Animism in Animation

Irene Tang '19

Animism

by Adam Schauer

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3-4

As emotionally riveting and visually stunning as animated films can be, many of them hide an unfortunately derivative preface: what if [insert a non-human object here] had feelings? Redundant as they may be, each query provokes pertinent issues about humanity’s ultimate purpose, exposing limitations in our perspective. What if our childhood toys had their own lives separate from our presence? What are the ethics surrounding the souls of said toys? (Toy Story 1, 2, and 3) What if bugs had their own fears and social anxieties just likeus? Would that make swatting a fly equivalent to murder? (A Bug’s Life, The Bee Movie) What if cars had their own purpose? Does that purpose reflect our bias towards human-centric philosophies limited by our shallow experience in the world? (Cars 1, 2, and 3) What if our very feelings had their own feelings! (Inside Out) The study of these pertinent hypotheticals through the lens of such seemingly secular films offers a deeper understanding of

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What if [insert a non-human object here] had feelings?

our relationship with the world... or at least explains why I cry every time I watch the movie Up.

In my study of children’s films, I hope to expose some of the less obvious tropes and difficult ethical or philosophical questions that these movies instigate. Unfortunately, I will inevitably leave you with more questions than answers - that’s just the magic of Disney.

So, what if toys did have feelings and purpose? The already unfortunate implication of this very question is that humans are still the center of the toy universe. The toys do have their own autonomy and emotions but live to please Andy. This idea seems to imply the blasphemous idea that human live as borderline deities. Sid, the villain of Toy Story 1, discredits that notion. We are thus immediately faced with our imperfections and lack of ultimate importance, much like the plotline of Bolt, where a “superhero”dog learns that his powers are actually mere Hollywood stunts and he comes to terms with the daunting reality that he is, in fact, neither particularly special, nor the center of the universe.

In a more poetic, redemptive interpretation of Toy Story, the community of toys mimics that of a utopian body of like-minded religious fanatics, living in community to glorify and please their directly inaccessible higher power. The toys initially fall out of favor with Andy (as he

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grows older through no fault of the toys, but for the sake of the analogy, we will overlook this), and constantly seek to reclaim his attention. Their plight is doomed by the inevitable growth of Andy, much like how humans strive to reattain a right relationship with each other despite their innate disposition to evil.

So the toys, like us, have a purpose,but Toy Story does little to explain the original fall from Andy’s graces - other than his aging. For that, we will turn to another famous Pixar film, Finding Nemo. In this odyssey, Marlin the clownfish attempts to reconcile with his only son, after he is kidnapped. However, Marlin’s backstory and the reason for his desperate love for Nemo offers a potential interpretation of humanity’s inherent flaws. Marlin and his beloved wife lived happily and tended to a large hatch of eggs, soon to become their children. Clownfish are known to congregate in sea anemones as one of the few creatures that can survive its poison, meaning that the familial bond of the clownfish would have have been undoubtedly strong. One day, a barracuda attacked the eggs and Marlin’s wife, Pearl, was eaten in the ensuing battle. Devastated, Marlin found only one surviving egg and nurtured it as a testament to his wife’s memory. That egg became Nemo.

However, what caused Marlin’s and Nemo’s flawed personalities, relationship, and the eventual odyssey to reconcile father with son? Marlin and Nemo certainly cared for one another, which did lead to some tension as Marlin understandably feared for Nemo’s safety. The initial cause for these issues, though, came from the broken world around them. If not for the

Or instead, it is simply not our place to question the motives of God and bemoan the presence of evil, but simply accept it as a given of life and make the most of our time here.

evil of the barracuda, their lives would have looked very different and they would not have the need for such animosity or their greater purpose in the film: reuniting. Perhaps then, the innate evil in the world creates our purpose here as we too attempt to reconcile with our heavenly Father, who lives in a world without the evil of barracudas.

