'Shrek 2' puts computer cartoons in Cannes limelight

CANNES, France -- Even the snooty Cannes Film Festival loves computer animation, which has become such the rage in Hollywood it has virtually displaced traditional hand-drawn cartoons on studio slates.

The computer-generated "Shrek" (2001) was the first cartoon in 27 years to make Cannes' prestigious main competition, and the sequel "Shrek 2" is among 19 competing films at Cannes this year.

The fairy tale sequel faces such serious competition as Wong Kar-wai's time-bending tale "2046" and "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's critique of the Bush administration's actions after the Sept. 11 attacks.

An onslaught of computer-animated films including "Finding Nemo," the "Toy Story" movies, "Monsters, Inc.," "Antz" and "Shark Tale" have pushed hand-painted cartoons into the background.

The slates at Disney and DreamWorks are dominated by computer-generated animation, or CG, and neither studio has any traditional hand-painted cartoon features in the pipeline.

Computers allow animators to create simulated three-dimensional realities that appeal to a generation raised on video games with greater visual depth than two-dimensional hand-drawn cartoons.

Only a handful of computer-animated features have been made so far, but sharp and funny stories, bright visuals and famous voices have made virtually all of them major hits. Last year's Disney-Pixar adventure "Finding Nemo" passed the hand-drawn "The Lion King" to become the top-grossing animated movie ever at $340 million domestically.

Good stories matter"Shrek 2" starred Mike Myers, who provided the voice of the gentle green ogre; Cameron Diaz, the voice of Shrek's bride Princess Fiona; and Eddie Murphy, who plays Shrek's garrulous sidekick, Donkey.

The sole bomb among computer-animated movies was "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." The difference: Computer-animated hits like "Monsters, Inc." and "Shrek" told good stories. "Final Fantasy" didn't.

"'Monsters, Inc.' worked because it was such a charming story, and you really bought into the relationship between John Goodman and the little girl," said Jennifer Tilly, one of the voice stars for "Home on the Range."

"People didn't flock out to see 'Monsters, Inc.' because you could see every little hair follicle on his back. It's nice that it looks so real, but if you're attached to the story, it doesn't matter."

Filmmakers say it's largely Hollywood's follow-the-leader mentality that has elevated computer animation over the traditional cartoon form, which had ruled since Disney invented feature-length animation with 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Hand-drawn animation went through a sterile period in the 1960s and 1970s but roared back with a creative renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s.

Hand-drawn animation continues to thrive outside the United States with growing international interest in Japanese anime and with such smaller flicks as last year's Cannes offering, "The Triplets of Belleville."

Katzenberg, who as a Disney executive in the 1980s and 1990s oversaw the revival of the studio's animation division, said hand-drawn cartoons are simply awaiting another reinvention to inject "something fresh and new."

Room for both techniquesWill Smith, voice star of DreamWorks' computer-animated "Shark Tale" due out this fall, said the animation debate reminds him of the music scene in the 1980s.

"That same question was posed to me probably about 15 years ago in the music business when everything started moving to drum machines and synthesizers and all of that," said Smith, at Cannes to promote "Shark Tale."

"There's a period where you go the digital or CG route, but I think it will always come back to the human flaw that pleases the eye. ... I don't think traditional animation will ever disappear totally."