How does one handle someone who thinks animated movies are just for kids?
Sfariah D
Posts: 26,563
Yesterday I was talking with a coworker then he said something like he is too what ever for animated movies. I got offended because my dream job would be making CGI movies with 3d figures. I have seen Renderotica which is CGI for erotica and I would not want my nephew to see that type of thing. I know how hard to turn 3d figures into an animated movie. Animated movies can be for adults too. I know some animation is for only adults.
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Show that person a clip from the South Park movie or Ted and see if that person still holds that opinion.
Also show that person Team America: World Police and ask if that puppet show is appropriate for 8 year old kids. (Especially the theme song) ;)
Unfortunately, the Western animated movies aimed at adults I can think of are all pretty old - Which may be a function of my being old and focusing on the more kid friendly animations (other than Anime) for the past 15 years -
Wizards (1977) - one of my favorites
Lord of the Rings (1978)
American Pop (1981 - and it shows)
Heavy Metal (1981)
Rock and Rule (1983) - Aka Ring of Power
And there's always Anime. A large portion of that is not what American audiences would call kid friendly.
I grew up on animated shows, and was always told they were "kids only"... just to learn as an adult that what was considred a kids show was a heavily cut and dialogue dumbed version of animation aimed at young adults.
Pointing out - or even showing - such a thing to people who think "It's just for kids" can work, but it might just not work, as they would claim "Well, that's the exception that proves the rule." It's just the same like with comics and manga.
That said... I wouldn't take your colleague's comment to heart. "That kid stuff" is something those who look through the narrow cardboard box will not understand or appreciate, because they never bother to break through the walls of their box. Let your art speak for itself. :-)
And maybe you take the compliment from it... Being able to entertaining a kid with art in a way that he/she will fondly remember when they are an adult means that the artist did a great job.
There's nothing wrong with being called a "kids show/comic/manga". :-)
How about Beowulf, or Waltz with Bashir? 2007 and 2012 respectively. This IMDB search will find others.
But really, there are loads of animated movies that are just movies. Not kids' movies or adult movies, but just an entertaining way to spend an hour or two. If your coworker is cutting himself off from the joys of Pixar movies, or Wallace & Gromit, or any of the other brilliant movies that have come out over the years because they're "for kids," it's his loss. Like the idiots who won't watch films because they're in black and white - but I digress.
I feel your pain though. I once went to the pictures with a friend who was very sniffy about my desire to go and see The Incredibles. When we went to see it, she was blown away by it and wondered what she had been missing out on all these years.
So maybe that's your answer - lend him some DVDs and see if he feels the same way about animated movies when he's actually seen some.
Hello,
I'll try to do a whole scope of the question and speak about what is animation. I hope you'll excuse me if it lacks cohesion, I wrote at same time ideas came to me :)
For a better text, I would need more time.
-
I don't think you can convince him. You should just accept his taste and sensibility and work with that.
Fundamentally it's not he's thinking "animated movies" are all like Dora the Explorer, it's simply the medium, the art used, the "style" does not talk to him. In my opinion and experience, some people are not inspired by a more synthetic and artistic representation of the world. That's just that.
-
To go beyond, there is some questions you should ask to yourself (not him, you.) :
1: what is an animated movies ?
2: what is an adult movie ?
-
1:
it's not that much a stupid question.
For example, Avengers, Jurassic World, newer Terminator, The Hobbit, are mostly animated movies : mostly all cgi, even actors being replaced by digital puppets of themselves.
An always longer part of these movies is entirely digital and characters are all animated by professionals.
The new Starwars trilogy (phantom menace and so on) started a debate if it should be in animation category for award.
Avatar is an animated movie with sometimes actors in virtual background.
The point is, the animation is not the point in fact. It's a tool to get a visual result, a "style".
Pixar or Bluesky are using a whimsical take on human representation, it gives them artistic freedom. Yes, they are all full-time animation, but I argue it's not really the point.
