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Why Bridge the Uncanny Valley?


Photorealism vs Suspension of Disbelief in Animation

Robin Sloan

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ANANIMATEDCHARACTERISKEYTOOUR 0ROCEEDINGSOFTHE)##3#OG3CI ,ONG
ABILITYTOSUSPENDDISBELIEFANDRECEIVE 3YMPOSIUM4OWARD3OCIAL-ECHANISMSOF
THECHARACTERPERFORMANCEASSOMETHING !NDROID3CIENCE PPn
FAMILIARTOUS7ITH4OY3TORY
4OY3TORY FOR 4OY3TORY;=¥$ISNEY0IXAR 3LOAN 2*3ETAL@#HOREOGRAPHING
INSTANCE $ARLEY PROPOSEDTHATITCOULDBE

EMOTIONALFACIALEXPRESSIONS#OMPUTER
CONSIDEREDASTEPTOWARDSPHOTOREALISM Notes !NIMATIONAND6IRTUAL7ORLDS  
WHENCOMPAREDWITHPREVIOUS$ISNEY $ARLEY ! 6ISUAL$IGITAL#ULTURE PP 
ANIMATIONS BUTTHAT ULTIMATELY ITIS 3URFACE0LAYAND3PECTACLEIN.EW-EDIA 4HOMAS &AND*OHNSTON / 4HE
STILLJUSTACARTOON(EGOESONTOSTATE 'ENRES 2OUTLEDGE.EW9ORK )LLUSIONOF,IFE$ISNEY!NIMATION .EW9ORK
THATTHESTORIESOF0IXARlLMSAREhRATHER -ALPAS * 2EALISM-OVEMENTSIN $ISNEY%DITIONS
UNEXCEPTIONAL PARTICULARLYTOTHOSEWHO -ODERN!RT ,ONDON4ATE0UBLISHING 4HE,ION+ING53 DIR2!LLERS
4HE,ION+ING
4HE,ION+ING53 DIR2!LLERS
AREFAMILIARWITH$ISNEYCARTOONSvBUTTHAT -ORI - @"UKIMINOTANI %NERGY
%NERGY
%NERGY AND2-INKOFF7ALT$ISNEY0ICTURES
THEhIMAGESTHEMSELVESARENOTvP !S  PPn $ISNEY%NTERPRISES )NC4HE
THISANALYSISINCLUDES4OY3TORY STILLONE
4OY3TORY
4OY3TORY STILLONE &REUD 3;= 4HE5NCANNY
4HE5NCANNY
4HE5NCANNY ,ION+ING
,ION+ING53 ;ONLINE=!VAILABLE
OFTHEMOSTHIGHLYREGARDEDFEATURElLMS ,ONDON0ENGUIN FROMIMDBCOMMEDIARM
OFALLTIMELISTEDASINTHE)-$BTOP &INAL&ANTASYTHE3PIRITS7ITHIN53 TT;!CCESSED!UGUSTTH=
ATTHETIMEOFWRITING ITAPPEARS *APAN DIR(3AKAGUCHIAND- 4OY3TORY53 DIR*,ASSITER
4OY3TORY
4OY3TORY53 DIR*,ASSITER
RATHERUNFAIRLYDISMISSIVEOFTHEQUALITY 3AKAKIBARA )-$"COM )NC)-$B#HARTS
OFTHECHARACTERPERFORMANCESWHICHDO 4HE0OLAR%XPRESS53 DIR2
4HE0OLAR%XPRESS
4HE0OLAR%XPRESS53 DIR2 )-$B4OP;ONLINE=!VAILABLEFROM
OWEMUCHTO$ISNEY WHILEEMPHASISING :EMECKIS IMDBCOMCHARTTOP;!CCESSED!UGUST
THEIMPORTANCEOFTHE#')RENDERING !LDRED * @&ROMSYNTHESPIANTO TH=
QUALITY)NOTHERWORDS BECAUSETHElLM AVATARRE FRAMINGTHEDIGITALHUMANIN 4OY3TORY 53 DIR,5NKRICH
ISAFULLY$#')FEATURE PHOTOREALISM &INAL&ANTASY
&INAL&ANTASYAND 4HE0OLAR%XPRESSIN $ISNEY0IXAR4OY3TORY 
4OY3TORY
4OY3TORY 
BECOMESANASSUMEDBENCHMARKFOR -EDIASCAPE 7INTER ;ONLINE=!VAILABLEFROMIMDBCOMMEDIA
QUALITY!CCORDINGTO$ARLEY SUSPENSION "EOWULF53 DIR2:EMECKIS
"EOWULF
"EOWULF53 DIR2:EMECKIS RMTT;!CCESSED
OFDISBELIEFRESTSONHOWCONVINCEDWE -ARS.EEDS-OMS53 DIR37ELLS
-ARS.EEDS-OMS
-ARS.EEDS-OMS53 DIR37ELLS !UGUSTTH=

MEDIAEDUCATIONJOURNAL

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