Remember When 3D Animation Looked Like This?

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Animation by David Oneacre
✒️ Portfolio: davidoneacre.com/
✉️ Contact: [e-mail]
I am available for freelance and other opportunities! Please contact me via email for recent examples of my work.
Music by Jayfoo
www.jayfoo.com/
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🎵 Soundcloud: / jason-fujita
🐦 Twitter: / jasonfujita
Gimberly uses kamone's toon shader, which you can find here:
kamone416.gumroad.com/l/hnddn
Additional Credits:
"Metal Pipe Falling" sound effect, from Battlefield 4
"Fart with Reverb", stock sound effect
"Quack" sound effect from Spongebob Squarepants
"Gaster Disappear" sound effect, from Undertale
"The Prowler" by Daniel Pemberton, from Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
"Madness meter" from Elden Ring
"Hit/Boom/Impact/Thud" sound effect by BoomLibrary
"Explosion ringing" sound effect from Garry's Mod
"Homerun hit sound" from Super Smash Bros. Melee
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0:00 Intro
1:35 3D Animation History and "Casper"
3:04 Scooby-Doo (2002) vs. Scoob! (2020)
4:41 Garfield: The Movie (2004) vs. Garfield (2024)
7:02 The Smurfs (2011) vs. Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017)
9:28 Art Direction vs. Realism

[@doodley3d]

Thanks for watching! This is my full-time job, so consider supporting me: patreon.com/doodley EDIT: It's time for everyone's favorite pinned comment clarifying something in the video! This video isn't meant to compare live-action to animation directly, but moreso wonder "why didn't they just make an animated film?" and present that by showing this weird era of 2000's films, and showing how they did end up getting an animated adaptation down the line that was faithful to the source material. This is part of the intent behind the section on Casper and how faithful that adaptation was. I had a section written that acknowledged this, but felt like the rest of the video showed that and cut it for time -- but it doesn't come across for everybody, so I apologize if that seems confusing. That said, feel free to discuss your viewpoint regardless. I think it's an interesting discussion!

[@MortexBerri]

Got it!

[@malaksafa4074]

here in 6 minutes

[@tamari108]

#doodelyfulltime

[@mr.k1337]

300k special?

[@Not_william_afton]

as a swed we do call garfield GUSTAF love ur vids btw

[@anti_honey]

I'm personally glad that stylized art takes precedence over realism; it's more like 3D animation has matured enough to know when to use a specific style

[@Satellaview1889]

I thought about this quote from the great C.S. Lewis when I read your comment, “Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

[@anti_honey]

@@Satellaview1889 what does that have to do with my comment?

[@LowPolyPigeon]

@@Satellaview1889 I get what you're saying; back then there were too many critics who based a lot of their criticisms on two major lines of false equivalency: cartoony = childish = bad, and realistic = mature = good. Now that the medium has had more time to grow and evolve, these lines of logic are (mostly) gone, and it seems like it's generally understood that it's better to match the art style to the tone, instead of pushing for movies to be more and more hyper-realistic for the sake of making them feel more 'adult', even when it clashed with the narrative or ended up looking horrifying.

[@ShinGallon]

It's doubly better in video games. Compare Zelda: Wind Waker to a game trying to have realistic graphics from the same year and tell me which has aged better.

[@0o0ooo0o0oo0]

The art style used in tmnt looks bad tho, it's just a bunch of random blobs and lines mixed around to look like details, and the characters all look like caricatures, the humans at least which look horrifying that and the corny ass marvel writing makes the turtles super corporate, nobody says I love bts and Rizz irl, they're just bad at being themselves

[@David_Burt_Art]

I love where art direction is going now, but I hope this new era of animation leans into more unique stylization in general, not just more cartoony looks. Tin Tin and Rango are both examples of hyper-detailed “realism” that still maintains a strong sense of style and art direction. Stylization exists across the spectrum, hyper-detailed and cartoony. I want variety in animation more than any one style.

[@doodley3d]

True! Completely agree, I remember really wanting a movie that looked like the humans in Rango, since they appear so briefly. I showed the Lupin III: The First clip near the end to sort of show that you can do both, you just shouldn't sacrifice art style for realism. They can co-exist!

[@drewo.127]

@@doodley3d Another example are the Sonic movies and the two Transformers movies, Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts! Both feature semi realistic character models, but they also are much more stylized and stay true to their recognizable aesthetic while still looking real enough that they still feel like they’re actually there!

[@sargentgullible2794]

Detective Pikachu is also another excellent example of hyper realism blending the Pokemon and the humans together perfectly. Then again, this is Pokemon...

[@arvt_]

we love rango 🔥🔥

[@vintan8191]

Realistic=======CURsE!

[@hlibushok]

This really does explain one of the biggest problems with Disney's live action remakes - the trend was over 10 years ago.

