A versatile and ever-changing format, animation has pushed the boundaries of cinema, and taken on nearly every movie genre. From Winsor McCay’s lovable experiments with Gertie the Dinosaur in the 1910s, to the hyper-real, computer-generated images (CGI) of today, animation films have always ridden the advancing wave of technology. Borrowing heavily from the framing and story conventions of live-action films, the best animated films also take full advantage of the medium, utilizing line, texture, and color to establish a unique mood and atmosphere.

Animation is a hybrid genre, and writers of this format should first study the conventions of their project’s live-action cousins. That said, animation films can go much further visually. In recent years, live-action filmmakers have even begun to steal ideas and style from animators, and this trend is likely to grow more common as computer technology allows increased merging between the two formats. For now, the most memorable animation films tend to be those that mix cutting-edge graphics with meaningful storylines; beyond that, the test of a great animation flick is no different than for live-action. Whether they’re dwarfs, puppets, or Canadians, your characters should be dynamic and relatable. If you’ve got that, you may just have yourself the next Shrek.