There are a multitude of reasons as to why this style of movie doesn’t get the respect it deserves, but I think the main reason resides in the semantic association with child entertainment. Many are unable to see a value in it that extends beyond occupying your kid for a couple hours.
Switch on CBBC or any other children’s tv channel, and you’ll be greeted with a plethora of animated shows. Silly and juvenile, these cartoons are easy to brush off as low effort productions. They rely on flashing colours and memorable characters to hook their young impressionable audiences. These observations are fair, but why is it such a reach that animation could be more than just silly voices?
Kids love this type of production for a reason - it excites the mind. Animated scenes pulsate with emotion. The colours, vibrating textures, metaphorical illustrations; all of these can come together to express mature, or simply not childish, themes. But I’m not pushing here for an elitist separation, or a chastising of cartoons, just the notion that adult subjects can be addressed within animation.
In fact, one of the unique advantages to animation, is its ability at blending together different aged audiences. Kiki’s Delivery Service, and the whole of Studio Ghibli, is a perfect example of this. Combining fantastical elements such as Kiki’s magic and her talking cat, with surprisingly realistic depictions of life and its struggles, the movie ends up being a tale of the importance of friendship in a world where burnout is inevitable. Not then simply just a film about a talking cat, it offers a profound validation of the human experience, much like an Oscar winning live-action film.
Able to subvert and elevate traditional film tropes...
A huge element of animation is its aesthetic beauty and the range of styles within it. Striking art by itself can evoke deep mystifying feelings within the viewer, so when watching a beautifully illustrated film, the combination of a compelling storyline with rousing artwork culminates in an especially impactful product.
Kid Kudi’s Entergalactic works so brilliantly because of this fusion. The story centres around an artist who falls in love with his next-door neighbour. It’s a production that could have easily been created in live action, but what makes it special is the animation. Able to subvert and elevate traditional film tropes, the movie gains an emotional liveliness that perfectly encapsulates human life. Emotion is abstract. So, taking an abstract, unconventional approach in conveying it, should be a no-brainer.
When he meets his neighbour for the first time, the artist is sent into that classic stupor as he sees this angelic woman. Only this time, his amazement is accentuated through a deep purple nebula that pulsates behind her; not just through a gust of wind that messes her hair. He is overwhelmed by his feelings and the possibilities in a future with this woman, much like how the universe itself is deep, limitless and indescribable. In an instant then, the audience is given an insight into this man’s feelings in a way that doesn’t try to coldly define them, but instead convey them with imagery that the viewer just innately understands.
People watch films for a sense of catharsis, a catharsis that is gained by watching characters grapple with relatable struggles, or win far-away but achievable goals. Animation in its limitless possibility, is able to bridge the gap between the real and just out of reach fantasy. Versatile in nature, it can appeal to any audience, combine any themes and emanate any emotion to create brilliant movies. Animation constantly reimagines the foundations of cinema whilst also carving out a space for itself. It is fresh, it is dynamic, it is potent – animation should not be overlooked.