I agree that Pixar’s movies are genius as well, and that making CGI animation is no walk in the park. But there is one more major hassle in clay - supporting/suspending the models while you animate along with stuff like having to build them to several scales, some really large. Mind you, I’m not saying that making Pixar-quality digital models is anywhere near trivial - just that you don’t have to bother with the physics of the real world.
The animators I’ve talked to said clay and CGI make for completely different workflows. You tend to have a more straight-forward, improvised attitude when working with clay. Sure, meticulous planning before the actual shot is essential but you have to do the shot from start to finish and that leaves more room for improvisation and following gut feelings as you go along. CGI and cel animation, on the other hand, lets you go back and revise the animation as much as you like until you’re satisfied with the result. If classical (cel) animators are the concert pianists of draftsmanship, clay animators are the jazz pianists of puppetry.
One picture you all can look forward to, provided that it will even be shown in America, is Belville Rendezvous. Just watched it last night, and it’s some of the most fantastic animation I’ve seen, with CGI and classic animation blending seamlessly, not to mention that it’s a hilarious movie.
I was going to mention Les Triplettes de Belleville, but I notice the alternate title mentioned by that.sound.again. Apparently the U.S. release will have the directly translated title from the French, while in Europe they get a slightly different title. Odd.