Adult Animation Revolution: Animation For Teens and Young Adults
by Tito W. James
At the World Animation Summit one topic that came up over and over was a desire to see more PG-13 animation. The phrase that was thrown around was “co-viewing.” However, co-viewing is basically a “family” program so the target is still kids and parents. I was under the impression that all family animation was intended to be watched as a family.
The attitude of many of the rising stars was that they wanted to see young adult action adventures. Most millennials grew up on the boom of Young Adult fiction and action dramas like The Avatar Series and Young Justice or films like Atlantis the Lost Empire. The desire for PG-13 animation seemed like a no-brainer to them. Genndy Tartakovsky’s upcoming Unicorn: Warriors Eternal could be a breakthrough success in the teen action drama genre.
The President of Sony Pictures Animation, Kristine Belson, said they would love to do a PG-13 film and they already have R-rated films and TV series in the works. As she pointed out exploring different art styles and genres may seem risky but intelligent risks can yield great rewards. Serving a ready and waiting audience hungry for new ideas is a great business decision and a great artistic practice.
