Change and Continuity: The Making of Contemporary Hollywood Animation

Abstract

In setting the scene, the opening chapter does four things. First, it surveys production trends in Hollywood feature animation from the 1930s to the present. Second, it presents an overview of the major changes in the Hollywood film industry since the 1970s, contextualising the resurgence of animation within developments in live-action cinema, family entertainment and multimedia conglomeration. Third, it examines the stylistic continuities and changes in post-1990s Hollywood animation, particularly with regards to the rise of computer animation. And fourth, it weighs the recurrent narrative structures and mythological influences on the form against more recent changes in storytelling conventions.