"Smart" animated films can be hard to come by. The majority of work done in this category is geared toward younger audiences. When I say smart, I mean cartoons that really get the ol' gears turning. In the states, theres not a lot of adult animation that is more than just gratuitious violence and sex. (Check out Spike & Mikes Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation for that stuff)
Over in Japan, they call it anime, and it is big business over there. Animation is very popular there. And the range of genres available is almost limitless. Fortunately people over here are starting to see that, and they've been translating more and more of them these past few years.
I'll never forget the first time I saw Akira. Boy did that change my view on how a cartoon can be done! And even back in 1985 it touched on a subject thats very relevant today: Genetic Engineering. Besides the moral implications of "Should we play god?" theres also the possibility that we could someday create something too powerful, something we couldn't control.
Ack, I don't feel like getting into a philosophical debate with myself. Anyway, heres some films I recommend for those of you who want a little more than what Disney and Dreamworks have to offer:
I Married A Strange Person, The Tune, Mutant Aliens, and anything else by Bill Plympton.
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo (Also check out the 2000+ page comic the movies based on!)
Anything by Ralph Bakshi, but definetely check out Fritz The Cat, Wizards, and American Pop (He pioneered rotoscoping, a technique where you film something, then go back and animate over the individual frames. Used in Richard Linklaters film Waking Life and his recently released A Scanner Darkly)
A couple of animes I highly recommend:
Serial Experiments Lain
Beautifully animated, with a very intricate plot, and plenty of conspiracy.
FLCL (Commonly referred to as "Fooley Cooley")
I first discovered this six episode series when they showed it on Cartoon Networks Adult Swim back in 2003. Its a coming of age story about a boy who begins to grow wierd things out of his head! (has to be seen to be believed.)
One more note, these are cartoons that were written and drawn for adults. I would not recommend anyone under 13 watch any of these movies (with the exception of some of Bakshi's films). Akira in particular is quite violent, and all of Plymptons films have very sexually suggestive symbolism, as well as nudity.
Hope you enjoy these smart alternatives to some of the more moronic, although just as entertaining stuff (like Family Guy, South Park, Simpsons... etc.)
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