[@nitroturbo7869]

That, and they want to print money with the least possible effort, so they reuse IPs in a way that'll age faster than the originals.

[@soundeffectsandsuch]

Fr

[@DualityStrikes]

Very dated..

[@felixdaniels37]

The issue is that the very idea of these Live-Action remakes are inherently flawed. They're not like Scooby-Doo, or Casper, or Garfield, or even Rocky and Bullwinkle, who never had movies before so the CGI movies were justified. These are literally shot for shot remakes of already beloved classics in a cynical attempt at cashing in on people's nostalgia. It's a ghoulish short term strategy that offers nothing new to the table. It only takes from better movies like the parasites they are.

[@_kaleido]

@@felixdaniels37 I’ve had the idea that instead of doing live-action remakes, they could just update the original films with “Klaus”-esque 3D lighting and re-release them in theatres. I think that would be really cool especially with films that have unique, naturalistic environments like Bambi

[@stevepensando2593]

To me, the gold standard for photorealistic animation is the movie Rango. The characters in that movie all look extremely detailed and kind of uncanny, but that's the whole point. It fits with the dirty and unnerving tone of the film. They also also look very animalistic, but are stylized so they are still anthropomorphized and expressive. This is something I wish we could get for other movies that use "realistic" 3D animation, but it seems like most big studios can't find that middle ground that worked so well in Rango

[@hencethebeetroot]

I will say Rango works better because it used its own new characters; there's no idea of "taking the original designs in a weird direction" when that IS the original design.

[@skapaloka222]

@@hencethebeetroot this too, AND i'd like to add that the whole movie is 3D and the characters aren't insterted into the lives of human people (which is a really, really weird trend that I hate)

[@zooidiotgaming5784]

Yesss, another Rango enjoyer. That movie isnt talked about enough.

[@araknidude]

rango

[@stevepensando2593]

@@zooidiotgaming5784 Rango is an underrated gem. It's one of my favorite animated movies

[@kayshayjay]

I took an art history class and I learned that art styles are cyclical. Literally, from the beginning of art, people have switched from abstract, to realistic, and back to abstract. So I'm not surprised that abstract art is getting more popular. I really love it but I wouldn't be surprised is realism takes its lead in the future.

[@doodley3d]

Very true!

[@pn2294]

I remember hearing that once photography became popular, realism became a secondary objective because it wasn’t needed anymore.

[@Dargonhuman]

All history is cyclical, really. There's no such thing as a "timeline", time is made out of circles. That's why clocks are round. (yes, that was a slightly adapted Caboose quote)

[@hawshimagical]

japanese animation is swinging back into realism at the moment. mainstream shows over there almost feel like live-action. the inverse of what big american 3d film studios are doing. both sides are going great

[@keiyakins]

Kinda surprised you didn't bring up Detective Pikachu, where they made the live action world more stylized by exaggerating outfits and sets to meet the Pokémon in the middle. It's odd, but it works.

[@MegaHills10]

This!!! I love the style in detective pikachu so much and wanna see more of it another films/franchises

[@miiirky1904]

honestly, the pokemon from that movie vary from ok to uncanny valley, with Ditto as a human as the worst, but pikachu doesn't look that ugly like the rest.

[@SonicKid7]

@@miiirky1904 I mean, yeah, Ditto was uncanny... But how else should that have been done? The idea that this gun creature is pretending to be human is, on the whole, horrifying. So the visual representation should be upsetting.

[@herlastborn]

@@miiirky1904 Ditto and Mr. Mime were purposely made to look like that.

[@OGEdger]

Imagine how creative _the Lion King_ "live action" movie would have been if they kept the realistic character designs but made it into a sort of nature documentary (British man voiceover included) where the animals just sounded and acted, for the most part, like animals. It could've been interesting.

[@npcimknot958]

Imagine lion king in that tango realism style.. that would be pretty amazing.

[@gnf_2.056]

You know what,thats actually sounds nice. I enjoyed documentaries about animals

[@buiselbuisel8]

You're in luck (sorta), the dinosaur documentary Prehistoric Planet is by the same guy that directed the cgi of The Lion King, while narrarated by David Atteborough, who is British.

[@burritocat6038]

‘And now the lion is… uh… performing a musical number with a hog and meerkat?’ ‘Dam this slaps’

[@Whydoiexisthere-]

I feel like I should mention 2011’s gem: rio. It’s not live action, but it keeps the art direction fluid. The feathers are fairly detailed, but still stylistic. This is obviously not me mentioning my literal childhood, of course, but the way the art is handled in the film is so good! If only blue sky were still here.

[@delusion5867]

I considered Blue Sky one of the best animation studios in years. Rio, the Peanuts movie, Ferdinand, some of the Ice Age films and robots are all beautifully stylised films, I'd say most if not all of their catalogue are great too.

