Analyze what it is that makes the audience define animated films as just for kids, even when a film contain mature themes, scary moments, or adult humor. Despite appealing to audiences of all ages as the intention, society continues to label animated films as kids stuff since they are not realistic like other films.
I definitely agree that the lack of realism is part of what has lead to animation being treated as just kids fodder. However, correct me if I'm wrong, but before the advent of colour cartoons, weren't cartoons moreso considered adult entertainment? They were often played before films of the era and had much more racy overtones? Is it perhaps an effect of the marketablility of colour on children that led to this also? Or am I totally off base? – Talcon9 years ago
@Talcon: Thanks for that insight, what I wanted to focus on was is the animation that is well known to the public eye. While there were indeed racist cartoons, but I noticed many people either talk about them from an academic stand point, or choose to ignore them because of the racist content. For me, I'm focusing on what is popular and well loved, but is still regarded as kids stuff just because its animated from a modern perspective. – MajoraChaLa9 years ago
Princess Mononoke and Hunchback of Notre Dame are fair pieces that come to mind. In fact, Disney itself is very guilty of this when we talk about Pinocchio. I agree that many times, we're given animated films described as just for kids yet they have explicit adult themes. However, it's also fair to note that many times, different people disagree on what is terms as for kids. For example, if we switch mediums to Harry Potter, the author maintains her books are for kids, death or no death. So, a good definition and line needs to be drawn at the beginning of any article centered on this topic. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
Another interesting point which this raises is: How seriously should one take a children's film, does it deserve, or not deserve the same amount of criticism as a serious art film, simply because it aims to please children? There has, inevitably, been a shift towards appealing to adults, as well as children, mostly because it is the adults who are inevitably paying to see the film along with their children. However, there is a common argument that there should be some concessions towards children's films when analysing or evaluating them. Should a children's film remain consistent with itself or be given some sort of leniency because of its target audience? – Matthew Sims9 years ago
I think it is purely the medium this genre takes. Animation is associated with cartoons (obviously) which we associate as children's television. It is basically judging a book by it's cover, or a semiotic thing; we assign certain traits to colours for example (red: love, blood, death, passion). It's a subconscious thing that I believe we all have/do.
It does unfortunately put us off brilliant serious animation like the Cuban film Chico and Rita, which was a lovely romantic story with a wonderful jazz soundtrack. – Jamie9 years ago
Examples would be great to illustrate this point. – T. Palomino2 years ago