Animated films with some in jokes for ‘grown ups’ have suddenly made taking your little cousin to the cinema fun again. But how, why and thanks to who has this trend emerged?
Something has happened in the world of animated movies.
Traditionally the preserve of children, in recent years they’ve become just as popular with adults – and not necessarily just the parents who accompany their kids. Jokes, one liners, soundtracks and actors have been carefully selected to appeal to the grownups, thus elevating animated films out of the babysitter’s trek to the Saturday afternoon matinee and into our DVD collections.
The fact that animated movies are now targeting adults as much as (if not more than) their primary audience of children is a much discussed topic. A quick Google search can lead you to a range of complaints from outraged parents at the content of selected ‘childern’s’ films, such as the following comments about Shrek: ‘I very seriously doubt that we will attend another movie made by DreamWorks if this is what you think is intended for children’ and ‘Please consider the impact your productions have on children and be responsible’. Is such outrage merited? Have animated movies really lost sight of who their true audience is?
(Looking towards Lord Farquaad's Castle)
Shrek: Do you think maybe he's compensating for something?
Once upon a time…
Adults have always been part of the intended audience for animation, although, unlike Shrek, animation has not always been aimed at children and adults at the same time. The Simpsons is similar to Shrek in that it appeals to both adults and children however the adult themes it deals with – Homer’s alcoholism, marital affairs, mockery of the overly Christian Flanders family – has resulted in many people deeming it unsuitable for children also.
Betty Boop, the first cartoon character to depict a fully sexualised woman, appeared in cartoons and comic strips which were aimed at adults initially, only later changing to appeal to a younger market. However the demise of Betty Boop was attributed in part to this change in direction. Nevertheless, her legacy lives on today with a vast array of merchandise which appeals to all ages and she still reigns as one of the undisputed queens of animated sex symbols (rivalling Jessica Rabbit, of course). Other animated productions are more obviously targeted towards teens and adults – among them Beavis and Butthead, Ren and Stimpy and my personal favourite Daria.
Betty Boop: Pin-up for kids?
Disney may be seen by some as the kindly grandfather of animated movies in comparison to the evil Dreamworks studios who have created these satiric animations targeted at hybrid audiences. However, whilst past Disney films did not subvert the stories they told, they did push the limits of children’s endurance with terrifying characters like the Wicked Stepmother in Snow White and the Evil Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty. (There is also more than one person who has set about proving the existence of subliminal sexual messages in Disney films although this theory appears to have more cynics then supporters). The controversy with a film like Shrek lies in its dual target audience…
And then there was Shrek
Whilst Shrek did not introduce the idea of satire and appealing to adults and children in animated movies, there is no doubt that the success of the movie spurred on similar productions afters its release.
Whilst the story of Shrek contained important moral lessons for children (e.g. don’t judge on appearances), it also subverted the traditional prince and princess story entirely by having the ogre getting the girl and the fair princess turning into an ogress. Its all star cast including Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz was easily recognisable for the adults in the audience; the soundtrack featured tracks from The Proclaimer’s ‘I’m a Believer’ to Hallelujah was designed to appeal to those who recognised the songs; while the endless quips and one-liners were clearly intended for the grown-ups. While Although such humour is a welcome relief from saccharine fairytales of old it may have been a step too far for some.
The major debate about Shrek rests on the fact that a lot of what is said is not suitable for children. Whilst explaining some of the jokes to children (specifically the one about Lord Farquaad’s castle) might cause you to cringe, questions about why people are laughing are inevitable one a child gets past a certain age. Similarly the humour in A Shark’s Tale, specifically in scenes such as the shark’s AA-style meeting to deal with their fish eating addiction, the humour is directly aimed at the adults receptive to its double meaning, which bypasses its younger audience completely.
A Shark's Tale
Money, money, money…
Ultimately, the existence of a classification system means that each parent should make the decision himself about whether or not a movie is suitable for their child(ren). Shrek, for example, was rated PG (‘Parental Guidance’) in the UK. If parents deem a movie unsuitable for their children, it is their responsibility to make sure they don’t see it.
Nowadays, a typical fairytale movie is more surprising than a parody with movies like Enchanted being marketed to a wide age range. Regardless of complaints from a minority, the indisputable success of the satire formula means that studios will keep producing movies like these for as long as there is an audience who wants to see them, and they keep the studios in profit
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