One of Disney's most acclaimed animators, Eric Goldberg, has recently revealed why the company is making the executive decision to return to its roots of creating 2D animation content. Goldberg first joined the Walt Disney Studio back in 1992. His first job was working as the lead animator on Robin Williams' iconic Genie in Aladdin.
From there, Goldberg went on to serve as lead animator on numerous Disney classics such as Hercules, The Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh. Alongside his successful animation career, Goldberg has also acted as co-director on Pocahontas, as well as directing two segments of Fantasia 2000. Goldberg's skill set lies in his innate ability to pick up on small details that others may deem as insignificant or mundane. He hones in on specific traits and expressions through the art of animation in order to create the makeup of what will eventually become a beloved Disney character. However, Goldberg has also worked as the animation supervisor for certain key elements, such as Tiana's ultimate fantasy sequence in The Princess and the Frog and Maui's tattoos in Moana.
Given Goldberg's prominent dedication to animation as a whole, it’s no surprise that he has earned a number of Annie Awards for his vibrant, unique character designs. In fact, fans will be able to get an intimate look behind his drawings in the new Disney Plus documentary series, Sketchbook. The series explores Goldberg's personal style of animation and follow his long journey with Walt Disney Animation Studios. Now, Goldberg has confirmed that Disney is putting more attention on the art medium that gave the company its profound reputation in the first place. As he discussed his new documentary with IndieWire, Goldberg claims that hand-drawn animation is part of the studio's legacy
“I’ve been campaigning for a long time to train up people in hand-drawn [animation], and, as the CG films became more and more popular, that idea became less and less important to the studio," he said. "But now we have an atmosphere and a group of people who recognize that’s part of the legacy here, and to actually have content that requires hand-drawn animation is absolutely great. Thank goodness we have people who can do both here, but to actually commit to training up a new generation is a wonderful thing and I think perfectly appropriate for [us].” Goldberg noted that Disney's upcoming 2D projects will include features and series, drawing from the company's legacy brands, original ideas, and hybrids.
The success of earlier movies such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio makes it hard to believe that eventually throughout the years, Disney Animation Studios witnessed a natural decline in the popularity of animated features. It got to a point where Walt Disney himself took a back seat in terms of having any passion or desire to produce any films. Thankfully, The Disney Renaissance that took off with the release of 1989’s The Little Mermaid reawakened the interest once more in 2D animation. The company even produced one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, The Lion King. Unfortunately quickly after their peak, 3D animation and Pixar studios began to take off, causing less push and excitement for hand-drawn movies yet again.
Since Disney received so much praise and success for its most recent 2D animated project, it only makes sense that they would see that as their next move going forward. Plus, nostalgia is all the rage nowadays, and there's something quite special and magical about seeing 2D animation on the big screen again. Goldberg, unfortunately, didn’t spill any details regarding upcoming projects in the works. However, the fact that they are training new animators with people who also dabble in both 3D and 2D animation might just mean that the company's first hand-drawn feature in over ten years is officially on its way.
Aladdin is now available on Disney Plus.
Source: IndieWire