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Animation. Immediately, with that single word, connotations of sheer cinematic glee rush into my brain. Visions of superheroes and monsters, toys and space, fish and race cars, flying houses and little, shy desk lamps. And every one of those images that name conjures is rendered in beautiful, brilliant, fully-realized CGI animation. A marvel of modern technology, of modern filmmaking. The ability to show us anything, to explore any world, to give voices to the voiceless, emotions to the emotionless. The ability to break beyond the constraints of live-action filmmaking. But is that necessarily a good thing for kids?
 Of the highest grossing animated films of all time, 30 of those top 40 films were made within the last ten years. The number of animated films made in the 2000s alone is staggering. And that number is climbing. There's obviously a desire for them; they're always sure to open to big audiences of their target demographic (kids and their parents), and with Rio, Rango, The Bear and the Bow, and Kung Fu Panda 2 still yet to be seen this year, there's no end in sight. But what I'm here to question is what exactly is this doing to that target demographic. What is this doing to the kids?
When I was growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, the majority of my film entertainment came by way of VHS tapes. On those tapes were amongst some of my favorite films then and now: The Goonies, Willow, E.T., Hook, The NeverEnding Story, The Wizard of Oz, The Sandlot, Benji, Homeward Bound, Harry and the Hendersons, The Dark Crystal.
 My favorites were the Disney classics -- The Jungle Book being the one to which my fondest memories are attached -- but the quantity of live-action kids' films were far greater than animated ones. How things have changed! Today you'd be hard-pressed to talk to any eight-year-old whose favorite movies aren't on the complete opposite end of that spectrum. Kids today want animals who, right before their eyes, actually speak, emote, and feel like they do -- and haven't just had some voice thrown on top of their actions. They're used to seeing everything in the closest of detail, not just in suspense-inducing glimpses. They're used to connecting with toys and robots and monsters more than they're used to connecting with actual human beings. It's just what they know.
Is the old magic gone?
As a kid, when a magician pulled a rabbit out of his top hat, it was baffling -- even when it happened right before my eyes. Where did the rabbit come from? Does it live in the hat? There are infinite possibilities. It was magic. Now we can see the inside of the hat. Or see the very tip-top that opens, hinges down, providing access to the rabbit's cage below the table upon which the hat rests. There are infinite possibilities to make your wildest dreams come to life.
Today you can walk out of a movie theater (or from my couch to the refrigerator) pondering what it would be like to create an extraterrestrial, or live with Bigfoot, or make that dog across the street transform into a giant behemoth hellbent on crushing mailboxes -- I am still completely convinced we should all learn to live under the sea like Captain Nemo. Thank goodness the "magic" is still in your mind. With the proper training and a few powerful computers you can create your very own magic.
 It used to take a large leap of faith, a suspension of disbelief, an imaginative trust to lose myself in older films like The NeverEnding Story or The Goonies. All good films, but they were so lacking in the effects department, yet at the same time they still helped secure the idea of filmmaking as an active career pursuit. So much so, that I knew someday I had to be a character animator, director, or compositor where I could be flying around on top of Falkor every day. Fast forward to the present. With so much available to this generation of kids, is it all a passive experience? How much of it is handed to them?
The truth is, movie magic is still very difficult to create. While the mechanics of the animation have advanced, the "magic" still lies in the storytelling . Today's filmmaker may have more tools to craft a human connection in kids' films, but only talented storytellers can make us dream and wonder and take that leap of faith instead of being led down a boring effects laden path. I really like it when students ask me, "Do you like my story?" Then ask how to get it done.
For a more in-depth and detailed explanation of our media development process, please contact dbrehm@bluelogicproductions.com
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