The new Cirque du Soleil show ‘Drawn To Life’ is finally coming to Walt Disney World’s Disney Springs. With the new show comes a new approach that merges original pencil tests, new animation and live performance to create a stunning new show.

This new show is a collaboration between Cirque du Soleil, Walt Disney Animation and Walt Disney Imagineering. But what’s exciting for me is seeing them bring in veteran animators and the focus once again going to the dwindling art of 2D animation.

“Drawn to Life celebrates Disney’s extraordinary legacy in the art of animation, from the earliest pencil sketches to the feature films of today. The classic characters and moments from Disney Animation are reinterpreted through Cirque du Soleil’s innovative design, acrobatic performances, dazzling choreography and creative costuming alongside an original score inspired by timeless Disney music”

For the YouTube teaser they have Eric Goldberg, a veteran director, designer and animator who worked on Genie for ‘Disney’s Aladdin’ back in 1990, talking about how they are combining rare pencil test animation with new traditionally animated segments to create a visually stunning and exciting show.

The grand opening of the “Drawn to Life presented by Cirque du Soleil and Disney’ show will happen in about two weeks, on November 18th.

On a personal note, Disney and other companies really need to do whatever they can to preserve the legacy and craft of 2D animation. When they needed it done for ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ they had to call back the old guard to do the sequence. 3D animation and 2D animation are similar but very different.

Each one has their strengths and weaknesses, but both are important and losing one would be devastating.

I hope this solidifies the need for 2D animators in the future.

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

Source: Disney Parks Blog