Pop Culture Pioneers by Cher Martinetti & Yetide Badaki

Author:Cher Martinetti & Yetide Badaki [Martinetti, Cher & Badaki, Yetide]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Running Press
Published: 2021-09-28T00:00:00+00:00

The Animation RenHERssance

BASICALLY, AT EVERY turn of the much-talked-about animation renaissance of the nineties, there were multiple women involved, since the very beginning. Women who either had the foresight themselves that it was time to move in another direction or had the knowledge and expertise to take the beginnings of an idea and turn it into something tangible and successful.

In 1995, when Pixar released the first completely computer-animated feature film, Toy Story, it changed animation forever, and also turned the studio into an overnight powerhouse. But in the years leading up to Toy Story’s release, the studio and the production of what became its seminal franchise were a bit of a shit show. Pixar was basically a start-up, and the creative team charged with writing the script for the film had never actually written a feature-length film before. The production was plagued with infighting, notably between director John Lasseter and Disney chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, which eventually led to production being shut down in late 1993 and then nearly canceled completely. By February 1994 production had resumed, and Katzenberg had placed the project under the jurisdiction of Walt Disney’s feature animation division and tapped Bonnie Arnold to come on as producer. Bonnie played an important creative role in the film from that point on, working closely with Lasseter on nearly every aspect of it, from the layout, lighting, and overall look of the film to the storytelling. At the 1996 Academy Awards, John Lasseter received a special achievement Oscar for the film. Bonnie left Disney after producing 1999’s Tarzan and is now the president of feature animation for DreamWorks Animation.

Disney’s resurgence led to a string of hits, and to Katzenberg leaving the studio to form DreamWorks with director Steven Spielberg and music mogul David Geffen. While DreamWorks and Pixar/Disney battled it out on the big screen, Turner Media sought to take the template it used for CNN and apply it to cartoons. Ted Turner entrusted the gargantuan task to one of his longtime executives, who had completely revamped his flagship TNT. As Cartoon Network launched, and networks realized that there was a substantial adult audience interested in cartoons, others started exploring how they could also benefit from the medium. One of the most successful, even if short-lived, animation blocks came from none other than MTV, the rebellious network that ventured way beyond music videos in the nineties and would unexpectedly become responsible for pretty much inventing reality television with The Real World.

With the animation industry revving up and taking off, a number of old animation studios jumped at the opportunity to wake from their slumber. Warner Bros. animation had reopened in 1980 after costs had caused them to close up shop eleven years earlier. But for most of that decade, they mostly stuck to making new wraps for the classic cartoons and packaging them as compilation movies. Things didn’t start to turn around until 1986, when studio head Hal Greer and its executive producer, legendary cartoonist Friz Freleng, both stepped down and were replaced by Freleng’s former secretary Kathleen Helppie-Shipley.

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