Polar Express: I know it's an old movie, but I watched Polar Express on HBOMax last night. If a Disney animator from the 1950s saw that, he would think it was magic. I can't even begin...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I know it's an old movie, but I watched Polar Express on HBOMax last night. If a Disney animator from the 1950s saw that, he would think it was magic. I can't even begin to imagine how they can do that. Years ago, I read that one of the challenges with computer graphics was getting the hair right. It looks like they accomplished that in 2004.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

It was playing on tv the other night for about the 117th time in three weeks and I was looking closely at the animation. I actually find it kind of creepy.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

tainkc wrote:

It was playing on tv the other night for about the 117th time in three weeks and I was looking closely at the animation. I actually find it kind of creepy.

There's actually a term for that - "the uncanny valley" - coined to describe how CGI of human characters improved over time until it got creepy looking - if you were to make a chart with the Y axis representing image quality then the line would rise over time until about the time that movie was made, where that "creepiness" made humans less real somehow - and then more improvements were made so that graph line continue(s) to rise.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

f8lee wrote:

There's actually a term for that - "the uncanny valley" - coined to describe how CGI of human characters improved over time until it got creepy looking - if you were to make a chart with the Y axis representing image quality then the line would rise over time until about the time that movie was made, where that "creepiness" made humans less real somehow - and then more improvements were made so that graph line continue(s) to rise.

"the uncanny valley" - from 1970

I never got stuck in that valley.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-uncanny-valley-4846247

plumbbob1

My very favorite Christmas movie. I don't analyze it, I just enjoy it.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

f8lee wrote:

There's actually a term for that - "the uncanny valley" - coined to describe how CGI of human characters improved over time until it got creepy looking - if you were to make a chart with the Y axis representing image quality then the line would rise over time until about the time that movie was made, where that "creepiness" made humans less real somehow - and then more improvements were made so that graph line continue(s) to rise.

Some of the newer advertisements use animated people that I find to be totally creepy.

Paladin48 Loc: Orlando

sb wrote:

Some of the newer advertisements use animated people that I find to be totally creepy.

It is cheaper to animate for commercials than it is to pay a real actor. Then again there is the voice over ... hmmm ....

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Paladin48 wrote:

Then again there is the voice over ... hmmm ....

Right. I could never understand why they use big stars for the voices. I usually can't even tell who's doing the voices, so why not hire actual voice actors? They're less expensive, and they need the work.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

f8lee wrote:

There's actually a term for that - "the uncanny valley" - coined to describe how CGI of human characters improved over time until it got creepy looking - if you were to make a chart with the Y axis representing image quality then the line would rise over time until about the time that movie was made, where that "creepiness" made humans less real somehow - and then more improvements were made so that graph line continue(s) to rise.

Interesting. I was worried that it was just me because so many people liked it so much. Thanks, Bob.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

jerryc41 wrote:

Right. I could never understand why they use big stars for the voices. I usually can't even tell who's doing the voices, so why not hire actual voice actors? They're less expensive, and they need the work.

Another point well made.

Cyberkinesis70 Loc: Northern Colorado

jerryc41 wrote:

Right. I could never understand why they use big stars for the voices. I usually can't even tell who's doing the voices, so why not hire actual voice actors? They're less expensive, and they need the work.

I'm guessing that the idea here is: You can't sell Joe Blow the unknown actor but can sell Tom Hanks the well known actor. I saw Hanks in a couple of movies...but Mr. Blow? Did he have a bit part in Dirty Dancing or something?

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

Hair animation has long been a main challenge. An astonishing example is the Pixar movie <I>Braid</I>. Its done so well there that its even distracting.

Paladin48 Loc: Orlando

jerryc41 wrote:

Right. I could never understand why they use big stars for the voices. I usually can't even tell who's doing the voices, so why not hire actual voice actors? They're less expensive, and they need the work.

I do remember a commercial with someone who sounded EXACTLY like Donal Sutherland. He even did an interview assuring the public that it was NOT the real Donald Sutherland in the commercial. Sounds like a growth opportunity for unemployed impressionists to me.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Cyberkinesis70 wrote:

I'm guessing that the idea here is: You can't sell Joe Blow the unknown actor but can sell Tom Hanks the well known actor. I saw Hanks in a couple of movies...but Mr. Blow? Did he have a bit part in Dirty Dancing or something?

I hope people don't go to animated movies to hear a star using a funny voice and then have to check the cast to see who is voicing what. This is a relatively new development in animation. The Snow White character was voiced by a very young Adriana Caselotti, and her contract with Disney had very tight control of what she did with her voice. She was not allowed to sing on the Jack Benny show.

I really can't understand why they pay movie stars big bucks to voice cartoons.