Animation is a tool (a beautiful one) to attain a style, a freedom, a goal.
And that style does not interest your coworker.
-
2:
what is an adult movie ? (or truly, an "adult" video game)
it's not porn or violence.
for example,
Marvels is mostly a kid movie, even if it's all about violence.
Transformers 1 to 4 are movies for kids (robots from space transforming in cars and battling evil robots because they are gentle robot and the evil robot are evil) with some not kid-friendly joke and camera point to the ass of the whatever poor actress. It's a weird movies...
Terminator Genesys is a teen movie
The Hobbit should have been a movie for children, with wonders, not over-the-top awesome blond elven violence.
Porn is not "adult", is often teen or just about a fantasy or sexual need to satisfy quickly.
Adult is about adult concerns: family support, health, becoming a parent, taxes, politics, war and dealing with consequences, tragedy.
For example, "When Harry Met Sally." is an adult movie. It goes way over children's concern : they don't care at all.
"Youth" by Paolo Sorrentino is another example
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" by Wes Anderson, even if full of fantasy colors and bigger than life characters speaks about fascism, time passing, nostalgia, it is adult.
Is there really an "adult" movie in animation or just an usual Teen Fantasy with Action or story about children's concern ? (funny and weird characters, loosing the parents or friends, fear and laugh) ?
Animation as you think of it, I guess, entirely animated, like Disney, Dreamworks or even japanese studio as Ghibli is expensive, it takes a lot of people and care.
It's ask a lot for something which is not about the real world by its very nature (obviously not photorealist or surrealist like the last Harlock Space Pirate movie). It may be a lot to ask to audience.
So, it's natural to understand studio pushing theses movies are forced to do a story for all ages (understand: everyone, the biggest audience possible)
It's difficult, it's also a very interesting challenge for a writer.
My point is : "adult" is deeper than Renderotica, but also it's TRUE mostly all animation (mostly all US, French, Korean, Chinese ones and incredibly more and more japanese animation) are by necessity ALSO for kids. it's not a bad thing but you have to accept that. Don't forget children are worthy of beautiful movies and even with limits of tone and subject, some artists did wonders.
-
So why animation is such polarizing ?
Animation has MEANING.
I will use works by Satoshi Kon as an example about meaning.
Satoshi Kow was a great moviemaker and storyteller (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, tokyo godfathers and many others), but to appreciate his work, one has to accept he had his own japanese sensibility and the fact he choose animation because it allowed him some great effects to convey feeling or point.
"Millennium Actress" blurs the frontier between reality and cinematography like no real filming could do, to make a point about what is Acting and Love. And what is "reality" is a recurring question in his whole cinematography. So Animation was deliberate.
Animation is not just doing a story but with drawings. It's a stylistic choice not that innocent. Even the most adult tragic straight serious animated movie ("Grave of the Fireflies" by Isao Takahata) is making a point by using animation.
Only a boring director would do animation just because he/she can't have a camera and actors. All interesting directors, even one playing with the idea to one day direct actors, are using animation to do what is not possible in live filming.
Look, for example, to Brad Bird. his animated and live movies have some similitude, but he uses one for its strength and not just like it's gratuitous to animate or film.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox", by Wes Anderson, uses puppets and stop animation. It gives to the movie a whole "physicality" and a great tool to indulge the obsession of Wes Anderson : precisely picked colors, precise framing of the characters.
It's an animated, but at its core it's a very adult story about a father which has to accept he is no more an irresponsible teen but a father with a kid watching to him. It's quite obvious that story could have been made with actors, no animals allegory, and just plain.
But as I said, animation in this movie allowed Wes Anderson to go, progressively from start to end, in full crazy-mode on his visual obsession. And it's THAT beautiful.
My point here is : yes animation is not an innocent choice. Of course it has meaning, and of course you will meet people reacting badly to that meaning. Everyone is different. Play with that meaning, engage your friend in it.
