Give me an example of an adult-oriented, mature western animated film or TV show
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All of the MTV Oddities: The Maxx, The Head, Aeon Flux, The Tick. Beavis and Butthead, Daria and Family Guy also fit here. Ren and Stimpy probably fits in the AO/Mature category, especially if you include the several episodes that were never aired on TV due to obscene language/nudity/sexual references.
Aye, the original run of MTVs "Liquid Television" ÆON FLUX was impressive, stunning, amazing and just plain great fun. It wasn't wholly "western" per se, as Peter Chung brings at least some eastern flavour to the table. The look and feel of the whole thing was very, very French, though. Think Nietzsche having a bad trip on LSD, daydreaming of Moebius and Geof Darrow... it was and still is a thing of beauty. Most people will meanwhile think of that movie, which is a shame, really.
I thought "The Iron Giant" was quite mature, thematically, at least if I remember correctly, that is. Also, "#9" really isn't kids' stuff. It's too dark and grim in atmosphere and uses many metaphorical elements. "A Scanner Darkly" was already mentioned. Really good flick.
That's just three from the top of my head. If I had more time today, I'm sure I could come up with some more, but for the time being, I gotta go to bed.
That's just three from the top of my head. If I had more time today, I'm sure I could come up with some more, but for the time being, I gotta go to bed.
Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings and Fire and Ice. I don't remember them being good but they're not comedy and they're adult for the most part.
You're going to have a tough time with this because adult animation that isn't a comedy is pretty rare in the States. You can easily find Japanese ones (they have a whole demographic for it called seinen and josei) but its much harder in the States because the executives haven't acknowledged them as something for adults.
You're going to have a tough time with this because adult animation that isn't a comedy is pretty rare in the States. You can easily find Japanese ones (they have a whole demographic for it called seinen and josei) but its much harder in the States because the executives haven't acknowledged them as something for adults.
When the Wind Blows. To quote wikipedia: "When the Wind Blows depicts a nuclear attack on the UK by the Soviet Union from the viewpoint of a retired couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs. The Bloggs live in rural Sussex and are confused regarding the nature and seriousness of their situation. This confusion is sometimes used to generate gentle comedy as well as darker elements. As the film progresses, things become steadily more hopeless as the couple suffer from the effects of radiation sickness. The film ends on an extremely bleak note, with them praying in their fallout shelter as death approaches.
At the very end of the closing credits, a morse code can be heard, spelling "MAD"."
At the very end of the closing credits, a morse code can be heard, spelling "MAD"."
PRINCESS!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_(2006_film)
Seriously check this one out, it has a great story and is mature and sad as hell.
"Princess is a 2006 adult-themed Danish animated film directed by Anders Morgenthaler and co-written by Morgenthaler and Mette Heeno. The film tells the harsh story of a 32-year old missionary named August whose sister, a former porn star nicknamed "The Princess," has died of drug abuse and left behind her 5-year old daughter. August adopts the child and they embark on a violent mission of vengeance to destroy all existing pornographic material featuring Princess. Princess, rated for mature audiences, won awards at three European film festivals and was nominated for the 2007 Robert Award for Best Danish Film"
Grim. Fucking. Dark!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_(2006_film)
Seriously check this one out, it has a great story and is mature and sad as hell.
"Princess is a 2006 adult-themed Danish animated film directed by Anders Morgenthaler and co-written by Morgenthaler and Mette Heeno. The film tells the harsh story of a 32-year old missionary named August whose sister, a former porn star nicknamed "The Princess," has died of drug abuse and left behind her 5-year old daughter. August adopts the child and they embark on a violent mission of vengeance to destroy all existing pornographic material featuring Princess. Princess, rated for mature audiences, won awards at three European film festivals and was nominated for the 2007 Robert Award for Best Danish Film"
Grim. Fucking. Dark!
I used to watch a show called Station X. It wasn't funny, so much as it was thought provoking in an interesting way, but it had the occasional joke thrown in to lighten the mood and provide insight into what the characters were thinking. Also, I would suggest any of the DC cartoons. Especially Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, great movie, great atmosphere, great animation and voice acting.
Only thing I can come up with right now is the starship troopers animated series. It could have been a lot more mature if they, like the book it's based on, went into themes like the government not caring about it's soldiers. It's also not nearly as bloody as the movies. But other than that it sure isn't a kid's show either. Now that I think about it's sorta like they wanted to stay true to the book but also had to make it child-friendly-ish and ended up somewhere halfway between both.
Trailer:
Some common themes: arguing with superiors, internal conflicts in the group, suicide missions, long-running characters suddenly dying, dealing with losing a friend,... It's pretty grim stuff. At the end of the series the war with the bugs even moves to earth, introducing civillian casualties as a theme.
But in case you won't take my word for it, consider this: it won an emmy.
With a little searching you can watch the entire series on youtube.
By the way you should definantly mention that finding mature western animated stuff is way harder than non-western. That's an interesting conclusion in and of itself.
Anyway good luck with your paper.
Trailer:
Some common themes: arguing with superiors, internal conflicts in the group, suicide missions, long-running characters suddenly dying, dealing with losing a friend,... It's pretty grim stuff. At the end of the series the war with the bugs even moves to earth, introducing civillian casualties as a theme.
But in case you won't take my word for it, consider this: it won an emmy.
With a little searching you can watch the entire series on youtube.
By the way you should definantly mention that finding mature western animated stuff is way harder than non-western. That's an interesting conclusion in and of itself.
Anyway good luck with your paper.
All of those caveats boil down to, to me, uninteresting. Why do animation if it's not allowed to be funny or weird? Why would an adult want to watch something that isn't trippy, isn't sci-fi, isn't funny yet is a cartoon? Do you think The King's Speech or A Few Good Men would have made better animated films than live action movies?MurderousToaster said:
I had some examples, but your restraints removed them. So I'll just say Cowboy Beb-oh. Never mind. Waking Life-no, can't use that, either. A Scanner Dark-dammit!