Adult Animation Revolution: We Need Epic Animated Films
by Tito W. James
If you are a fan of animation it looks like we are entering a Golden Age. CGI animated films are getting more stylized and experimental, animated TV programs are exploring new genres and serialized storytelling, and anime is changing the animation conversation worldwide. It would be easy to sit back, relax, and let the good times roll. However, if you value innovation you can never remain complacent.
Therefore, I ask why don’t we have more epic animated movies? After seeing the trailers for Dune: Part 2 and Napoleon I immediately thought–This is the next step for animated feature films! The epic scope and emotional gravitas is what I want to see up on the big screen. It’s now the 25th anniversary of Prince of Egypt. I can easily imagine Napoleon working in a similar hand drawn animation style. Hand drawn feature animation is due for a comeback anyway.
Now this just may appear to be wishful thinking, but I recall having a conversation at a party and expressing how we should have an animated show akin to The Revenant. A party-goer responded “is there even an audience for that?” Cut to Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal premiering in 2019. There are many stories that would be ripe for an animated adaptation: The Phantom of the Opera, Moby Dick, Dante’s Inferno, Paradise Lost, or The Odyssey, just to name a few. As the saying goes “ask and ye shall receive.” I believe that there is an audience for an Epic animated film– All it will take is a brave animation studio to bring it to life.
