After writing my previous article, I started to think of more reasons why adult animation never seems to gain mainstream success. Most animated films (in the west, at least) always stay within the boundaries of children's entertainment, while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, the genre could benefit from having more variety. Then I realized, do animated films for adults really need to exist when most adult films these days use CGI?
Computer effects have the capacity to make almost anything you can imagine possible in film. It allowed "The Matrix" to have elaborate, physics-defying, martial arts battles and invented the concept of "bullet time." It allowed films like "The Lord of the Rings," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" to create characters that practical effects could not. If these effects can do almost anything for live-action films, why do adult animated films need to exist?
This is the mentality most likely going through the heads of movie audiences. For a long time, part of the appeal of animation was that it allowed absolute creative freedom. Animators could do things that would have been impossible in live action. However, with the introduction of CGI, live-action films are capable of doing anything animated films are capable of, leading to many adults wondering why adult animation is even necessary.
This mentality helped further cement the idea of animated films as solely children's media and turned a handful of live-action films into "spiritually" animated films for adults. Live action is now viewed as a more "adult" medium and has removed almost any possibility of adult animation connecting with a large mainstream audience. While this mentality is understandable, it is also a very limited way of thinking about animation.
Animation is a genre that has several different styles within it and is one of the most "artistic" ways one can tell a story. For example, a good adult animated film, "Loving Vincent," explores the life of famous painter Vincent Van Gogh and explores more adult themes such as the artist's mental health issues. However, the film does this by being animated entirely by oil painting in the style made famous by Van Gogh. This film is literally a painting coming to life and shows what animation can offer to more "mature" films.
Animation is a genre with a variety of styles that can lend themselves to more adult themes. For example, stop-motion animation is often used for creepier films, such as "ParaNorman" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas." The awkward and unnatural movements that come with the genre add to the creepiness of the film. One day I would like to see someone do an adult horror film entirely in stop-motion animation.
CGI did not make animation obsolete, however, it did cement the mentality to organize the genre of animation itself into an inescapable "kids' table" when the genre is capable of so much more. This genre can explore more adult themes and live action doesn't have to be the only style of film adults are "allowed" to enjoy. I hope one day we can end the stigmatization of animation among a handful of mainstream moviegoers and allow the genre to grow and try new things.
