Can anyone highlight what was great about the era of animated movies like The Iron Giant and Titan A.E

[Silver7]

What was great about that era as it compares to today's era?

[BoomerZ]

They were in an era that made animation for both young and older audiences, both getting different experiences from the same movie. It wasn't dumb downed for kids and wasn't too mature for the older people. They hit a balance, and became classics. Most modern animation are not only not this, but have too much meta humor that is stuck in that time period. Example is the original shrek having matrix humor. It worked for the time, but future generations watching won't understand it. To be a classic it has to be timeless. The new Puss-n-boots was in this category.

[jwabeasley]

Hey, are you a TItan AE fan, too? I like that film much better than it really deserves!

[toonben]

I was there too. I loved Disney Renaissance animated films as a kid and I enjoyed the action/adventure animated film when they tried to appeal to older audience (really liked Treasure Planet and enjoyed Titan AE and Atlantis). I saw Titan AE when I was 9. When I saw it in theaters, it felt like bold new direction for animated movies to go after seeing mostly animated fairy tale musicals. Had Titan AE been a success, we would've had more animated movies like this. And Shrek is among my favorite animated movie of all time since I first saw in theaters. Love the satire on fairy tale tropes and the humor written for adults which went over my head as a kid (and I can tell what happened to Mama Bear when I first saw it). I wasn't into the mid to late 2000s CG animated films (except for Pixar films which are really good and others like Kung Fu Panda). They're enjoyable but they're more for kids. I prefer other more niche movies like Corpse Bride and Coraline as it appeal to teenage me.

[Silver7]

I love Titan A.E, so yes I am a fan

[jwabeasley]

There was a brief period where audiences were tired of the Princess formula and early digital technology made some very interesting effects possible without overwhelming everything else, and creators got to make their passion projects. A lot of those films were not financially successful, but many of them were hugely inspiring to me and are the films I show to my kids and buy multiple versions of.

The Iron Giant, Titan AE, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Lilo and Stitch, Sinbad, Prince of Egypt, so many inspirations...

[NickRowler]

I think it was part them willing to take risks. But also not talking down to their audience. Don Bluth talked about adding dark and scary scenes to his films so that the happy endings feel more satisfying.

With recent animated films for kids, especially from Disney, they are trying so hard to not be scary so that they can also appeal to the toddler demographic.

Visually, it was around the time when they were using computers to aide with animation. And I think that sort of helped them animate more complex characters, vehicles, and backgrounds. I feel like a lot of the animated films from the 90s and early 2000s look very dynamic because of it.

I always think of the scenes from Tarzan

[Oriflamme]

It was a combination of talent built up over decades and new technologies having matured enough allowing artists to push the envelope. It was also the last ‘good’ period for the western mainstream 2d animation before its decline and death in the later 2000s

[Silver7]

It's death in the later 2000s? ...You mean around the time Shrek was released?

[jwabeasley]

Nah, that was earlier. But Dreamworks and Pixar ate Disney's lunch through the 00's, with Princess and the Frog being Disney's last 2D hurrah. But it's not the animator's fault the executives greenlit Home on the Range. In the late 00's, Pixar was killing it with one awesome film after another. It's unfortunate that executives scapegoated the 2D medium rather than admitting they'd been moving with subpar scripts, sabotaged release dates, and poor marketing. These days, 3D isn't cheaper than 2D was, but they've lot the institutional knowledge.