Animation is for everyone of all ages to enjoy

Given the extensive nominations awarded to animated films, it’s surprising how much certain actors or people in the film industry would degrade the medium as something exclusively for children. 

Animation film producer Phil Lord tweeted, “Super cool to position animation as something that kids watch and adults have to endure,” in response to the jokes made by last year’s Oscar hosts. 

Having grown up watching animated films all my life, from Disney Renaissance films to the acclaimed Studio Ghibli animation studio films, it’s obvious the film industry fails to comprehend just how powerful this medium can be used to tell stories and draw audiences in.

This past year at the Golden Globes, Guillermo del Toro’s stop motion take on “Pinocchio” won Best Animated Feature and has been nominated for the upcoming Academy Awards. 

At that time, streaming sites were taking down many animated series, some of which were for older audiences, like Netflix’s “Inside Job” and AMC’s “Pantheon.”

It was a surprise that Netflix, having had success with the animated adult show “Bojack Horseman,” would want to cancel a series like “Inside Job,”  a series born from the animators of the Disney hit “Gravity Falls.” It did the same thing with “Tuca & Bertie” and now that series is on Adult Swim. 

Recently, HBO Max released “Velma,” a “mature” Scooby Doo reboot that has been anything but mature in story and content. A hollow series filled with meta-commentary, the writer self-inserts and fuels HBO’s pockets with money. 

They canceled original comedic and entertaining series like “Close Enough” and “Infinity Train” so that we could hear Mindy Kaling joke about white people’s privates.

Disney and Netflix are no better, being “creatively bankrupt.” The beloved company that grew on animations had resorted to remaking every animation they created, which typically don’t live up to the originals. 

If you compare Del Toro’s animated take with the live-action version starring Tom Hanks, you’ll know which Pinocchio became the real boy and which remained a puppet. 

When comparing eastern to western animation, Japan’s anime is majorly overrated. Japan has over-commercialized it to the point that it doesn’t feel natural or real, which is why Studio Ghibli, animator Makoto Shinkai, and Japanese film director Satoshi Kon stand out from the rest of popular series and films. 

It is surprising that Japan could have anime that ranges between all genres, and all ages, while in America it is nothing but child’s play for adults to endure. 

Honestly, do people like Amy Schumer, Mindy Kaling, and all the executives of these big, fat companies believe that we don’t like animation once we turn 18? 

Just how many college students on campus have I known who love animated series? 

From “The Last Airbender” to “Owl House,” and even “Regular Show” and “Steven Universe,” the fan bases are filled with people of all ages who enjoy these shows, yet Hollywood and media companies resort to telling the same narratives, the same plot devices, and the same jokes and commentaries that offer little to nothing in the industry. 

Just how many adult animated shows out there copy “The Simpsons?” How many separate from that out-dated trope and last beyond one or two seasons? It’s disparaging and kind of sad.  

I’m proud to say that I watch Disney films. I grew up watching “Looney Tunes,” “Tom and Jerry,” and other classics, and I appreciate the art and dedication animators put into these series. 

Just last year, HBO laid off many animators, canceled many projects for Cartoon Network, and purged almost all its cartoons, all for the sake of not paying taxes. 

Animation has done what live action couldn’t; it told narratives that captivated us, it created worlds beyond our wildest dreams, it introduced us to characters from different backgrounds, and it helped bring representation and identification to those who couldn’t find it with live actors and sets. 

Animation isn’t a kids-only genre, and it is most certainly not a “waste of time.” It shouldn’t be traded for the sake of a tax write-off. Hollywood doesn’t care about animation; it’s all about money for them — but we, the audience, do care. A lot.