Reality in movement is something the audiences take for granted in animation, but it is really hard to produce in animation. The focus for modern film animation is how realistic the face appears on the character, not how well the character moves or positions themselves. Though we are experiencing something of a paradigm shift as new technology and techniques allows animators to play with the look and feel of animation.
A hyper-real environment, such as the one in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, can become dull and uninteresting once the initial novelty of marveling at the scenery wears off. At the time the movie was released critics were blown away at the way the main character Aiki's hair moved, though at the same time the other characters had hair that was shaved, tied back or anything else that kept their hair from moving. Add to that the barely existent plot, stiff body movement and sparse action and you have a box office bomb that demolished any real hope of anime movies making it in American theaters.
So now that we have established that I do not like animation that is overly realistic let's discuss my choice that represents good character animation. Crash Test by Gobelins is a tale of a crash test dummy that resents his job and dreams of bigger things. The main protagonist, Johnny Crash, is instantly distinguishable from his other crash dummy counterparts, who headbutt each other and cheer on crashes. They're huge masculine body shape and unified mind set communicate their simplified personalities while Johnny is a harder read with a slim body and large eyes.
Johnny's expressions and movements are familiar, like he reminds me of an actor or person I know but can't quite put my finger on. Maybe Johnny Depp, maybe a bit of Woody Allen, or perhaps that one character from the manga "Blazing Barrels". Either way it makes him accessible as a character that is not only real, but human. I realized this during Johnny's audition when he blows smoke out of his ears that I kept thinking of him as a person in a suit rather than a crash test robot.
Johnny Crash gets nervous, frustrated, and even fed up with his job, all without saying a word. Johnny expresses more with only a mouth and bug eyes than any one character from Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within. He is awkward and out of place as a crash test dummy but moves with style and awe while performing. Not to mention the look on his face while the crowd is cheering him is pure joy. And he expresses all these emotions without saying a word.
Gobelins. "Crash Test." YouTube. Talantis, 18 Apr. 2008. Web. 14 Sept. 2010. .
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Dir. Hironobu Sakaguchi. Perf. Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland. 2001. DVD.
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