The idea is similar to Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which, on the surface, were about princes and princesses but also sneakily featured incest, murder, and torture. Still, one could argue that the idea behind these intense parables stemmed from an attempt to teach kids about right and wrong (in the scariest possible way apparently). There aren’t any concrete theories as to why these cartoons had such harsh morals, though the fact that cartoons at the time weren’t exclusively produced for children certainly had something to do with it. Being dragged to hell for chicken theft might be a tad excessive of a punishment, regardless, this Puritan “all or nothing” value system was present in many cartoons of the time. In “Swing You Sinners,” a happy-go-lucky dog named Bimbo steals a chicken and is hounded by the forces of hell until a giant skeleton eats him. The perfect example is “Swing You Sinners” (a 30’s Fleischer Studios cartoon ). These unsettling storytelling choices were very much intentional.Įarly animated films often feature a strange set of intense moralistic values (which Cuphead also plays up). Other upsetting aspects of those films went beyond the limitations of animation of the time though. What was cost-cutting in theory, turned out terrifying in practice. Combining this with simple repetitive animation (bouncing) was intended to make the film’s more alive and better animated. It was a technique where character’s bodies lacked sharp edges or joints and instead had bendy long black tubes for appendages. The “bouncing” was due to the popular animation style of the time nicknamed: rubber hose animation. One of the most obvious ones is a bounciness featured in those early films. Modern viewers usually note several unsettling qualities of retro cartoons. Old cartoons, even more than silent films, feel like they’re from a different planet. Gamers who look between the hand-drawn lines of animation will uncover a nightmare of body-horror, black comedy, and terror. Instead of inserting frightening aspects into the game, the developers (Studio MDHR) heightened what was already present in a lot of early cartoons. Best of all, Cuphead doesn’t market itself as unsettling, the game is rated E after all – its biggest offenses (according to the back of the box) being gambling and tobacco use. The video game Cupheadresurrected the surreal and terrifying style of Fleischer Animation and Disney Studios early cartoons. This is referenced in the battle with Bendy, where after being drunk by Beast Bendy, Cuphead appears to be soulless.Before the “House of Mouse” forever associated cartoons as a genre predominantly for kids, animation wasn’t quite so family-friendly.
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