[@MeltyNote]

It's a shame Blue Sky was bought out by Disney :(

[@LightBluly]

​@MeltyNote I feel like people were too harsh on Blue Sky due to milking Ice Age but have no idea how their animation capable until it was too late. I grew up with Blue Sky and i always appreciate the studio despite their Ice Age treatment.

[@thegamingprozone1941]

​@delusion5867 I Remember watching robots on DVD player in the 2000s memory's 😢

[@gylfie7]

let's also not forget 2010 movie the Guardians Of Ga'Hoole ! The movie completely went the realistic route with their birds and the amount of details shown on the feathers and all, but it somehow mixed amazingly well and the movie is really pretty !

[@Just_a_commenter]

Just gonna paraphrase another fella on this subject: _graphics are temporary, art direction is forever._ We can bump up the polygon count, add all kinds of special effects to perfectly mirror reality... But a well thought out style and solid art direction are best

[@Lukkak09]

Graphics are temporary, Art style is eternal

[@doctordice2doctordice210]

It's kinda sad seeing PlayStation fanboys of all people be the champions of uncanny hyper realism and the down players of unique art direction and styles considering that one of the best features both ps1 and 2 had was the sheeer absurd genre, stylistic, mechanical verity it had when compared to the other systems at the time

[@m0j026]

so true, pregnant latias pfp person

[@Sir_Hogarth]

pleaasee everywhere i look i see you PLEAASEE LEAVE ME AND MY FAMILY ALONE

[@skapaloka222]

also at some point, bumping up the polygon count will stop making any noticeable difference as it gets harder to distinguish animation from reality, to the point where it becomes pointless, but you will never run out of art styles to experiment with

[@Thenameless1]

I think something I appreciate about this video is the fact that you don't entirely discredit the merits or qualities of some of these live action hybrid depictions rather than just suggesting they're completely irredeemable.

[@doodley3d]

Yeah, I get why they exist!! They are more or less products of their time. It's just that, in retrospect, it's very silly that we didn't just start with the animated film first.

[@Dargonhuman]

@@doodley3d As someone who was just coming into adulthood during that era, I can assure you that a lot of people in my immediate social spheres were asking the same question. The other question was why they didn't just go full Roger Rabbit with the movies and insert fully cartoonized characters into the live action shots - we all knew what Scooby Doo, Garfield, the Chipmunks and so many others were supposed to look like, and many of us at least knew about Roger Rabbit, so we knew it _could_ work, especially after Casper (as you pointed out in the video) so we were left scratching our heads as to why they kept using the bad style. Garfield had to have been one of the most confusing, since they had the half-cartoon, half-real Garfield CGI ... and a completely real Odie that looked NOTHING like the cartoon. Why only CGI one character and not the other? Budget reasons?

[@sereapple]

As a kid who grew up watching movies and not paying any attention to visual effects or 3D stuff at all, I can safely say, and looking back on it, that it was really weird to watch these strange models with nearly no reaction to first seeing them whatsoever. I guess we all wanted some way of relaxing after a long day of work/school :D

[@dicey-bd4hh]

Same here!

[@OtterMusician]

I feel like a similar thing could be applied to gaming. A lot of studios are chasing realistic graphics, but stylized design tends to look way better imo.

[@megamillion5852]

I'm *still* waiting for another cel shaded, "comic book come to life" styled Spider-Man game, and I've waited even longer for Batman to have his!

[@legometaworld2728]

I get preferences but the difference is that there are no live-action video games (aside from some very unappealing-looking ones from the 1990s) whereas there can be live-action films.

[@Lawtumn]

I was NOT expecting Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl to pop up in this video, but as someone who was a beta tester for that game listening to you praise Garfields animations genuinely warmed my heart and made my day. Awesome video!

[@pastah6801]

It's because Garfield is fantastically animated and modeled in NASB the people love Garfield in NASB

[@Lawtumn]

@@pastah6801 SO TRUE PASTAH

[@phantomgamer9264]

​@@pastah6801he is so fun despite the problems with that game

[@darcybrown6486]

probably helps that Doodley worked on All-Star Brawl

[@dogferret]

bro your pfp is my google pfp and i thought i made a comment

[@bencs606]

yes small cartoon man, educate me about the nightmares beyond my comprehension

[@ShinGallon]

The success of Into the Spider-Verse really did open a lot of doors for CG animation to finally experiment and try to look different rather than creepy uncanny-valley realism or Disney/Pixar clone style like EVERYTHING did for the last 25 years. Ultimately, even if Into the Spider-Verse weren't an absolute masterpiece of a film (it is) I'd still love it for that alone. Yes, the Peanuts movie moved in that direction first but a lot of people don't even remember that movie exists. And while Mutant Mayhem didn't replace Rise of the TMNT for me (that show is phenomenal) I'm glad it's continuing what ItSV popularized.

[@lightcatt]

Personally, i've always had nostalgia for the 2004 Garfield movie, as when i was little, me and my brother always used to watch it and our parents would just be creeped OUT by it. Looking back..Maybe Garfield is the reason i'm not scared of monsters..

