The Inevitable Shift

Even Japanese cartoons go CG:

... While the local [Japanese animation] biz has maintained its traditional methods, a digital wave is steadily encroaching on the industry, even among the work of Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, the leader of the 2D camp.

One recent sign of this shift was the announcement that Goro Miyazaki, Hayao’s son, director of Studio Ghibli hits “Tales From Earthsea” (2006) and “From Up on Poppy Hill” (2011), will helm a computer-generated animation TV series based on Astrid Lindgren’s kiddy lit classic “Ronia the Robber’s Daughter” ... “(Goro Miyazaki) wants to try something different from what he’s done at Studio Ghibli,” says Tokyo-based Polygon Pictures president and CEO Shuzo John Shiota. ...

Polygon learned the hard way that except for films from companies like Pixar, Japanese auds prefer local productions to have a traditional anime look; its 2009 CG-animated feature “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror,” flopped spectacularly. ...

But change may be inevitable. As the retirement of the 72-year-old Hayao Miyazaki in September illustrated, the leaders of the hand-drawn style are becoming fewer. “In Japan not many young people are coming in (to the 2D animation scene) anymore,” Shiota says. “The master animators are not easy to replace.” ...

The move from hand-drawn animation has come slowly in Japan, but the prospect of creating animated features that can be exported has to weigh on Japanese studios. Sure, they can continue to make traditional features for the home market, but it isn't as if CG features haven't made inroads.

... In the foreign film category, “Monsters University” claimed the top spot with 8.96 billion yen, followed by “Les Miserables” with 5.89 billion yen, “Ted” with 4.23 billion yen, “Wreck-It Ralph” with 3 billion yen ...

So a Pixar feature was the biggest non-Japanese entry in the market last year. Maybe the future already looms up, and it's got CGI stamped on it. Sad as it might be, hand-drawn animation's fate in Japan will probably be similar to what's happened to it in the Unites States. A well-remembered movie genre that is held in high esteem, but seldom made.