How “Bojack Horseman” is a perfect example of realistic animation.
The animation series depicts a world where animals and humans live together and interact socially. The visual production is simple and feels like a child’s drawing, but its perception and pressures endowed to the audience are realistic even depressing. I used to not understand why there have to be animal characters in the series, and why can’t they just use all humans to tell the story. After reading Jason Mittell’s “Cartoon Realism: Genre Mixing and the Cultural Life of The Simpsons”, I begin to understand that having animals and humans together is a way of genre mixing. According to the concept brought by Mittell, realism animation can take advantage of both emphasizing the realistic part (such as the content, dialogue, the storyline and so on), as well as the animation part to keep a distance from reality. In this way, it can avoid projecting too overloaded and depressing thoughts and feelings to the audience. Animation makes it easier to talk about dark issues and is ideal for its implicit distance. In the show, they are stressed about managing relationships, find life goals, pressures from a career-wise, unhappy childhood and so on. Such kept distance is well applied: animation has a relaxing coat to constantly remind people “don’t take it too seriously”, but also the realistic content makes the audience identify themselves with the show.
The differentiation between animals and humans is also meaningful. In Bojack Horseman, Mr. Peanut Butter is a dog, and Princess Caroline is a cat. They are never bothered by the question to figure out who they are. Princess Caroline has specific plans for her life and she always knows what she wants, which explains why she is so determined when making decisions. Mr. PeanutButter is always positive and cheerful. In contrast, human characters such as Diane and Todd are stuck in the self-questioning all the time. They are exhausted to figure out the answer, and Todd does not even know his true sexual orientation until after the seasons of the show. He stays at Bojack’s sofa every day and doing nothing, happily live inconsistent, gradual, but implicit pain. Comparing with the four supporting characters who can be clearly distinguished between animals and humans, the main character Bojack is the one hesitating between. The complex personalities and life issues he faces make the series much more than a cartoon but a realistic production that really motivates the audience to think through, just as how Jason mentioned in his work that its reflexivity and self-awareness breaks down the artifice and illusion, and brings in realism because producers usually project themselves in the production.
In the show, Bojack keeps questioning himself for what he wants and who he is: The scene depicting people keep asking him “Are you the one who was in the Horse-in Around Show?” “Are you Bojack?” repeats almost in every episode. Therefore, I consider it as a realistic animation, as Jason Mittell defined, a production with hyper-reflexivity and self-awareness. Besides, it examines universal human behaviors, which allows it to be relatable and have a larger audience base, as claimed by Rex Kruger. We do not fight with magic in real life, but we do try to figure out our self-identities. There are configured cultural hierarchies and norms, and the conflict between self and the outside world. Rex Krueger talks about how obeying the physics rule in the animation makes the series more realistic. In Bojack Horseman, there’s no falling from a skyscraper or jump out of windows, it mainly depicts how characters talk and only normal physical interactions. It may seem dry and simplified at first, but I feel a stronger desire to identify with them since that’s how we act in real life. Rex also mentions how the connection producing new experiences and a sense of reality when he talks about adaptation and appropriation. Bojack is a series initially online but I still see how connection produces realism between seasons. The opening title part of Bojack keeps along with the plot: other characters appear or disappear according to the plot as the background in Bojack’s house. Rex Kruger also talks about how “The Boondocks encourages the audience to question their own personal motivation” (315), and Bojack Horseman does a good job of using supporting characters to reveal and fulfill the main character: Hollyhock represents the childish side and ignorance of Bojack. It reflects the idea of how one’s identity is revealed and counter-projected by people around us. Bojack is the series that motivate the audience to question and think through, so it is realistic. Next, Rex defined “fluid relationships with current events” keeps an animation realistic, and Bojack season 4 often addresses social issues such as social media, online violence, gun control, and so on. In the form of animation, the cartoon enhances perceived realism, and it breaks sitcom and produces greater realism. And I like how animation allows production more freedom, as addressed by Rex: Bojack takes the drug and his emotions of craziness, black humor, being absurd can be shown without acting limitations but strongly relatable as well. Jason has brought up a concept called “Parody in the context of cultural life”, and in Bojack sometimes the audience will be reminded that some characters are animals when they almost forget the fact. For example, a polar bear wears shorts in winter; the license plate for Mr. Peanut Butter is “GOOD BOY”...Such balance will drag the audience back to the setting of animation and being relaxed. I think realistic cartoons still have to do a good job of keeping the balance by taking some seriousness out of the picture: it can’t be the behaviors, so animal appearances become the top choice.
Bojack Horseman season 6 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOGxOQxXjdo&t=9s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGyxgE19Xjc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8a_3KxB9uE
All in all, the depression and struggle, ironically, are my reasons to love this comedy cartoon.
References:
Mittell, Jason. The Velvet Lightrap. “Cartoon Realism: Genre Mixing and the Cultural Life of The Simpsons”. 2001. pp15-28.
Krueger, Rex. Animation. “Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks and Its Transition From Comic Strip to Animated Series”. 2010. pp 313-329.
