Delving and analyzing the brief allusions of spousal abandonment in the Studio Ghibli film, Isao Tahakata's Princess Kaguya.
Having recently seen Princess Kaguya myself, I feel you can cover more themes. Such as the consequences of individual actions and their relation to human failings, like greed. – Ryan Errington10 years ago
Analyze various animated works and discuss how these works manage to bring about more emotion in us than most live action films and TV shows. Discuss the ability of technology, lack of live actors, etc.
Pixar, after a stellar run of critical and commercial hits, is falling an ever-increasing decent. How can the Award-winning company come back from the brink? How much of it has to do with the Andrew Stanton/Brad Bird era?
I would be sure to mention the studio's decision to focus on sequels the past few years instead of original content. I also think Pete Doctor (Monsters Inc/Up) was also part of the early success. It would also be interesting to mention what our expectations for Inside Out are. – Cagney10 years ago
Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennials all grew up watching cartoons with hidden adult humor, dark themes, and controversial subject matter. While some cartoons–Regular Show, Adventure Time, etc.–have turned back to these more mature methods of teaching object lessons to children, the vast majority of children's cartoons seem dumbed-down and overly saccharine. Exploring a wide handful of Western children's cartoons, answer the question: do animated shows question our children's intelligence?
I think this topic is undeniably interesting...especially when comparing the animated shows of the 1990s/early 2000s to now. There might be a huge contrast that is well worth looking into. Have shows been dumbed down for current generations? Or, have they been more subliminal with their humor than ever before? Also, another thing worth analyzing is the evolution of the broadcast schedule throughout these last two decades. Is the era of Saturday morning cartoons (when the same, popular shows would play) over? Or is there just more of a cluster of shows that over-saturate the market? – Giovanni Insignares10 years ago
Which shows do you consider "dumbed-down" and what past shows are you comparing them to? – LaurenCarr10 years ago
It may also be interesting to see if shows are actually being dumbed-down or if they are being censored. I suspect that some shows are being censored due to parents seemingly being more sensitive about mature content in children's shows. – Schmerica1110 years ago
For example, When the Wind Blows (1986) is one of my very favourite films, and while it's something that kids could see something in, it's largely aimed towards adults, especially when you take into account its dark and bleak subject matter. I know a lot of adult-orientated animation comes from Japan and other Asian countries, but there's not too many examples in the Western world. Still, there's excellent features like Arrugas (2011) which looks at the effects of Alzheimer's Disease in a nursing home. Mary and Max (2009) is another one, too – for sure, it's something children might enjoy, but it has a (predominately) thematic adult orientation. And, while I may not particularly be a large fan of the film, Les triplettes de Belleville (2003) is another good example.
All of these films, interestingly, are not American productions. In fact, there are not many American adult-oriented films, period. I wonder why this is the case?
Maybe instead of adult-orientated animated films as a general topic, you could focus upon a specific adult theme. For example, if you focused on the theme of war, you could use When the Wind Blows and Grave of the Fireflies. Just a suggestion. – Ryan Errington10 years ago