-
So, now about your concern.
How to deal with your coworker ?
With these considerations in mind, is there an animated movie less visual jarring than others (more subdued ?), or about stuff who interests him (whatever is war, action, drama, or not)
There is many animated movies for all kind of public, with a somewhat mundane style, and they can introduce to more animation. Start from the genre of movies he like.
But you know maybe he's not interested by opening his horizon, maybe movies and cinema are not that much deserving his time. and in fact, he just does not care.
Perhaps surrealist or fantasy representation of the world does not connect to him
Perhaps he's just happy with a comedy about some guys and gals, or gritty semi-realistic fantasy about a game and some throne well served by filming and a few realistic FX.. and it's perfectly fine too.
I hope my answer will open some discussions about animation.
you don't, you let them go on being uninformed because they don't have the mental capacity to go any further.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org
A good film is a good film, regardless of medium. As a specific example, "Up" is a family film. The first five minutes will bring tears to the eyes of adults -- children, not so much. Something suitable for adults does not need to be unsuitable for children.
And, of course:
“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
― C.S. Lewis
and, for that matter,
“It is usual to speak in a playfully apologetic tone about one’s adult enjoyment of what are called ‘children’s books.’ I think the convention a silly one. No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty—except, of course, books of information. The only imaginative works we ought to grow out of are those which it would have been better not to have read at all. A mature palate will probably not much care for crème de menthe: but it ought still to enjoy bread and butter and honey.”
—C. S. Lewis
I think that everything can appeal to everyone, but will not necessarily do so.
I don't agree with my coworkers about everything. Republican/Democrat, this or that about religion, and so on. Animation or not would be the least of my concerns.
Pixar is overrated & ham-fisted most of the time, but that doesn't mean all animated movies are like that.
Studio Ghibli knocks out mature, magical movies that appeal to a wide audience. If you look at something quietly mature like "From Up on Poppy Hill", which is not even one of the "best" Ghibli movies, it's way more "adult" (not in a porno way) when you compare it to a "Guardians of the Galaxy"... and I LIKED "Guardians of the Galaxy" a lot.
"Lego Movie"... that's maybe a kid's movie, and the ending is ham-fisted in a way that would make Pixar writers proud, but the adult-oriented humor that doesn't rely on swearing or adult situations? (Overpriced coffee?! AWESOME!!!) Again, that was one of the best movies of that year, period. It's hardly just a kid's movie.
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"... pretty much greatness. We loved the first one, but the second one was much darker... it was great. Again, compare that to "Guardians of the Galaxy", and I think the animated movie was way more mature in its approach.
How about "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra"? Great, dramatic shows that happened to be animated.
Your workmate is probably just winding you up.
If you have mentioned you do 3D animation it most likely they want to see if you will bite, if you said you collect My Little Ponies or dragon eggs they would no doubt have a field day with that too.
Yep, my feelings exactly. I don't try to change adult people's minds anymore. Opinions about religion, government, morals, race, web browsers, mail programs, anti-virus programs, phone companies, computer manufacturers, and what constitutes healthy activities, are fixed in cement. Logic plays no part in their beliefs. Just state your case, listen to their excuses, shake your head and walk away, and despair for the future of mankind. :down:
All because they don't like animated movies. :P But realize that someone is thinking that about you too. :kiss:
Those who will change, will change on their own after some tragedy affects them deeply or they have an epiphany. But it could go your way or another.
Your life is your life, don't force it on others. You could write a book but don't depend on the income. Or you could blather in forums, while trying to avoid the TOS police. :cheese:
Above all, don't hit them with a stick unless they strike first. >:-(
You don't and if you don't want issues in the workplace, leave it alone. Your dream job may not be their dream job. Just because you like something does not mean someone else does. If your co-worker feels they are too old or mature or whatever for animated movies then that is how they feel. Why were you offended because s/he didn't agree with you and doesn't share your dream?
