Uses and targets audiences

Aim: To research the genres, types and uses of digital animation

Uses: Since its inception, animation has been used in many different forms of media, including:
How has the target audience evolved with these uses? 

• Television programmes
• Children’s animations
• Film, across many different genres
• Advertisements
• Anime and manga
• Online and viral

Animated Films and TV:

Traditionally, animated content is associated with younger audiences. Television programmes such as Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny, and Disney films from Snow White to Frozen, have been largely pitched at children (though as we know from Unit 1, these films also enjoy large audiences formed of older demographics).

Disneyfication:

The transformation (as of something real or unsettling) into carefully controlled and safe entertainment or an environment with similar qualities.

The French philosopher Jean Baudrillard has called Disneyland the most real place in the US, because it is not pretending to be anything more than it actually is, a theme park. He writes:

“Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real, when in fact all of Los Angeles and the America surrounding it are no longer real, but of the order of the hyper-real and of simulation.”

Synopsis for Sleeping Beauty, Part II:

This story, from the Grimm’s Fairytales, did not, for some reason, make it as a Disney sequel:

“The second part begins after the prince and princess have had children. Through the course of the tale, the princess and her children are introduced in some way to another woman from the prince's life. This other woman is not fond of the prince's new family, and calls a cook to kill the children and serve them for dinner. Instead of obeying, the cook hides the children and serves livestock. Next, the other woman orders the cook to kill the princess. Before this can happen, the other woman's true nature is revealed to the prince and then she is subjected to the very death that she had planned for the princess. The princess, prince, and their children live happily ever after.”

British Television – Puppetry and Stop Motion

• Animation was popular for children in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s.
• A number of children’s shows featured puppetry and stop motion.
• Shows included Bagpuss, Clangers, Button Moon, The Magic Roundabout and Postman Pat (first aired in 1981). Bagpuss ( first aired in 1964) seemed to delight and terrify viewers in equal measure.

The Simpsons and Family Guy:

It could be argued that The Simpsons paved the way for shows like Family Guy, due to the adult jokes embedded throughout the series.

When it was first devised, Bart was the main focal point for the series, with his recognisable catchphrases (eat my shorts; don’t have a cow, man; cowabunga). The creators even went as far as releasing a single.

Matt Groening and the other writers of the show soon realised, though, that Homer should become the focal point, and that the target audience for the show was not children, even though that they might have been the original aesthetic.

In a sense – alongside manga – The Simpsons did much to change the landscape of animation, inspiring a new wave of adult animation.

The rise of Manga and Anime in the west: 

1. Ukiyo-e (Floating World): Japan has a long history of erotic and violent art, dating back at least as far as the Edo period (1603-1868).
2. Graphic Novels and Comics: It’s common to see people (mainly men) reading graphic novels in Japan, rather than novels. These are often very violent, erotic, or contain sexualised violence. This has given rise to the term ‘hentai’, referring to overtly sexualised characters and sexually explicit themes and images.

Manga vs Anime: 

Manga is a Japanese word that roughly translates as ‘comic’ – the term generally refers to books and comics. Films and moving image are commonly referred to as anime, though many people erroneously use these interchangeably.

Confusingly, DVD and VHS covers often feature the word ‘manga’.

The rise in popularity of manga and anime in the West has meant that perceptions of animation as a medium have shifted. Once the exclusive domain of children’s content, animation now has a much broader appeal, depending on the technique and genre.

Increasingly, animation features adult content.

One of the first big anime hits was Akira (1988), set in post-apocalyptic Tokyo.

Akira and Beyond:

Following hot on Akira’s heels was Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989), a Japanese import that took animated depravity to new heights.

Influence on Television:

At the same time, Japanese and American animators started working together in the 1980s to produce some hugely popular television shows for children.

Titles included Transformers, He-Man, Thundercats and Ulysses 31. These are fondly remembered by children of the ‘80s. The influence of Japanese artists is clearly evident.

Studio Ghibli:

Japanese anime isn’t all hentai sex and violence, though. 

Perhaps the best-known animation studio outside of Disney is Studio Ghibli, a Japanese company known for beautifully-drawn feature films with underlying messages, such as critiques of environmental pollution and the Japanese sex industry (both found in Spirited Away, a popular film amongst a wide range of audiences, including children).

Other Uses: Advertising:

Animation is often used in advertising.

Nick Park’s Creature Comforts, for example, were used to advertise heating, while cereal products often use animated characters, such as Tony the Tiger. 

Target Audience:

As part of this section of the coursework, you should be considering why animation is used in these different types of media.

So, for example, who is the target audience for the tortoise campaign? How, exactly, does the ad target them? What messages is the animation conveying about the brand identity?

British Gas have recently done a similar campaign with Gaz and Leccy.

Online and Viral:

VoD services such as YouTube and Dailymotion have become hubs upon which online and viral animation shorts and webisode comics can be found. 

These are produced by amateurs who use such distribution channels to showcase their talents.

Short animated gifs can also be found on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Video Games:

During the production of video games, as with animation in 3D films, actors wear motion capture equipment, which charts their movements.

It could be argued that video games are one of the largest platforms for animation.