming characteristics of cel animation could be emulated with software, while new digital tools helped developing new styles and effects. In 2010, the animation market was estimated to be worth circa US$ 80 billion. By 2021,
22540-683: The words "traditional" and "digital") to describe cel animation that uses significant computer technology. Examples of traditionally animated feature films include Pinocchio (United States, 1940), Animal Farm (United Kingdom, 1954), Lucky and Zorba (Italy, 1998), and The Illusionist (British-French, 2010). Traditionally animated films produced with the aid of computer technology include The Lion King (US, 1994), Anastasia (US, 1997), The Prince of Egypt (US, 1998), Akira (Japan, 1988), Spirited Away (Japan, 2001), The Triplets of Belleville (France, 2003), and The Secret of Kells (Irish-French-Belgian, 2009). Full animation
22701-482: The world market of animation with a plethora of cel-animated theatrical shorts. Several studios would introduce characters that would become very popular and would have long-lasting careers, including Walt Disney Productions ' Goofy (1932) and Donald Duck (1934), Fleischer Studios / Paramount Cartoon Studios ' Out of the Inkwell ' Koko the Clown (1918), Bimbo and Betty Boop (1930), Popeye (1933) and Casper
22862-456: The years passed, and the dynamics of the business changed, these "producing partners" drifted away. Samuel Goldwyn Productions and Disney went to RKO and Wanger to Universal Pictures . In the late 1930s, UA turned a profit. Goldwyn was providing most of the output for distribution. He sued United several times for disputed compensation leading him to leave. MGM's 1939 hit Gone with the Wind
23023-531: Was acquired by media conglomerate Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1981 for a reported $ 350 million ($ 1.2 billion today). On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a controlling interest in One Three Media and Lightworkers Media and merged them to revive the television production unit of United Artists as United Artists Media Group (UAMG). MGM itself acquired UAMG on December 14, 2015, and folded it into their own television division . MGM briefly revived
23184-542: Was also listed among the "Top 10 Films of the Year" by the National Board of Review . On the basis of its film and television hits, in 1967, Transamerica Corporation purchased 98 percent of UA's stock. Transamerica selected David and Arnold Picker to lead its studio. UA debuted a new logo incorporating the parent company's striped T emblem and the tagline "Entertainment from Transamerica Corporation". This wording
23345-481: Was averaging 50 films a year. In 1958, UA acquired Ilya Lopert 's Lopert Pictures Corporation , which released foreign films that attracted criticism or had censorship problems. In 1957, UA created United Artists Records Corporation and United Artists Music Corporation after an unsuccessful attempt to buy a record company. In 1968, UA Records merged with Liberty Records , along with its many subsidiary labels such as Imperial Records and Dolton Records . In 1972,
23506-574: Was clearly set up in direct opposition to Disney; even Aurora Productions, who backed the studio's first feature, The Secret of NIMH , was made up of former Disney executives. While Bluth's early output did not match Disney's success at the box office, critics praised the studio's visual style, and by 1986 Sullivan Bluth Studios' An American Tail had broken the box-office record for a first-release animated feature. As animation columnist Jim Hill notes, this critical and commercial reception forced Disney to rethink its approach to animated features. Throughout
23667-440: Was completed in late 1989, opening in November. On Pomeroy's insistence, some cuts were made to bring the film down from its initial MPAA rating of PG to a G rating. Like their previous feature, the studio's latest would be going head-to-head against Disney's newest release, this time The Little Mermaid . Critics gave mixed reviews, with some drawing unfavorable comparisons with The Little Mermaid . Commercially, it fell short of
23828-400: Was denied an ownership share in 1935, Schenck resigned. He set up 20th Century Pictures ' merger with Fox Film Corporation to form 20th Century Fox . Al Lichtman succeeded Schenck as company president. Other independent producers distributed through United Artists in the 1930s including Walt Disney Productions , Alexander Korda , Hal Roach , David O. Selznick , and Walter Wanger . As
23989-414: Was going wrong, and contacted Pickford and Fairbanks. Together they hired a private detective, who discovered a plan to merge all production companies and to lock in "exhibition companies" to a series of five-year contracts. Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith incorporated United Artists as a joint venture company on February 5, 1919. Each held a 25 percent stake in the preferred shares and
24150-543: Was gradually developed since the 1940s. 3D wireframe animation started popping up in the mainstream in the 1970s, with an early (short) appearance in the sci-fi thriller Futureworld (1976). The Rescuers Down Under was the first feature film to be completely created digitally without a camera. It was produced using the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), developed by Pixar in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company in
