Cartoons Are For Kids

Animation is cool

Words by Waverly Loyd

I asked someone their favorite animated movie, and they said, “I’m an adult. I don’t watch kid’s movies.” And I thought, “Wow, you must be so fun to be around.” (derogatory) Apart from the fact that watching animated movies is good for the soul, not all animated movies are just for kids. And if you are reading this and feel that way, I am certain it is because you have not seen these films.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Why do fireflies have to die so soon?

Fourteen-year-old, Seita, is the only one left to care for his little sister, Setsuko, after they were orphaned during an air raid in Japan, amidst the devastation of World War II. This movie explores the human depravity that is war, and all of the lives it takes — mainly those of fireflies (children). Fireflies only live for 61 days. Their lives are fleeting and bright. When we see a firefly, they spark child-like joy within us, as they are a testament to nature’s wonders and magic. And significantly in this film, they represent the short lives of the purest souls — children.

To say this movie is sad is an understatement. I rarely watch sad movies, for I feel there might be the same reasoning that people don’t watch scary movies: Why would I intentionally watch something that’s supposed to scare me? That’s exactly how I feel about sad movies: Why would I ever watch something that I know will make me cry and leave me feeling gutted and empty? So, it’s a rarity for me. But I have had this movie on my watchlist for years and back in September, I finally decided to watch it. I mean, it’s a kid’s movie, right? And a Ghibli film on top of that. So it can’t be that bad …

Hahahahahaha. Yeah so, I was hyperventilating and curled up in a fetal position by the end of this watch. Genuinely thought I needed grief counseling afterwards.

Any movie that centers around the horrors of war will always be a hard watch. The evilness that humans are capable of putting each other through is shocking and creates a hopeless feeling within us viewers. Anti-war movies tend to center around the greatness of America and focus more on resilience and strength than they do the brutality and utter despair of war. I don’t fault those movies for that. It gives us hope and gratitude that even through the darkest times, you can still make it out the other side.

All that being said, this movie, in my opinion, is a more compelling anti-war film than most I have seen. War is rarely glorious, and usually, the most affected by it are the innocents. This film shows us just how far this goes. Rarely do we see soldiers or victories. Instead, we follow two children struggling to survive in an environment designed to kill them. At first, they are taken in, begrudgingly, by their aunt. When resources are slim, it brings out the worst in people, and rather than seeing Seita and Setsuko as her family, she sees them as extra mouths to feed. Seita realizes this very quickly that he and his sister must find somewhere else to go. This forces them to move into an abandoned bomb shelter.

I think this movie hits so close to home for me because as an older sibling, I would do anything for my sister. Setsuko is too small and naïve to truly understand what they are going through. She just wants to play with her big brother and eat sweets. She sees their situation as a big adventure and believes it’ll end like a fairy tale. Seita, of course, sees the reality. Yet, he is still so young too. At only 14, he has been forced from childhood into adulthood in the blink of an eye. It’s up to him to provide and protect and he can only do so much.

As the movie progresses, they slowly begin to run out of food and water. Seita is doing his best to find work and to find a way to get them food, shelter and money — while Setsuko is fading from starvation There is a truly gut-wrenching scene when Seita has to leave to go find help, and Setsuko is softly pleading with him to stay with her because she has become so weak she can barely raise her voice or sit up, and she just wants the comfort of her brother.

And the scene that follows shortly after is one of the most heartbreaking moments I have ever seen on screen. Seita arrives back at the shelter to see that Setsuko has prepared a meal of rice balls and soy paste. And, that is all I will say about that because the tears have begun flowing and I can no longer see my keyboard.

Sometimes there is no justice in the world, and they deserved so much better than what they were given.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

I cussing love this movie.

Mr. Fox is an egotistical character whose pride runs so deep; he loses sight of what is most important in his life. Everything about this movie is a masterpiece. Wes Anderson creates the most stunning visual playgrounds for all of his films. His understanding of color theory and lighting makes him a favorite among many cinephiles.

Stop motion animation is easily one of the most impressive forms of animation, with an extremely intense process that takes a painstakingly long time to create. This movie took four years to make with 90-second-long scenes taking a week to film. It is a labor of love that reverberates through every frame.

This movie is not only aesthetically pleasing and looks like how a warm hug feels, but it also is hilarious and heartfelt and endearing. And every line, no matter how comical, is metaphorical and lyrical. Mr. Fox feels discontent with his life because he no longer is living his glory days as a thief. He decides to commit one final heist in the hopes that he can achieve his perception of greatness, and that in doing so, will fulfill the emptiness in his heart. However, things go awry in his big plan, and he endangers the lives of his family and friends and must take accountability for his selfish actions and right his wrongs. This is a film about the costs of pride and the price of ingratitude. This movie is a reminder to take a look at your life right now and realize the things you currently have are things you once wished for. If you’re always looking for the next best thing, you miss all the greatness around you.

