"We want 2D animated movies, but not like this!"
Or, people don't want 2D animated movies, they want Disney-like movies
Internet users have repeatedly expressed the sentiment that they want 2D animated movies to return, usually accompanied by attached images of Treasure Planet, Atlantis, The Road to El Dorado, Anastasia, The Iron Giant, The Prince of Egypt, Spirit, and Sinbad.
Then when 2D animated movies do get released nowadays, whether in theaters or on streaming platforms, those same people ignore them. They think foreign movies, such as Robot Dreams and Chicken for Linda, are yucky, they still think anime is all just violence or tentacle stuff or whatever 90s stereotype. People understandably made a big stink about Coyote vs Acme being shelved, but didn't show up to support The Day the Earth Blew Up. People correctly state that animation is for everyone, only to clutch their pearls over an adult animated movie. So recently, the trailer for Sony Pictures Animation's Fixed, directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, was released. It is the studio's first adult animated movie. It sparked lots of negative reactions saying:
- “Genndy, why? 😰”
- “I wanted 2d movies to come back but not like this 😬”
- "Adult animation was a mistake"
- "Ew, it looks like John K"
- “he wants to fuck dogs omg” (really? what an odd thing to say)
The trailer misrepresented the movie by emphasizing the cruder jokes, when in reality, it looks like it has a lot more character and heart amongst all the jokes. Tartakovsky went on record as saying: "it's really funny and heartwarming, it's not all about balls, we're trying to make it a character comedy." There is a trailer just on the Netflix website that is much better, and also censors things.
The pearl-clutching is very annoying and corny. There's way raunchier stuff than this. I understand if this movie isn't for you, that's fine, but starting a moral panic over sex in an animated movie just reinforces the stereotype that animation should only be squeaky-clean, pure, and kid-friendly. Again, the trailer is misrepresenting the movie. I have a lot of faith in it because Tartakovsky usually puts out high-quality works, and the animation looks very well-done. Plus, I'm happy it was saved by Sony after WB screwed it over. To me, what separates this from other raunchy adult animated comedies is that it's putting more emphasis on character, and it actually looks good because it's made by a cartoonist. A lot of adult cartoons look "ugly" because they are not made by cartoonists, but by comedians and sitcom writers.
The backlash towards Fixed from people who claim to support animation made me realize something: people only want 2D animated movies that resemble Disney and early Dreamworks. I love movies like Treasure Planet and The Prince of Egypt, but other 2D animated movies deserve love too. Some people have just been conditioned by big studio kids' movies. The moment a movie comes out that isn't from America or isn't for kids, it gets trashed or ignored. Heck, The Day the Earth Blew Up was a kids' movie made by a big studio (WB) but the "animation is cinema" crowd ignored it anyway. I have my grievances with that crowd, like how some of them only hype up mainstream movies and go "nuh uh" at anything else. This has contributed to the slogan being made fun of, even by animation fans.
Further proof of people being conditioned by Disney/Disney-like movies is people saying that Fixed looks like John K made it. So having detailed, cartoony expressions is bad now? Hating John K is very understandable, but not every movie has to look like a Disney movie, it's perfectly fine for cartoons to be cartoony, detailed, even a little gross. Incidentally, Fixed does happen to be inspired by Disney movies like Lady and the Tramp. Also, many artists who worked with Genndy, like Scott Wills, are R&S vets, so maybe we shouldn't attribute a broad art style to a single guy. John K didn't make Ren and Stimpy popular, the other artists did.
Again, it's perfectly fine if Fixed isn't for you. That doesn't automatically make the movie trash, or mean that the movie shouldn't be allowed to exist. 2D animation of ALL types should exist and be celebrated, whether it's Disney-like, more on the raunchy side, for kids, for adults, or from anywhere in the world. Disney is very likely not going to make 2D animated movies for a while, so I think we should stop looking to them for modern 2D movies and look elsewhere. You'll find a treasure trove of wonderful and underrated gems.
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