What Is Animation?
Animation is the process of creating the illusion of movement and shape change by rapidly displaying a series of static images. Animators are artists who specialise in the creation of animation. In laymen’s terms, Animationais a process in which pictures are rapidly changed to make an illusion of motion.
There are many types of animation in the world but before that, we should know in particular which animation is good and which one is bad. Good animation is one where the overall animation is relatively smooth and the keyframes look good. Bad animation is one where the animation is choppy and clunky, and everything seems to fall apart.
To see for yourself the difference between good and bad animation, watch this video on bad animation:
Indian Animation
The history of animation in India can be traced to the early 20th century. Shadow puppets and slide shows that entertained audiences were precursors to modern animation before the introduction of cinema.
Accomplishments Of The Indian Animation Industry
A pivotal moment in Indian animation was when Clair Weeks visited the Films Division of India. As a Disney animator who had worked on Disney successes like Bambi and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he helped establish the first animation studio in India and trained a group of Indian animators. They went on to make The Banyan Deer in 1957, which was India’s first animated movie in colour.
The shortage of film stock during World War II was a key contributing factor towards the development of the animation industry in India, as filmmakers turned towards animation to tell their stories.
Animation, even in the early years, was considered a valuable tool for educating children about the world around them. A landmark animated film from Films Division is Ek Anek Aur Ekta, a short animated educational film released in 1974 that aired frequently on Doordarshan. It was meant to teach children the value of unity. The first animated series was Ghayab Aya, which aired on Doordarshan in 1986 and was about Ghyab, a friendly ghost.
The Indian animation industry came to a standstill in the 1980s without much initiative being taken to develop the industry. There were some attempts made in Bollywood without much success. Roadside Romeo (2008) was India’s first 3D animated film made as a joint venture between Yash Raj Films and the Indian division of the Walt Disney Company.
Animation And Advertisements
While commercial animated films in India stagnated, the advertising industry jumped on board. Some animated characters (made way back in the 1960s and thereafter) are still going strong today and are firmly etched in Indian hearts.
A few notable characters include:
- The Amul girl designed by Sylvester daCunha in 1966
- Air India’s Maharaja designed by Umesh Rao in 1946
- ICICI Bank’s Mr Chintaman created by a clay animator named Nandkishor
You can click this Wikipedia link to see a more comprehensive list of Indian animated television series.
Downfall
If you want to know what is wrong with the animation industry of India, simply go to Cartoon Network or POGO and you will see the problem. This is not a new problem, it has been a recurring problem for the past 6-7 years. The shows are only repeating, there is a severe lack of characters and emotions in these shows, and most importantly, the story is just downright ugly.
Are we supposed to believe that a little toddler is beating up grown-ups by eating ladoos? It is the same plot that repeats in every single episode of the Indian show Chhota Bheem. The story also doesn’t continue from where it leaves off, making us feel a little detached from the show.
Storylines like these are what lead society to think that anything animated is only meant for kids, and that adults who love to watch animated shows are childish.
Anime
The term ‘anime’ is gaining popularity in India. From 2004 to 2017, Animax India used to broadcast anime 24/7, and the channel kept airing anime that targeted young adults to adult audiences. The channel would simulcast anime on the same day as Japan. Later, Animax India ceased broadcasting in India.
Now, you would have a question: why did Animax shut down? The answer is because of society and its opinion that anime is meant only for kids and not adults. This led to a decrease in the show’s views and overall low numbers in the TRP of the channel. Animax is not fully shut down, it only stopped broadcasting in India due to low TRPs; it is still going strong in other countries.
Pandemic
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions placed around the world, people were unable to go anywhere, so they had nothing to do but binge-watch shows while sitting at home. When there were lesser shows to watch, people finally turned their minds to watch anime again, after so many years. This led to the rise of anime in India again.
Fortunately, animation is something that could be produced through remote working systems even during lockdowns. This is why it made for a compelling option for all platforms as part of their content portfolio strategy. We had two fairly large productions in the pipeline last year when the shutdowns began and still managed to work effectively through the pandemic with remote teams, minimising the disruptions to production.
Why Anime Works
If you have ever watched anime, you already know why it works. It is not just about its beautiful visual and awesome soundtrack, it works because of its characters, its fully-fledged plot, and attention to detail, which mesmerises people like us. For example, take a character like Eren Yaeger from Attack On Titan (Shingeki No Kyojin). There is a proper story centred around him and a full character arc in which see his transformation from a naïve boy who wants to see the world to a man who wants to destroy the world because of the world’s history.
There is proper attention to detail in the most minimalistic of scenes and proper timing to every twist and turn in the story. All this is what people are missing by watching shows such as Chhota Bheem.
Conclusion
I just want to say that the view of society on animated shows should be changed and there should be a proper anime-only streaming service in India so people can watch anime legally.