[@SilentMeteorite]

I'm sorry but the last sentence of this comment is the funniest thing I've read maybe ever

[@lightcatt]

@@SilentMeteorite Only maybe?

[@FEARLESS_FWOG0]

@@lightcatt maybe it’s because their saying that it’s scary and funny at the same time, but it’s ok

[@lightcatt]

i was being sarcastic..LMAO@@FEARLESS_FWOG0

[@EPQUSH]

5:14 *G U S T A F*

[@mostafabalboul3966]

4:10 Thank you!! It honestly bothered me that they changed Velma's design so dramatically while remaining faithful to the others. It feels like there's this idea that female characters should look archetypally "beautiful" among 3D modelers, and in yassifying her (perfect word choice by the way) they lost some of what made the original Velma so iconic.

[@WeirdKid361]

I didn't realize how absolutely BEAUTIFUL Jayfoo's music truly was until I watched this video.

[@jayfoo]

[@lrgogo1517]

Did their work in Doodley’s prev. videos not hit right for you?

[@WeirdKid361]

@@lrgogo1517 No, Jayfoo's music just improved a lot in this video. I'm not saying he was bad before, I'm just saying hi songs were good and now they're better.

[@Venator-Class_Star_Destroyer]

As a Belgian it is always weird to see people treat Franco-Belgian comics like this very unique and fun art style because for me this is the norm, All our Comics look like this and if they don't, Any Belgian or Frenchman can recognize it as non Franco-Belgian

[@doodley3d]

Yeah, I can see that. It makes more sense from the American perspective, where the comics industry is dominated by a lot of superhero comics, so anything else is a breath of fresh air (and the style in general just speaks to my own sensibilities personally). Graphic novels and webcomics have been shifting the landscape in America, but comics and animation in general are not very well respected here and tend to play it "safe" artistically, so it's cool to see something new when you come across it, even if it's very standard where it comes from!

[@nicholassmart4790]

I really like Franco-Belgian comics, and grew up reading them (although I don't live in Europe).

[@josephrusso4828]

@@nicholassmart4790 Yes, that art style is very nice and appealing 👍

[@LucasRPDJ]

I got flashbacks of that quote from an art director at Disney, saying to the animator that something that looks “realistic” is not necessarily something with real life based proportions, but rather something that contains traits we can compare to reality (movement or expressions), while still having that appeal/design that makes it’s charm. And that why I love fully animated movies over live action, because you are not limited in art direction and expression. Including cartoon into live action is still very interesting, but it shouldn’t remove the characteristic traits over realism. As it was shown in Sonic’s example, the art direction does ALMOST the entire job to make the movie great.

[@theletters9623]

being a kid in that era of animation was so strange. I dont remember most of these movies despite watching a LOT of them, except in highschool when I reflected back on the live action garfield and I was like "oh my god he looked like he was high the whole time"

[@dannmcdan2185]

Like everyone else i absolutely love the style of Into the Spiderverse and im so glad it has made so many people appreciate a good art style in a 3D movie. You can clearly see the effects it has had on new 3D movies like Puss in boots and the new teenage mutant ninja turtle movie. BUT i have a slight worry that studios will see the success of those movies and only see the art style and not understanding what makes it work. Meaning they will start injecting that style in every single movie but failing to capture the magic of spiderverse. And that making people hate that kind of limited animation style. I really hope it does not happen but not that many people realize that good limited animation in 3D is a lot harder than smooth realistic movement

[@jay_sunday]

Stellar video as usual, Doodle! I admit I have a bit of fondness over the Garfield movie since I watched it all the time as a kid, but looking closer it does show its age.

[@CrypticInnkeeper]

I think it definitely would be a better option for Disney to implement these kinds of things in their live action remakes. While remakes can be a whole mixed bag in itself, I definitely feel that if they had done something other than going full realism, it would help prop the movies just a tiny bit. Absolutely fantastic video.

[@legometaworld2728]

Good question, but the 2022 Pinocchio and Tom and Jerry 2021 (I know the latter wasn’t Disney but it was a live-action CGI hybrid with stylized visuals) kinda prove that Disney would screw that up about as terribly, which is honestly super unfortunate because the second SpongeBob movie used stylized CGI well in a live-action environment.