You forgot "The Prince of Egypt" or something like that, which is from the late 90's or early millennium, can't remember which.
Disney's Gargoyles (early to mid 90's) is a kid's show, but it's aimed at older children/teens and has some adult themes and situations (many of which were present in Disney Afternoon but censored on the Disney channels. Sadly they never released the latter half of season 2 to DVD) Said adult themes are mostly violence, though I also recall one ep where Elisa is making out with a guy and then says something to insinuate that she doesn't want to have sex with him (vague enough that a kid wouldn't get it) Characters/villains also die in the show, and sometimes there is blood. It's a real nerd favorite, and I admit I do love the show and really wish it had gotten a third season.
Marvel's Xmen from the early 90's is another example aimed at older children, though it doesn't depict blood, and a lot of stuff is dumbed down/censored from the comics (I should add that though to a much lesser extent, this also holds true for anime based on manga if its demographic is older children, and it airs on TV rather than the movies or OVD-- e.g. most of the fan favorites such as DragonballZ, Inuyasha, etc. Typically, ones aimed at teens and tweens have references to rape removed, and some (e.g. DragonballZ) remove references to illegitimate birth-- and of course the gore (muscle, dangling sinew and internal organs aren't shown, and amputated limbs are always clean-cut) and trauma-related disfigurement (i.e. broken bones) is toned back by a lot.
I'm almost 40 and my favorite TV Show is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickolodean.
I've met people like that before and I just ignore it. Some people seem to choose to be ignorant, and you can't change their minds.
Ya know I hate to say this but 3d animation or the old school cartoons like Looney Toons or Popeye those are adult ,the cartoons were originally made for adult entertainment ,not kids kids just happened to like them too .......even if they didn't understand them.
Sounds like your co-worker has a small mind to me. .......
Really old cartoons were unregulated and were very racy and racist. The "Betty Boop" cartoons would get an X rating now days. The ones that still exist are heavily edited.
There are a whole lot of old cartoons that you don't even see on TV anymore because they've been banned because of mature themes or perceived racist slants. (many are findable via YouTube and Google)
I got my introduction to classical music from the Warner Brothers cartoons with the Mynah bird skipping along to the tune of Mendelssohn's Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) Overture. I never thought it was racist despite the little native boy unable to catch the bird throughout the whole cartoon. It was just funny. It could have been done with a little white mountain boy if mynah birds and lions lived in West Virginia and would have been just as funny.
"Inky and the Mynah Bird": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djxnw090EeE
Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture" (aka: "Fingal's Cave") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iek4OcrT6m0
The real Fingal's Cave off the coast of Scotland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingal's_Cave
I just laugh at them and move on. The Animated "kids Show" Avatar, The Last Airbender, which aired on a kids Channel (Nick) was anything but a kids show. Well, it wasn't bad for kids, and I'm sure they enjoyed it, but it was so well written, when I first started watching it, I had to keep checking that it was on Nick. At 41 years old, I've watched the series 3 times ( was only a four year story) and am still finding new layers, details, and foreshadowing that would be lost on many.
The first 20 minutes of UP in no way was for kids, I doubt many understand what's going on.
I don't see why people are so quick to dismiss any Show, Music, Movie, whathaveyou without at least checking it out.
TL; DR: I'm 41 and still proudly watch cartoons.
Yeah, "Up" is a very good example. It deals with adult feelings and perceptions of the world. Things that kids simply don't have enough experience to appreciate. Some kids might be able to grasp them intellectually but not emotionally.
Agreed! I have a bunch of new team members under me at my job and i am still finding out what their likes and dislikes are and i don't expect anything beyond that, to each their own.
It's funny, I told a few coworkers awhile back about rendering and 3D assets and they could care less it seemed, which I can understand. Then a customer walked in with a renderosity t-shirt on and we just hit it off because of the common 3D bond, they were baffled, LOL.
I'm almost 40 and my favorite TV Show is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickolodean.
