MovieChat Forums > Planet Hulk (2010) Discussion > Marvel animation needs an upgrade alread...

Marvel animation needs an upgrade already!

posted 14 years ago by espritxviii
14 replies | jump to latest

I am no expert in this area but I do watch varied styles of animations and I am an aspiring illustrator (http://espritxviii.deviantart.com/) I personally find Planet Hulk's (and other hulk movies proir)animation very lazy and at the level of saturday morning superhero cartoon shows. With it being a movie with a decent budget, they could have made it less like an extended episode of Justice Leauge Unlimited.

Why do animators keep using that ugly angular style where character's fingers and face shape look like blocks or female breasts looking like cones? Im probably exagerating but you get my meaning. If you make a movie, atleast make it more superior in the art department than its tv show counterpart.

I just want things to look detailed, better-designed and polished, like something similar to the 90s Xmen animated series with an updated usage of current cgi and better animation.

Anyone else out there share my fraustrations with this crappy animation style and demanded it be changed?

[–] Norrin_Radd_Of_Zenn_La 14 years ago

It boils down to ... wait for it.......

Money!

Under new management!

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] clarkedwardobrien 14 years ago

I felt the lack of detail took away from the epic feeling of the story. The animation quality of this wasn't that much above Wolverine and the X-Men which they need to keep simple to produce multiple episodes.

[–] Wige247 14 years ago

**Spectacular Spiderman on the other has a very simplified animation style. But because of this more time can be spent on choreographing fight scenes and they come out looking magnificent. Not a moment of down time. **

I can accept everything you said except that. For the most part, American-made cartoon fight scenes PALE in comparison to the anime ones. They're almost always jerky, sloppy, lacking fluidity, and simply just looking worse.

Some of the American cartoons that pop into my head b/c they break the trend are Justice League, Superman, Avatar (probably the best scenes), Batman/Beyond...

[–] worstfilmever 14 years ago

It was a step down from Justice League animation I thought. I hate realistic looking animation and many of the anime styles, but I don't have a problem with the overall style of this film. The animation was lacking in detail, but the lackluster story and writing was worse.

Kaw! Kaw! Kaw! Kaw!-Simon Geist

[–] bladou20 14 years ago

I have not had a chance to see this yet, but will probably get it on Blu-Ray. I don't expect animation on the level of Disney in these kinds of films. I'm usually not disappointed. The character designs for Ultimate Avengers for instance were good, it was just that the animation staff was not quite capable of pulling of decent work with them. If you handed those model sheets over to a Disney animator, you would be left with some very fluid work. That of course takes time, which then takes money. It will never happen for a direct to video film.
Your work on deviantart is nice by the way. Here is a link to mine;
http://bladou20.deviantart.com/

[–] espritxviii 14 years ago

Thank you for responding Bladou20 and everyone:)

Sorry for complaining about stuff I totally have no clue about. The process of animation must be time-consuming and expensive. And most probably, Planet Hulk and many DC movies were victims to an unimpressive budget.

But something just irks me... sorry. You know its just that I've been watching animes for awhile now and Im honestly going to say that the animations of thrity-minute episodes of say, Naruto or Bleach towers over the Marvel movies' animation. Epic fights between Naruto and Sasuke(Naruto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T00BLzpvALk&feature=related ) or
Ichigo vs Kuchiki taicho(bleach http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kJeRRIMGkA )
were done with such movement and fluidity, it was jaw-dropping for me. A shame how a tv series beats a movie in animation:(

Are those anime and many many others of its kind have just bigger budgets or just posses better animators??

My god! I love Marvel comics since I was little and was even an insentive for me as a kid to learn reading. Marvel characters and their engaging stories should be brought to life, if in animation, with perfection and be funded with the apporriate amount to achieve that.

[–] jesatsu 14 years ago

Naruto and Bleach both have sub-par animation with a huge amount of stills. Sorry, but both anime don't spell quality for me. Their respective stories and especially characters manage to be even worse somehow. Kazemakase Tsukikaze Ran, for example, has really fluid combat movement even though the style of drawing is as cliché as it gets. Point being, the long term series will always have sub-par animation due to inevitable budget cuts. It cannot be avoided and it really shows in anime like Bleach, Naruto, DBZ and so on.

Personally, I have no beef with the animation in Planet Hulk mainly because that's exactly what I expected. The slight change in story and some plot elements made me cringe, as it always does, despite me expecting it. The comic was much better and more meaningful and fulfilling.

[–] cainraw 14 years ago

That bleach fight was terrible, mostly for the same reason that most anime fights are. THEY DON'T ACTUALLY SHOW ANYTHING. Its just 2 guys standing face to face, then a foot sliding on the ground, then a still shot of a sword with simulated wind behind it(to show how fast its moving, how clever) and then a slow-mo shot of someone getting

A. CUT

B Blocking the sword and then repeating the whole cycle.

How is this better than the style of fight animation where you can see whats going on?

not trollin, just askin

[–] truth2984 11 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV71tuD_5bs

[–] espritxviii 14 years ago

And thanks for the compliment bladou but those drawings are a little outdated since they were done during my high school years.

I loved your animation clips haha. I'll put you up on Deviant watch, love to see new things from you.

BTW, Ive always wanted a job as an animator and I'm wondering if its a lot of work compared to Illustration. Is it?

[–] bladou20 14 years ago

Thanks for the watch. Animation is quite a bit of work compared to Illustration. The amount of work depends on the style used. Most of the stuff done with the simpler styles takes far less time than animation done with a more detailed model sheet. It also depends on if the animation is limited or not.

[–] bolicked 14 years ago

Personally, I think Marvel movies get worse each time. I love comics and feel animation is the perfect realization of comics, making the action panels into one fluid motion. Marvel started off damn well with the Ultimates. Each movie has been subsequently worse in BOTH animation and story. Planet Hulk (and the superior World War Hulk) were fantastic comics, reinvigorating the Hulk and giving us the fights we really wanted to see. In fact, I would argue that given the Hulk's limited ability to create a compelling story (given that he is usually portrayed as a mindless brute but his capacity for inflicting damage, he would be the Marvel character best adjusted for the limitations of film/tv (and yet, has there ever been a really excellent Hulk film or TV show? When Ed Norton's film is the best, that is pathetic).

Anyways, I am babbling. The animation here was terrible. It reminded me of Scooby Doo, with details missing and lots of reused scenes. The action barely raised my blood pressure or keep my interest. It was just terrible.

For an example of great animation and story mix, see Justice League a crisis on two earths. Excellent. That is what I hope Marvel animation will eventually become.

[–] espritxviii 14 years ago

"For an example of great animation and story mix, see Justice League a crisis on two earths. Excellent. That is what I hope Marvel animation will eventually become."

I totally agree with you on the animation! I was just blown away by the overall more superior production of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. Oh man so far DC movies > Marvel movies.

Its freakin doable, Marvel! Either fire your animators or steals DC's. Do whatever it takes so it's finally worth buying your dvds hehe.