[@jmonumber3]

that silhouette test at 1:26 really highlights the importance of good character design. i knew the first and third characters pretty immediately but had no clue it was garfield in the middle until the switch to the cartoony silhouette right after

[@juanrodriguez9971]

8:09 Isn't it interesting how some times limitations actually benefit the end product? Like, I remember quite some cases of creators finally getting ride of their chains just for the public to want to put them back because it ended up being bad. Warning: Long text ahead Also, this is not limited (npi) to tech capabilities such as a game not allowing to have super detailed designs or fluid animations, but also to other things such as censorship, I remember a few old shows having to deal with stuff such as no murder on screen, no swearing, no talking about specific topics, etc. And creators just had to go around, push their limits, and created unique pieces those could have been less iconic than the original idea, an example I can think of is the death of the Joker in the animated series, the original had Robin killing him with a gun but was changed to Robin throwing the gun and pushing the joker into something full of water just for him to accidentally pull a lever and painfully dying by electricity and proceed to show us the reaction of the other characters to that, which was honestly more disturbing and impactful than the kid using a gun.

[@landmindssoul4636]

Yeah!! Limitations push us to explore how to tell something and end up finding a unique way.

[@boredgabe4874]

I think its nice that we’re finally moving into an era of film where the animation not only looks much better and doesn’t rely on realism, but also will age much better in the future when we look back on these films

[@super_carson]

A video idea I thing might be cool is to compared “Lupin III: The First” and “Earwig and the Witch”. Both are Japanese CG films that released around the same time, but I think these two films can make a really cool comparison

[@ChickenHorse_BOI]

Man, I love knowing something that I'm passionate about in such a fun way. It just encourages me

[@MidnightDominaor3005]

10:12 huh you really nailed in the point of using that Little Mermaid clip, I never thought about it like that. Excellent!

[@_end3rguy_]

9:04 smash bros brawl vs Mario kart 8

[@gabrielbreeding6073]

I'm really enjoying your sense of humor, and up-to-dateness on meme culture. Keep up the good work!

[@TheMikirog]

I think this video will age decently despite the use of meme humor due to how low key it is throughout most of the video and they would still work even if you didn't know the references.

[@oracle_ow]

Who Framed Rodger Rabbit still looks amazing to this day it’s bananas. Great video as always!

[@KeyierceAnimations]

As a fellow animator, I must say that the content on this channel is of very high quality and has exceptional educational value and storytelling abilities. Doodley, I already watch and observe your videos multiple times a day, and each time I can feel how much effort, attention to detail, and precise information delivery you put into them. I admire you greatly. I recommend your channel to my fellow animators every day, and I hope your channel continues to grow, introducing more people to the beautiful world of animation and inspiring them to create wonderful animations. 👊👍

[@latexu9589]

7:15 It was also pretty impressive how they managed to make the Smurfs very close to their actual canon size, which is "three apples tall" (approximately 4-7 inches).😉

[@geniusface1234]

I remember watching Lupin III: The First a couple years ago, it was simply incredible love the points you make in this video, really makes it feel like the hyper-real segment of 3d anim was like its formative teenage years before it found it's own real identity

[@TheSpeep]

I'd love to see a part two to this video tbh, because as much as this was an issue in film, it is still a development video games are knee deep in. And games have even more limitations on this front than movies do, since they are required to render all that detail in real time, and need to be a lot more flexible with what they can and cannot hide, since the artists arent in control of the camera the way filmmakers would be.

[@Iorworth_Falcon]

7:03 Let's enter a new decade! 2011 baby! What have we got in store for us now- ( *flashbanged by papa smurf* )

[@Axxidous]

And oddly enough, I think live action Garfield, if he's gonna be live action at all, looks perfect actually. I don't think you could do it any other way. It just looks like... Garfield. lol

[@gulden4326]

Videogames also suffered from this for a long time. Heck, I'd argue that they still do.

[@djaydeved]

2:39 i'd totally love a video on the insanity that was the production of who framed roger rabbit on that note, no one is gonna make anything like that ever again.

[@NunofYerbizness]

8:20 A quick addendum; The Smurfs 2 actually released in 2013, not 2014. Between the release of both that film and The Lost Village, a complete script was written for a cancelled "The Smurfs 3", which found its way on Wikileaks in 2014 (along with an early script for Sausage Party). It doesn't seem to be fully known why the third live-action film was canned? But seeing as this was still that point in time where live-action movies with realistic characters was the norm for theatrical movie adaptations, it could be in part due to Jonathan Winters, the voice of Papa Smurf, no longer being with us.

[@angel_foodcake]

10:00 Lupin is my favourite example.. my childhood show in a beautiful animation form

[@aussie_mozzie]

I'm not an animation guy, or even an art guy, but I can't stop watching these videos over and over. It's so charming in a way that's hard to describe. The content also helps me appreciate the effort, time and love people put into animation and artwork. I look forward to seeing how animation is going to evolve.

[@chrisfratz]

I would like to add about Garfield, that poster is a modern poster for the film used on streaming services, I wouldn't be surprised if they just had to recreate the look of the model from scratch because they didn't have access to or didn't bother to go back to the original model for it. The other posters look much better because they actually use the model of Garfield that's in the movie.

[@doodley3d]

That's interesting! I didn't know that, it does feel like it's made from scratch.

