The 3 Categories of Modern Animation
Modern animation has a way of compelling viewers to come back, show after show, year after year. Historically, animation was more of an entertainment piece, but late in the 80's, early 90's, animation took a new direction. This direction was based on earlier tactics of defying the odds; MAD Magazine, Ralph Bakshi and Tex Avery. All of them believed that animation stood for more than a device to entertain children. It could be anything imaginable. New Hampshire Public TV categorizes animation into three simple groups:
- Instructional: This form is used in the classroom most of the time. Schoolhouse Rock or a video sponsored by an organization (propaganda).
- Educational: This form of animation is what most people associate animation as. Examples of this include any PBS show like Curious George, Peg + Cat, and Arthur.
- Entertainment: This form of animation thrives in the adult animation business. There are rarely any lessons to show the audience because most of the time, the audience are adults. The creators are not intending to teach any lessons, simply entertain the audiences' emotions. Some examples of this are Family Guy, South Park, and The Simpsons.
Instructional
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The reason instructional videos are able to thrive is because they are always appealing to the eye, and the subject matter can always change. Walt Disney promoted propaganda material during WWII for the government, but he is not the only animator that has done that. The United Productions of America (UPA) were hired by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to create Hell Bent for Election (1944). The video was made for the democrats, and was so monumental in the 1944 election that both political parties made a gentleman's agreement to not use animated videos as election films. Instructional videos are aimed to convince you to a specific opinion. The instructional department thrives because people are drawn to appealing colors and graphics.
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Educational
Educational networks are clever in including subliminal themes in every episode. It's no wonder why parents loves PBS' Curious George, or Peg + Cat. Every single children's animated show on PBS contains an educational goal. Curious George's "Educational Philosophy" reads as follows:
"The Curious George series takes full advantage of this natural curiosity, using George to motivate children to expand their own investigations of the world. George's memorable adventures- from dismantling clocks to rounding up errant bunnies- offer the perfect vehicles for introducing preschoolers to key concepts in science, engineering, and math."
Peg + Cat 4 Key Learning Goals:
"The Curious George series takes full advantage of this natural curiosity, using George to motivate children to expand their own investigations of the world. George's memorable adventures- from dismantling clocks to rounding up errant bunnies- offer the perfect vehicles for introducing preschoolers to key concepts in science, engineering, and math."
Peg + Cat 4 Key Learning Goals:
- Encourage children to see math as fun, cool and worthwhile.
Lively characters, such as Peg, Cat and Ramone encounter challenging mathematical problems in every episode. Some situations will be highly familiar to preschoolers, while other will be more surprising and unforeseen. In each case, the kind of critical thinking needed to solve these problems is the same. - Broaden children’s understanding of what mathematical thinking involves and present examples of useful strategies to try when they feel stuck. Many young children are unaware that math extends beyond counting. Viewers will be excited to learn that math also includes patterns, shapes, homemade measurement tools and much more.
- Inspire children to approach problems with creativity, persistence and humor.
Peg may worry when she first encounters a problem, but she is resilient and wise enough not to give up. Her arsenal of spirited approaches to problem-solving includes, identifying the problem and setting clear goals, asking questions, drawing a simple picture, brainstorming, persistent experimenting. - Present children with a range of age-appropriate mathematical concepts and skills supported by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, Common Core State Standards, the PBS Math Curriculum Framework and other leading early childhood math research:
- Numbers and Operations
- Geometry and Spatial Sense
- Measurement
- Patterns and Algebraic Thinking
- Data Collection and Analysis
Entertainment
There is really no question on how or why these kinds of videos are able to thrive in the television and movie business. They simply entertain the audience, adhering to new material that can provoke emotions in the viewer. Since the beginning of shows like South Park and Family Guy, audiences have been constantly bombarded with their cruel humor. They are able to thrive because there is essentially no one to directly point a finger at. Would one blame the cartoon character, the voice-over actor or the screenwriter? The creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, are said to, "have made a living off of their irreverence with the series. Christianity has often been the target. Of course, Stone and Parker will deny this fact. They will say South Park is only satire, not meant to be hurtful to anyone." The creators of these shows do not cower. They continue to implement underlying humor. The amount of controversy they stir only leads to greater fame. Family Guy attacked Sarah Palin's daughter, who has down syndrome. However, Andrea Far Friedman, who voiced the character, who also has down syndrome, responded to the controversy by stating, "I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor."
