FILM

THE GREATEST RUNNING SCENE IN THE HISTORY OF ANIMATION

and maybe ever

By Oufan Lu

Run Princess Run!

There is no doubt that the greatest running scene in all of animation happens near the end of Isao Takahata’s 2014 anime film, The Tale of Princess Kaguya. What sets this scene apart from all the other running scenes in all the other animated films in history is Takahata’s deviation from the conventional rules of how to represent running in animation-- the actual sequence was put together by one of Takahata’s team of animators, Shinji Hashimoto. In the film, you feel that he somehow gets closer to the essence and feel of actual running than anyone ever has, including live action films that depict people running. It is quite an achievement and so the question is how does he do it and what rules is he breaking?

In normal animation, running sequences characters are animated pose-to-pose. In Richard Williams’ book, Animator’s Survival Kit, he explains the details of pose-to-pose animation: “First we decide what are the most important drawing --the storytelling drawings, the keys and put them in. Then we decide what are the next most important positions that have to be in the scene. These are the extremes and we put them in, and any other important poses. Then we work out how to go from one pose to another finding the nicest transition between two poses."

It's simple in the abstract

When pose-to-pose animators want to animate an action, they will analyze the poses of the action, and capture the key ones. For instance: If the action is a punch, then the first key pose should be the moment of throwing the punch, and the final key pose is the moment the character’s fist makes contact with the target (generally, another person). And all other frames are animated based on these two key poses. If there are 5 frames in an action, pose-to-pose animator values the first frame and the fifth frame. The process of working on “pose to pose” is clear and logical, so it is easy to understand for animators. But the disadvantages are a lack of flow, and a choppy, unnatural feel.

In his book, Williams breaks running down to five poses: “First contact, the down, the pass, the up and second contact." Basically, all running scenes are animated based on this technique. Western animators generally put more emphasis on “the down and the up” to make characters run like a bouncing ball, such as the characters in Tom and Jerry. When they run, the level of fluctuation is intense.

Tom and Jerry and some classic running

In anime, Japanese animators follow these basic rules, but put more emphasis on hang time. Therefore, they will spend more frames on the “down” pose to give a character more time to save power on the ground, and more frames on the “up” pose to make the character have more time in the air. The characters run as though they are floating.

From Spirited Away

In pose-to-pose animators capture each critical moment, but then add in-between frames to create a greater sense of flow. Depending on whether a character is slowing down or speeding up, an animator will strategically place an in-between frame, or we could call it a “flow” frame to indicate variations of speed. So, for speeding up, you’d have a pose, an in-between frame close to the first pose, some time, and then the second pose that would show a character speeding up.

Now I want to explain how a normal timeline would operate in traditional animation action sequence. “Timeline” animation creates sequences that try to mimic how your brain processes action. For example, the pose-to-pose animator will draw the moment of the fist making contact with someone’s face. But a “timeline” animator might not animate this moment because the moment may not be recorded in how we see it. The pose-to-pose animator values the moment since it helps express the action, which in this case is the moment of contact, and is therefore a “meaningful” pose. However, a “timeline” animator values the sequence rather than the event. What the animator is thinking dictates what the next frame is. Using the timeline method allows animators to animate fluid sequences.

The beauty is exquisite

When Hashimoto animates the running sequence in Princess Kaguya, he doesn’t draw the exact “meaningful” pose. Instead, he is following the timeline and captures the flow of the event in time. Therefore, after “the up” pose, he might not draw “the contact” pose, but “the down” pose. This eliminates “the contact” pose from the timeline. Moreover, even in “timeline” animation, which is a unique animation style, this is a still a radical move and unconventional. Because Hashimoto uses only one frame, the effect is smoother and more detailed since there are more valid frames.

Let’s focus on the technical aspect of Princess Kaguya running to see how it serves the story. This scene appears close to the end of movie. In the story, Princess Kaguya is held captive in a palace. She has to study etiquette, pleasing men, and yielding to power. She longs for the freedom of her past. And then one day, she can no longer endure prison anymore and escapes. She takes off her costumes, which are like shackles, and runs into the mountains.

It’s important to note that the landscape is full of brambles. Hashimoto keeps Princess Kaguya running on the ground. The level of fluctuation is slight, unlike in western animation; and the hang time is short, unlike in anime. Her center of gravity is exaggerated and tilted forward, which makes it seem as if she is about to fall over. She runs like a gust of wind. The abandoned pencil texture expresses the rage and madness inside her. Here we have a perfect merging of form and content.

There she goes

Although the film is in color, the running scene is in black and white except for crucial element: Kaguya’s red dress. We see it as a flying blot of red in a black and white world. The weeds flash across in the foreground quickly to show her speed. In the end of the scene, she runs into a forest -- the countless trees in the foreground are like prison bars covering Kaguya’s body -- the red dress still jumping like a little flame in the darkness with vigor and vitality.

Japanese animators have been exploring different and new animation styles since Yoshinori Kanada’s experiments. Anime audiences are picky and have created a culture of constant change. The Kaguya running scene is a stunning example of this persistent pursuit of perfection.

©Oufan Lan and the CCA Arts Review