Tangled Choreographing Destruction: Art Directing a Dam Break

Abstract: Much like the character animation in Tangled, the goal of the dam break sequence was to bring classic Disney 2D sensibilities to CG effects. Hand-drawn effects animation in films such as Pinocchio and Fantasia served as inspiration. The water shapes drawn in these films were very stylized yet conveyed recognizable forms of na- ture (see e.g. figure 2). The concept was to emulate these shapes and then enhance them with the modern benefits of CG rendering such as ray traced reflections and ambient occlusion. We developed processes that allowed the combination of physical simulations, ar- ticulate sculpting of form and specific manipulation of timing.