Warning: The following contains adult themes Animated features have developed far beyond being the lone preserve of family films, writes Steven Balbirnie
Since the release of the first popular feature length animated film, Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it has been traditionally assumed that animations strictly cater to a child audience. However, roughly the past two decades have seen the major studios such as Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks deliberately attempting to broaden their appeal to include adults through the use of pop culture references, double entendres and by evoking feelings of nostalgia in features such as Wreck It Ralph and Toy Story 3. It is often overlooked though, that there has been a less publicised and simultaneous movement by some studios and directors to develop animated features for an exclusively adult audience. While there has long been a small core of animators focusing on more adult themes, it has really been the turn of the millennium that has seen the maturation of the genre, with a turn towards adult animation dealing with complex and weighty subject matters in an experimental and exciting way, and away from X-rated capers such as 1972’s self-consciously offensive Fritz the Cat, or more recently the likes of South Park. In many regards, Japan has blazed the trail in this movement, which is unsurprising considering the country’s longstanding respect for the animated artistic medium. Not only has the gravitas that Japanese animators have approached their subject, exercised an influence upon their fellow animators internationally, but also upon live action filmmakers. Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 cyberpunk thriller, Ghost in the Shell, is often credited due to both its distinctive aesthetic and its engagement with philosophy as being a key influence on the Wachowski brothers’
creation of The Matrix. However, Ghost in the Shell also deserves recognition for its nuanced approach towards sexuality and gender identity, dealing as it does with characters who, despite their gendered appearances, lack reproductive capabilities due to being cyborgs. 2006’s Paprika is another anime that deserves a mention in this regard. The final film from director Satoshi Kon, Paprika delves into the psychoanalytical depths of lucid dreaming, and Christopher Nolan has cited Paprika as an influence behind Inception. Japanese directors are not the only ones to use animation as a vehicle for exploring powerful themes and sensitive subject matter, however. The global reach of this approach is perfectly exemplified by two acclaimed animated features; 2007’s Persepolis and 2008’s Waltz with Bashir. Persepolis is based on the graphic novel of the same name, by the Iranian writer and artist Marjane Satrapi. Based on her life, it is a coming of age tale set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution as Satrapi struggles with her identity through persecution and exile. The film was co-directed by Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, and was jointly animated by French and American studios. Persepolis matches the visual style of the original graphic novel with shifts in the presentation used to delineate breaks in the chronology; the present appears in colour, Satrapi’s past in black and white, while the sections of historical narrative are presented in the style of an old-fashioned shadow theatre. Such visual changes not only ensure that it is never confusing for the audience when the action takes place, but the different styles of presentation
also capture the character of these respective eras. Waltz with Bashir is an Israeli animated documentary film dealing with director Ari Folman’s experience as a soldier during the 1982 Lebanon War. The film chronicles Folman’s attempts to regain his lost memories of the war and to come to terms with the consequences of his actions. It is remarkable for both its innovative approach of combining traditional animation and flash animation in its presentation, and for the manner in which it tackles post-traumatic stress disorder. Understandably, Waltz with Bashir became the first animation to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Aside from using animation to delve into complex topics, which may be more difficult to represent through more traditional cinematic techniques, animation can also be utilised to establish a tone or implement a mechanic that would be awkward in a live action setting. Christian Volckman’s 2006 neo-noir Renaissance, perfectly illustrates how a visual style can be integral to setting the tone for a fictional cinematic world. Affectionately nicknamed Seine City by some, Renaissance is set in Paris in the year 2054 where shady corporations have become more powerful than governments. The film’s distinctive style was created through a combination of motion capture and computer graphics, predominantly presented in black and white though with the occasional use of colour to emphasise a key detail. This technique lends itself commendably well to the desired atmosphere of the gritty futuristic setting. Perhaps the most intriguing and innovative
examples of American adult animations are Richard Linklater’s features, Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly. The rotoscoping technique used for these feature films exhibits how animation can exceed the limitations faced by live action in regards to tone and mechanics. The layering of live action footage with animation lends an uncanny and surreal feeling to Waking Life, which compliments the film’s themes of metaphysics and existentialism. Linklater’s use of rotoscoping also comfortably fit his 2006 adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel, A Scanner Darkly. Dealing with the issues of deception and identity in a dystopian near future setting where most of the characters are on hallucinogenic drugs, A Scanner Darkly’s visuals lends itself to this unhinged, paranoid atmosphere. The visual style also enables the implementation of a core mechanic central to the plot, the ‘scramble suit’. The ‘scramble suit’ is a fictional technological innovation, which causes the wearer’s physical appearance to constantly shift thereby rendering them unidentifiable. It is hard to imagine this mechanic having worked anywhere near as well in a live action adaptation. The past decade has clearly proven that animation has matured as an artistic medium, entirely capable of dealing appropriately with exclusively adult themes. In some cases, notably Linklater’s work, it is perhaps a more appropriate medium for approaching issues such as substance abuse or the subconscious. If anything, animation opens up wider creative and technical possibilities for filmmakers and it will be exciting to witness the further development of the already burgeoning adult-oriented animated genre.
Japanese directors are not the only ones to use animation as a vehicle for exploring powerful themes and sensitive subject matter, however. The global reach of this approach is perfectly exemplified by two acclaimed animated features; 2007’s Persepolis and 2008’s Waltz with Bashir
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