Forum - View topic

The Mike Toole Show - The Hard Cel

A lot of Evangelion cels were stolen. Same with Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. It happens!

OKADA: Oh! I think producers always say that. But I talked with Mr. Anno about this a month ago, and then he said, “I’m almost the producer of EVANGELION, but I must be so, because Tatsunoko did not do anything for EVANGELION.” See, he is very disappointed with Tatsunoko, and some rumors have said that Tatsunoko lost the film, or cels before they were shot.

AUDIENCE: Wow!

OKADA: And I asked Mr. Anno, “Is it the truth?” And he says, in a dark voice, “Yes.”

If you're a serious animation fan, you'll know right away that cel refers to cellulose acetate, the plastic stuff where animators throw down ink and paint that turns into wonderful entertainment for you and me. Cels have been in use for animation almost since the inception of the medium, though the earliest animators used actual celluloid (the hilariously flammable stuff that was used to create film).

Here's the thing about traditional cel animation: it's a complex, assembly-line practice that requires many, many expert artists

and leaves behind intimidatingly large piles of by-product, both paper and acetate. We human beings are pack-rats by nature, so it wasn't long before animation and comic fans began to seek out these leftovers of the production process for themselves. Now, to be fair, most of these cels are pretty pedestrian; they're small shots of big characters, or they're scenery, or they're Itchy's arm instead of his whole body. But many cels are instantly recognizable (and thus instantly desirable), and a select few, especially when combined fully with original props and background elements, are good enough to hang in a damn art gallery.

A lot of studios do still use pencils to create layouts and genga and sometimes even douga, but these items can be frustratingly hard to track down. No anime studio still uses cels - even Studio Ghibli has shifted away from acetate - so the supply, and naturally the interest, is dwindling. But the hobby is still vital and interesting, and like I've said, it will give you a window into how the anime industry worked - and how, in many ways, it continues to work.