Animationis often treated as a medium for children’s stories in the Western world, but there are actually a ton of great animated movies that are only for adult audiences. Thanks to studios like Disney, American animation has been reserved for youngsters, and serious stories are typically kept in live-action.
Many other countries around the globe have no such biases against animation, and have used the medium to tell any number of stories that aren’t exclusively aimed at kids. Freed from the usual strictures of live-action filmmaking, animated movies can do almost anything as long as the animator is up for the challenge.
In the U.S. there was a short-lived movement of outsider artists in the ’70s and ’80s who aimed to shatter the stereotypes about Western animation, and they produced intentionally raunchy films to subvert expectations. Meanwhile, films from other countries have used animation to tell any number of stories, and it is merely a medium and not a genre itself.
Fromeerie horror talesto over-the-top sex comedies, animation has a flexibility that makes it perfect for the most imaginative filmmakers. While the stereotypes about cartoons are starting to fade in the West, animated films aimed at adults are still exceptionally rare. Therefore, they are often required viewing for curious cinephiles.
ThoughStudio Ghibli’s filmsare known as family-friendly classics,the studio did produce one of the most harrowing adult animated movies too. In the aftermath of WWII, the film follows a teenager and his younger sister as they try to make their way through the decimated countryside. Unflinching in its depiction of real-life, the movie is also hauntingly beautiful.
Using Ghibli’s charming art style,Grave of the Firefliescontrasts its more nightmarish imagery with pleasant visuals. This helps the movie to make commentary about the persistence of the human spirit, even in the face of unbelievable tragedy. It might look like Studio Ghibli’s other movies, butit goes without saying that it’s not for kids.
The modern trend is to take franchises and develop new installments using animation, andPredator: Killer of Killerswas a welcome change for the sci-fi horror series. Told through three vignettes, the film catches up with the titular extraterrestrial hunters at various periods in world history. Because the film is animated,Killer of Killerswas able to increase the violence.
While it might not be the most visually-stunning film ever, thePredatormovie is simply a solid action horror movie.
ThePredatorfranchise has had its fair share of bad entries, andKiller of KillersjoinsPreyas a very clear direction for the movies.The artwork has a hand-drawn look, though at times it also resembles a video game. While it might not be the most visually-stunning film ever, thePredatormovie is simply a solid action horror movie.
Japan has always produced top-notch animation in every genre, andPerfect Blueis one ofthe best Japanese horror films, animated or otherwise. With its overwhelmingly creepy narrative about a singer-turned-actor who is being stalked by a killer fan,Perfect Bluehas all the makings of a classic horror film. However,it’s the animated touches that really elevate the story.
The movie could have been live-action, butdirector Satoshi Kon utilized the boundlessness of animation to dive deeper into the psyche of Junko.Perfect Blueis violent and shocking, but there’s also a tastefulness to its thrills that never dips into salacious territory. At its heart,Perfect Blueis an elevated horror movie, it just happens to be animated.
On its surface, there’s nothing particularly adult aboutFantastic Planet, but the exceptionally weird film was not made for kids.The allegorical story uses surrealist imagery to make a larger political point, and the visuals are a far cry from the slick look of American animated films. Many of the character designs are chilling and odd, and everything feels unsettling.
Animation lends itself especially well to surrealism, butFantastic Planetstands head and shoulders above the rest because of its clever story. Instead of just being a series of psychedelic pictures for an hour-and-a-half,Fantastic Planetactually means something, even if the meaning isn’t always crystal clear.
Visual effects maestro Phil Tippett spent three decades trying to makeMad God, and the final product was unlike anything seen before. The stop-motion film follows an agent of Heaven who is sent down into the underworld on some unknown mission.Each new layer of the underworld reveals nightmarish visualsand some truly mind-boggling moments.
Phil Tippett is best known for his work on theStar Warsfranchise andJurassic Park.
Eschewing a traditional plot,Mad Godstops and starts, and essentially resets itself at several points as well. The hellscape that Tippett created is one of the mostunique visions of the underworldever dreamed up, and there is a disgusting blend of biological and mechanical in everything. As far as passion projects go,Mad Godwas worth the wait.
The last film in a trilogy of Japanese animated movies that were essentially erotic dramas,Belladonna of Sadnessis the only film from that cycle that is worth remembering. Set in medieval France, the story follows a peasant woman who makes a deal with the devil to get revenge against a nobleman who attacked her.
What starts as a clear attempt at sleazy erotica, quickly evolvesinto something deeper. The movie’s beautiful watercolor visuals were wholly original for the time, and the intense character study leaves room for a lot of social commentary. The movie is violent and harrowing, andits complex morals invite additional viewingsto completely grasp its concept.
In the ’70s and early ’80s,Ralph Bakshi was one of the only animators who pushed the boundariesin the United States.American Popis his sprawling, multi-generational epic that parallels the immigrant experience with the rise of popular music in the United States.The jukebox musical was an adults-only experience, something very rare at the time.
American Popis big and bold, and certainly wouldn’t get made today.
WhileAmerican Popmay suffer from being totally unrestrained, there is almost no limit to the creativity that went into telling its story.Bakshi’s signature use of rotoscoping makes the film move in a rhythmic way, but he also utilizes other animation styles that add visual variety.American Popis big and bold, and certainly wouldn’t get made today.
Jumping from the pages of R. Crumb’s comix,Fritz the Catcaused a big stirwhen it debuted in the early ’70s. Ralph Bakshi directed and animated the raunchy story of a college-aged cat who goes on a cross-country trip. Poking fun at just about everything, the sexuality in the film was enough toearn an X (later NC-17) rating.
Using an anthropomorphic cat character was an obvious send-up to family-friendly cartoons, but Fritz is the exact opposite. Though the movie doesn’t hold up under modern scrutiny, the goal ofFritz the Catwas to shock and appall, and carve out a new niche in the animation sphere in the Western world. It succeeded, and even spawned a sequel.
Though mainstream adult animation has always been rare in the West, movies likeHeavy Metalpopped up on occasion and attempted to change that. Blending hard rock with cutting-edge adult animation,the movie adapted stories from the titular magazine in an anthology style. Though a lot of the animation was somewhat weak, it’s the principle that counts.
Sex, violence, and music are the real centerpieces of the film, andHeavy Metaldelivers on its title.Heavy Metalis unrestrained by its medium, but it also doesn’t feel like it’s taking shots at family-friendly films either. So many adult animated films from the period felt intentionally confrontational, butHeavy Metaljust used animation to tell its story.
After writing and directing a slew of mind-bending live-action films, Charlie Kaufman turned to a new medium for 2015’sAnomalisa. Using stop-motion animation, Kaufman delivers a haunting and heartfelt portrait of a motivational speaker who has lost the spark in his life.The quaint concept clashes with its animated medium, but that’s what Kaufman was going for.
Despite being animated,the characters all feel exceptionally human, and the imaginative touches are used sparingly. Kaufman’s films are so weird and original, but at their heart, they are about simple emotions and how the characters react to them.Animationwas the perfect medium forAnomalisa, and it wouldn’t have been the same in any other format.
