Computer Animation Production System

Computer-assisted animation production system

The Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) was a proprietary collection of software, scanning camera systems, servers, networked computer workstations, and custom desks developed by Disney and Pixar in the late 1980s. Although outmoded by the mid-2000s, it succeeded in reducing labor costs for ink-and-paint and post-production processes of traditionally animated feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios (known as Walt Disney Feature Animation until 2007). It also provided an entirely new palette of digital tools to the animation filmmakers.

## History and evolution

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The Computer Graphics Lab at the New York Institute of Technology developed a "scan and paint" system for cel animation in the late 1970s. It was used to produce a 22-minute computer-animated television show called Measure for Measure. Industry developments with computer systems led Marc Levoy of Cornell University and Hanna-Barbera Productions to develop a video animation system for cartoons in the early 1980s.[1]

The first usage of the CAPS process was Mickey standing on Epcot's Spaceship Earth for "The Magical World of Disney" titles. The system's first feature film test was in the production of The Little Mermaid in 1989 where it was used in a single shot of the rainbow sequence at the end of the film.[2] After Mermaid, films were made completely using CAPS; the first of these, The Rescuers Down Under, was the first 100% digital feature film ever produced. Later films, including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame took more advantage of CAPS' 2D and 3D integration.[3][4]

In the early days of CAPS, Disney chose not to discuss the system in public, being afraid that "the magic would go away" if people found out that computers were involved.[5] Computer Graphics World[6] magazine, in 1994, was the first to have a look at the process.[7]

## Awards

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In 1992, the team that developed CAPS won an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Engineering Award. They were:[8]

* Randy Cartwright (Disney)
* David B. Coons (Disney)
* Lemuel Davis (Disney)
* Thomas Hahn (Pixar)
* James Houston (Disney)
* Mark Kimball (Disney)
* Dylan W. Kohler (Disney)
* Peter Nye (Pixar)
* Michael Shantzis (Pixar)
* David F. Wolf (Disney)
* Walt Disney Feature Animation Department

## Technical capabilities

[edit]

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CAPS was a digital ink and paint system used in animated feature films, the first at a major studio. Using CAPS, enclosed areas and lines could be easily colored in a computer environment using an unlimited palette. This replaced the expensive process of transferring animated drawings to cels using India ink or xerographic technology, and painting the reverse sides of the cels with gouache paint. It also allowed for sophisticated new techniques such as transparent shading and blended colors.

The completed digital cels were composited over scanned background paintings, and camera or pan movements were programmed into a computer exposure sheet simulating the actions of old style animation cameras. Additionally, complex multiplane shots giving a sense of depth were possible. Unlike the analog multiplane camera, the CAPS multiplane cameras were not limited by artwork size. Extensive camera movements never before seen were incorporated into the films. The final version of the sequence was composited and recorded onto film. Since the animation elements existed digitally, it was easy to integrate other types of film and video elements, including three-dimensional computer animation.

CAPS was capable of a high level of image quality using significantly slower computer systems than are available today. The final frames were rendered at a 2K digital film resolution (2048 x 1234 pixels at a 1.66 aspect ratio), and the artwork was scanned so that it always held 100% resolution in the final output, no matter how complex the camera motion in the shot. Using the Pixar Image Computer, images were stored at 48-bits per pixel. The compositing system allowed complex multi-layered shots that was used almost immediately in The Rescuers Down Under to create a 400-layer opening dolly shot. The DALS system made use of one of the first large-scale, custom RAID systems in the film industry.

## Decline and eventual replacement

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Treasure Planet (2002) and Home on the Range (2004) under-performed financially in their theatrical runs. This, combined with the success of CGI-animated feature films from Pixar Animation Studios and competitor DreamWorks Animation, eventually prompted Walt Disney Feature Animation's management team to close down their traditional 2D animation department in 2004. The CAPS desks were removed and the custom automated scanning cameras were dismantled and officially scrapped. By 2005, only one desk system remained, and that was only for reading the data for the films that had been made with CAPS.

In 2007, John Lasseter became the studio's new head of management team and called for the 2D animation unit's reopening. Rather than return to CAPS, however, Disney's subsequent traditionally animated feature and short film production projects How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007), The Princess and the Frog (2009), The Ballad of Nessie (2011), and Winnie the Pooh (2011) were produced using Toon Boom Animation's Toon Boom Harmony commercial animation computer software, which offered a more up-to-date modern contemporary digital animation system.

