Animation Age Ghetto: For Children Only

I considered for a time whether to continue my current running theme of ragging on Cartoon Network, completing my bitter rant by flowing from one William’s Street property to the next. But my frustration, for the moment, has dissipated. Adult Swim is not all bad…yet. They at least have a smidgen of originality. And while I may think a lot of their shows are completely nonsense, they have few golden eggs here and there. The series premiere of Superjail has redeemed at least some of their reputation. And while there may be major disagreements about how they handle their anime licenses, that can mostly be attributed to the habits of anime viewers anyway.

But Adult Swim does have some relevance to what I want to bring to your attention this week; a situation that everybody should be at least be distantly familiar with. It is something that has plagued the animation medium since its inception into media prominence, back during the first Walt Disney films. A mindset that is both frustrating and infuriating, a type of prejudice that every animator or animation connoisseur has to deal with throughout his or her lifetimes.

That is, of course, the mindset that animation is meant solely for children.

Or if not for children, it is something frivolous. It is not something to be taken seriously. It not a valid art medium, not something with its own set of artistic rules and terms that can take years to truly master and can be used in ways that regular live action films simply can not emulate correctly or at all.

No, because cartoons are for kids. Anything that is animated is always a family friendly, light-hearted affair with a good message and childish slapstick humor. And when it’s not? Well…then we start running into problems. Letters of outcry, protests, heck, even legal action.

Surely you, dear reader, know what I’m talking about. You may even confess to displaying this same damnable prejudice. Remember back in middle school when you didn’t want to be dragged to the theater see the next Disney movie with your family? Because surely you were too old for such childish pastimes. Don’t be afraid, you can admit to it. Even I can admit to such a crime, despite my ritual of watching cartoons on television every day. It is a curious mindset, completely infantile in nature. Judging that something is to childish for you to enjoy, to say that a piece of entertainment is not mature enough for your attention, to use “adult” as a term of approval; these are all actions of immaturity. Nevertheless, this mindset is real and pervasive, and won’t be going away any time soon. It has a long-standing history that has sculpted popular opinion for decades.

“Critics who treat "adult" as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adults themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence....When I was ten, I read fairytales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” —C. S. Lewis, On Three Ways of Writing for Children

Come back with me to the 1930’s and 1940’s–give or take a few years–when a TV wasn’t in every other household. Watching films was a very different experience back then. Movies would be played in a theater on a continuous loop and moviegoers would come and go as they pleased. A family would often coming into the theater at one point and staying until they reached the end of the loop. Cartoons in those early days, in particular the Loony Tune shorts, were meant to be viewed in between the main features. And since the Hays Code strictly regulated movies in those days, everything shown had to appeal to all audiences. Although back then, the term “appropriate for all audiences” had a different connotation then it does now. Nowadays, “appropriate for all audiences” basically reads KID’S ONLY! But back then; the shorts had loads of content that appealed exclusively to adults.


Which makes the modern act of censoring that content all the more terribly tragic.

This is where that prejudice mindset was first established. It was innocent enough. After all, the entire film medium had to fall under the same rules. And the Hayes Code, believe or not, lasted for quite a while. It lasted into the sixties, with Psycho being one of the major contenders against the code in its final days. In addition to the Hayes Code, you also had broadcasting standards established by the FCC that made television even more squeaky clean than film. And those standards didn’t really go away until cable networks and the invention of VCR came into the picture.

So why is it that live-action film productions are seen as a more credible art form than animation? Why can you get away with all manners of sex, violence, and drugs with a live action broadcast and not a cartoon one? Why can’t a primetime animated show get away with half the stuff as a single Law and Order episode during the same timeslot?

Of course, it’s a multifaceted answer. During and after the Warner Bros. shorts, Walt Disney began making feature length animated films: very popular ones. These movies made Walt Disney the most influential force in animation. So the fact that Walt Disney was dedicated to making “family-friendly” films, certainly made a great impact in the minds of movie-goers about what should and should not be appropriate content for an animated feature. In addition to this, it’s also hard to not admit that animation is a lot better at showcasing slapstick than live-action (with live-action actors actually having structural integrity to their bodies)



It is among these and other factors, the led to the mindset. At some point in time–or over time-–it was deemed by society that animation must be able to appeal to children. And if it does not; it’s either corrupting the children, or it’s a comedy.

Which inexplicably can get away with anything.