How has Disney been able to master the art of animation? Toy Story 3 is notoriously known to make all demographics cry at the end. The Director, Lee Unkrich, said “live action movies are someone else’s story. With animation, audiences can’t think that. Their guards are down.” Unkrich likes to believe that because the characters are clearly not human, the audience identifies themselves more readily leading to an expression of much greater emotion. An adult male was asked his opinion of Toy Story 3 after just seeing it. He responded with, "The scene where Lotso [the villainous teddy bear] says toys are just pieces of plastic meant to be thrown away… that really did it for me." The artists at Disney are able to conjure up these stories that the audience can identify with. The viewers and adult males, in particular, are "touched by the memories of toys, leaving home and a loss of innocence, men are crying freely." There is no coincidence that Toy Story 3 was released exactly 15 years after the first Toy Story. The young kids that grew up loving the first movie were all grown up now, and possibly have young children of their own. Disney most likely aims to their demographic more than the young children. We are reminded once again, that Walt Disney said, "You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway!" Kids who grew up watching Disney want their kids to experience the same love for Disney. Disney has also found ways to subtly sneak in educational information into films. The creators at Disney attempt new challenges by exploring new territory or by bringing back old stories and adapting them to their contemporary audience. The argument can be made that Disney produces adult-targeted films rather than children's films. Disney is extremely successful in their marketing strategies and like all animation corporations continue to produce the greatest products of their time.
How has Disney been able to master the art of animation? Toy Story 3 is notoriously known to make all demographics cry at the end. The Director, Lee Unkrich, said “live action movies are someone else’s story. With animation, audiences can’t think that. Their guards are down.” Unkrich likes to believe that because the characters are clearly not human, the audience identifies themselves more readily leading to an expression of much greater emotion. An adult male was asked his opinion of Toy Story 3 after just seeing it. He responded with, "The scene where Lotso [the villainous teddy bear] says toys are just pieces of plastic meant to be thrown away… that really did it for me." The artists at Disney are able to conjure up these stories that the audience can identify with. The viewers and adult males, in particular, are "touched by the memories of toys, leaving home and a loss of innocence, men are crying freely." There is no coincidence that Toy Story 3 was released exactly 15 years after the first Toy Story. The young kids that grew up loving the first movie were all grown up now, and possibly have young children of their own. Disney most likely aims to their demographic more than the young children. We are reminded once again, that Walt Disney said, "You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway!" Kids who grew up watching Disney want their kids to experience the same love for Disney. Disney has also found ways to subtly sneak in educational information into films. The creators at Disney attempt new challenges by exploring new territory or by bringing back old stories and adapting them to their contemporary audience. The argument can be made that Disney produces adult-targeted films rather than children's films. Disney is extremely successful in their marketing strategies and like all animation corporations continue to produce the greatest products of their time.
- Anderson, Brian C. "Culture Clash." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2003. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
- "Curious George: Educational Philosophy." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
- Belinda, Lescombe. "Why Adults Cry So Easily in Animated Kids Movies."TIME. TIME Culture, 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
- Hojatti, Nashminn. Disney Pixar Marketing Strategy. Scibd.com. Scribd, 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
- "Peg + Cat: Learning Goals." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
- Abraham, Adam. "History." Brief History of UPA Pictures. The UPA Legacy Project, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
- The Art of Animation and Motion Graphics. Perf. John Canemaker. Jesse Thomas. Justin Cone. Julia Pott. PBS Off Book, 2012.
- Hell Bent for Election. United Productions of America. 1944.