A Mega-Con panel called “History of Animation with Don Bluth” was hosted by ComicBook.com in Orlando, Florida this weekend. The iconic animator Don Bluth proclaimed that the “suits” will be going back to 2D animation due to the excessive cost of making 3D animation films. 

Bluth mentioned how studios are cutting back on budgets and making 2D more affordable and profitable to produce. The studios are spending up to $200 million for 3D animation films that take a long time to produce and “it’s more people, I grow old watching the end credits” stated Don Bluth. Bluth’s hand drawn animation film, The Secret of NIMH, was made with $6.5 million, so the fact that studios are spending over $200 million on one 3D film just did not make any sense to the animator. 

Don Bluth is responsible for animated hits such as An American Tail, Anastasia, and The Land Before Time. He recalled that after making The Land Before Time, he showed the movie to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas who advised him to take some parts out because it would be too scary for the kids. He claimed that they intentionally made the movie to be a little “scary and amazing that scary things that make people and move people a little bit.” He said the parts they took out destroyed what was made and “it was incredible.”