I'm going to take a moment just to address something that has been bothering me, and has bothered me for some time. It's about us; animators.
As we all know, animators fufill the acting duties on any-- no, wait-- every animated film, tv show, video game, or whathaveyou. Animators are actors. I realise that many (most) non-animation types might not grasp that (at least not until it is pointed out to them-- usually by an animator), but what bothers me is that many animators don't give themselves the credit of being an actor. In behind-the-scenes interviews, or making-of documentaries, I'm constantly hearing animators articulate their jobs on the film, then undermining their own achievements with a bashful "we're basically like actors" or "kind of like actors" or "not at all like actors we just push buttons and the movie happens thank god for the voice talent." Well, not so much that last one, but in saying that you are "basically-kind-of-like" an actor, you negate all the tremendous acting work that goes into your animation.
Animation is comprised of many different things (physics, body mechanics, arcs, appeal, etc) and you wouldn't call yourself a physicist, but animation is-- at its core-- about performance. You know, kind of like acting. I think that it's important that we, as animators, stand tall and take credit for the performances we create. Isn't it bad enough that voice actors get all the credit? Next time someone asks, don't shy away from the fact that as an animator you are an actor. Own it!
-L
