Is the 3D trend a lasting effect?

Part I – 3D Animation

Hello Everyone! I’m Masha the new press intern for Enzian Theater/FFF. It’s going to be an extremely exciting experience working here and I can’t wait for the FFF to kick off!

Recently Henry Selick’s movie, Coraline hit theaters and of course I wasted no time paying extra for my really cool looking 3D glasses and getting a look at the new trend of movies -- 3D animation. To say the least it was a magical experience, I felt like I was a kid again watching a world on screen that felt better than the world I live in. So, besides the fact that it was the first stop-motion animated feature to be shot entirely in 3D and its’ production was outstanding I wonder -- is the 3D effect here to stay, or is it a passing trend?

History would tell us it’s a passing trend. In the early 1950’s when TV became a norm to have at home, movie studios became nervous and soon enough began to lose box office revenue. But they thought of a clever way to get those TV dinner Americans back to the movies and that was 3D technology. Unfortunately for the head honchos excessive expenses and technical difficulties brought 3D film production into the ground. Fast forward to the early 1980’s 3D cinema experienced a brief revival by the studios because of a loss of revenue from the invention of the VCR. People could rent movies and watch them at home! (Sounding familiar?) But the public did not seem to take the bait and 3D went away as quickly as it came.

So now we are here in 2009 with movies like Coraline in Real D that proved to be successful at the box office, grossing $42 million so far. Clearly that shows the movie going audience took a great liking to the concept, and has now probably opened doors to many studios too scared to take the leap into 3D. I think 3D Animation can really bring back the spark of a movie experience – because that’s what we’re really looking for, an experience. We deserve to see stunning and stimulating movies, like Coraline. Animation seems like a great genre to explore 3D but are dramas and comedies going to be able to pull off the 3D technology – I guess we’ll just have to stay tuned...

Until next post,

--Masha :)