Blog 2: Caricature in Animation

"'Caricature'" and 'exaggeration' were two favorite words to stimulate the animator's approach to his scene." This quote from "The Illusion of Life" perfectly depicts how caricature functioned in the lives of animators at Disney.

Walt Disney was seen as something of a perfectionist - wanting all those working for him and their animations to be perfectly to his standards. And caricature and exaggeration play huge roles in those standards. Walt stated: "We oughta be looking for entertaining ways of doing things." The characters, in other words, could not simply walk into a room, but lumber or leap or tiptoe - something that would give them personality.

Caricature - an exaggerated facet generally of a personality trait personified in a singular being - is used throughout Disney's work. Dopey in "Snow White" is clumsy and all over the place so even his walk feels off-kilter. His arms move exaggeratedly and show his glee at finding jewels. 

Attention to detail, however, does not falter within these exaggerated characters.

In this gif, for example, each dwarf seems to be walking in sync. Yet, with a closer look, one can see that Grumpy has his fists clenched, Sleepy dips a little lower when he walks, and Doc - the leader - seems to be conducting the song.

Both caricature and realism play important roles in Disney animation. Although caricature is not as true to anatomy or physiology, it does express emotions better. However, audiences will feel more empathy for characters who appear more human. 

In this instance, we can put ourselves in the shoes of Aladdin whose anatomy seems regularly fixed in human anatomy while Genie, someone we cannot be even in our wildest yet realistic dreams, is less easy to empathize with.