I confess to liking the old-fashioned theatrical backdrops (above) of the 19th Century.
I think it was the backgrounds in the old Melies films (above) that won me over. Look at the one above...bathing beauties, military men and a scientific space canon all sharing the same scene with the intriguing rooftop world of the big city. All those aspects of reality within one frame...what an interesting idea!
I also like the 19th Century style long shots in some of the old Fleischer cartoons. Most of the cartoon is naturally done in closer shots where we get to see the funny detail. That's as it should be, but I like the idea that at odd times we're catapulted into a larger reality that gives us a different perspective on the story. Modern animation uses long shots only to establish a scene and that's a waste of a powerful tool. We should also use long shots when intuition tells us its time bring in some larger truth.
Well, all this stuff is hard to put into words. Fortunately the longer shots can also be added to justify broader, more caricatured movement.
Here's (above) a home design by Wally Wood that follows the same principal.
The question I want to bring up here has to do with animation. Why don't we use this technique in modern animation? I'm not suggesting making a whole film of long shots...people watch cartoons for the cartoon acting which requires closer shots...but not to use non-establishing long shots at all? That seems odd to me. Complex backgrounds can be fun.