The border of the real and the animated: The phenomenon of animated documentary
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34142/27091805.2026.7.02.21Keywords:
animation, animated documentary, hybrid media form, documentary expression, animated reconstruction, visualization of memory, traumatic experience, audiovisual artAbstract
The purpose of the study: the article examines animated documentary as a hybrid form of contemporary screen art that combines documentary filmmaking and animation. The study aims to analyse animated documentary as a specific audiovisual form situated at the boundary between the real and the animated, and to identify its key artistic and conceptual characteristics. The study considers the genesis of the phenomenon, its conceptual and categorical framework, and approaches proposed by international and Ukrainian scholars to defining its nature.
Methods: the research is based on the analysis, systematization, generalization, and comparison of scholarly concepts and practical examples of animated documentary. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between authentic documentary material and the constructed animated image.
Scientific novelty: clarifying the essence of the concept of “animated documentary” and systematizing its main characteristics. The study substantiates the view of the animated documentary as a specific form of documentary expression in which documentary quality is determined not only by the direct recording of reality, but also by the authenticity of testimonies, the documentary basis, the author’s intention, and the way the work is perceived.
Results: the study demonstrates that animation in documentary works enables the reconstruction of events for which no photographic or video record exists, the visualization of memory, psychological and traumatic states, the preservation of subjects’ anonymity, and the representation of subjective experience. It is established that animated documentary can combine authentic audio recordings, interviews, archival materials, and live-action footage with various animation techniques.
Conclusions: animated documentary can be regarded as an independent hybrid media form that expands the possibilities of documentary expression. Its specificity lies in combining a real fact, testimony, or personal experience with a constructed artistic image, which makes it possible to represent events and internal states that cannot be directly captured through conventional filming. This approach provides new possibilities for visual communication, emotional expression, and the representation of individual and collective experience.
Downloads
References
Безручко, О., & Сухін, М. (2023). Анімаційно-документальні фільми в сучасному кіномистецтві: специфіка виробництва. Вісник Київського національного університету культури і мистецтв. Серія: Аудіовізуальне мистецтво і виробництво, 6(2), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.31866/2617-2674.6.2.2023.289310
Борисенко,О.,Бойко,В.,&Литовченко,В.(2024).Філософія мистецтва в цифрову епоху як фактор формування нових медіапрактик. Актуальні питання гуманітарних наук, 83(1), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.24919/2308-4863/83-1-8
Десятник, Г. (2012). Монтаж екранних творів: словник-довідник. КиМУ.
Десятник, Г. (2013). Види, жанри і типи екранної творчості: словник-довідник. КиМУ.
Степаненко,К.,&Ляміна,М.(2024).Анімація в аудіовізуальному мистецтві: соціокультурні аспекти. Вісник Київського національного університету культури і мистецтв. Серія: Аудіовізуальне мистецтво і виробництво, 7(2), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.31866/2617-2674.7.2.2024.318993
Тотиков, Р. (2025). Кінодокументалістика: генеза і розвиток: сучасні тенденції та технології. Актуальні питання гуманітарних наук, 83(3), 86–93. https://doi.org/10.24919/2308-4863/83-3-13
Шаповал, О.(2022).Українськасучаснаанімація:досягнення,проблемиіперспективи.Науковий вісник Київського національного університету театру,кіноітелебаченняіменіІ.К.Карпенка-Карого,31, 95–101. https://doi.org/10.34026/1997-4264.31.2022.267529
DelGaudio, S. (1997). If truth be told, can ’toons tell it? Documentary and animation. Film History, 9(2),189–199.
Ehrlich, N. (2019). Conflicting realisms: Animated documentaries in the post-truth era. Studies in Documentary Film, 15(1), 20–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/17503280.2019.1663718
Formenti, C. (2014). The sincerest form of docudrama: Re-framing the animated documentary. Studies in Documentary Film, 8(2), 103–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/17503280.2014.908491
Formenti, C. (2022). The classical animated documentary and its contemporary evolution. Bloomsbury Academic.
Honess Roe, A. (2011). Absence, excess and epistemological expansion: Towards a framework for the study of animated documentary. Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 6(3), 215–230. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746847711417954
Honess Roe, A. (2013). Animated documentary. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kriger, J. (2012). Animated realism: A behind the scenes look at the animated documentary genre. Focal Press.
Murray, J., & Ehrlich, N. (Eds.). (2018). Drawn from life: Issues and themes in animated documentary cinema. Edinburgh University Press.
Ward, P. (2005). Documentary: The margins of reality. Wallflower Press.
Ward, P. (2006). Animated interactions: Animation aesthetics and the world of the ‘interactive’ documentary. In S. Buchan (Ed.), Animated ‘worlds’ (pp. 113–129). John Libbey.
Ward, P. (2011). Animating with facts: The performative process of documentary animation in the ten mark (2010). Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 6(3), 293–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746847711420555
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Наталія Чєн (Автор)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
