When you hear the word “animation,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For quite a few people, silly little kids’ cartoons pop into their heads that solely exist so mothers can place their kids in front of the T.V. in an attempt to distract them for a few hours. For decades, animation has been seen by the entertainment industry as childish and inferior to other aspects of the entertainment industry. Due to this, animators have become both underappreciated and underpaid, despite animation being one of the most beautiful ways to tell a story or message.
One of the most common misconceptions about animation is that it’s all made for children and children only. While it is true that kids are the main demographic for many movies and T.V. shows, there are countless examples of animated media made for a higher age range. Popular T.V. shows such as “BoJack Horseman” or “Rick and Morty” are perfect examples of animated content that is certainly not for children and is mostly enjoyed by teenagers and adults. Even shows and movies that are curated specifically for children typically have deeper messages and emotional moments, making it able to be enjoyed by all ages. The Disney shows “Gravity Falls” and “The Owl House” show this perfectly. While both shows were originally made for children, there are many darker and more mature themes within the show, causing it to be enjoyed by not only kids, but many teenagers and even some adults. Animation has never been explicitly just for kids, and an animated film can convey an important message just as well as any live-action film.
The general public isn’t the only thing disrespecting and mistreating animators either. Rather recently, many major streaming services, HBO Max, Netflix, and Warner Brothers, to name a few, pulled about 25 animated shows, completely announced, from their streaming platforms. For most of these shows, being on these streaming platforms was their only exposure to any media attention. By removing these shows, these major streaming companies basically guaranteed that no one would be able to view these shows, leading to the animators who worked so hard on them being unable to gain any recognition, or even have their work be viewed by the public. Animators are already highly underpaid, making it so that people can’t even view their works to help them gain both popularity and a higher salary is insanely disrespectful, and not even giving them heads up before all trace of their work was erased was just the icing on the cake.
Animation takes so much skill and patience and can accomplish many things that live-action film simply cannot. Animated content can tell stories in such a unique way, with bright colors and compelling movements and visuals, something that live-action cannot so easily do. It’s sad how poorly the entertainment industry views animation and how disrespectful they are to animators, which rubs off to the public doing the same. Some of the most beautiful and heart-throbbing stories have been portrayed through animation, so it’s time to stop viewing it as inferior and childish and give it the credit and respect it deserves.