24311-488: Was hired as head of marketing. Later the division added Michael Barker and Donna Gigliotti . Deutchman left to form Cinecom , and Barker and Bernard formed Orion Classics and Sony Pictures Classics . The label mostly released foreign and independent films such as Cutter's Way , Ticket to Heaven and The Grey Fox , and occasional first-run reissues from the UA library, such as director's cuts of Head Over Heels . When Barker and Bernard left to form Orion Classics,
24472-510: Was its first managing director, and the company established its headquarters at 729 Seventh Avenue in New York City. The original terms called for each star to produce five pictures a year. By the time the company was operational in 1921, feature films were becoming more expensive and polished, and running times had settled at around ninety minutes (eight reels). The original goal was thus abandoned. UA's first production, His Majesty,
24633-657: Was later shortened to "A Transamerica Company". The following year, in 1968, United Artists Associated was reincorporated as United Artists Television Distribution. In 1970, UA lost $ 35 million, and the Pickers were pushed aside for the return of Krim and Benjamin. UA released another Best Picture Oscar winner in 1967, In the Heat of the Night and a nominee for Best Picture, The Graduate , an Embassy production that UA distributed overseas. Other successful pictures included
24794-480: Was loosely based on the play Chantecler by poet and playwright Edmond Rostand (itself based on a fable popularized by Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales ). The idea for an adaptation of Chantecler dates back to the late 1930s at Walt Disney Productions, and was revisited repeatedly in the decades to follow, but never entered production. It was not until 1982 that Bluth, having left Disney, took
24955-473: Was no television promotion, no advance screenings and only a low-key print campaign. In the July 2001 issue of Bluth's animation magazine Toon Talk , Bluth explained the film's troubled production, faulting his own unwillingness to accept outside input, and lack of time to refine the story, likening the film to "a child [...] born prematurely". The third of the studio's partially completed features, The Pebble and
25116-455: Was planning to produce television series and miniseries adaptations from UA's feature film library. Transamerica inserted Andy Albeck as UA's president. United had its most successful year with four hits in 1979: Rocky II , Manhattan , Moonraker , and The Black Stallion . The new leadership agreed to back Heaven's Gate , a project of director Michael Cimino , which vastly overran its budget and cost $ 44 million. This led to
25277-548: Was released to mixed critical receptions. But it has since been acclaimed as a classic by audiences around the world for being admirably inspired in its attempt to be faithful to the four books of the New Testament in the Holy Bible as well as the book of the same name by Fulton Oursler and the radio program which ran from 1947 to 1956. The Greatest Story Ever Told received five Academy Award nominations in 1965 and
25438-593: Was supposed to be a UA release except that Selznick wanted Clark Gable , who was under contract to MGM, to play Rhett Butler . Also that year, Fairbanks died. UA became embroiled in lawsuits with Selznick over his distribution of some films through RKO. Selznick considered UA's operation sloppy, and left to start his own distribution arm. In the 1940s, United Artists was losing money because of poorly received pictures. Cinema attendance continued to decline as television became more popular. The company sold its Mexican releasing division to Crédito Cinematográfico Mexicano,
25599-410: Was the first antitrust suit brought by producers against exhibitors that alleged monopoly and restraint of trade. In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court Paramount Decision ordered the major Hollywood movie studios to sell their theater chains and to end certain anti-competitive practices. This court ruling ended the studio system. By 1958, SIMPP had achieved many of the goals that led to its creation, and
25760-472: Was unable to propose a substantial deal. This gave Media Assets the initiative to finally close the studio on October 31, 1995. Work on All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 was aborted, forcing MGM to farm out the remaining scenes to different animation houses, and rest of the staff moved to the new Fox Animation studio. Working at the new Arizona animation facility, Bluth and Goldman co-directed Fox Animation Studio's first film, Anastasia , released on November 21, 1997,
25921-482: Was widely exploited for propaganda. Many American studios , including Warner Bros. and Disney, lent their talents and their cartoon characters to convey to the public certain war values. Some countries, including China, Japan and the United Kingdom, produced their first feature-length animation for their war efforts. Animation has been very popular in television commercials, both due to its graphic appeal, and
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