Animation for adults


When we started to watch the documentary on women in animation I was already intrigued. But, when I saw Big Mouth get introduced I was even more intrigued. I love that show and basically every crude animated film. You name it, I’ve probably seen it from BoJack Horseman, American Dad, Family Guy, Rick and Morty, Bob’s Burgers, F is For Family, Disenchantment, Brickleberry, etc. All of my friends that aren’t film majors (some even are film majors) usually think I’m so weird for liking these shows and make the argument, “Aren’t you too old to be watching kids shows?”

I finally have realized why I enjoyed these shows so much. There are plenty of reasons why anyone could enjoy this type of adult animation, but these are mine: it has unlimited freedom, animation is a unique work of art, it helps kids and adults bridge the age gap, but in the meantime still makes us feel young, it can still be serious, and it’s somewhat similar to live-action which adults have no problem watching.

Building more on this, I think it’s amazing that you can basically do whatever you want from exploring space to being in a suburban neighbor. The way the animator draws also comes down to freedom, it’s fun and visually pleasing to watch (usually). As said previously, adults and kids are able to bond with shows like these because the jokes go right over the kids’ heads, but the adults can laugh about it. I think nostalgia plays a large role with watching animation because it does remind you what is was like to be a kid again. Another thing with being an adult, it’s stressful. I believe it whisks you away to a world where your problems don’t exist. 

That is all. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. 


Comments

  1. I completely agree with you. Although I am typically not a huge fan of crude, adult animation, I do love the shows Big Mouth and Rick and Morty. After you said that part of the reason for the enjoyment of adult animated shows is because it makes you feel young while still getting that crude adult humor, it made me think. I love animation, but many of the things that I see are for kids. These two shows that I do watch are more for my age group while still enjoying the animation of it.

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  2. I talked about adult kid shows in my post and how they can tackle adult themes in not just a subtle way but both directly visually and dialogue based. I love the idea of innuendos being slipped into shows that only adults can understand. This is super common in shows like "Regular Show". The constant hinting towards drug use and words representing much worse ones really makes it an enjoyable watch no matter what age. Plus, as you get older, the nostalgia that you pointed towards, grows since you are having recollections of memories from when you saw the show as a kid. This makes adult kid shows rewatchabiltiy through the roof.

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  3. Great Post. To push it one step further I wonder if certain art is lost in these cartoons. Don't get me wrong, I love Family Guy and Rick and Morty... all that stuff, but I wonder if it takes away from more expressive adult animation. For example, when we were watching the "Women in Animation" Documentary, the women of Titmouse described the process as being rapid paced. This industrialization of animation and film as a whole makes me wonder if it is still as "free" as animation should be.

    -Thanks for allowing us all into your Ted Talk.

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  4. What I love about animation in this case is that because of the nature of the art form, anything is possible from a visual standpoint, with the only limit being the imagination of the creators. So with something like Bojack Horseman, it's a show that really could only work as an animated show. When you have a show that's able to explore more adult themes, it's important to have the ability to use any possible tool at your disposal. I always think about how raunchy comedies sometimes use animation as a means of telling a joke in a different type of way. Take for instance There's Something About Mary, which uses claymation in its opening credits so as to create a dichotomy between the innocence of the credits verses the somewhat depraved content that follows. So really, animation is just another tool that any creator can use, whether it be for programming aimed at children or adults.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I talked about adult kid shows in my post and how they can tackle adult themes in not just a subtle way but both directly visually and dialogue based. I love the idea of innuendos being slipped into shows that only adults can understand. This is super common in shows like "Regular Show". The constant hinting towards drug use and words representing much worse ones really makes it an enjoyable watch no matter what age. Plus, as you get older, the nostalgia that you pointed towards, grows since you are having recollections of memories from when you saw the show as a kid. This makes adult kid shows rewatchabiltiy through the roof.

    ReplyDelete

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