The power of animation A powerful genre not appreciated By Janie Walenda It's a tale as old as time. Another animated kids' film is released. with enough adult humor to make it tolerable for the parents. Animated musicals like "Frozen" or "Encanto" are famous for being watched by kids to the point of annoyance for parents. Is animation just inherently childish? Or do children's stories just have more fantastical elements. therefore making animation the ideal medium? Is animation defined as being a child-friendly genre, or is it far more versatile? Professor Jeffrey Simon, who teaches multiple animation classes at Cedarville, believes there are many reasons why children's content may work better in animation. "Animation can be better suited to children's media because of moving holds and exaggeration," Simon said. A moving hold is a slight bit of motion that a character needs to have while in a pose. For example. even while holding still, a character will still be breathing. While this may take more work in the animated format versus the liveaction format. animation makes it much easier to manipulate a moving hold for a dramatic or comedic effect. A moving hold is a great example of how animation can push and exaggerate within its style, far beyond what live-action films can do. This exaggeration oftentimes leads to animated films being bigger, brighter and louder, and therefore more appealing to children Of course, it's untrue to pretend that animated films are only made for children. Adult-targeted animation has existed for decades. However, it feels like there is no middle ground between the edgy, explicit animated content like "Family Guy" and "South Park" and the G-rated, kiddish family animation. Within recent years, however, there has been a rise in animated projects that are clearly not marketed toward kids but also aren't going out of their way to be inappropriate. An early example of this is the 2009 film "9" Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the film is certainly dark and not meant for kids but not explicit in content. 10 CED•1lS Images of "Mitchells vs the Machines" courtesy of Sony Pictures Just within the past year, projects like "Arcane· and "The House" have emerged that, while still having mature content, are not defined by how inappropriate and edgy they are It's impossible to talk about animation, especially adult-focused animation. without talking about anime. For decades, anime has not specifically catered to family audiences. Even outside of the obvious. action-based anime, even slice-of-life animes tend to appeal more to an adult audience. rather than being kid-friendly. Anime could be the subject of its own article, but it shows that perhaps this idea of animation being a children's genre is a specifically Western concept. Even while the majority of animated projects have been made for children, there have always been those who saw its potential as a visual medium. The best films and television shows, whether animated or live-action, have deeply considered the best medium to tell their story. Animation can be a huge asset to the storytelling process. Sean Graphic by Carrissa Smith Fall 2022
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