Wells, P. (1998). Understanding Animation. London: Routledge
For the first time, I realized that animation is not moving pictures, but movements drawn. In the blank spaces between frames, there lies not only the movement of lines but also the traces of thought, a testament to the creator’s infusion of will into every trajectory. In the past, I only thought that cartoons were just about making people laugh. Now I understand – that mouse named Jerry, that Pluto trapped in the tape and unable to move, in every seemingly absurd transformation, there is a counter-question of reality, a declaration of freedom.
It turns out that the body molded from plasticine can wrap around the heavy body politics. The dance of abstract graphics on the screen can replace language to depict the torrent of emotions. The most charming aspect of animation is precisely that it makes no attempt to hide its “unreality”. It is for this reason that it has the most honest freedom – to talk about everything that live-action films cannot or dare not talk about.
This reminds me of a metaphor mentioned by the author: seeing ‘bricks’. I used to be just someone who watched the birds for fun. Now I realize that I need to look at the trajectory itself, to look at the stubborn, artificial and intentional constructions hidden behind the smooth movement. To truly understand animation begins with seeing through its illusions, and then, instead, delves deeper into the reality it constructs – that more essential reality about imagination, resistance and vitality.
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NOTE ：
- Early history
- From the early flipbooks and praxinoscopes to the early trick films, animation has gradually formed an independent form in the development of film technology.
- Important figures such as Emile Cohl and Winsor McCay have promoted the artistic development of animation in terms of narrative and technology.
- Classification of animation
- Orthodox Animation: such as Disney-style celluloid animation.
- Developmental Animation: Narrative animation in the form of clay, puppets, etc.
- Experimental Animation: An abstract, non-linear or non-figurative form of animation.
- Animation is an independent and highly expressive art form and should not be simplified to “cartoon” or children’s entertainment.
- Animation has the potential to transcend realism and can explore human nature, society and cultural issues through metaphor, transformation and other means.
- The technology, form and content of animation are inseparable, and its uniqueness lies in the movement creation “between frames”.
- Animation research should span multiple dimensions such as aesthetics, culture, society and politics, and attach importance to its diversity and criticality.