Animation has always amazed me. Everything from the artist who created the objects to the story blows my mind. For this specific topic, I think it would be interesting to examine how the absence of human actors changes the way a story or theme is perceived. For example, Zootopia is told from the point of view of animated animals. Yet, the film discusses heavy themes of preconceived judgment against specific groups. Most animated films are geared towards children. Why is this? What about those that are meant for adults? How does animation affect a film's narrative?
I feel there has been more of a push to deliver important social messages to humans at younger, more vulnerable ages. We can, I think, see the effects of this on the generational political opinions, especially as younger voters start to stretch the elastic of the bipartisan system. Companies that embrace open-mindedness and project these ideas through their marketing are often praised for their messages. When Coca-Cola featured a gay couple in their Super Bowl ad, for example. As far as your point about animation goes, it seems like a vehicle for these same messages to more accessible. Not just for kids, but for everyone. Social change, equality, and similar ideas don't always have to be discussed in stuffy rooms by well-dressed politicians. They can be accessed and discussed by the common person, even if not everyone may agree on the particular topics. Brightly-colored, animated bunnies with cartoon eyes simply serve as a friendly, introductory face for these conversations. – Analot7 years ago
A really interesting topic, and I feel like it could get into some real nitty-gritty stuff regarding animation as a visual medium. While I'm not nearly as versed in Western animation, there are several studies on anime that can be very useful. First and foremost I recommend checking out Thomas LaMarre's book "The Anime Machine", which particularly discusses the cell animation stand as anime's equivalent to the film camera, and how its technical qualities has shaped the visual and perceptual language of the medium in a wide variety of aspects. I also know that Christopher Bolton has written about the split between signifying form and signified content in anime in his essay "From Wooden Cyborgs to Celluloid Souls" - although I'm only familiar with it second-hand through Carl Silvio's essay "Animated Bodies and Cybernetic Selves" which relates Bolton's ideas to theories of posthumanism (a read that I also highly recommend). – blautoothdmand7 years ago
This is a really interesting topic! And it is quite palpable how kid-oriented animation is, particularly when you come across animated films that are not geared toward children. There is a jarring, unsettling juxtaposition in animated films like Plague Dogs, Felidae, Watership Down and Animal Farm that deal with mature themes without the sugar coating we've been conditioned to expect with animation. Granted, these are older films so animation wasn't quite as established for children the way it is now in the west. I think taking a look at Animal Farm in particular might help with this topic, considering it follows similar concepts as Zootopia but with far more negativity on the matter (considering the environment Orwell was writing in). – caffeine7 years ago