[@apenasmaisumdiogo.7115]

It's also worth noticing how photorealism can be part of an art direction, rather than a different option. Rango and The Legend of the Guardians use photorealistic animals, but their designs still work by themselves. Rango in special has expressive and anthropomorphic designs to which the photorealistic textures give an unnerving tone, which is part of the whole movie. Despite being ligh-hearted, Rango is much more experimental than other movies about cartoon animals of the time, and the realism of the designs sells this tone: it reminds me of how artists used to illustrate fables with realistic animals doing human activities. The same with The Lego Movie, which is much more photorealistic than previous Lego animations, and yet this makes it more stylized.

[@philledzone]

Would've loved to see the Chip and Dale movie in ehre somewhere, since this basically (at least to me) combines everything talked about

[@GDmywo]

my humor's so broken I laughed at 4:50 for like 2 minutes straight

[@LightBluly]

I grew up in the 2000s and i remember i was obsessed with those realistic animation and 3D animation you listed above. Heck, other then animated series, i don't remember watching 2D animated movies at the time. The closest was Lilo & Stitch and Brother Bear and 90s movies It was not until Princess and The Frog where i was slowly starting to appreciate 2D movies because i was obsessed with that one. Looking back on these movies, it's really uncanny

[@mr_ekshun]

This is a really exciting time for animation! I've been having a lot of fun seeing so many different and incredibly good animated movies come out in the past few years. So many studios are trying different things while simultaneously taking the good stuff from what other studios are doing and adding it to their own when it makes sense. It's awesome.

[@Ant7860]

Its great that they are bringing art back into 3D animation now.

[@imthecoolestguyalive]

Yesterday I watched Mutant Mayhem, and while I will say the story is rather nice, and - from my experience - the turtles really felt like teenagers to me, the presentation is what got me. The soundtrack and voice acting were immaculate, of course, but the visuals, man! To compare it to other films... Spider-Verse feels like one artist using several mediums, or several artists united by the same guidelines. For all their visual differences, the characters still fit together (with the rare Extra Wacky exception like Peni, Peter Porker, or LEGO Peter), still felt like a cohesive picture. Meanwhile, The Mitchells has a feeling of Katie's own drawings digitalised, and then she was allowed to edit the movie herself. Naturally, all her visual flair was poured in there. And Mutant Mayhem just SCREAMS "doodles on an aspiring teenage caricaturist's homework". Asymmetric, with a lot of scribbles, scratches, little visual flares, wobbly outlines, sketchy "hairy" shapes, and it looks AMAZING. It has such a nice blend of occasional realistic details, but they're subdued enough for the real star of the show here here, the art direction (as stated by His Doodliness), which defines how people will visually remember this film. And, Disney-slandering tangent, I feel like this is where Disney's taking a bit of a risk with Wish. Maybe I haven't seen enough promotional material, but it looks like they just hopped on the new trend of stylised animation, rather than actually prioritise art direction over going full realism. It feels unfinished, like they just went "Okay, looks close enough, off to the final renders!", and I _really_ wanna be proved wrong by it. Genuinely.

[@doodley3d]

Very nice little read! I also loved the "drawings in a teenager's notebook" look to Mutant Mayhem, it worked really well for the tone and aesthetic they were going for. I also think Wish looks half-baked. With all their faults, I'm usually pretty receptive to anything Disney tries to do (I really liked Encanto and Moana) but Wish doesn't feel like a finished image to me either. I'm curious to see how it plays off since general audience are even more critical of that sort of thing.

[@YuukiTakemoto1996]

The Mitchells vs. the Machines also has an evil female AI who dies for real at the end, unlike Future Sara from Toonami who GETS EFFING REDEEMED. SCREW THAT.

[@JNSStudios2]

i dont care if im in the middle of a Wolfenstein mission, this is more important Edit after I actually watched it all the way through: Honestly, this applies to a lot more than just 3D animation. I’ve said very similar things about video game graphics for years. Realistic CGI or graphics always end up becoming “realistic FOR THE TIME” after a decade or two (heck, a few YEARS in some cases). But if you create a solid, appealing art style that doesn’t intentionally try to push against the limits of current tech, it makes the visuals hold up a lot better and make them a lot more timeless.

[@baqly]

Was it a good mission

[@JNSStudios2]

@@baqly still struggling through it. It keeps putting me at a checkpoint where I basically have no ammo and only a few weapons, and am basically cornered. Not sure if I’ll be able to pass this one.

[@genericuser984]

@@JNSStudios2 you must fully channel your inner William J. "Terror Billy" Blazkowicz

[@JNSStudios2]

@@genericuser984 it took me a while but i found out a decent-enough strategy to at least get me out of that cornered situation. I refused to turn down the difficulty because im stubborn lol.

[@Spleenharvester773]

I wonder when the year comes where gta5’s graphics will be seen as unrealistic.

