At what point do special effects just give way to a movie being an animated film?

[redhawk23]

After seeing Gravity this weekend and reading some interviews about how the film was made, nearly 90% of the film was animated and production started before the actors were even cast.

In contrast, Wall-E is an animated film that features some very realistic CG and some live action components as well.

Why is Wall-E considered an animated film but Gravity really is not?

What separates the fully CG portions of Avatar from those of The Adventures of Tin Tin?

Does the question of whether cgi imagery is special effects or animation come down to a matter of intent, whether the images are being passed off as real?

 

[Quasimod0]

Does the question of whether cgi imagery is special effects or animation come down to a matter of intent, whether the images are being passed off as real?

Yeah i think thats what it comes down to.

 

[terry78]

If the CG is supposed to be photorealistic and take place in reality, it's not animated. If all the characters are cartoons, then it's animated.

 

[Victarion]

Tin-Tin had more cartoony pastels, while Avatar tried to keep the environments and skin textures looking as realistic as possible.

 

[Thundarr]

When George Lucas decides to place 6 people in front of a green screen and add everyone/everything else through CGI, I think that's where you draw the line.

 

[slumcat]

It is just semantics.

AVATAR is an animated film!

GRAVITY is an animated film!

If they both submit paperwork for the Animated Oscar category to the Academy, both would be eligible.

So yeah, they are animated films.

It's just that media thinks there is some cheapning if you call them them animated, but this is just balls.

These films are absolutely animated.

 

[superhero]

if you wont good cgi film ? I thought 2007 tmnt ninja turtles was really good.

 

[:eek:]

I suppose if it's not 100% animated, then it's not considered an animated movie.

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

My take on this is if there are human beings in the majority of the shots then it should not be classed as an animated film.

Although, if we are going to take the literal meaning of animated...

 

[Tequilla]

A film is film . Categorization in those terms is extremely irrelevant.

Even more now because what the op wrote. There's absolutely no line distinguishing one from the other.

 

[slumcat]

My take on this is if there are human beings in the majority of the shots then it should not be classed as an animated film.

Although, if we are going to take the literal meaning of animated...

Avatar wouldn't pass that test. Since the movie feature mostly the Navi who are fully animated creatures.

Even in action scenes, actors are replaced by CGI. So even though you are seeing a human on screen, that human is CGI. Eg. Man Of Steel, almost the entire action that Superman did was CGI. Only the standing and talking bit was the actor.