I cannot say, as I did years ago, that animation is a
maligned art form in America. The success of Pixar, Dreamworks and the rebirth
of Disney have proven me wrong. Avatar:
The Last Airbender spawned The Legend
of Korra—both being beloved series which address contentious and mature
topics.
Still, it remains true that an animated work must be—or
pretend to be—a family affair to succeed in the American market. Avatar and Korra aired on Nickelodeon and almost never show deaths on-screen.
Pixar’s themes may be mature, but rarely does it show blood. Overt sexuality is
unheard of.
Foreign animation, Japanese in particular, can be a treat in
that it lacks these domestic limitations. I recently took the chance to watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, a
series which aired in 2009-2010. Though it is “old news,” per se, it remains an
example of the power of animation as a medium.
