We need to stop pretending animation is just for children
In 2022, we got the troubling news that Spider-Man Freshman Year might be in trouble as there are reports coming out that the team isn't very happy and layoffs have occurred. Expectedly, all projects are subject to the success that they see and their continuation is conditional on whether or not it achieves both internal and external goals for the studio. You only need to cast an eye over the endless list of Netflix shows that have been crushed to dust in their cancellations.
What is glaring at me in my face is that it is an animated project, not a live-action project. If we do lose Spider-Man: Freshman Year, it will be upsetting, as it is with all cancellations, but this one will sting slightly more. The original material itself is hand-drawn; it is paying homage to the original form of Spider-Man. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe proliferates and you could even argue becomes somewhat self-aware, I’m concerned that the rumours of a possible cancellation speaks to the fact that animated projects are considered less than live action projects.
Check out Arcane, the League of Legends spinoff show, below!
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They're considered more childish, more difficult to justify why you're watching a cartoon at your large age, which is still bizarre to me because you see the success of things like Bojack Horseman, Invincible and Archer. These animated shows are absolutely beloved, but I think what's different here is that they're dealing with adult themes or a more mature sense of humour, whereas Freshman Year will be targeted towards a lighter and more genial tone which risks not resonating with adult audiences.
Ideally, that shouldn't be the case because animated shows, regardless of whether they are optimistic or whether they deal with difficult topics, should still be as valid as their live-action counterparts. I’d even raise the fact that in live-action shows, there might be an absolutely shocking actor in it who has no interest or is just the wrong fit for the role they’re playing. Think of the number of shows that you've watched when they've completely gotten something wrong, and the realism of the whole production throws a spanner in the works and ruins the effect. Conversely, animated things work with, rather than against, your imagination.
One of the shows that I will bang on about until the end of time is The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. "dark crystal age of resistance what a FUCKING banger. unfeasible cast. they just bunged everybody in" is a text I just sent. In 2023. That was an absolutely amazing show that I was not convinced was going to be any good at all based on my false impression that Muppets are for children and Christmastime.
But the artistry that was poured into this project, and the performances that were so affecting, I was sold before the end of the first episode and I hadn't grown up with The Dark Crystal at all. Obviously, it doesn't take an economic genius to see that this show was extremely expensive, and probably didn't get the response or the returns that Netflix expected. It is a travesty though because just because something is animated or something looks different doesn't mean that it's not as serious or it's not as impactful.
Another example is the feature film Wendell and Wild from the minds of Keegan Michael Key, Jordan Peele and Henry Selick. As a supernatural story surrounding survivor’s guilt, it is a feast for the eyes with gorgeous use of colour and light to imbue the models with life. All of this stylisation and subtlety alongside the brilliant Afropunk influences and soundtrack, I wonder would the charm of this would be so captivating had it been a live-action endeavour.
Part of you still wants to believe in magic and still wants to believe in unbelievable worlds. Even those who are tougher than their toughest pair of old boots. A smidgeon of suspension of disbelief never hurt no one. And if you won’t believe the waffling of a 26-year-old who lives their life like an ancient lighthouse keeper, then chew on this: Arcane won the Best Adaptation award at The Game Awards.
If you’ve watched Arcane, you’ll be aware of how beautiful it is and that it took about six years to bring into being owing to the outstanding animation from studio Fortiche. Though the characters are three-dimensional, the team didn’t use motion-capture, choosing to draw influences from realistic and cartoon sources for the movement of the character in question. Conversely, the environments are painted in two-dimensions, and This, plus its harrowing storyline, made me interested in League of Legends, which is a very, very, very hard task.
There's such wonderful detail in this show that you’ll want to bask in it. Truthfully, expressing the entire experience verbally is a tall order — a bit like convincing your grandparents that you do have a real job. Here’s what I will tell you though. In Arcane, there are always light reflections in the irises of the characters. You will even see the irises jitter which is something that happens to everyone's real life eyes. Everyone's eyes jitter slightly, but we can’t see it as these movements happen within a window of 200 to 300 milliseconds. The fact that the team spent the time to add that in, that super specific part of human physiology, as well as adapting this MOBA into an affecting drama and transforming it into one of Netflix’s most acclaimed animated shows is… ridiculous.
I appreciate what I’ve done here is rattle off how much I love animation. But honestly, since when has an animated show had the zeitgeist in a vice grip like a live-action HBO, AMC or Netflix show? Perhaps the rumours about Freshman Year are only that, rumours. I just don't think that we should be writing off animated shows purely because they're animated. Live-action isn’t better or live-action doesn’t serve the story in a greater way just because it’s live-action. And there are a huge amount of animated shows that have themes or stories that really resonate with you. Just give them a chance, eh?