Mr. Fox has a wife who loves him and their quiet life, and their son, Ash, who is willing to do anything to make his dad proud of him. And instead of seeing the love and peace surrounding him, he sees all the ways in which he has failed. “I don’t want to live in a hole anymore. It makes me feel poor.” “We are poor, but we’re happy.”

This is one of those movies that will always be an important rewatch for every phase of life. It’s easy to take things for granted and to be so caught up on what could be and not see everything you already have.

This film is vibrant and charming and will uplift anyone who also feels stuck in a hole. One of the most impactful scenes is when Mr. Fox is talking to his wife, Felicity, and says, “I think I have this thing where I need everybody to think I’m the greatest — the quote-unquote fantastic Mr. Fox—and if they aren’t completely knocked out, dazzled and kind of intimidated by me, then I don’t feel good about myself.” I think so many of us can relate to this. We crave connection and acceptance, and for those of us with a fear of failure, use our successes to measure our worth.

At the end of this movie, Mr. Fox is with his family at a grocery store, and he makes a speech to them about the newfound optimism he feels for his life and how much he loves each of them. Picking up an apple he says, “And even these apples look fake, but at least they’ve got stars on them.” Mr. Fox has finally realized that even though his life doesn’t look the way he once dreamed it to be, his family is all safe and together. And even in the face of difficulty, there is always something to be grateful for.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Who is the monster and who is the man?

A few months ago, I decided to watch this for some lighthearted Disney fun. I hadn’t watched it before even though “The Bells of Notre Dame,” has been one of my favorite Disney songs since I was little. There are very few Disney movies I haven’t seen, so I was excited for something new and fun.

The main message of this movie is clear: Just because someone looks different from you, doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve love, acceptance and friendship.

However, some other messages presented here are maybe a little unclear. When Judge Claude Frollo sees Esmeralda for the first time, when she’s performing at the festival of fools, you can see he feels sexually attracted to her with her exotic dancing. Almost every moment after is spent with him trying to burn the city down to find and destroy her because she gave him a boner. Guys, I’m not joking. Watch this movie and try to tell me otherwise. Frollo sings a song called “Hellfire,” about his lust for Esmeralda, begging God to destroy her so his object of desire is taken away so he can fully turn his attention back to God. “Like fire, hellfire, this fire in my skin. This burning desire is turning me to sin. It’s not my fault, I’m not to blame. It is the Gypsy girl, the witch, who set this flame.” This baddie exists and Frollo knows he could never bag her, so he sets the city on fire in the biggest crash out I’ve seen.

I haven’t even gotten to Quasimodo. Imagine being so ugly, you’re mistaken for a character in costume and then brought on stage in front of the entire town where they try to remove your “mask,” and find out that it’s just your face and then you get tied down and booed while getting food thrown at you, and then the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen stands up for you by saying, “leave this poor creature alone!” I’d eat a bullet for sure. I’d take a long walk off a short pier. I’d go for a quick drop with a sudden stop … you get the idea. Because then after all this, he falls in love with the pretty girl (Esmeralda,) who rides off into the sunset with another man after using Quasi for the whole movie. This is the “nice guys always finish last,” final boss.

I’d like to circle back real quick to that scene at the fools festival with Quasi being on stage. Like I said, I watched this movie thinking it would be a good, lighthearted brain break from my typical watches. Instead, I bawled like a baby. Specifically during this scene. Quasi is so naïve and deprived of connection, he thinks that when he’s on stage and they’re screaming his name and chanting for him, that it’s because they accept him and aren’t scared. He is crowned and carried on a throne throughout the crowd. He lifts his face toward the sun, eyes closing gently, while tears run down his face, thinking that he is worth more than all the horrible things Frollo taught him. We watch this scene understanding what is actually going on. The crowd is praising him for being a freak show, the punchline to a joke he isn’t in on. It’s such a cruel scene. Like, we get it! You’re all sex-deprived ableists. Maybe Frollo wasn’t in the wrong for trying to massacre the city.

The religious hysteria and demonic visuals with the flames engulfing everything in their wake while people chant in Latin is something out of an Ari Aster movie. And if I would’ve watched this as a kid I definitely would’ve been scared. Which producer walked into Disney and said, “OK, hear me out. We’re doing a kids’ movie about lust, religious extremism and Anti-Romani propaganda. But wait — there’s more! Our main character is so ugly we literally name him after his deformity, lock him in a bell tower for life and give him schizophrenia so bad his only friends are talking rocks. But don’t worry — the soundtrack? Absolute BANGER.” And Disney was like, “OK, sure.”

This movie is pretty depressing, and it’s one of the few Disney films I’ve watched where I felt like the main character didn’t get their “happily ever after.” But maybe it’s not about the destination — it’s about the lessons we learned along the way, like “don’t date outside your race (unless you want to be burned at the stake)” and “if you’re deformed, your best-case scenario is dying alone—but at least with minimal tomato damage.”

Thanks for reading! See you next time J