The 1982 masterpiece “Tron” is one of the film industry’s finest feats of computer-generated imagery (CGI). The film’s effects were built frame by frame, using a combination of animation and CGI to create the world that Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn finds himself in. However, the work was not recognized or awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which instead disqualified the project from the special effects category that year at the Academy Awards, ruling that the extensive computer use was cheating. “Tron” was still eligible for other awards, however, and received nominations for sound design and costumes.
When creating the film, the creative team used backlit animation. This method mixes hand painting with the negatives of each image, allowing it to create the iconic glow of “Tron.” It is believed that over 75,000 images were used to create the film’s effects. At the same time, the CGI team was planning sequences on paper, then moving each element multiple times in their software just to get a second of animation. Both components were merged with the live-action footage to complete “Tron.”
Tron’s Steven Lisberger was an animation pioneer
“Tron” has undergone critical reevaluation since its initial release, establishing itself as one of the best science fiction projects of all time. It was the start of a larger franchise, which included two more films, a television series, and even a ride at Walt Disney World. This is largely due to its special effects.
“We were the bridge between analog and digital, and that’s a unique thing,” director Steven Lisberger told the Guardian in 2022. Initially, Lisberger and his team faced an uphill struggle, with production companies not interested in their computer animation methods. However, “Tron” turned out to be the perfect project for Disney, which was struggling to maintain its place in the industry at the time, especially without a sci-fi film to rival “Star Wars.”
John Lasseter, who worked in Disney’s animation branch, immediately saw the potential in “Tron” and the work the team was doing. “It absolutely blew my mind! A little door in my mind opened. I looked at him and said, ‘That’s it! This is the future!’” Lasseter told Animation World Magazine in 1998. Disney initially didn’t agree with his idea to use hand-made animation more frequently, so he took his ideas to Lucasfilms, which later became Pixar, helping create landmark animated films like “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life” and “Cars.”
