Explores the rise of animated documentary and non-fiction in the 21st century Examines the digitalisation and virtualisation of culture as the backdrop for the rise of contemporary animated documentaries Focuses on the techno-cultural setting and explores multiple areas of non-fiction Offers a wide view of visual culture case studies including film, art, journalism, gaming, scientific and data visualization Confronting shifts in the status and aesthetics of the real, Nea Ehrlich analyses how contemporary technoculture has transformed the relationship of animation to documentary by mapping out two parallel trends: the increased use of animation within documentary or non-fiction contexts, and the increasingly pervasive use of non-photorealistic animation within digital media. As the virtual becomes another aspect of our contemporary mixed reality (physical and virtual), the book aims to understand how this visual paradigm shift influences viewers, both ethically and politically, and questions the wider ramifications of this transformation in non-fiction aesthetics.