Or instead, it is simply not our place to question the motives of God and bemoan the presence of evil, but simply accept it as a given of life and make the most of our time here. This mentality is captured in the aforementioned verse from Matthew, demanding from Christians the freedom (and perhaps naivety) of children. The movie Up would argue that “adventure is out there” and you can only fully embrace that adventure with an acceptance of our temporal limitations on earth. In the movie Carl Fredricksen’s wife dies (after a riveting montage of their happy life) and leaves Carl to live out his days as

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For another interpretation of human purpose, we turn to the clearly obvious source of all divine teachings: the Bible. Just kidding, we’re going back to Pixar.

a sour, aged widower in a world that continues to develop and move on without him. However, Carl finds purpose in fulfilling his promise to his late wife of taking his house on an adventure, and manages to do quite a lot of good in the process. The movie even ends with Carl taking on a paternal role for his adolescent companion, Russell. The good Carl does in the world comes as a result of his ability to reopen his heart and accept the brokenness in the world around him.

So love freely and die, the argument goes. But life is simply not that easy. The brokenness and evil of the world tax our will and “the evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him” (Proverbs 5:22). Then, within this dystopian, doomed, evil world, in the words of the Beatles, “love is all you need.” Although cliche and oversimplified, the hero Wall-E epitomizes this mentality in his barren and toilsome existence. Wall-E cleans up after humans, who have decimated earth and live a life of gross gluttony aboard a spaceship. Wall-E lives relatively happily, until he meets another robot named Eva. Wall-E soon becomes smitten and focuses all of his attention on convincing the emotionless Eva to reciprocate. This becomes Wall-E’s new purpose. Then, is ours also to love fully but prudently in this evil world? To enjoy the luxury of raw emotions and passion in our time here for the betterment of ourselves and a choice few around us?

To the contrary, many philosophers argue that granting ultimate purpose is inadequate justification for evil to persist in the world. A truly benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient creator, they argue, would have defeated evil’s wrath for good. So, for another interpretation of human purpose, we turn to the clearly obvious source of all divine teachings: the Bible. Just kidding, we’re going back to Pixar.

The movie Coco seems to invite the idea that there is life after death as the living human Miguel accidentallywanders into the realm of the dead. In this universe, the memories of the dead live on in a harmonious world, displaying the very best of their lives. Every dead person lives on with their life’s passion. It teaches Miguel the importance of remembering the past, but more importantly, the full embrace of life in its temporal limitation. Miguel surmounts his worldly family’s disapproval for his new dead family’s approval - a clear indication that we should seek the approval and desired lifestyle of our heavenly father.

And what about evil ones? Should we not seek to understand our collective broken humanity - its underlying emotions, its logic,

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its inevitability? Is our given purpose empathy for those around us who struggle with the same evil as well? That is the premise for Monsters, Inc., a tale about the very real anxieties of our monsters. These monsters grapple with their purpose to scare children for capitalistic gain and instead turn to a more fulfilling path after addressing their own fears and caring for a small human child. As the monsters understand their ethics, they can more easily become the objects of empathy from humans, just as the monsters change their purpose after losing their similar fear of the humans. In this way evil is something that should be combated with understanding and empathy, despite itsinevitable existence in the world.

After diving deep into the underlying motivations of Walt Disney and his entertainment empire, it is clear that the philosophical implications of even children’s movies are fundamental and profound to our way of life. This is especially true considering that all of creation was made to reflect at least some of heaven’s glory and contains the creator’s “fingerprint”, design, thoughts, however you want to interpret it. Sure, in every case creation falls short, but still many people find holy glory in worldly things. It follows that if all of creation has the potential to display some nugget of philosophical virtue, and Disney is (hopefully) of holy creation–albeit through humans–then Disney must include some wisdom too.

However, the most shocking part of this research is that throughout the sagas of Disney, old and new alike, the resounding philosophical arguments are consistently Christian in some way (ignoring, of course, the old movies’ all too obvious racism). The community of Toy Story very closely aligns with the very call from 1st John 1:7 that says “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” This very verse also backs the separation from God that we face, as depicted in Toy Story and Finding Nemo as well. By living in the way that Up’s conclusion suggests, adventuring for the benefit of others in the same struggle around us, we then walk in the light and can truly be reunited with God in the afterlife, at least somewhat provoked by Coco. We then epitomize God’s call for praise to him (vertical) through the promotion of each other (horizontal). And that creates a cross. Yay for overdrawn symbolism!

And what if our feelings had feelings (see Inside Out)? Well, that would just leave our existence controlled entirely by aware entities outside of our own domain and utterly meaningless as a result. Is Disney really meant for children?!? r

In every case creation falls short, but still many people find holy glory in worldly things.

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