## Disney animated projects produced using CAPS

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### Feature films

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* The Little Mermaid (1989) (ending scene)
* The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
* Beauty and the Beast (1991)
* Aladdin (1992)
* Hocus Pocus (1993)
* The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)[9][10]
* The Lion King (1994)
* Pocahontas (1995)
* The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
* Hercules (1997)
* Mulan (1998)
* Tarzan (1999)
* Fantasia 2000 (1999)
* The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
* Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
* Lilo & Stitch (2002)
* Treasure Planet (2002)
* Brother Bear (2003)
* Home on the Range (2004)

### Short films

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* Off His Rockers (1992)
* Trail Mix-Up (1993)
* Runaway Brain (1995)
* John Henry (2000)
* Destino (2003)
* Lorenzo (2004)
* The Little Matchgirl (2006)

## References

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1. ^ Bruce Wallace, Merging and Transformation of Raster Images for Cartoon Animation, Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 1981, Vol 15, No. 3, Aug. 1981, 253-262.
2. ^ Barbara Robertson (January 2010). "The Tradition Lives On". Computer Graphics World. 33 (1). Retrieved 11 November 2016.
3. ^ Robertson, Barbara (July 2002). "Part 7: Movie Retrospective". Computer Graphics World. 25 (7). "December 1991 Although 3D graphics debuted in earlier Disney animations, Beauty and the Beast is the first in which hand-drawn characters appear in a 3D background. Every frame of the film is scanned, created, or composited within Disney's computer animation production system (CAPS) co-developed with Pixar. (Premiere: (11/91)"
4. ^ "Timeline". Computer Graphics World. 35 (6). Oct–Nov 2012. "DECEMBER 1991: Beauty and the Beast is the first Disney film with hand-drawn characters in a 3D background. Every frame is scanned, created, or composited within CAPS."
5. ^ "Alvy Ray Smith: RGBA, the birth of compositing & the founding of Pixar". fxguide.com. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
6. ^ "Visual Effects - Computer Graphics World - 3D Modeling - Animation - CGI". cgw.com. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
7. ^ Robertson, Barbara (July 1994). "Disney lets CAPS out of the bag". Computer Graphics World. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
8. ^ "The Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
9. ^ "The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 2014-09-15. "caps personnel"
10. ^ "Stop Motion Without Compromise: The Nightmare Before Christmas". American Cinematographer. July 29, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2025.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

* v
* t
* e

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Feature films

| Released|

* Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
* Pinocchio (1940)
* Fantasia (1940)
* Dumbo (1941)
* Bambi (1942)
* Saludos Amigos (1942)
* The Three Caballeros (1944)
* Make Mine Music (1946)
* Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
* Melody Time (1948)
* The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
* Cinderella (1950)
* Alice in Wonderland (1951)
* Peter Pan (1953)
* Lady and the Tramp (1955)
* Sleeping Beauty (1959)
* One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
* The Sword in the Stone (1963)
* The Jungle Book (1967)
* The Aristocats (1970)
* Robin Hood (1973)
* The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
* The Rescuers (1977)
* The Fox and the Hound (1981)
* The Black Cauldron (1985)
* The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
* Oliver & Company (1988)
* The Little Mermaid (1989)
* The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
* Beauty and the Beast (1991)
* Aladdin (1992)
* The Lion King (1994)
* Pocahontas (1995)
* The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
* Hercules (1997)
* Mulan (1998)
* Tarzan (1999)
* Fantasia 2000 (1999)
* Dinosaur (2000)
* The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
* Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
* Lilo & Stitch (2002)
* Treasure Planet (2002)
* Brother Bear (2003)
* Home on the Range (2004)
* Chicken Little (2005)
* Meet the Robinsons (2007)
* Bolt (2008)
* The Princess and the Frog (2009)
* Tangled (2010)
* Winnie the Pooh (2011)
* Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
* Frozen (2013)
* Big Hero 6 (2014)
* Zootopia (2016)
* Moana (2016)
* Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
* Frozen 2 (2019)
* Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
* Encanto (2021)
* Strange World (2022)
* Wish (2023)
* Moana 2 (2024)

|

Upcoming|

* Zootopia 2 (2025)

