We Take Animation Seriously.

It’s both our tagline here at the Overly Animated Podcast, and a great summary of my view on animated media.

Animation in all forms has had trouble gaining legitimacy within critical spheres for some time now. It’s fenced off into its own category at the Academy Awards and only recently have less than a handful of animated films broken through into Best Picture. Animation categories are relegated to the Creative Arts Emmys and no one would dare imagine some of the best shows on TV like Steven Universe and Gravity Falls making it into general television categories at the Emmys.

The stigma extends beyond critics and into the general populace. We probably all know that one person who only refers to animated shows as “cartoons” and instantly disqualifies your recommendation of any animated show because it is animation. This stigma seems to have historical roots as animation in the United States until recently was only used as a medium for children’s programming. That has very quickly changed in the past decade (so has children’s programming not being capable of excellence) and that societal perception has not changed fast enough for a lot of people. What has resulted is a large percentage of the populace missing out on some of the highest quality programming in television and film. It’s a clear case of prejudice clouding judgement. There is nothing inherently better or worse about animation than live action. It’s simply another way of storytelling.

I believe some of the greatest storytelling today is being done through the medium of animation. I want to promote these stories and discuss them with others who also love them. Because of this societal stigma against animation, there aren’t enough places to do that, and I hope Overly Animated can help to change that.

Dylan Hysen