I normally do movie reviews, but there was something in the 94th Academy Awards that got a lot of people talking on social media. That was when Amy Schumer said, “Super cool to position animation as something that kids watch and adults have to endure,”  and called it a “Genre”. Now I don’t want to sound offended as she has her opinion, after all, but I want to add my insight into this as well. 

First of all, Animation isn’t really a genre as it is a way to display art. A genre, according to Oxford Languages Dictionary,  is “a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter”.  It is another medium through which to tell a story, like telling a story through writing, acting on stage, or cinematography. Therefore animation is more of a medium than a genre. 

On a second note, animation isn’t only limited to kids as shown in adult shows like The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, etc. I assume that what she meant was animation that is usually targeted at kids and within that demographic with films and shows like Encanto, Gravity Falls, Into The Spider-Verse, and so on. Just because it is directed to kids doesn’t mean adults can’t enjoy it, too. As I said, animation isn’t a genre but a medium to tell a story and the movies I listed have great storytelling. Animation better captures visuals as well. For example; Into The Spider-Verse it has been stated that in order for Miles(Spider-Man) to stop sticking to walls he has to calm down and when Miles puts on the mask to step up and take on the mantle he is sticking on a glass building and when he leaps off he breaks the glass since it was still stuck to his fingers. Scenes like that are what make animation amazing. 

It is also what makes it a shame that it is a stigma for adults to enjoy animation. And if someone does like it, they are assumed to be “always childish” or “living in their parents’ basement”. Animation may mostly be targeted toward kids but that doesn’t mean that adults can’t enjoy it as well.