Animated Films Are No Longer “Just” For Children

Animated films such as Encanto, Vivo, and Turning Red among others have taken the world by storm. Its themes have started to lean towards adults, making them become the most active consumers.

Animated films are no longer “just” for children and here are a few reasons why:

Animated films are starting to tackle mature themes.

As mentioned above, animated films have started to tackle issues like generational trauma, cultural differences, idleness, and the search for purpose. This makes their themes more relatable for adult viewers that experienced the same thing.

It becomes more and more imperative and obvious in films like Encanto. The film that made We Don’t Talk About Bruno tackled familial issues. It mostly centered around different struggles faced by children in terms of handling the pressures placed upon their shoulders by parents and/or grandparents.

Inclusivity in animation.

Inclusivity starts to become more apparent in recent animated films. The racial representation in Turning Red has become an example of this. This animated film focused on the cultural heritage and identities of Chinese immigrants.

The movie highlights the importance of staying true to one’s identity. As a matter of fact, it also showed the generational differences between first and second-generation immigrants. This also tackles the existing gap between immigrant parents and their more westernized children.

Animation is an art.

Digital artistry starts to penetrate the art industry. This is why more respect for animation as “art” is recognized. This is despite the fact that digital artists for many years were undermined because of their artistic medium. Now, more audiences applaud complex animation in film. In light of the matter, it may be because people are more educated on the artistry and complexities of digital art.

Animated films are worth watching.

There are many animated films that are worth a try for adults that are still apprehensive about whether or not they’d enjoy them. First is Vivo, where Lin Manuel of the famed Hamilton musical was a cast and writer. On the other hand, the animated film Minions: The Rise of Gru may be worth a shot. It is the newest installment for the Minions franchise, tackling how the minions fell into the services of Gru.

Behind every animated film is a moral or lesson that adults may need some reminding of.