Animated Movies I Think About A Lot

Hello Hiveians! I am taking part once again in the OCD community boost contest. This week's highlighted community and theme will surely draw everyone's attention since most of us enjoy watching movies or tv shows. For this contest, I will be answering the question:

Since I was a little kid, I was always fond of animated movies, series or short clips. Now that I'm already 30, my love for animation did not fade the slightest. Aside from the vivid colors often seen in this genre, I am also a fan of the unexpected twists and profound themes. Animated films show life lessons in the most subtle and creative ways. Since animations have no limitations to one's ingenuity, creators can really make it as out-of-this-world as possible. I have listed below my favorite animated films with deep meanings that I have watched so far. I will only share only parts of their stories since I don't want to give spoilers to those who haven't watched them yet.

WALL-E is about the last lonely robot left on the inhabitable earth to clean and dispose the overwhelming garbage left by humans. His loneliness faded when another robot visited Earth to look for any forms of life. Wall-e's adventure began when he was able to reach the space liner where humans temporarily stay until Earth was completely cleaned up and livable.

The film emphasizes the impact of human activities to the fate of the Earth. This can be seen in the present, where the massive generation of garbage and waste is not coupled with proper disposal. This film will really trigger the environmentalists in us. Another thing that caught my attention in this film is the lethargic life of humans in the future. They no longer walk and would just keep sitting on their mobile chairs, where they would do almost all their activities. Maybe once in a while we all have that tendencies especially when we are so soaked up binge-watching our favorite series or doing that long-overdue project.

INSIDE OUT is an award-winning animated film because of the depth of its story. This story takes place inside the teenage girl's (Riley) head which served as headquarters manned by her five core emotions namely: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust. Her emotions got a bit messy when she moved from Minnesota to San Francisco because of his father's work and at the same time when Joy and Happiness got lost in Riley's mind to recover her core memories.

I was amazed on how creativity and science blended perfectly in the movie. These include storing and retrieving memories and the different units in the mind, like the Subconscious and Dream Productions. The mind units were represented in different locations with varied themes. The Subconscious was like a dungeon where Riley's fears were kept. Meanwhile, the Dream Productions was like a film studio where dreams were portrayed by actors.

Soul is the most recent animated film I have seen. It is about the pursuit of a music teacher (Joe Gardner) of his lifelong dream of playing in a jazz band. The story twist started when Joe was in comma after he faced an accident. He was supposed to die and his soul was about go to the Great Beyond. Since he didn't want to die yet, he ran away and reached a place called the Great Before. There, he met souls that are yet to be born. They had to complete their personality badges for them to be deployed to earth. He then met a soul named 22 who could not really complete its badge. As the story progresses, a couple of exciting twists and turns occur, so I’ll leave that to you guys especially those who have not watched it yet.

This movie will probably hit the adults more than the kids. It makes us think of our life decisions and our perspective on contentment and happiness. While watching the movie, a lot of questions popped in my head like "What if I got this as a career, what could have happened?", “Am I still passionate about my current career?" and "Did I reach my dream or am I on the right direction to reach it?". The more I thought, the more unanswered questions I got. But seriously, it's really up to us how we see things and handle problems. This film is really heart-warming, and I predict it will win this year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

There are still a lot of animated films that have the same deep psychological meaning, like those from Studio Ghibli. Among the films that I have watched are Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. They both delve on social and environmental issues. With my choice of movie genre, you may see me as a bit dramatic or a deep thinker. Though I do like to watch other genres as well, but this type just intrigues me. I love movies that won't just satisfy my eyes but also my mind.