Animation in Live-Action Movies

Animation is used in live-action movies to achieve greater character designs or 'cheat' on the special effects budget. There are some movies that use it too heavily and create superficial worlds that are almost out-of place with the actual actors. A good example of this would be Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Almost all of Wonderland is animated, as well as some of the characters, such as the Cheshire Cat and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, creating a disorientating and strange movie that is almost ugly, especially with Tweedle Dee and Dum (pictured), who are very hideously designed and should have just been portrayed by actual people.

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In other cases, animation is used on just a couple of characters or visuals, and when used correctly, can aid in bringing a non-human character to life. An excellent example is in Guardians of the Galaxy, which used animation to create both Groot and Rocket (pictured), who are a tree alien and talking raccoon. The animation is used in modesty and helps create incredible-looking characters that look real, which is what makes it better than Alice in Wonderland, which slams you in the face with over-the top visuals.





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Finally, there are some movies that use actual animation in live action movies, the most famous of these being Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. This movie is absolutely amazing and memorable, using a combination of animated and real characters, wacky, original ideas, and renditions of all of your favorite childhood characters, like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, to capture your inner child. It is movies like these that are the best use of animation in a live-action setting.









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