Animation can be a valuable tool even for live-action movies, popping off the screen for an extra touch. Sometimes it’s used to tell an exposition, others it’s a way of telling a story within a story. However it is used, it can be a useful tool as well as a unique visual expression of its history.
Now some movies can use animation to create an entire character, likeWho Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) which saw cartoon characters come into real life. Then there’s animation to support the live-action scenes, like the myriad of exciting animation decals on Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010). However, in other live-action movies, the story takes an entire scene and dives completely into animation.
“Under the Silver Lake” (2018)
under the silver lake stars Andrew Garfield as a young Los Angeles resident who embarks on a conspiracy-driven search to find his missing neighbor. The film follows the screenwriter director David Robert Mitchellthe breakout horror movie It follows (2014), with under the silver lake plunge into a dirty world of paranoia.
Sam comes across a zine that tells scary stories of dog killers and a handsome killer in an owl mask, which turn into several animated scenes in the film. This leads Sam to the author of the zine, credited only as a comic book fan (Patrick Fischler), but only serves as a springboard into Sam’s paranoid investigation.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” (2010)
In the epic finale of Harry Potter series, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) continuously evading Voldemort’s minions. Hermione eventually deduces that they should visit Xenophilius Lovegood (Rhys Ifan) who was seen wearing the symbol earlier in the film and then explains that it is the hallmark of the Deathly Hallows.
This brings them to the story of the Three Brothers told through animation. Hermione recounts how three brothers were given items to help them cheat death, the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Invisibility Cloak, items which are incorporated into the three forms of the Deathly Hallows symbol.
‘Tank Girl’ (1995)
tank girl stars Lori Petty and the title character, Naomi Watts like his clever sidekick, Jet Girl, and Malcolm McDowell as Kesslee, the evil ruler of Water & Power, who corruptly controls resources in a desolate setting.
Inspired by the comic, the film still incorporates comic book transitions and sets shots into the film as an homage. Teaming up, Tank Girl and Jet Girl steal a tank and escape the evil W&P corporation and Jet Girl hits her head on the tank and falls into an animated reality. The thrilling animation exaggerates movement in a wild burst of lopsided fun, with Tank Girl spinning through the air, slapping her face to press a button, and taking the tank for a ride.
‘Vertigo’ (1958)
Considered one of Alfred Hitchcockthe classics vertigo (1958) stars James Stuart as a former detective who developed an extreme fear of heights and added dizziness after an incident while on duty. The film features many innovative filmmaking techniques, including the first use of a cart zoom, as well as special effects and animations to create its nightmarish sequences.
Initially, the film opens with a very old computer animation, which rotated geometric shapes over the title credits. Additionally, the film uses animation during its nightmarish sequences, a clever way to push the surreal nature of the dreams.
‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ (2008)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), reunites the BPRD, whose titular character Hellboy (Ron Perlman), Liz (Selma Blair) and Abe, now played and voiced by Doug Jonesin a new adventure protecting the human world from supernatural threats.
In the opening sequence, Professor Broom (injured john) describes a time when humans and magical creatures coexisted. Modeled in the form of animated wooden figures, the scene erupts into a war, under the gaze of the king of the elves. Then a goblin blacksmith comes to the Elves to suggest building a mechanical army, 70 times 70 soldiers, and the young Elf Prince, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), is eager to accept. So, with the clanking of hammers and gears in the orange glow of fiery forges, the creative animation sets up the conflict Hellboy is about to face.
‘Watchmen: Ultimate Cut’ (2009)
watchmen (2009) is Zack Synder’s adaptation of the 1986 comic of the same name, written by Alan Moore. The film features an ensemble cast to complement its large collection of heroes, including: Silk Specter II (Malin Akerman), Night Owl II (Patrick Wilson), The comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Rorschach (Jackie Earl Haley), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) and Doctor Manhattan (Billy Crudup).
As in the original watchmen comic book, The Tales of the Black Freighter is a comic book that a young boy reads in the story. Featured in grimy 2D animation, the main character, voiced by actor Gerard Butlerleads a dark pirate story that was later woven into the live-action Ultimate Cut of the film.
‘Kill Bill: Vol 1’ (2003)
From the bloody spirit of Quentin Tarantino comes the first of his martial art action epic Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003). It features Uma Thurman as The Bride, an assassin left for dead who swears revenge, going on a killing spree against many other assassins, the Deadly Vipers. One of these assassins is that of O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Him), which gets a unique anime-inspired retelling of its origin story.
The animation comes to life as The Bride recounts the trauma of young O-Ren and the violent murder of her parents. Determined to avenge her parents, O-Ren waits until she’s 11 to seduce the vile murderer, killing him with a Katana in his bed, and without missing the blood spray the film is known for. From there, O-Ren becomes one of the Yakuza’s top assassins and The Bride’s formidable next target.
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” (2005)
The 2005 movie The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is based on the Douglas Adams book of the same name, and presents a comical cosmic adventure using a practical encyclopedia. movie stars Martin Freeman as a monotonous Earthman, Arthur Dent, and his alien best friend, Ford Prefect (Def. Mos). With Earth’s destruction imminent, Ford grabs his unsuspecting friend, sticks his thumb out, and the two hitch a ride in space.
Once there, Arthur is understandably full of questions, when Ford directs him to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Within its digital pages is a comprehensive database of everything Arthur needs to know about life in the cosmos, and the film transports audiences to colorful, minimalist animation to display its facts.
“A Monster Calls” (2016)
A monster is calling (2016) follows a young boy, Conor (Lewis McDougall), whose mother (Felicity Jones) is terminally ill and is visited by a monstrous tree with the voice of Liam Neeson. Struck with anger and grief, young Conor faces many hardships and finds solace in interactions with the monster and the three stories it presents.
Like drawings scribbled on paper, rough and warm, the animation is just as beautiful as it is dark. One story sees medieval knights, skeleton warriors and dragons clash as ink blots and rough figures interact like in a children’s book. The other sees factories pounding nature and Connor later tells his own story, with the film using animation to tell its emotionally restorative story.
“Jurassic Park” (1993)
jurassic park (1993) was monumental for its use of visual effects as it brought dinosaurs back to life. The film mainly follows three scientists Sam Neil, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, who are invited to experience an all-new amusement park that features living, breathing dinosaurs. There they are given a guided tour by park creator John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) who felt that a pleasant animation would help the tour.
Unattached to the theater-based ride, the scientists are presented with an animation of a DNA strand that explains to them and the audience how they created the dinosaurs. The exposition scene is able to simplify the explanation for the kids and the not-so-brilliant lawyer, and provide the science for the movie before moving on to all the dinosaurs avoiding the peril ahead.