Animation and live-action are two very different mediums. What might work in one style may not always fly in the other. In any case, both are art forms with their fair share of advantages and drawbacks.
Occasionally, films tend to integrate both animation and live-action. Sometimes they have live-action characters interacting with popular cartoon characters. Other times, real actors wind up in an animated world, and some movies alternate between the two styles. Live-action and animation hybrids are often a chore to create and are not a very widespread genre. However, they always have appeal in some shape or form.
10 Enchanted Provided An Ideal Balance
Enchanted follows a young peasant woman named Giselle (Amy Adams) in a fairy tale world called Andalasia. She gets engaged to a prince named Edward (James Marsden), but his evil stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), sends her to New York City to avoid losing her throne. While in New York, a divorce lawyer named Robert Phillips (Patrick Dempsey) takes pity on Giselle.
While audiences can quickly tell that Giselle and Robert will end up together, it culminates with a heartwarming acceptance of reality and fantasy. Both characters become much better people due to both elements they formerly lacked. This aspect and the parody of old Disney movies make it succeed as a fairy tale satire and its own story.
9 Fantasia Played To Kids And Adults
Fantasia was an experiment that blended animation with classical music. It has seven different segments. Some provide a concrete narrative, while others do something outside the box.
Fantasia has no dialogue outside the host, Deems Taylor, whose live-action scenes open each segment. The portrayal of Taylor's introductions contains the perfect amount of stature that gives a genuine insight into the emotional experience. Kids can enjoy the bright colors of the segments with stories. Adults can appreciate the classical music and the imagery the movie pictures one might think of when hearing the music, especially in the first two segments without a narrative.
8 The Mask Synergized The Style Of Tex Avery Cartoons
The Mask involved a bank clerk named Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey). He discovers the titular mask of Norse God Loki, which transforms his appearance and grants him supernatural powers. He attracts the attention of a nightclub singer (Cameron Diaz) and an angry crime lord (Peter Greene) after he robs a bank.
While the film was primarily live-action, it utilized animation on the effects of the mask. The animated portions pay clever homage to classic Tex Avery cartoons such as Looney Tunes shorts. Carrey's manic energy matches the mask's over-the-top nature, giving him and the audience a great deal of fun.
7 Looney Tunes: Back In Action Was A Fun Tribute
In Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Daffy Duck teams up with a security guard named D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser) to rescue the latter's father (Timothy Dalton). They, along with Bugs Bunny and a woman named Kate (Jenna Elfman), band together to protect an artifact called the Blue Monkey from the Acme Corporation chairman (Steve Martin).
While the plot is a tad nonsensical and occasionally uninteresting, it has clever moments of meta-humor. Martin, as the villain, portrays his character amusingly over-the-top. In addition, bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck receive a chase scene with Elmer Fudd through a series of paintings that uniquely blends several animation styles.
6 Mary Poppins Makes The Best Out Of One Animated Scene
Mary Poppins has the titular nanny (Julie Andrews) arrive at the Banks' house to help mend the family. She takes the children, Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber), on a series of adventures along with her friend Bert (Dick Van Dyke).
The film only has one animated scene, and the combination of live actors and cartoon backgrounds can look a tad dated. However, the passionate performances of Andrews and Van Dyke bolster the whimsy and entertainment it provides. The actors and the world they're in treat the audience and characters to a magical experience that cements the film as a Disney classic.
5 Space Jam Is A Charmingly Dated Product
Looney Tunes: Space Jam involves a gang of monsters seeking to use the Looney Tunes as a new attraction for their theme park. Bugs Bunny challenges the monsters to a basketball game to determine their fate, but when the aliens steal the talents of other NBA players, the Looney Tunes have to rely on Michael Jordan to learn how to play.
Space Jam was little more than an excuse to capitalize on Air Jordans' commercials of the 90s. As such, the film didn't have the best reception when it came out. However, several audiences fondly remember it due to its ridiculous concept that fully embraces its absurdity and what it is, and is all the better for it.
4 Osmosis Jones Had A Novel Idea
The story of Osmosis Jones follows a zookeeper named Frank Detorre (Bill Murray). He gets sick after eating a chimpanzee-saliva contaminated egg. Thus, it falls to a white blood cell and a cold pill to save their host's body.
The animated portions are allowed to run wild with imagination. Although some of its humor can be a tad juvenile and winds up filled with clichés that prevent it from taking full advantage of its potential, its concept gives young and adult viewers an entertaining insight into how the body works. The film caps off these elements with a stellar voice cast and lively animation.
3 Bedknobs And Broomsticks Managed To Carve Out A Unique Identity
Bedknobs and Broomsticks involves a witch named Miss Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury). With the help of three kids and a conman named Emelius Brown (David Tomilson), she seeks to find a magic spell capable of defending Britain, which is in the middle of World War II.
While the film's style may seem too reminiscent of Mary Poppins, it sufficiently manages to distinguish itself from it. Lansbury and Tomilson give engaging performances that allow their characters to drive the film. In addition, the underwater animation sequence feels believable, and the island scene contains well-timed slapstick that makes it deserving of its Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
2 The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Embraces Its Absurdity In Spirit Of The Show
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie has SpongeBob and his friend, Patrick, heading to Shell City to retrieve King Neptune's crown after SpongeBob's boss, Mr. Krabs, is framed for the crown's theft. They are given a bag of winds by Neptune's daughter to ensure them a safe route home once they succeed.
However, Patrick inadvertently lets the windbag fly off in the climax, leaving them no way home. However, David Hasselhoff shows up on the beach shore to help them get back. It's unknown where he came from, how he knows SpongeBob's home, or why he is even there, but it's a piece of random humor that make the show and this film a classic.
1 Who Framed Roger Rabbit Had Never Been Done Before And Never Will Be Done Again
Who Framed Roger Rabbit involves Roger Rabbit, who gets framed for murder. When the villainous Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) sets out to capture and kill him, his only hope to prove his innocence lies in the toon-hating private detective, Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins).
The mystery makes for an entertaining story, but what truly makes the film is the enthralling world of toons the movie creates. The idea of seeing icons like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and Daffy Duck interacting in the same scene is a childhood fantasy that both Disney and Warner Bros. came together to pull off, and it's unlikely to be replicated.