Cancelled|

* My Peoples

Associated
productions|

* The Reluctant Dragon (1941)
* Victory Through Air Power (1943)
* Song of the South (1946)
* So Dear to My Heart (1948)
* Mary Poppins (1964)
* Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
* Pete's Dragon (1977)
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Television productions

| TV specials|

* Prep & Landing (2009)
* Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice (2011)

|

TV series|

* Baymax! (2022)
* Zootopia+ (2022)
* Iwájú (2024)

People

| Executives|

* Jared Bush
* Edwin Catmull
* Roy Conli
* Roy E. Disney
* Walt Disney
* Don Hahn
* Jeffrey Katzenberg
* John Lasseter
* Jennifer Lee
* Peter Schneider
* Thomas Schumacher
* David Stainton
* Clark Spencer

|

Disney Legends
animators|

| Disney's Nine Old Men|

* Les Clark
* Marc Davis
* Ollie Johnston
* Milt Kahl
* Ward Kimball
* Eric Larson
* John Lounsbery
* Wolfgang Reitherman
* Frank Thomas

|

* James Algar
* Ken Anderson
* Xavier Atencio
* Art Babbitt
* Grace Bailey
* Carl Barks
* Mary Blair
* Joyce Carlson
* Marge Champion
* Claude Coats
* Don DaGradi
* Virginia Davis
* Andreas Deja
* Norm Ferguson
* Eyvind Earle
* Clyde Geronimi
* Manuel Gonzales
* Floyd Gottfredson
* Yale Gracey
* Joe Grant
* David Hand
* Jack Hannah
* John Hench
* Dick Huemer
* Ub Iwerks
* Wilfred Jackson
* Steve Jobs
* Bill Justice
* Glen Keane
* Hamilton Luske
* Burny Mattinson
* Fred Moore
* Floyd Norman
* Bill Peet
* Walter Peregoy
* Joe Ranft
* Retta Scott
* Ben Sharpsteen
* Mel Shaw
* Ruthie Tompson
* Roy Williams
* Tyrus Wong

Related topics

| History|

* Disney animators' strike
* 1982 animators' strike
* Disney Renaissance

|

Methods and
technologies|

* Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life
* Twelve basic principles of animation
* Computer Animation Production System

Documentaries|

* Frank and Ollie (1995)
* The Sweatbox (2002)
* Dream On Silly Dreamer (2005)
* Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)
* Walt & El Grupo (2009)

Miscellaneous|

* Alice Comedies
* Laugh-O-Gram Studio
* List of Walt Disney Animation Studios short films
* Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
* Mickey Mouse
* Silly Symphonies
* Donald Duck
* Pluto
* Goofy
* Academy Award Review
* Disneytoon Studios
* List of Disney theatrical animated features
* unproduced
* live-action adaptations
* List of Disney animated films based on fairy tales

* v
* t
* e

Pixar Animation Studios

A subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company.

Feature films|

* Toy Story (1995)
* A Bug's Life (1998)
* Toy Story 2 (1999)
* Monsters, Inc. (2001)
* Finding Nemo (2003)
* The Incredibles (2004)
* Cars (2006)
* Ratatouille (2007)
* WALL-E (2008)
* Up (2009)
* Toy Story 3 (2010)
* Cars 2 (2011)
* Brave (2012)
* Monsters University (2013)
* Inside Out (2015)
* The Good Dinosaur (2015)
* Finding Dory (2016)
* Cars 3 (2017)
* Coco (2017)
* Incredibles 2 (2018)
* Toy Story 4 (2019)
* Onward (2020)
* Soul (2020)
* Luca (2021)
* Turning Red (2022)
* Lightyear (2022)
* Elemental (2023)
* Inside Out 2 (2024)

| Upcoming|

* Elio (2025)
* Toy Story 5 (2026)

|

Short films|

| Original|

* The Adventures of André & Wally B. (1984)
* Luxo Jr. (1986)
* Red's Dream (1987)
* Tin Toy (1988)
* Knick Knack (1989)
* Geri's Game (1997)
* For the Birds (2000)
* Boundin' (2003)
* One Man Band (2005)
* Lifted (2006)
* Presto (2008)
* Partly Cloudy (2009)
* Day & Night (2010)
* La Luna (2011)
* The Blue Umbrella (2013)
* Lava (2014)
* Sanjay's Super Team (2015)
* Piper (2016)
* Lou (2017)
* Bao (2018)

|

SparkShorts|

* Purl (2019)
* Smash and Grab (2019)
* Kitbull (2019)
* Float (2019)
* Wind (2019)
* Loop (2020)
* Out (2020)
* Burrow (2020)
* Twenty Something (2021)
* Nona (2021)
* Self (2024)