I've met people like that before and I just ignore it. Some people seem to choose to be ignorant, and you can't change their minds.
...61 here and among my favourites :
Films
The Iron Giant
Watership Down
Princess Mononoke
Titan AE
Brave
Television shows
Rocky & Bullwinkle
Anamaniacs (especially Pinky and the Brain)
The 90s Batman Animated series
Time for a screening of Urotsukidoji!
(Monster porn, sort of)
As for grown ups, my wife and I are in our early 40s and have told our 6 year olds to stop talking over the new My Little Pony episode.
(Seriously, it's great stuff)
...as a writer kind of in the same boat.
The best way to describe the story I have been working on is a somewhat fractured and fairly dark fairytale with political intrigue overtones that is set several decades from now (can't necessarily say in an "alternate future" as it plays on situations we currently are dealing with today). While it was born out of an RPG scenario I created (and almost had published) it has grown and "matured" into a fairly intricate tale. As it is based loosely in a commercial game publisher's world setting, I have to publish it as "fan fiction" so as not to step across the "infringement" line.
OK so in the "mature" world it has two strikes against it. already . Next I would like to represent it in a graphic format either as a graphic novel or illustrated story. Another strike (comics and illustrated storybooks are for kids). One of the main reasons I got into 3D CG was because of this idea as I have a specific vision of the characters and settings and no longer am able to use traditional art media due to my arthritis.
Would I like to present it as a series of animated films? You betcha (already have a good portion of a soundtrack for it), however that has many other, and more difficult hurdles to deal with including the aforementioned "intellectual property rights".
Yeah it could be done with a mix of live actors, mocap, green screens, and and CGI, however the one thing I love about pure animation (whether completely drawn/painted or computer generated) is that everything is seen on the screen consistent within itself and disbelief can be suspended.
Is it a story for kids? Umm....not really..
Batman TAS is still my all time favorite toon. Its one the shows/movies that I usually have in the background while working at my computer.
Not to derail the thread, but out of curiosity, have you considered tweaking the world setting just enough so that you could avoid copyright issues?
Oh wow, Batman TAS... it earned my love for always when Batman got dosed by Scarecrow and had this nightmare of his parents walking into an underpass with a stream of water coming out of it that transformed into the barrel of a revolver, the water blood pouring out ...
Holy bleepin bleep.
Batman TAS is still my all time favorite toon. Its one the shows/movies that I usually have in the background while working at my computer.
Not to derail the thread, but out of curiosity, have you considered tweaking the world setting just enough so that you could avoid copyright issues?
...really difficult as the storyline works very well with both the political scene and certain "events" in the UK at the time as well as with the overall economic dystopia of the world setting.
I won't provide links, but the Royal Canadian Mint has just started releasing licensed Looney Tunes coins. Considering (a) they don't license properties unless they can make money, and (b) there aren't very many children (or adults) who can afford to spend over $48,000 on a single collectable (the 1kg gold coin), there's obviously a population of animation fans who are adults out there.
So what if the OP's co-worker isn't one of them?
Yup... Doesn't matter one bit... Move on, don't try to make them like it, they likely won't and will cause you grief.
You just shake your head sadly and feel bad for them they have cut themselves off from an entire form of entertainment.
I don't like a lot of animated films because the art doesn't do it for me. I do like animation.
I lived in Florida for many years. Had (have) lots of financially successful relatives & friends still there. The family often gathered in a gaggle of aunts & uncles & grandparents and great grandparents & great uncles & great aunts & friends & nephews & sons & daughters & teens & youngsters at Disney World for a day or sometimes two. We'd all have a great time. However, one old family fart went to his grave, exclaiming proudly at every opportunity to the fact that he'd never been to any of the Disney parks. Absolutely refused to ever go even when offered free on-site lodging ($$$) and admissions. Cut himself off from fantastic family time. No excuse, just didn't want to go. What can you do about people who close their minds for whatever reason? Just walk away.