You ever notice that kids’ movies today are getting good? Like, really good? Better than some grown-up movies (looking at you, Amazing Spider-Man 2) and even some teen movies (and you, Paper Towns), actually. Even TV shows like Adventure Time and The Amazing World of Gumball are defying expectations on what makes children’s entertainment great. I never would’ve thought I’d still be watching Saturday morning cartoons at twenty years old (happy birthday to me!), but nothing makes me happier on a lazy weekend than doing just that. It’s clear to me now that more effort, time and passion are being put into kids’ movies and television than ever before.
I first noticed this when I went to see Pixar’s latest, Inside Out, about the life of a 11 year old girl as told from the point of view of her emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. I’m just going to put it out there; it’s great. Never before has there been an animated movie with so much great voice acting, exciting visuals and downright fantastic writing as this. I swear I’m not joking when I say it is one of the most brilliantly written movies ever made, in any genre. Full disclosure: I may have cried. A lot. Even the short film that played before it, Lava, was amazing, combining realistic images with the songwriting skills of James Ford Murphy. I mean, it’s about volcanoes in love, how can you not adore that?
And it’s not just movies, either. Cartoon Network offers a variety of quality shows like Adventure Time, Nickelodeon still amazes us with classics like SpongeBob SquarePants and Disney Channel shows like Phineas and Ferb test what is possible in entertainment. I’ve heard it said that we’re living in “the golden age of television,” and there’s certainly a lot of truth to that in kids’ entertainment. For the first time in years, kids’ shows are funny, thoughtful and insightful for more age groups than one. Even older shows that broke the mold are getting spun-off, as seen with the popularity of The Looney Tunes Show, Girl Meets World and the upcoming premiere of Fuller House.
But, why is this happening? Why put in all the effort, isn’t it just stupid kid stuff? Well, the way I see it, there really is no such thing as kids’ entertainment anymore. Pixar movies have Amy Poehler, DreamWorks has Sandra Bullock and TV has cameos from David Bowie, for God’s sake! If it was all kids’ stuff, production companies would probably just stick with unknown up-and-comers, and not get Morgan Freeman to be in a movie about toys. It’s clear that good directors are understanding that more effort and thought need to be put into an art form — any art form — in order to attract an audience. They know that calling something a “kids’ movie” doesn’t make it any better, and visual art needs to be respected in order to be appreciated.
Even critics and reviewers are respecting what is usually thought of as entertainment for children. Online personalities often make a living by analyzing any form of entertainment independent of the age group it was intended for. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, the most famous critic duo of all time praised kids’ films like Beauty and the Beast, because they knew that we should take it seriously as an incredible form of art because the director took it seriously. Good directors don’t think, “It’s just a kids’ movie! Who cares?” They think, “I’m going to give this script that someone worked very hard on the treatment it deserves,” and we should acknowledge that.
I don’t know honestly, maybe I’m just a twenty-year-old man-child who loves cartoons a little too much. The way I see it though, “kids’ movies” like Inside Out are, more likely than not, much better than “adult movies” like Pixels. I welcome this with open arms, and you should too. These changes are not a bad sign by any means, it just means there’s more good stuff for us to enjoy. I guarantee, in fifty years, we will see this period in time as the golden age of children’s entertainment, and we’ll be better people because of it.
