2002: The Year of the Demise of Hand-Drawn Animation

March 25, 2002 - A date remembered by some as the day an art form was greatly impacted. On that day, more than 200 Disney artists working at Disney’s Feature Animation Department in Burbank, California were told they were losing their jobs. They were part of a 75-year era when Disney’s animators were considered at the top of their tier. But, new technology, new business leaders, and a new business model changed the way feature animation was created.
After the Lion King became such a huge success, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was recently hired on at Disney, began seeking out artists in a big way. Artists began getting agents, managers, and lawyers to help them get more money for the work they put into animating the mega-million dollar works. Soon, Disney began to employ the help of “Creative Executives” and producers in charge of making every animated feature they produced a blockbuster hit.
But in the 1990’s into the early 2000’s, animated features began to saturate the market, and moviegoers began to become more inclined to stay RE-clined at home. Disney pushed for their upcoming film Treasure Planet to be the next big thing, but in the meantime allowed the creators of Lilo and Stitch to work their magic under somewhat less regulated conditions than the Treasure Planet crew.
Lilo and Stitch, which was produced in Disney’s Florida studio, enjoyed great success over Treasure Planet, which was largely considered a flop.
By 2000, hand-drawn animation had begun to take a back seat to the newfound technological wonders of computer animated films, including the smash hit Toy Story. Disney had decided to hire in freelancers when they were needed, and to employ the help of Asian animators for much less money (A now widely popular business practice known as “offshoring.”)