I've noticed recently that my rants have a habit of only focusing on superhero, sci-fi, and fantasy flicks. Well, they are the very definition of nerdy, I'll admit. But I like movies in all their forms, even if I like to focus on a specific genre. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, concerning a genre I feel is too often overlooked. Well, I"m using the term "genre" very loosely. It's more like a medium. A medium that is at once incredibly cinematic, but a lot of people ignore it as not being as "serious" as other films. I'm speaking, of course, about animation.
Now it's not that I don't like animation. Far from it. Like many who grew up in the '90s, Disney was my first exposure to the wonders of film. "Toy Story" was my first theatrical experience. I obsessed over films like "Alladin" and "The Lion King." And as I got older, the Pixar films, more recent Disney films like "Lilo & Stitch", and other films like "Shrek", "Jimmy Neutron", and "The Iron Giant" became my favorites. But foolishly, I convinced myself that these were mere children's films, and that I needed to grow up and move on.
"Star Wars", "Harry Potter", "Lord of the Rings", and every superhero under the sun became my new obsession. They still are, obviously. Even when new, more mature animated fare like "Up", "Wall-E", "Toy Story 3", "Kung Fu Panda", and "How to Train Your Dragon" came out, I still thought of them as "lesser" films. As great as they were, I never put them on the same pedestal as my favorite live action films. Even the Japanese anime films I'd seen, like "Akira" or the Miyazaki films, came with this stigma of being merely animation. I respected them all for doing something fantastic and worthwhile with the medium, but I did not obsess over them like in my youth.
That was, until the one-two punch of "Frozen" and "The Lego Movie." I already talked a little about "Frozen" in my last article, about how Queen Elsa is a perfect role model for young girls. But there was something else about that film that led to my obsessing over it. An obsession so great, I'm still thinking about it months after seeing it. And no, it's not just the insanely catchy songs. More than anything, it's the characters and the story.
Rather than just being a simple princess film, "Frozen" sought to do something unique and subversive. There are so many layers to it that I can still find something new every time I watch it. Anna's naivety about love is born from her isolation from her sister, just as Elsa's intense anxiety comes from her traumatic past. There's a lot of depth going into this film, and despite the cute sidekick characters and addictive songs, I'd say this is some of the darkest material Disney's worked with.
Ultimately, what was really great about "Frozen" was how it deconstructed the image of the Disney princess genre. The princesses here are independent, relying on their own cleverness instead of their relationship to a man. Anna's characterization gives a realistic reason as to why a princess would want to marry so quickly, but the film just as easily subverts this.
Elsa becoming a queen is also a hallmark moment, if only to show young women that they can aspire to be much more than just a princess. But the film not only deconstructs the princess image, but reconstructs it as well. True love is still a main theme, as it is in all of the Princess films. But after deconstructing the image of romantic love at first sight, the film emphasizes the importance of familial love. The power of love is still a strong virtue, only it is a different kind of love that wins the day here.
But Frozen is not the only animated film that deconstructs and reconstructs a genre. I had the honor of seeing "The Lego Movie" in theaters twice over the past two months, and it completely blew me away. I laughed at all the jokes, got emotional at the character moments, and was wowed by the action. And then there were all those awesome cameos! (I died when Batman stole the Hyperdrive off the Millenium Falcon.) Not only was the animation gorgeous and the characters both heartfelt and hilarious, but the story itself was brilliant. Even more so when one realizes this could have easily turned into a giant toy commercial.
Just as "Frozen" deconstructed the Disney Princess genre, "The Lego Movie" deconstructed the modern blockbuster. Think about it. Our hero is an average joe who becomes the subject of a prophecy (cough cough *Matrix Star Wars Harry Potter* cough) and gets a love interest, a mentor, and a villain to fight. A more cynical viewer could say this film just copied and pasted plot points and archetypes from every other major blockbuster. But then the mentor character, Vitruvius, says he made the prophecy up.
The whole point was that a prophecy wasn't needed to make our hero Emmett special; he merely had to believe he was special. Add on the fact that the entire narrative was the imagination of a ten year old boy, who of course would create stories off the films he'd seen, and it all makes sense in a meta-sort of way. I loved every minute of it. It completely deconstructs our society's consumerism and film franchise mentality, but at the same time reconstructs it by emphasizing how individualism can save the day.
I kind of got ahead of myself here gushing over these two films, but that's precisely the point. There's something about "Frozen" and "Lego" that affected me on a deeply personal level. The Disney films of my past that I had once tried to neglect now seem more inviting and nostalgic, thanks to "Frozen's" reminder of the magic of those films. "Lego" reminded me of playing around with the tiny yellow bricks as a kid, taking minifigures of Harry Potter and Han Solo and Spider-Man and having them interact. These movies managed to both make fun of and embrace everything I loved about childhood, and about the films that helped define mine. The real kicker here, is that no live action film in recent memory has been able to do this.
Animation holds a potential that not even the greatest live action film can hope to muster. Animated films can unite generations, bringing kids and adults together to create memories that last a lifetime. How else do films like "Snow White" and "Bambi" get remembered decades later, when other films fall into obscurity? Yes, animation can be dark and mature when it wants to be. And if done well, animation can tackle heady themes a lot better than other films can.
I think everyone knows the "Up has a better love story in five minutes than all five Twilight films" argument, which really helps my case. At its base level, animation can just entertain the children. And that's perfectly fine; how else will kids get exposed to film and TV? But I think the best animated films and shows are those that all ages can enjoy, with so many layers that adults are as fascinated as the kids. For these adults, myself included, such animation works on multiple levels. Not only do they have mature themes and developed characters that could rival any live action film, but they're presented in a way that makes adults pine for their childhoods. Animation can make one feel old and young at the same time, and that in itself is a gift.
It was my mistake to see "Up", "Wall-E", "Toy Story 3", or "How to Train Your Dragon" as "lesser" films just because they were animated. In truth, they are as powerful a film going experience as any modern blockbuster or Oscar winner. Simply put, "Frozen" and "The Lego Movie" were my wake-up call to not underestimate what animated movies can do. I look forward to hyping up and covering more animated movies and shows as they come out, now that I can treat animation with the respect it deserves.
So to all those cynical adults who think animation is "beneath" them, or not as good as live action, I have a message for you. Please, for the love of God, go watch some cartoons. If the new "Ninja Turtles" trailer, based on a kids cartoon from the '80s, had a passionate reaction from a very adult fanbase, then cartoons must be doing something right. I know I'm not going to underestimate animation again.
Case in point: how awesome is it we're finally getting Incredibles 2? That'll easily blow every modern superhero film out of the water. And no, that's not an exaggeration. Jack Jack would hand Superman, Batman, and the Avengers' asses to them on a silver platter. In fact, I bet Hiccup and Toothless could bitch slap Smaug. And the Iron Giant could go a few rounds with Optimus Prime. And...you know what? I'm getting ahead of myself. You get the idea.
