Beneath the facade of humor and cheerfulness, animated movies steer in the direction of the brutal reality that doesn't seem to be in the glimpse at first sight. The idea that animated movies are just for kids may be the most wrong understanding people have. Although watching an animated feature brings the inner child in anyone and helps them connect to their younger self and younger ones, many have an underlying message that often is masked away by the light-heartedness that the movies show.
Top movies by Pixar, Disney, and others mostly seem to be tackling issues that wouldn't be shown as mainstream through kid's movies years before. The films help in overcoming tragedy and pain, but humorously and gleefully. Some of the favorite box office hits have tackled the social stigma around depression, racism, and so on and delivered it in the most insouciant way.
Brave
The young, red-haired, archery-loving girl sure doesn't fit the classical Disney princess. Similar to Mulan, Pochahontas, Brave explores the themes against sexism and forced gender roles.
Merida's opposition to her marriage for political alliances parallels the contents of forced gender-specific roles. The freedom and the will to honestly be themselves is something that women still crave in many parts of the world. The high expectations from young women and what they must intend to do, show the brutality of patriarchy, a concerning matter still in the 21st century.
Coco
A perfect combination of friendship, betrayal, and love, Coco has it all. The movie stands out as one of the unique features that portray the taboo around death and life. Usually, a taboo, death is not shown to the younger audience.
Considering the movie is set on the day of Día de Muertos, the film sheds light not just on death but a much worse fate about being forgotten by the people who loved you. An unavoidable topic, death and its meaning in life is pure movie magic that appeals to the audience positively. Coco throws light on friendship, love, and family, and the relations we hold onto in our life.
Soul
A recent Christmas masterpiece from Disney, Soul is a movie of hope and completeness. The film exemplifies understanding self-worth and self-appreciation.
Solely based on a musician's journey, the film questions existential decisions and the deeper meanings of what success or failure means in one's life. Unlike the other movie listed in the list, Soul illustrates the understanding of self-worth and self-love. The exploration of success or failure in life hinted through 22's pessimism is an ode to living life to the fullest and loving oneself.
Finding Dory
The first introduction to Dory was pure love at first sight. Dory was the much-needed sidekick in Finding Nemo; a lovable and hilarious character. Her forgetfulness was the perfect laugh break in the movie while aiding the search for Nemo.
Although, the sequel Finding Dory brings a much more serious issue to the surface. The film demonstrates perfectly the challenges of disabilities. It emphasizes never to look down upon someone, and even people with impairments can be happy similarly as Dory finds her parents in the end.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
An underrated Disney classic, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, makes several references to the gritty real-world themes. Many of the concerning issues displayed in the movie still apply today, despite the feature being released decades ago.
Beneath the concept of the gargoyles and early centuries, the film poses some major questionable issues regarding themes that still seem controversial. The warped religious beliefs and the character of Judge Claude Frollo are beyond a simple kids' movie. The film deals with class, suppression, corruption, racism, and prejudice wrapped up in superficial godliness. Frollo's character's behaviour is one of the few issues the movie significantly deals with; from scorning Quasimodo's for his deformity to Esmerelda being cast as a sinful woman due to her race, the film has a lot to offer concerning matters in the world.
Mulan
One of the older Disney princesses, Mulan, represents the story of courage, determination, and valor. Based on a Chinese legend, the film depicts the tale of a female warrior taking her father's place in the army against the Huns.
Mulan is not just a feminist film but also a well-written and narrated story. The script deals with the themes of misogyny in society and gender-biased social dictions. It takes on the challenges a woman faces in society and the prejudice she comes across. A simple but impactful lesson to learn from that still is a topic of concern.
Up
Disney-Pixar's Up narrates a bond between a young boy and an elderly man who set out on an adventure by chance. While the film shows the manifestation of one's dreams most whimsically, the movie captures the reality of miscarriage, personal loss, and the power of wanting to fulfill your dreams.
The introduction to Up is short yet sweet and emotional at the same time. Ellie and Carl's sweet love story in the intro displays their timeline until the sad death of Ellie. Ellie eventually had found out that she was expecting and had begun preparations for the baby's arrival, but as the story progresses, she finds that she had lost the baby. The storyline was emotionally painful and sad to watch. The film also deals with Carl accepting the loss of his love and his only dream becomes to fulfill their dreams of Paradise Falls.
Zootopia
Like many other Disney films, Zootopia breaks barriers in hinting at subtle yet powerful meanings in the most relatable ways. The story revolves around the characters wanting to live in an equal and balanced world, but the bottom line is all about prejudice.
The movie depicts segregation, racism based on instinctive behavior, and stereotyping roles. Zootopia features an intensive mystery plotline with plenty of twists, yet the creators go beyond delivering a societal concern and the importance of equality. The brilliance shown by the film was to explain a concerning topic metaphorically with animals, as it is usually common to see animals as classic characters in kids' stories.
Wall-E
Wall E gives a compelling yet visually striking story. Wall-E sets itself apart from the others on the list as not just metaphorical to a concerning issue but rather narrating a storyline around a grave situation directly.
The theme directly links to increased consumerism and climate change with subplots of romance and relationships. Set in a post-apocalyptic setting, the Earth has become inhabitable due to the incline in pollution while humans have relocated in space while robots try to clean the mess on Earth. In the process of finding love and saving a plant, the touching tale shows the gruesome and grave situation the Earth is in and what it may become soon.
Inside Out
Praised by critics and audiences, the 2015 Pixar hit Inside Out personifies the emotions in Riley's mind that later help her navigate through the world.
Based on actual psychological research, the movie explores the depression in Riley and how her mind works in terms of her inner emotions. Rather than basing Riley as a moody child, the feature talks about how her life dissolves with her depression. A topic usually avoided in front of kids, Inside Out struck a chord with millions for how it dealt with such a challenging subject in a relatable manner. The details in the movie go as far as to show her mood with the color of her clothes.