Ah Comedy cartoons… Now lots of cartoons are meant to be funny, but modern shows use comedy as a means to adult content. Let’s explore that section of animation for a brief minute. It’s the only adult animation you can usually find. This one exception to the rule is rooted in the tradition of The Simpsons, which for the longest time faced constant scrutiny for its “inappropriate material”. It had an alcoholic, slightly abusive dad; a troublesome, devil-boy; and a cast of misfits that were certainly not wholesome or good for children. But it was funny. And with that, it was eventually accepted by society. The Simpsons' rise in popularity subsequently allowed other comedy cartoons to sprout up and grow. Family Guy certainly has a lot to thank The Simpsons for, as well as South Park and the entire Adult Swim comedy line up. So basically, as long as it’s a comedy, then you’re allowed to do an adult cartoon, with the proper amount of warning to viewers of course. And you can get away with basically anything.



As long as it not a drama.

That’s the main point I’m point I’m trying to make here, the one point of contention that I want to bring attention to. For some reason, society does not accept the idea of an animated drama, the idea that a cartoon can be serious and deal with realistic issues and proper themes.

Take for example, Batman: The Animated Series. The show was lauded by critics who felt that the tone of the show was more appropriate for an older audience. But when Fox decided to take a chance and give it a primetime slot, it received dismal ratings. No one wanted to watch that. It’s a cartoon. It’s only meant for kids, right?



Take for example the previous example of The Simpsons. Something that is really special about the earlier seasons of that show is that it dealt with serious issues and actual family drama that could touch your heart. Homer loses his job, becomes depressed, and tries to kill himself. Another episode dealt with how Homer puts up with his job in the first place; a feat accomplished by constantly reminding himself that he’s there for Maggie, his baby girl. These episodes gave you a warm fuzzy feeling inside while also making you laugh. They were magnificent, masterfully done stories. But overtime however, the stories, the characters, the plots, the entire show; were Flanderized (ironic, no?). The dramatic elements were ditched for laughs. Homer is no longer moody and aggressive, but still an honest hardworking dad; he’s been reduced to a buffoon. And why? Because that’s what viewers like the most. The comedy. In that same vein, Family Guy derailed itself from plot driven episodes filled with good jokes, into joke-driven episodes with horrible plots because that’s what viewers responded to the most.

Take for example MTV, back when it wasn’t synonymous with bad reality shows. The network actually had a thriving animation department that released some truly progressive, experimental, and magnificent work; Liquid Television is the prime example. To a lesser extent there was Beavis and Butthead, Daria and Clone High. These were good shows that were certainly not meant for children. But the station’s demographic–teens and young adults–evidently didn’t want to watch to watch such childish animated affairs (They evidently didn’t want to watch music videos either. MTV viewers weren’t really the brightest demographic to begin with).


Now take for example, the animated films by Don Bluth. His films have always contended with this mindset. Whenever he strove for something more substantial something more dark and serious, such as with Titan A.E, The Secret of N.I.M.H, and Watership Down, he continually met financial problems. People just didn’t want to see those films. Heck, some people still don’t want to see those films. They think seeing a couple of bunnies maim each other to death is the most violent thing they’ve ever seen. It’s not by the way. But maybe it’s the most violent thing you’ve seen in an animated film.


In fact, the entire film industry encourages this discrimination. The category of “Best Animated Film” is probably the most revolting insult I’ve seen flung at the animation medium. The idea that an animated film cannot contend with live-action films is insidious. It’s a joke category. Shrek won it for God’s sakes. That is not film of the year material. Hell, Shrek basically exemplifies the idea that animation is only good when it is a comedy. The fact that Shrek 2 is one of the best selling movies of all time just infuriates me more.

This year saw the release of Wall-E, a film by Pixar, which is the studio that continuous the tradition established be Disney to release films that are appropriate for all audiences. But not the KIDS ONLY “appropriate for all audiences.” The “appropriate for all audiences” that means just that; EVERYONE can enjoy this movie. And Wall-E was not only enjoyable; it was spectacular. It was the most beautiful love story I’ve seen on film. It had social commentary, it had serious themes, and it had laughs. I could write a whole other article on Wall-E, but all I would eventually end up saying is that it deserves a nomination for Best Film. Not one for Best Animated Film, just Best Film. It doesn’t even have to win it. I just want it nominated. I want it to be acknowledged for its artistic merits; I don’t want it pigeonholed into the KIDS ONLY mindset.


I’ll try to end this article on a high note. Wall-E is breaking the mold for animated films. And believe it or not, animated television shows are seeing mold breakers as well. The recently concluded Avatar: The Last Airbender prided itself in delivering dramatic content that adults could enjoy as well as kids. Its series finale received some of the highest ratings ever for an animated series finale. In addition to that, there is The Venture Bros., which while classified as a comedy, is better described as a character study that addresses the theme of failure. The rise in popularity of anime is also helping to legitimize drama-focused cartoons.

The light at the end of the tunnel is there. We just need to rally the rest of the country to reach it.

(If you wish to read more about the Animation Age Ghetto, read this fun little article on tv tropes. I used it extensively myself when writing this article.)