Konyicska-Székely Ágota

     Animated Movies and Cartoons Are Not Suitable for All Ages

              In the era of computer games and social media, watching animated movies and cartoons is still a popular way of entertainment among young children. Animated movies and cartoons are generally considered to be created for the younger generation, especially for children under the age of 10. As a result, many parents allow young children to watch these films and series, believing that all animated movies are aimed at entertaining children. However, many animated movies and cartoons contain scenes which involve violence, death, and frightening and intense scenes; therefore, young children should not watch these films.

              Firstly, violence is a widely used element in films, especially in action movies. Children’s cartoons have been documented to be some of the most violent television programs currently on the air, showing nearly three times the amount of violence per hour as nonchildren’s programming (Wilson et al., 2002). According to a study by Yokota F., and Thompson K.M. (2000) a significant amount of violence exists in animated G-rated feature films. For example, Courage the Cowardly Dog was a popular animated comedy on Cartoon Network, which was created for children, but is not suitable for a younger audience, as it contains severely violent and harsh scenes.

              To continue, the theme of death also plays a significant role in many animated films. Most Disney films include scenes dealing with the death of the villain. For instance, the 3D animated fantasy, How to Train Your Dragon 2 contains several scenes involving the unnecessary death of many humans and dragons. One of the most affecting scenes is the death of Hiccup's, the main character's father. This scene is very distressing for children, as the father is killed by Hiccup's most beloved dragon. The death of the father is a turning point in the movie, but to understand the relevance of this scene requires a certain maturity.

         Thirdly, animated films and cartoons contain many intense and frightening scenes. For example, The Grimm Adventures of Bill and Mady is a G-rated cartoon; however, it is not suitable for a younger audience, as it contains many frightening and intense scenes. The two main characters are often injured, and even killed, which is disturbing for young children. Moreover, most of the popular so-called family films contain frightening and intense scenes, for instance the popular Disney Halloween movies, which are often distressing for very young children.

             To conclude with, these examples show that animated movies and cartoons are not suitable for all ages. Many films deal with serious issues, such as violence, the theme of death, and they contain intense and frightening scenes. For all these reasons, parents should not allow their young children to watch these types of animated movies and cartoons until they reach the required maturity to understand the film, rather than being depressed by it.

References

Record, M. (2014, July 5). How To Train Your Dragon 2. Retrieved October 21, 2014, from                              http://isthismoviesuitable.com/2014/07/05/how-to-train-your-dragon-2/

Sheehan, L. (Ed.). (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2014, from http://movies.allwomenstalk.com/kid-                      cartoons-that-are-really-inappropriate

Wilson, B., Smith, S., Potter, W., Kunkel, D., Linz, D., Colvin, C., & Donnerstein, E. (2002).                            Violence in Children's Television Programming: Assessing the Risks. Journal of                                     Communication, 52(1), 5-8.

Yokota, F., & Thompson, K. M. (2000). Violence in G-Rated Animated Films. JAMA, 283(20),                           2716-2720.