We know cartoons are more often than not an exaggerated representation of the human form. They’re not necessarily meant to look just like us, but with the increasing realism of 3D animation, it’s easy to imagine what characters would look like if they were actual humans.
Disney-Pixar and Dreamworks are known for their big-eyed, small-bodied characters. These childlike features are translated to grown women in animation. Tumblr User Roosa Karlsson (TheNamelessDoll) calls this style of animation the “Baby Face.” She describes it as ” “Basically, when animated women are designed to have the same main features as babies/children. This has recently started appearing a lot in CGI animation, but has been very common in manga/anime for a while (especially shoujo).”
To highlight the unrealistic features of this style of animation, Karlsson photoshopped some of the most popular women in Disney-Pixar and Dreamworks animated films. When these characters are normalized, even the most subtle edits make a huge difference.
1. Elsa from Frozen
2. Elsa from Frozen
3. Anna from Frozen
4. Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6
5. Merida from Brave
6. Gothel from Tangled
7. Mavis from Hotel Transylvania
8. Rapunzel from Tangled
9. Aunt Cass from Big Hero 6
10. Roxanne from Megamind
11. Susan from Monsters Vs. Aliens
12. Colette from Ratatouille
What do you think of these normalized cartoon characters? Cartoons are obviously not meant to represent real life, but maybe they should. Animated characters don’t have the same subtleties in their expressions, so exaggerated features do help them deliver a certain amount of emotion that wouldn’t otherwise be as apparent. On the other hand, is giving adult women childlike features in any way harmful to the young girls watching these films? Does it deliver unrealistic expectations about how women age and what adult women should look like?
Tell us what you think in the comments!