[@LXT987]

5:06 J̵̧͗͊o̵̹̭͆n̴̝̉ͅ,̶̛̘̾ ̴̣̇̏w̷͖̉h̵͍͋Ḙ̶͆r̴̜͊é̷̥̚’̵̬̻̓͐s̶͚̓ ̶̦͌͝m̴͓̗̅̄Y̵̛͙̙͛ ̸̘̇Ḽ̵͙̉a̵̖̽̓S̷̠̖͒͠Á̷̼̤g̵̜̎͝Ṉ̸̈́͑Ǎ̸͚͓̒?̷͇̒?̸̟̄͛͜

[@tonyssmurf2011]

I'm so glad that studios have FINALLY taken note of the importance of style over raw technological prowess. Funnily enough, this debate has been raging on in gaming for the past few decades too!!! I think some game studios have definitely taken note, namely Nintendo and others, but some still just come out with the same realistic graphical style that can just look kinda bland by comparison. Hopefully we continue to grow in our understanding of what styles work and which don't, and may we NEVER return to the realm of The Smurfs 2011. (Also, based mentions of BD artstyles! I love them so much, and weirdly enough I love them because they inspired Ratatouille's visual direction! It only makes perfect sense to use French comics as an inspiration for an animated movie set in France!!! Best Pixar movie of all time, don't @ me)

[@yoshepop]

I enjoyed this video! It’s so interesting to see how 3d animated films have evolved, and you explain it perfectly! Keep up the great work Doodley :D

[@captcha42]

Man, my inner child screamed when I saw Astérix, Gaston and Spirou ! We still have them and it's a treat to read them or even just look at he drawings, so many good memories !

[@notrobloxburger]

6:28 wait you worked on this game? That’s amazing lol

[@beanman9760]

8:34 ASTERIX AND OBLIX YYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@JennJurassic]

I love seeing animation actually be "animated" again (energetic/joyful). Though there is a time/place for the semi-realistic designs, like Sonic and Detective Pikachu (emphasis on SEMI-realistic). The difference is they aren't done so much "realism for realism sake", because literally the whole point of those movies I listed is adding *just* enough detail to make the designs believable without murdering the designs (both pokemon/sonic live and die on their character design, and the sonic movie learned that the hard way). So by focusing on the existing design instead of getting something like the half-done garfield mess, you still have the character in a familiar form (though detective pikachu does go overboard sometimes still).

[@doodley3d]

Yeah agreed! When a live action adaptation has an identity and aesthetic, it's totally welcome. It's tough to establish that when the source material is cartoon, so when you lean on other aspects (like Detective Pikachu characters being more monstrous) it can work. A large part of my criticism of the designs in the films this video covers is they lack a cohesive identity, i.e a reason it needs to be live action over animation.

[@melone3113]

Thanks a lot for your videos ! I am working a 3d game with my friend and your animation videos have encouraged me to take on my old hobby again and dust away my drawing tablet for use, thank you !

[@broomwielder]

I think it's been a learning the rules to break them sort of thing! Or, more accurately in this case, creating the technology in order to follow the rules so they can later break them. I think that's cool since that's just how making art and creating your own style works in general too.

[@VeeFerns]

8:57 and then in 2023 we have smurf cat, the perfect in between /j

[@Zenlore6499]

I had a big shot of dopamine hit when I saw Lupin show up! So happy to see even a glimpse of that movie get the recognition it deserves for how awesome it’s animation and art direction are!

[@Bloxxer425]

4:49 The prowler theme really just makes Garfield's presence so much more menacing💀💀

[@bastian3461]

i cant get enough of your character animation 🥹🥹🥹

[@Moth_907]

One Piece live action was surprisingly welcoming and it makes me hopeful for the future of animation

[@SlapstickGenius23]

It’s a nice change from the dreaded live action Hollywood and Japanese adaptations of manga franchises years back, such as Dragon Ball Evolution and the live action DevilMan movie.

[@caseyjones2280]

I've always had a bit of nostalgia for some of the older CGI and computer effects they used in combination with live action, and find it kind of interesting when someone either leans full live-action or full animation with the same ip - like with Asterix. Asterix feels so *strange* to watch now - especially because they never compromised on doing both live-action AND animation (if I remember correctly, there's 6 live action and 10 animated films) and sometimes would release a live-action AND animated film within two years of each other. And with the success of the most recent 3D animated Asterix film, I never would have expected them to make ANOTHER live action film. Also I feel like the 2011 Adventures of TinTin film does a decent job at the ''stylized in-between of realism and compromise" for when the film came out - during that era of animation + realism.

