The screencap above is from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, a film about a young girl who discovers her purpose of working in a bath house in the spirit world. The hand-drawn style of Miyazaki's work has been upheld since his fist works in the 80's. 2001, the year Spirited Away was first released, was a new hotbed of computer generated animation, with new technology and software allowing "better" visuals. The style of Spirited Away is appropriate for its plot, along with many others of Miyazaki's, because it somehow adds to the genuine creepy feel of the film. The lack of bright, fake colors as seen in many CG animations creates a more realistic, relatable perspective to the audience. It shows more raw, creative artistic expression, showcasing Miyazaki's original characters in the way they were first designed; it's almost like looking at his original sketches of his characters. The way Spirited Away invokes such strong feelings of fear and dreams with such simple animation is perhaps one of the highlights of this classic film.
The Book of Life is another film that displays worlds of fantasy and dreamlike scenes, though there is a primary use of computer generated graphics. Jorge R. Gutierrez tells the story of Manolo, a young man who is torn between filling the expectations of family and following his heart. This film also sparks empathy within the viewer because of the relatable hardships and feelings the protagonist experiences. But despite its similarities in plot to Miyazaki's film, the style of animation shows much more detail and bright colors. The Book of Life has a comedic and adventurous plot, which suits its use of animation.
Both films have a style of animation relating back to their stories and characteristics. Spirited Away has a more bleak, yet calmer feeling that is shown in both its artistic style and plot, while The Book of Life is more spontaneous and outgoing in both plot and animation.
My ultimate perspective when comparing these two films is that the animation should relate back to the story's mood, which is what makes both of these movies admirable in their own, unique way. Overall, whether hand drawn or computer generated, an animated story has great power to touch an audience, but the style should reflect the mood to do this more effectively.
