As regular readers may recall, I recently posted a video clip called En Tus Brazos, which was an animated short about a tango dance between a husband and wife.  One of the comments I received concerning that clip suggested that the short film would be improved if a real actor and actress had played the leading roles.  I’ve turned this over in my mind more than a few times, and I’ve decided to post a short defence of animation.

I love all forms of animation.  As a mother of 3, I watch a lot of animation with my kids.  We have the full Disney collection on video.  We watch The Nightmare Before Christmas every Halloween.  We visited the Pixar exhibition more times that I can remember. We think Nick Park is a genius.  I think it would be fair to say that I was raising my kids with an appreciation for the animated medium!

The various techniques used in animation absolutely fascinate me and I love to see what innovations animators are coming up with.  From line-drawing to stop motion to computer generated, I just so admire those who have mastered the skills involved to produce an animation.  But, you know, it’s so much more than the technological innovation that I love.  It’s also the content, the messages, the stories that animation has the capacity to tell.

Animation can be powerful and political:

It can be surprising:

It can be thought provoking:

It can be educational:

And it can offer fresh interpretations of already known works:

What it is not, however, is a poor man’s substitute for acted drama.

Do you agree?  Do you have a favourite clip that you would like to share?  What was your favourite childhood animation?

If you have enjoyed these clips, why not head over to my Tumblr blog where I have posted some more animation which has touched me.