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RULE 4. REMEMBER WHY IT’S ANIMATED

The current state of special effects is so advanced that it’s become increasingly difficult to impress even the least theatrically experienced 8-year-old. But take heart, there are still things animation can do that can’t be matched by the even the most skilled effects wizards. The key is to know what those things are and use them as tools to make your story as fun as possible.

Good animation looks for an “animation hook” – essentially a reason why the movie is being animated in the first place: Toys coming to life after you leave the room is a hook that bursts with possibilities. The ascension of a rat to the pinnacle of Parisian gastronomy would probably lose a bit of its charm in live action, but Ratatouille stands out as one of my favorite animated films of all time. The key is to squeeze as much mileage out of that hook as is humanly possible.

Which leads me to…

RULE 5. SINK YOUR TEETH INTO THE WORLD

Animators will regularly spend months researching the world of the film. They’ll practically live at the zoo watching exotic animals prance around looking for the idiosyncrasies and personalities of various animals… it wouldn’t kill you to do the same.

On The Princess and the Frog, I was looking for a series of unique ways to show conflict and contrast between the fun-loving Prince Naveen and the hard-working Tiana. I ended up spending a lot of time – don’t laugh – pretending to be a frog. I finally came to the conclusion that Naveen, a world traveler and a man open to new experiences, would immediately enjoy his new frog body. He’d have no problem at all eating flies and hopping around in the swamp. Tiana, who wanted no part of this would try to walk upright (which would lend itself to physical comedy given the fact that it’s virtually impossible for a frog to stand on two feet), she’d resist eating flies and try to retain her dignity through the experience. But, in the end, her inherent resourcefulness would bail them out of a jam or two. Even when the two waltz in the middle of the film it’s filled with acrobatic jumps and underwater moves that only two frogs could do and it adds to the uniqueness and magic of the movie.

RULE 6. THINK VISUALLY

When I worked on situation comedies like “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and “Roc”, we would write stuff like “He enters and sits on couch” followed by five pages of witty dialogue. Conversely, there’s nothing more boring in animation than two characters sitting around and talking. Keep your characters moving. Don’t let them talk about what they’re going to do, put them in action. And, when they speak, keep in mind that some poor animator is going to have to sit over a light table or a computer screen for two weeks bringing the sentence you’ve just written to live. Keep it short and make what’s there fun to play with.

RULE 7. REMEMBER TO BRING YOURSELF TO THE TABLE

Animation is a collaborative medium. An actor, (sometimes a singer) and a team of animators create a character. A team of background artists give the characters places to go. Dozens of sound engineers and composers work around the clock to create an auditory reality out of thin air. The process is as different from live action as the laws of nature allow. But, at its heart, good story telling is good story telling. The more outrageous and remarkable the world of your film is, the more it needs to be anchored with an emotional reality. Find the truth in the incredible, give your characters a beating heart, tell your stories as entertainingly as possible and have a ball doing it.

I can’t wait to see the films you make and I hope you’ll all enjoy mine this weekend!

"The future belongs to a different kind of person," Pink says. "Designers, inventors, teachers, storytellers — creative and empathetic right-brain thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't." Pink claims we're living in a different era, a different age. An age in which those who "Think different" may be valued even more than ever.

"...an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life — one that prizes aptitudes that I call 'high concept' and 'high touch.' High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative....High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction..."

                                              — Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind