Paperman and the future of 2D Animation

In this decade of CGI dominated animation , 2D animations are few and far in between , and the commercially successful full-length features are even fewer ( Disney's Princess and the Frog is the only thing that came to mind). Despite that, it's safe to say that the aesthetic values of 2D animation are still very much adored and appreciated (as demonstrated by the amount of 2D animated shorts and their reception at animation festivals ,such as The Red turtle , and within some industry , still play a major role i.e Japanese anime ). With that said though , it has to be acknowledged that behind those aesthetic values are the time-consuming , budget-draining and work-demanding nature of producing 2D animation , which from a business standpoint , would become more and more of a problem for potential developers, and probably is the reason why 2D animation has fallen off so much in the Western commercial market.

However, Paperman , the Disney Oscar-winning animated short demonstrate new potential for 2D animation , in which it combines the practicality and efficiency of 3D CGI with the aesthetic of 2D , with the final result feeling very much like a beautifully hand-drawn feature. To explain it simply ( and big emphasis on "SIMPLY"), it uses a specialized software called Meander that uses the guide of 3D models and CGI, and construct the 2D lines directly on top of it , using custom technologies that calculated the spaces between each each key frames and automatically draw in-betweens , while keeping to the 3D guides, therefore creating depth and dimension( so Maya + rotoscoping + Flash , you could say ). But a better explanation should come from this example video of it :

Realistically though , the experimental nature of this software means that its still far from being able to produce a full-length feature. One can argue that doing both 2D and 3D at the same time takes much more effort than doing either individually , therefore making it even more unsuitable for commercial purposes. With that said though , it is still interesting to see what kind of development could come from this, and personally the aesthetic of combining 2D and 3D that we not only see in Paperman right here, but video games like Zelda the Windwaker, or anime like Ajin and Berserk really interest me , who is very much a 2D-focused animator 

Paperman (audio is not original )