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Once and for all this is NOT a "kids' movie"!


At the 11:25 mark of this video we clearly hear Looney Tunes director Friz Freleng state: "The cartoons that we designed were never designed in our minds for children. All our audiences were adults really. We never had children in mind when we made our...We made them for ourselves really."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YjvSo12xDU

Many other animators have said the same thing.

In this cartoon starring the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney sells War Bonds to adults:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7gGvh2Sc34

This cartoon starring Donald Duck encourages American citizens to pay their income tax in support of the war effort. How many children do you know who pay income taxes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMU-KGKK6q8

The Flinststones was a prime time sitcom. It was sponsored by Winston cigarettes. In those days television commercials were done by the characters of the show. Here is the Flintstones advertising Winston:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LpQnIGMIDQ

Here The Flintstones sell Busch beer. Does anyone really believe this was targeted at children?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEZGaLlLfcY

Snoopy sells Met life insurance.

In this cartoon Olive Oyl is a prostitute at a brothel. Popeye and Bluto both want her:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pro9oJOEM3U
As cartoon historian Greg Ford says on the DVD commentary: "It's all up there on the screen -- it's not the subtext, it's the text!”

Animation is not "childrens' entertainment". It is for people of all ages. There is a small amount of animation that is targeted at children. Examples are the animated shows on PBS. It is a very small amount though. Most animation is for people of all ages. I get very frustrated whenever I am browsing the internet and see comments claiming that Disney classics among other great movies are "kids' movies". People should use common sense! Again and again and again I have seen people comment that the content of a Disney movie is deep and surprising for a "kids' movie". I can't think of a single Disney classic that this has NOT been said about! There is a reason for that. The reason is they are NOT "kids' movies". I also see the same comments about live-action Disney movies. For example Dick Van Dyke's "Never a Dull Moment." People say things like: "Did those who are criticizing this movie not notice the name Disney on it? In case you didn't take my hint it is for kids. Hello!"

They couldn't be more wrong! Hello!

The same goes for The Muppet Show. Jim Henson clearly stated that his show was for adults. That should be obvious to anyone who has actually watched it.

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Ha ha, cry more, punk!

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Some people have the peculiar idea that all animation is meant for children. It's their loss.

Earth without art is just "eh."

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Marketing cigarettes and beer to children (a la the Flintstones) is not so implausible, given what we now know. But the Flintstones (and the Jetsons) did originally air in prime time - around 730-800 PM IIRC - so presumably they were trying to reach a broad audience that included adults.

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