CFP Animation Franchises and the Studio System February Theme

(Deadline Thursday 4th February 2016)

This month’s theme looks at animation in the mainstream to consider the output from some of the world’s biggest studios. Some of the biggest projects slated for release in the next two years come from franchises, Toy Story 4, Cars 3, Finding Dory, Kung Fu Panda 3 to name a few; are the studios catering to a mass audience or running out of ideas? Or maybe any large scale animation project keeps animation in the public eye? As award season gets underway though, do large studios dominate unfairly over smaller productions?

Topics may include but are not limited to:

  • Industrialization of creative practice – assembly animation on a vast scale.
  • Collaborative work and credit where it is due.
  • Sequels and merchandising.
  • Crowding out alternatives? Dominance of the big names at the Oscars.
  • Branding and aesthetics.

Posts of between 300 and 500 words, which discuss any aspect of the above topic are welcome. Contributors are encouraged to include clips and images to support their posts. Please also include a short bio to accompany the post. All permissions are the responsibility of the contributor. Please contact the editor blog@animationstudies.org with submissions or questions.