The medium's unique capacity to portray internal spaces or the "soul" of a character, revealing conditions that would otherwise be invisible to a live-action camera.
Through primary research, Wells examines how adult memories of Disney films shape identity, exploring themes of empathy, fear, and "innocence lost". Impact on Animation Studies
He analyzes how comic events are constructed through a "typology of gags," emphasizing that comedy is the core of most animation.
Wells identifies several unique "narrative strategies" that define animation and differentiate it from live-action cinema:
The use of physical materials (clay, puppets, found objects) as a narrative element, where inanimate objects possess their own "kinetic energy". Structure and Themes
A visual shorthand where a part of an object or character represents the whole, often used for comedic or symbolic effect.
Prior to Wells, animation was often "critically neglected" in university film departments. Understanding Animation was one of the first texts to provide transferable models for analyzing animated films ranging from early Betty Boop cartoons to Jan Švankmajer's surrealist works and Nick Park's stop-motion. It encourages viewers to "see the brick"—a metaphor for looking closely at the hidden labor and specific illusions that give animation its meaning.