Cartoons - Entertainment for kids or adults?

A Cartoon History

Cartoons and animated shows are loved by many. For those 30somethings memories of  "Michael Bentine's Potty Time" and "Mr Ben" loom large.  Bedazzlement by "Tom & Jerry", "Dangermouse", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Trapdoor"  and "Battle Of The Planets" is the norm.  More recently "King Of The Hill", "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", "The Fairly OddParents" and "Samurai Jack" have enthralled. Cartoons are hardly an obsession; they just seem to touch something integral in many.  One source even went to see "The Power Puff Girls Movie" as part of his stag night celebrations.

The keys to making animation appealing to adults as well as children are fourfold.

Character depth and to a lesser extent development.  For example Jack in "Samurai Jack" has a rich history he carries with him, both the cultural heritage of the samurai and the personal history he is given in the main character in the precursor movie, "Samurai Jack : The Shadow of Aku".  Thus various aspects of this character can be brought to the fore in various episodes, his incredible swordsmanship in one, great humility in another, selflessness in more than one.  The varied nature of his personality give the viewers a variety of hooks to become involved with the character; a key to a really great story.  In terms of character development Jack's is limited, he does develop a worldly wise feel for his new futuristic world although the basic story is just repeated in many episodes, search, then find then fight then search again. 

The animation, it's style, design and appropriateness to the story.  Maleficent, the evil witch in "Sleeping Beauty" is animated beautifully, very realistic in movement and texture, everything from her hooked and warty nose as the crone to her beautiful, yet cruel demeanour as herself and even her magnificent and foul dragon.  Very high quality animation, perfectly executed.    "Ghost In The Shell" used CGI and traditional animation to wonderfully portray a dark and technologically advanced near-future world.  The elegant use of light and dark and especially shadows and half glimpses in scenes caters perfectly to the twisted plotline of the movie.  In "WALL-E" the contrast in animation from the dusty bleak backgrounds of the planet to the clean and sculpted interiors of the ship and the nuances and depth in a mere cricket shine as examples of high quality CGI animation, and without the need to capture people as lifelike entities allow the designers to really explore the craft.  In "Final Fantasy : The Spirits Within" the animation has aimed for hyper-realism and great attention has been put into such things as hair and lip-syncing.  Watching the movie it is easy to forget you are watching animation. 

The right voice.  Crucial in terms of not only whom reads the script, also crucial in terms of the timing.  Tom Hanks' voiceover in "Toy Story" is magnificent.  The voice and character are perfectly matched, the tone, timing and delivery are excellent whatever kind of scene Woody is in.  Even the movement of the character matches the voice.  For both Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd the voices made the characters, so perfectly suited to the animated sequences are the voices that they have become cultural icons and have retained their appeal more than half a century later. 

A good storyline.  Disney used established fairy tales as the basis for it's animated films. Using an already tried and tested formula that already had broad appeal allows creative focus to be the animation and not the story. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" was a tense and well executed film noiresqe detective tale.  "Animal Farm" used the futuristic "1984" novel as it's basis to create an animated classic.  With "Samurai Jack" you have a simple tale of a hero with a quest, something that has been integral to stories for thousands of years.  Although for many classic animations the storyline is less important than the interactions of the characters, "The Magic Roundabout" and "The Flintsones" are about ordinary days experienced by extra-ordinary characters.

That may be so.

The combination of interesting animation, good characters, appropriate voices and how they blend to complement a good storyline are what makes animation appealing to a broad demographic.  Perhaps what is considered a good story has changed for some, broadly the appeal has remained true throughout the decades.  That these components; when executed well; will have a more general appeal.  Whilst an adult might like the simplicity and retro feel of the animation in "The Power Puff Girls Movie" a child might like the bright colours and simple shapes.  The adult may find the interaction of John Goodman and Billy Crystal in "Monsters INC." comic genius whilst a child might like the 'funny one-eyed green ball'.  Adults may love the Aled Jones voice in "The Snowman" whilst children might like the beauty of the animation.   In the end it comes down to personal taste, what works for one won't work for another.  If the animation has a good balance of all four elements it will work for all ages.