People think animated movies are for kids.
“Why would some weird-ass talking creatures interest me?” or “It doesn’t seem natural” are a few statements that I often hear.
I, for one, don’t agree with this. Because well, have you seen Big Hero 6?
Those who have will know what I am talking about.
I have seen animated movies bring out emotion more often than not, which is much more pronounced than when you watch normal movies. For instance, take the song ‘I see the light’ from the movie tangled; as far as filling the mood with romance and subtle anticipation goes, I cannot find a song that does it better than this song. Or take the innocent depiction of a man braving all odds to find his son (metaphorically) in Finding Nemo. Can you name a movie that does that half as good?
When you don’t care what the characters on screen look like, you tend to feel the movie better, and you go on the journey the movie takes you through. While the traditional molds of the lead characters in movies and their physical appearance are being broken now (Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Peepli Live, etc., etc) but when a normal person goes to a theatre to watch a non-animated movie, they still expect glamour, beauty and in general a larger than life depiction of life itself (why do you think Bollywood is thriving?).
When you watch an animated movie, since all characters look cute no matter their role (no hotness, no makeup, and no expensive clothes), you actually watch the movie. You actually see them emote and feel those emotions. When Eva goes into a crazy mode in ย WALL-E, you actually feel bad for WALL-E, even though he is just a robot.
Animated movies do not numb your senses with crazy song-and-dance routines, nor are there flashy lights and glittery clothes. All the background, color scheme, everything is designed such that your focus remains on the characters and their stories. I mean, who thought, looking at Elsa from Frozen, “yeah, that’s the gown I want to wear to the college dance”?
Everybody was rejoicing for her freedom and her happiness.
These movies make you think; they let you form opinions of your own and leave back a subtle question for you to ponder on. In How To Train Your Dragon, they make you understand that sometimes your worst enemies are the ones who make very loyal friends. In Kung Fu Panda, they make you realize that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it, however average you think you may be.
In WALL-E, they make you think about what you are doing to your own mother Earth. In Tangled, they make you think about adventure and standing up for yourself, and love.
There has never been an animated movie in which two people meet, fall in love, maybe fight a little in between and get back together in the end for happily ever after. Even if an animated story shows love, there is much more to it than just a love story.
To everyone who doesn’t like animated movies, you are missing out big time, man! Because they teach us to be our own heroes, not wait for some Prince Charming/Cinderella to show up in your life (Cinderella incidentally happens to be an exception in animated movies).
So get up and run to the nearest video store, rent a bunch of animations and get ready to be inspired because it has some real life-changing stuff, and it is not just for kids.