With the success of The Wild Robot, the animation genre has once again shown that it is undergoing a major transformation.

Animation has always been a medium where creativity can flourish, but recent successes like The Wild Robot, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse or Puss in Boots : the Last Wish are proving that audiences want more than the polished, formulaic approach seen in classic Disney or Illumination films.

 These latest releases and the critical success they have achieved, compared with Disney’s moderate results with Elementary or Illumination’s Migration, clearly show a change in viewers’ tastes in the animation genre.

After all, the animation genre has reached such a point of realism that the question of fidelity to reality no longer arises. Almost disappointingly, we no longer ask whether the next Disney or Illumination film will have mind-boggling animation – we already know, it’s a given.

And that’s where studios like Dreamworks and Sony come into their own, relying not on ultra-realistic animation but on striking stylistic choices that give their work a clear identity. Replacing Disney’s usual, tried-and-true formula with a genuine artistic approach that demonstrates the studio’s willingness to take risks – and at a surprisingly low cost given the budgets of animated films recently.

This approach has enabled films such as Spider-Verse, Puss in Boots or The Wild Robot to see the light of day and amaze us with their visuals while still having their own identity. Spider-Verse dazzles with its comic book-inspired aesthetics, merging different animation techniques to create something visually revolutionary. While The Wild Robot amazes us with its painterly style, giving colors a prominent place in its narrative, intimately linked with nature.

I think these latest films serve to support the change that is taking place in the world of animation. While it’s futile to determine whether or not these changes will take several years to alter the thinking of the biggest studios, it’s clear that we’re seeing this transition as the months go by.