Although the word “animation” may bring to mind rascally, anthropomorphic bunnies, cats and ducks doing outlandish things, the truth of the medium’s diversity goes far beyond these few recognizable brands. According to MoMA curator Ron Magliozzi, whose new show covering 100 years of animation, It’s Alive!, debuts this week, the field may have emerged with character-based, Disney-fied offerings, but it took a hard turn in 1946 when the visionary director John Hubley released a manifesto titled Animation Warrants a New Language.
“It’s very short, but it essentially talks about going beyond pigs and bunnies,” Magliozzi told me, “basically leaving behind that first generation and doing the kind of animation that can do much more.”
