The return of Adult Animation?

M

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A few friends of mine were talking about how much adult animation deserves a comeback, I bet everyone is sick of just seeing CG kid cartoons.{I should know because Danny Antonucci is one of them.:D} Anyways a few nights ago, I saw X-men origins Wolferine with my friends...Just then the trailer for the animated movie 9 is shown.


We saw the audenice's recation to the trailer, they were blown away. Seeing how the movie is rated PG13, could this be the sign of adult animation coming back? Because if this is proven successful we might be able to see some more "less kid friendly" animated films.
 
An adult animated film would be welcome and an interesting change of pace, but they're a hard sell here in the U.S. where the common belief is that animation = childrens' entertainment. Earlier attempts have been made, such as Ralph Bashki's Wizards, American Pop, Heavy Metal, Rock and Rule, and more recently, Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within, but that was a dismal failure, and so far, none of the imported adult animated films have had the kind of commercial success that would be necessary to cause the movie industry to rethink it's stance on adult animated films. If an adult animated movie scores HUGE numbers at the box office and is a certified hit, both commercially and critically, then it just might happen.
 
In order to have a comeback - you've got to have something to come back to; which with adult animation, I can't think of any time when there was an actual adult demo or mindset for it.

Sure there's been omni-demographic periods (Toons for everyone!) , but nothing specifically for older audiences.

I think the better question would be - "Are we starting to shrug off the mentality that cartoons are just for kids". Which is the age old question that's been asked since these forums were started up.

The answer to which is still as ambiguous as day one. Each year we take two steps forward and two steps back - and I honestly don't think this year will be any different.
 
Return? I can't recall any point in the past having any more adult animation around than we do now, except for maybe 2-3 years ago (before Adult Swim started going live-action happy).
 
Well, I think some people are turned off by adult animation because it sometimes does not do a very good job of hiding adult "themes." This is in addition to the "just for kids" mentality (sp?) but anyway, when you're a kid you don't even really look for "themes" to a show. You like it because you like it.
 
Strange. I work at a movie theater and "9" has gotten some pretty WTF reactions from audience members every time a trailer is shown. And not in a good way.
 
Really? Elaborate.

The thing I noticed and this is what CH Greenblatt said, and that people don't like cartoons because it's viewed as juvenile, and anyone attempting to break that view, is accused of corrupting the youth.

I also heard with the increased production and the success of animated cartoons targeted towards an older audience, the return to feature films are not too far off.
 
We're slowly, but surely, getting there. Look at the surge of PG - PG-13 rated animated films in recent years.

An animated film doesn't have to be balls to the wall gore and sex. Look at The Incredibles. Despite the way it was marketed, that film was pretty adult in terms of storytelling and execution.
 
Despite Rob Zombie's popularity with the teens, I really doubt that the movie would do well in the box office.

It would be nice to have that comeback again, but we'd need another Fritz the Cat if we really wanna put more of an impact besides some late at night animations for college humor.


Weird because my sister isn't much of a nerd, but she thought the movie looked cool because she liked the music in the trailer. Plus I think it'll appeal to the Tim Burton crowd, despite how it's Shane's idea, not his.
 
South Park, Family Guy, and Tales From the Black Freighter would like a word with you, and that's just off the top of my head.

Just as there have been very few points in history in which there's been more adult animation than there is now, there have been very few points in which there's been LESS. There have always been a handful-- never a LOT, never NONE, but always a HANDFUL-- of squarely adult-oriented animated properties around. They've never OUTNUMBERED animated properties geared at children or families, but they've always been there.
 
Compared to Drawn Together and Superjail? I guess some people don't like expressed art.


Also, because of a lack of parent's concern, some kids just plain watch animation not aimed at them.
 
I sooooooo doubt Adult animation will come any time soon. I was fighting with some guy, telling him “CARTOONS CAN HAVE A MATURE THEME AS WELL, LIKE MOVIES”. But he keeps on saying cartoons are meant for kids and it's “MUST” be educational; no grown adults watch cartoons, even if it shows a mature theme. I got a little angry by that clam he stated.

I'll love to prove him wrong....If only America can be more loss on animation limits of theme and what can they show today.
 
You don't need to bash someone else's taste just because I said 9 isn't going to be a blockbuster smash. It's just far too dark and niche for people to embrace. Dark films never do well, The Dark Knight is not an example of this because Batman is an established property and people would have seen it regardless. Word of mouth for 9 is splendid through sci-fi and animation nerds but it's being dumped in September and hasn't made much of an impact on anyone outside of the nerd community.
 
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