Magic Beach and the films that rewrote the animation playbook

For over a century, feature-length animated films have enchanted us. The boundless nature of the medium has sparked curiosity in audiences young and old, with the visual possibilities of animation shaping countless worlds of wonder. As new technologies emerge, filmmakers have not only embraced cutting-edge tools but have repurposed traditional methods in new ways.

Robert Connolly’s latest film, Magic Beach – an adaptation of Alison Lester’s beloved Australian children’s book – enlists ten different artists to animate ten discrete stories, each in their own unique style. The result is a kaleidoscopic journey through diverse animation techniques – ranging from 2D animation to Claymation – that serves as both a tribute to the artform and a showcase of singular voices behind each vignette.

Magic Beach joins a proud lineage of animated works that have challenged conventions of form, aesthetic and process. Learn more about them below.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

Before Disney or Pixar, there was Lotte Reiniger. Following early shorts such as Sleeping Beauty (1922) and Cinderella (1922), the German filmmaker crafted a silhouette fantasy in The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the tale of a handsome prince who journeys through magical worlds with the aid of his flying horse.

While technically not the first feature-length animated film – the now-lost 1917 Argentinian political satire El Apóstol holds that title – Prince Achmed is the oldest surviving and hugely influential in its own right. Animated in Reiniger’s home DIY animation studio, it used homemade puppets, manipulated frame-by-frame against illuminated sheets of coloured lead, echoing the style of traditional Wayang shadow play.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Adapted from the Brothers Grimm fairytale, Walt Disney’s landmark animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs introduced to the world the studio’s magical mixture of colourful cel-animation, catchy music and wondrous storytelling.

Though ridiculed during its production by industry skeptics who saw a feature-length cartoons as folly, the success of Snow White is arguably responsible for establishing both the genre of animation and The Walt Disney Company as a feature film studio.

Snow White became the first American feature-length animated film, the first in full colour and the first to receive an Academy Award nomination. It also marked Walt Disney Productions’ debut in feature filmmaking – previously they had only produced short films. For Disney, this leap kickstarted a century of excellence in animated filmmaking.

The film’s legacy extends beyond the screen: it was the first film to release an accompanying full soundtrack album and among the first to launch a wave of tie-in merchandise. Today, the studio is synonymous with theme parks, iconic music and merchandising; Snow White laid the foundations for this Disney dynasty.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Though not the first film to blend animation with live-action, Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit remains its most iconic expression. Set in ‘Toon Town’, where cartoon and human characters co-exist, the film follows a cartoon rabbit who enlists the help of a private investigator to prove his innocence after he is accused of murder.

The technical achievement was groundbreaking: animated characters cast shadows, touched props and interacted convincingly with their live-action environment. This seamless integration set a new standard, paving the way for The Mask (1994), Space Jam (1996) and beyond.

More than a technical marvel, the film is a meta-textual homage to the golden age of cartoons – and a rare collaboration between Disney and Warner Bros., with Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny sharing the screen, if only briefly.

Toy Story (1995)

No list of boundary-pushing animation is complete without Toy Story. Pixar’s debut feature was the first fully computer-animated film, building on founder John Lasseter’s earlier award-winning shorts.

As CGI became the dominant animation style of the 21st century, Pixar grew into a critical, commercial and pop cultural juggernaut, producing beloved franchises such as Inside Out, The Incredibles and Cars. Even Disney (who acquired Pixar in 2006) abandoned traditional 2D animation after 2011’s Winnie the Pooh, shifting entirely to CGI. The ripple effects touched rivals as well, with studios like DreamWorks (Shrek, How To Train Your Dragon, The Wild Robot) and Blue Sky (Ice Age, Rio) achieving massive success.

Upon release, Toy Story was a monster hit, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1995 and earning three Oscar nominations. But its legacy goes beyond its technological wonder. With a flawless script, iconic voice performances by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, and Randy Newman’s enduring song ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’, Toy Story proved that CGI animation could also have a soul.

Spirited Away (2001)

Though Studio Ghibli had been making awe-inspiring features for decades prior and earned a loyal following, Hayao Miyazaki’s turn-of-the-century fantasy epic Spirited Away brought the iconic studio’s transcendent storytelling to the rest of the world. The film follows 10-year-old Chichiro, who stumbles into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, where humans (like her parents) are turned into pigs.

Spirited Away became the first anime nominated for an Academy Award and the first non-English-language winner in the Best Animated Feature category. From its trademark cute creatures (Soot Sprites, the Radish Spirit and the Ōtori-Sama) to its hypnotic story, Spirited Away embodies Studio Ghibli’s finest traits – and for many viewers, it acted as an introduction to the studio’s wondrous worlds. Since the release of Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli’s (and anime’s) influence has expanded globally, with subsequent Miyazaki films earning acclaim and top accolades.

Waking Life (2001)

Leave it to Richard Linklater to make his first animated feature anything but conventional. After pioneering the ‘hang-out’ movie with Slacker (1990) and Dazed and Confused (1993), and kickstarting a two-decade real-time romance with Before Sunrise (1997), he turned to digital rotoscoping in Waking Life.

Shot entirely in live action with corresponding 12fps (frames per second) rotoscope animation, the resulting film is a psychedelic meditation on dreams, consciousness and free will. Linklater refined this technique in his animated follow-ups, A Scanner Darkly (2006) and Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood (2022).

Mary and Max (2009)

Aussie animator Adam Elliot expanded on the success of his Oscar-winning short film Harvie Krumpet (2003) with the remarkable Claymation feature Mary and Max. The film chronicles the relationship between two unlikely pen pals: a lonely 8-year-old girl from Melbourne and a severely obese 44-year-old New Yorker with Asperger’s syndrome.

Shot over 57 weeks, the film used stop-motion photography, employing 133 distinct sets, 212 puppets and 475 miniature props, all of which were handmade. Technical prowess aside, Mary and Max is notable for its nuanced exploration of issues like depression, autism, alcoholism and social isolation – demonstrating that animation can tell complex, mature stories without compromise.

Loving Vincent (2017)

A fitting tribute to a singular artist, Loving Vincent is the first fully painted feature film, animated in the unmistakable style of Vincent Van Gogh. A team of 125 professional artists hand-painted over 65,000 frames in oils on more than 1,000 canvases using live action footage as reference.

The result is breathtaking – a one-of-a-kind work that brings Van Gogh’s world to life with swirling, emotive brushwork. In lesser hands, such an ambitious concept might feel gimmicky. Thanks to masterful direction by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, it becomes something luminous.