What’s to come in Animation in 2020
2019 was a fun but complex year for Animation. Disney’s hold on the industry continued to grow with the addition of Disney Plus and the Fox acquisition -raising several valid concerns; Netflix delivered one of the most beautiful movies of the year with ‘Klaus’; and controversies regarding the quality and use of CGI abounded.
Now, the new year has arrived! And the first month of 2020 is almost over.
As the Awards’ Season begins and the new releases start to pour in, we should start gearing up for what seems to be a very interesting year ahead in the Animation genre.
Here are some of the things I’ll personally be paying close attention to:
Pixar goes back to original movies
While I’ve generally enjoyed most of their sequels, it’s time for Pixar to go back to its root after releasing nothing but sequels for two years in a row. And with ‘Onward’ and ‘Soul’ coming out this year, it seems like we’ll finally get more original content from the studio that has the best box-office and critical track record out there.
Miyazaki returns
Studio Ghibli is perhaps the best known Japanese animation studio out there -and with good reason!
After a voluntary retirement that lasted 5 years, iconic director Hayao Miyazaki has decided to work on a new film once again. The result, ‘How Do You Live?’, is expected to be released this year, coinciding with the Summer Olympics.
On the other hand, at least one more feature film -probably directed by Goro Miyazaki, Hayao’s son- is also in the works.
More Ghibli content? Yes, please!
Nostalgic content
From the return of Scooby-Doo and SpongeBob to the big screen, to the announced partnership between Nickelodeon and Netflix, animated content from long ago and new releases featuring established characters from the past will probably be everywhere this year.
Nostalgic content doesn’t always live up to the original, and many reboots and sequels have failed in their quest to bring some of the old magic back. Still, as a 90’s kid, I say: bring it on!
More animé and Asian presence
Asian animation has been a consistent and strong market on its own for years. But in 2020 we’ll get to see an expansion of animated content from oversees in the U.S and neighboring countries.
We’ll get to witness this through distribution deals like that of Crunchyroll and VIZ Media, which will bring more anime to America; but also in terms of content, with films like ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ catering to the Asian audience and telling Asian stories.
More VR experimentation
Studios everywhere continue to test the possibilities of virtual reality for content creation. Disney is no different, and it has already released two VR short films: Cycles and Myth.
Although as of now a full VR feature film seems highly unlikely, we should expect more experimentation during the upcoming year.
Bonus: Glean Keane!
With ‘Over the Moon’, veteran animator Glen Keane -the talented creator behind classic Disney characters like Professor Ratigan, Ariel, the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, etc.- will make his directorial debut in a new animated musical.
Personally, I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us!