Feature-related|

* Mike's New Car (2002)
* Jack-Jack Attack (2005)
* Mr. Incredible and Pals (2005)
* Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)
* Your Friend the Rat (2007)
* BURN-E (2008)
* Dug's Special Mission (2009)
* George and A.J. (2009)
* The Legend of Mor'du (2012)
* Party Central (2013)
* Riley's First Date? (2015)
* 22 vs. Earth (2021)
* Ciao Alberto (2021)

Series|

* Cars Toons (2008–14)
* Toy Story Toons (2011–12)
* Forky Asks a Question (2019–20)
* Dug Days (2021–23)
* Cars on the Road (2022)

Compilations|

* Tiny Toy Stories (1996)
* Pixar Short Films Collection
* Volume 1 (2007)
* Volume 2 (2012)
* Volume 3 (2018)

Other works|

* Beach Chair (1986)
* Flags and Waves (1986)

Television specials|

* Toy Story of Terror! (2013)
* Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014)

Limited streaming series|

* Dream Productions (2024)
* Win or Lose (2025)

|

Franchises|

* Toy Story
* Monsters, Inc.
* Finding Nemo
* The Incredibles
* Cars
* Inside Out

Associated
productions

* Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2000; direct-to-video film)
* Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000–01; television series)
* Exploring the Reef (2003; short film)
* Planes (2013)
* The Dam Keeper (2014; short film)
* Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014)
* Borrowed Time (2016; short film)
* Weekends (2017; short film)
* Monsters at Work (2021–2024; television series)
* Starling (2023; short film)

Characters|

* Luxo Jr.
* Toy Story
* Woody
* Buzz Lightyear
* Jessie
* Bo Peep
* Monsters, Inc.
* Mike Wazowski
* Dory
* The Incredibles
* Bob Parr
* Helen Parr
* Dash Parr
* Violet Parr
* Edna Mode
* Cars
* Lightning McQueen
* Tow Mater
* Sally Carrera
* WALL-E
* Merida
* Joy

Documentaries|

* The Pixar Story (2007)
* A Spark Story (2021)

Disney attractions
and experiences|

* It's Tough to Be a Bug! (1998)
* Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (1998)
* A Bug's Land (2002)
* Turtle Talk with Crush (2004)
* The Seas with Nemo & Friends (2007)
* Cars Quatre Roues Rallye (2007)
* Crush's Coaster (2007)
* Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (2007)
* Toy Story Mania! (2008)
* Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek (2009)
* Toy Story Land (2010)
* RC Racer (2010)
* Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin (2010)
* Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop (2010)
* Alien Swirling Saucers (2018)
* Slinky Dog Dash (2018)
* Cars Land (2012)
* Luigi's Flying Tires (2012)
* Radiator Springs Racers (2012)
* Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters (2016)
* Remy's Ratatouille Adventure (2014)
* Nemo & Friends SeaRider (2017)
* Pixar Pier (2018)
* Games of Pixar Pier (2018)
* Incredicoaster (2018)
* Pixar Pal-A-Round (2018)
* Jessie's Critter Carousel (2019)
* Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy (2019)

Products|

* Pixar Image Computer

Software|

* RenderMan
* Presto Animation System

People|

* John Lasseter
* Edwin Catmull
* Steve Jobs
* Alvy Ray Smith
* Jim Morris
* Pete Docter

See also|

* Awards and nominations
* feature films
* short films
* Film references
* Computer Graphics Lab
* Industrial Light & Magic
* Lucasfilm Animation
* Circle Seven Animation
* Pixar Canada
* Pixar Photoscience Team
* Computer Animation Production System
* A Computer Animated Hand
* The Works
* The Shadow King
* Rush: A Disney–Pixar Adventure
* Disney Infinity
* Fortnite
* Kingdom Hearts III
* Walt Disney Animation Studios
* Disneytoon Studios
* 20th Century Animation

* Category
* Work group

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