Remember when animation was hand-drawn? Those were the days of classic films like Jungle Book, Peter Pan, and Aladdin – to name but a few. But gone are the days of hand-animation; of brilliantly conceived backgrounds and facial gestures. With the advent of advanced graphical rendering software, animation is becoming more and more lifelike – but at what cost? If art history has taught us anything, it is that the most beautiful art isn’t art that mimics reality, it’s art the suggests it or improves on it. Computer animation, for all its awesome realism, fails to capture any of the spirit of what makes art great. And then there’s the loss of the animator. When animations had to be hand-drawn, there was actually a culture of lifelong artists – craftsmen, almost – who devoted themselves to pictorial depiction of narrative Now, there’s just a lot of computer experts with some visual arts training clicking away at their 3D interfaces to produce the next tweenie blockbuster before movies go out of style altogether.

Emerging from the rubble of hand animation are just two major animation companies – Pixar and Dreamworks. While their accomplishments in producing entertaining narrative are commendable, who is to say that any of the films were enhanced by their use of high-tech animating software and celebrity voices? What’s obvious is that Hollywood figured out along the way that they could save a lot of money by drawing everything digitally and could sell more tickets by hiring celebrities to do cartoon voices; not that they were looking to improve cinematic status quo, as the public has been suckered into believing.

Yet there are still some smaller animation companies that blend the realities and capabilities of new technology with the sense of style that accompanied the now-romanticized pencil and paper. Smaller animation companies will produce animation for websites, advertisements, corporate videos, or just about any other purpose that could use a more ‘animated’ twist. These small companies have hired many of the former animators to make true animation accessible to those who appreciate its integrity; and they’re able to produce some stunning pictures for a lot less than you’d think.

So next time you’re considering employing media for your company, consider doing a good for the cause of real art while you do good for your company’s top line: employ an animation company to help you convey your message to customers in a manner they’re sure to appreciate.