Gonna get a little opinionated for a second, pardon me.
I think it’s hypocritical to chastise movies like Kubo for focusing on serious themes like death and spirituality because they’re “for kids” then turn around and praise Sausage Party for being an adult-oriented animated film. There’s more than one way to be adult, and I’m personally not into looking down at thematic maturity in all-ages animation, or even worse, dismissing it with “kids won’t understand.” Kids are smart. Kids experience everyday life.
Underestimating the intelligence and understanding of children only leads to poorer quality media being made for them. I’m not saying show kids something really vulgar and adult, but don’t assume a child won’t understand something thematically complex. If you want animation to be taken seriously, don’t look down on a “kid’s” movie/show for being complex, and don’t act like kids don’t deserve cohesive, well-made media with tons of artistic integrity made for reasons besides a cash-in (and believe me, a LOT of children’s media is made for just a cash-in). They’re the most influential audience of all. If anything, they deserve good media the most.
Yes, yes, YES! Giving a “children’s movie” a hard time just because it’s about things more complex than candy and funny voices, is one of the things in this world I find most galling.
There are several reasons I think people do this. One is embarrassment. If they watch something and like it, but don’t want to admit they like a “kid” thing, they’ll try and pooh-pooh it by saying “Oh, this isn’t really for kids. Its subject matter is far too mature.” You are attempting to take media made for someone else as your own because you can’t conceive that you both might have gotten something out of it.
Another reason is selfishness. If a certain audience has been drawn to something, and if they think they’re somehow “better” than another audience, they’ll claims it’s their’s. They don’t want to share it with a bunch of snot-nosed, screaming kids that just aren’t “getting it” anyway. No, they’ll assert themselves however they can, whether through fandom, aggressive proliferation, or just good old-fashioned telling kids to get off their lawn.
I have heard this applied to a number of things. People have asserted that films like The Iron Giant, TV shows like The Legend of Korra, and comic books like the recent run of Ms. Marvel aren't “really for kids.” They have themes that might “distress” children. It’s too “heavy” for them. Really, it was made for “us.”
This attitude then stratifies animation into the “kid’s” movies that are so guileless and annoying that everyone involved (especially the children) get stupider from watching it, and “adult” movies that are so juvenile and try-hardy, that they’d be even more childish if not for their ribald subject matter.
Children used to be respected for their capacity to witness adversity, appreciate triumph, or watch a movie that makes them ask questions. Adults used to have animation that were “for adults” because they were involving and provocative, and not just vulgar. Figures like Ralph Bakshi, Don Bluth, Brad Bird and John Kricfalusi opened up animation as a multifaceted art form. But that’s too hard to commodify, so we’ve been taught there’s movies for one audience, and movies for another, and movies that reject this notion should be distrusted.
Laika is one of the few outfits that respect a child’s need to be wondered and to be challenged, and I, for one, am glad to see a movie like Kubo and the Two Strings. So should the rest of you.