theAmericanStranger OP t1_j9crohl wrote on February 20, 2023 at 11:40 PM

Reply to comment by verrius in The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a terrible Oscar candidate (rant) by theAmericanStranger

I don't believe this is what the commenter meant, but in any case I'm not against this short because it's based on a children's book or that its intended audience is that age - not at all! Many, if not most legendary animated movies were made for children; I just happen to believe this one was made terribly heavy-handed with its "message" - children thought history loved and cherished books and movies which were way more nuanced about bringing a positive message and did not shy away from conflicts.

verrius t1_j9d34or wrote on February 21, 2023 at 1:06 AM

There's a difference between media meant for children, and media meant for families. I can't actually think of very many "classic" animated films that are specifically meant for children; most things targeted at children are generally reviled (see: Caillou), or at best tolerated (ex: Barney), because in targeting exclusively children, they usually give up anything even resembling a plot, or anything else of value to anyone over the age of 10. But the Oscars are notorious for having its members literally just ask their children what their favorite things were when it comes to voting for the animation categories, both on nominations and winners, so its not at all surprising that something where the dialog is nothing but platitudes was still nominated.