Changing narratives of animated films

A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me the most awesome trailers of an animated movie I have seen to date. Kung Fu Panda 2 was set to release in a few days. After watching the trailers over and over again, I wistfully remarked, “don’t you wish Po was real?” The reply was a swift, matter-of-fact, “Yes. I believe that’s because there is a bit of Po in all of us.”
I did not bother asking him if this pun was a typical product of the gross humour attributed to a “guys” mind (No discrimination ladies! I think I just want to believe us women have a better sense of humour). But this led me to think about the kind of animated films we had grown up watching as compared to what has been produced in the past ten years.
The Disney films of the 20th century, the so-called classic fairytales, were dominated by class distinction, princesses waiting for their princes to release them from a life of abject poverty/misery/spell, clear demarcations between good and evil represented through the motherly looking figures and hooked nosed women or crazy eyed men with mad laughter. That was our fantasy world — a world of black and white. Each character was an archetype of distinct human attributes of courage, compassion, malice, jealousy, love and mischievousness.

Cue 21st century. In 2001, Monsters Inc. and Shrek were a bold step towards changing the face of animated films. Where earlier, the films were an allegory of human morals with prominent divisions between good and evil, Shrek and Monsters Inc. broke the mould of one standard definition to explain anything. The “monsters,” we saw, were inherently good people who were just doing their job. The monsters themselves realised that there were different, and better, ways of doing things; they did not need to subscribe to the old ways of doing things any longer.
The Shrek quadrology successfully challenged the traditional concept of “beauty” and the asset of valour available only to privileged few. Princess Fiona’s beauty is not the established beauty of the demure Snow White, described by the Mirror on the Wall as “lips red as rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow”. Hers is a representation and acceptance of the diversity of looks in the new world, and the idea how one single definition of beauty is not applicable anymore. Her love for Shrek, which is the source of her release from the curse, reminds me of the same curse the Beast in The Beauty and the Beast endures.
Where The Beauty and the Beast follows the familiar narrative; the Beast, who isn’t even given a real name, turns into a handsome prince after they kiss. In Shrek, Fiona’s transformation into an ogre as the spell breaks is the highlight of the movie — its best kept secret.
Shrek himself is an unsuspecting hero-in-making: he’s not under a curse, he’s not a prince, not even a child tucked away for the fear for his life, one day to be found as the rightful, lost, heir to a throne. He’s just an ogre. But he’s an ogre who shows tremendous courage and compassion, and finds his true love — a princess nonetheless — and takes her to his swamp for their happily ever after. In the process he leaves us to renegotiate our own subconscious prejudices.
The Shrek quadrology was also phenomenal in redefining every fairytale character known to children and adults alike. Prince Charming, the hero in every other story, is a silly, annoying and whiny brat. Fairy God Mother is an evil, scheming person. The princesses of fairytales are petty, jealous, conniving, vain and, well, just human. But that is the beauty of Shrek and Monsters Inc. They reflect the trends of the new century by bringing the fairyland “royalty” down to a human level. The princes have the same qualities and faults as all of the common people.
But the most significant message these five movies give is that evil is sometimes a matter of perception, and even if it is not, it is not beyond redemption. It is what Charming says to all the evil characters of “Far Far Away” in Shrek the third, “Once upon a time someone decided that we were the losers. There are two sides to every story, and our side has not been told!”

Similarly, if one considers The Bee Movie and Kung Fu Panda, they have been phenomenal in redefining relationships and gauging the power of ambition and desire. Shattering the feudal narrative of people having a specific place in the world, which should have broken far earlier in animated films than it did, these two movies represent the new era in which everything is possible.
In The Bee Movie, Barry defies the traditional practice of each bee finding its place in the hive. He wants to explore the world. In his exploration he finds his true passion — helping humans and animals alike. In Kung Fu Panda, the Furious Five are a diverse group comprising of a tiger, monkey, mantis, snake and crane. The masters of Jade Palace are a red panda and a turtle! Both Tigress and Tai Lung, a snow leopard, believe they were meant to be the Dragon Warrior. It makes sense by traditional definitions since both are big, strong and from the same family of historical rulers as reinforced through The Lion King and other movies. But Kung Fu Panda teaches that in a changed world, anyone can be whoever he or she aims to be with extreme dedication and hard work.
This shift in narrative, while a more realistic representation of ideals from an adult perspective, is also a source of moral, ethical and social building blocks for the young viewers. Whether it is beneficial or not is another debate altogether, but it is very heartening to see this change in animated films. They have become a far closer representation of our reality. So while I go watch Kung Fu Panda 2 this weekend, I will still be wishing Po was real, and my friend.
Bushra S is an editor based in Lahore and can be found conversing on twitter.
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.