[@ShadamyLover15]

I think alot of why the trend of realism was so popular in the 2000s was because of the film Shrek. Considering the time that film came out, it shouldn't have succeeded as well as it did considering the art direction they went with. Once that film struck gold, alot of other movies would really push to see how realistic they could make it without it be uncanny. (Many of course failed but you get the idea) of course Shrek is fully animated and different from CGI but the fact remains that it used realism as its art direction and to this day still holds up even 20 years later

[@LoneFoxLounge]

I do really love the cartoon looking characters mixed with the realistic background. It makes the characters pop out, and makes you focus on the characters. But I also like the realism in sertain films, like Transformers Dark Side of the Moon. It makes them fit into the scene and makes them feel real, it also makes what the characters are capable of feel real. Which is what realistic films like TDSM feel well, realistic. (TDSM is the shortened version of, Transformers Dark Side of the Moon.) And that is what I love about these realistic movies. They can have realistic backgrounds and characters, but the main characters can be cartoon or realistic. And I agree with you that the art design is what pulls the movie together and makes them great. (But it still will need good scenes and a good story to make the movie good.)

[@cookinaryy]

The unhinged "Gustaf..." took me out omfg I was not ready But also side note: a movie that included a Franco-Belgian character (the Marsupilami) done in a realistic way was "Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami" and it worked really well in my opinion!

[@rishabhmalhotra7017]

I think Into the spiderverse movie deserves a LOT of praise for taking such a risk and breaking out of this mindset that animated movies can only look a certain way. God I love that movie hahah

[@Sidgirl5]

This video and recent movies are such a good example that your statement from your last video like this (the fact that movies are better when the artists are left alone with their craft) is 100% true and I love that

[@bradenelswick5355]

5:16 in my opinion I actually like the Garfield

[@Oreo_Meowy]

Me too

[@jlr1357]

0:53 Being honest, somehow the actors in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid live action look more than the book characters than the animated movie ones, except for the last live action movie

[@1mandraws_]

It always makes me so happy to see people recognize Lupin III

[@LazaLazy]

Oh my god, the quality from this video to your previous videos are so good! Animation is cleaner and it's edited so well! Another great video and hope the best for you. And the more emotion really helps a lot.

[@FunvoltGunvolt]

This is the most hilarious analysis video I've ever seen Also that whole "good character design connects to their silhouette" REALLY applies to live action Garfield

[@CPT_tophat]

Doodley says 'flash Bang' 9:44

[@SugarPopLauren]

Another great video, Doodley! I really liked this one, I always loved when 3D animation takes the stylized approach and I rly hope I see it done more

[@MicronOnline]

1:26 "A good character design is one which can be identified by its silhouette alone"

[@JamietheEmperor]

You opened my eyes, I didn't even realize how the styles of series and franchises shifted the last fifteen years

[@aloeveraaaghhhh]

Fantastic vid! I think all of the hyper realistic cartoon characters are so funny to look back on

[@brunohtv]

These videos are always so fun to watch, one of the few channels where I don't skip ahead in their videos, nice job man. 👍

[@jairovillamizar1966]

I love when gustaf says: "is gustaf'in time", and started to gustafing all over the place 😊

[@Waffles_Syrup]

I think it'd be great if games start to go the direction that these movies are as well.

[@lilisky7748]

5:24 I used to look at the back of this DVD when I was a kid, and it would strike the uncanny valley in me so bad I had to put it down. I AM NOT FOND OF THIS GARFUNKEL 🙁

[@waynee2271]

I grew up with the love action smurfs movie and I KNEW it looked bad but for some reason I still liked it

[@yogurtbunn5394]

You put a very complex topic into probably the best framing imaginable. Stellar work. I hope this message will make it more understood of the value of artistic minds and visual designers in the art and film world. Characters, especially animated ones, are designed with intent, not realism.

[@thegetrktshow]

TMNT is the accurate representation of 3d animation evolution

[@VexKingYoutube]

I'm not sure what to comment so I'll say that I've seen both movies in the thumbnail and I liked them.

[@G_Travel99]

Such a nice refresing way to revisiting many of the films that i watched as a kid. Since i didt had the eye for it, these movies never looked weird to me, but now each time a see a single frame from movies like garfield or smurfs i see only fever dreams. Great analisys as always! ps: the "Flashbang" joke on Smurfs was gold.

[@wanderson4360]

yaaaay, he is back! found your channel a week ago, I'm glad you came back to uploading! Congrats on the first video since starting to do this full time ! love your videos!

[@latexu9589]

10:07 Except for Disney and Pixar.😅

[@elise2399]

now we need this movement for games😪i don't want hyperrealistic ultra advanced graphics, i want cool stylization

[@Matthiasthehillbilly]

One of my favorite channels and I don’t even need to know animation. Keep up the good work Komraden

[@SplinkoDinko]

It took me 2 whole minutes to realize this was a new upload. Crazy how fast you got this out and I hope you keep making em this fast because I love your videos. Don't rush yourself though.

[@sealguy2704]

This is probably also one of the reasons why I will pursue non-photo realism, in the 3D space. I think the stylized look is way more appealing and also allows for way more expressive animation and movements without it looking out of place or uncanny.