Dreamwork's Fables

I saw "Over the Hedge" this weekend. A charming little animated comedy about a group of animal foragers trying to gather (i.e. steal) food in the concrete suburban jungle. They have barely pulled through a lean winter, but now come face to face with the greatest danger they have ever encountered - suburbia!
An adorable turtle is almost run over by a huge SUV. Driven by a soccer mom; a cell phone using, latte sipping soccer mom. His comrades are seduced by delicious, plentiful junk food - one bag of doritos, and they turn their nose up at the homey jungle fare (bark and nuts). But in the end they see this vast food paradise for the cold, sterile place it is... and return to the warmth and comfort of their woods.

Animated movies have come a long way since the Tom and Jerry cartoons of the Hanna Barbera era. They have beaten live action movies in cinematography, production values, music, comedy, even acting (ref. Gollum). And long ago stopped being children's movies. But not content with technical superiority, they now aim for moral superiority. Animated movies are the new fables.

Its a crazy, mixed up world. Our books explore dark, twisted worlds. Our movies glamorize violence and greed, our music videos cannot be watched in mixed company, our athletes take steroids. And our cartoons teach us morality. Talking cars learn to slow down and smell the roses. Ogres teach princesses that appearances are deceptive. Superheroes learn to be proud of their talents. Dancing penguins discover that being different is ok. And cats fall in love with skunks (well it is a cartoon, after all!)

I am happy with where animated movies have reached, I really am. But sometimes I long for the good ol' days, when a cartoon was just a cartoon, an escape hatch from reality. Not the custodian social values. Sure, its nice to see a story about a dancing penguin who becomes popular. But a story that promotes empathy for gays, while criticizing dogmatism, religious fundamentalism, hypocritical preachers, offshore oil drilling, pollution, global warming, and zoos, all in two hours? Please! Leave the clumsy, heavy handed symbolism to independent movies and first time novelists. I just want to see a mouse hit a cat with a saucepan.