Are animated cartoons sugar-coating or distorting reality?

Abstract

Upon thinking of the word ‘animated cartoons’, several people would define animated cartoons as a television series drawn either digitally or by hand in striking colours and tend to be seen as children’s shows. Nevertheless, a variety of animated cartoons attempt to both convey and subvert sinister themes. This combination indicates that there is an element of duality in animated cartoons and other mediums such as picture books. For the purpose of this dissertation, an attempt will be made to show whether animated cartoons are sugar-coating or distorting reality. The literature review explains how the following chapters approach the topic through analysing and discussing what previous scholars state on the duality of innocence and the cute. Furthermore, the topics of innocence and the cute are mainly applied to two animated cartoons which serve as case studies. The last chapter serves as a comparison between these case studies to two other picture books, while the conclusion reveals the findings of this study and suggests other approaches that could be taken.