Animation is a powerful medium that appeals to all ages. Kids, specifically, find animation quite entertaining. The highly imaginative and colorful nature of animation, along with its accessibility, has made it one of the most suitable forms of entertainment for kids. In this post, we will discuss influential factors for creating engaging animations for kids.
Key Elements of Engaging Kids’ Animations
Creating engaging animation for kids might seem like a simple task at first., but it requires careful planning and paying close attention to the following important elements.
Colorful Visuals
Kids love colors. They enjoy staring at colorful and vibrant scenes. Understanding color definition in art and how different colors help engaging kids lead to creating better animation. For instance, using bright, contrasting colors can enhance attention and make characters and scenes more memorable.
Relatable Characters
Kids love connecting with characters that have relatable characteristics. They like to imagine themselves doing actions their favorite animated characters do. This helps them create a strong connection with the characters. They love imagining themselves saving the city just like their favorite character. This strong connection creates a perfect opportunity for writers to educate children through animation.
Read More: The Role of Psychology in Character Creation
Fun and Engaging Storylines
Stories are the oldest form of entertainment in human history. Kids love stories because they take them on journeys they can’t experience on their own. Children are curious about everything. They want to figure out how things work, how different places look, and what type of people and animals live there. In animation storytelling, it is useful to consider themes that are relatable to kids and tap into their curiosity. A secret to making fun stories is to write the story in a way that each event leads to another event instead of narrating unrelated occurrences. An advice from the authors behind the popular animated show South Park demonstrates the concept pretty well.
Humor and Playfulness
Children love humor and never pass on a good laugh. Animations created for kids should take humor seriously! Creating humorous content is not a simple task, though. Many writers struggle with writing humorous content. One way to make kids laugh is to use exaggeration. A character slipping on a banana peel and dramatically flying into the air or characters stuck in silly physical situations are scenarios that are funny to kids.
Another strategy that can make kids laugh is to use surprise elements. For example, a tiny character lifting a giant object while other big characters are unable to do so. Funny sounds like squeaks, boings, or exaggerated voice overs are also loved by kids.
Catchy Music and Sound Effects
Music plays a huge role in kids’ animation. Almost all animations created specifically for kids have musical elements since children are in love with happy music. Interesting sound effects are also very important in creating engaging animation. Interactive sounds like impact sounds and animal sounds are very interesting to children’s ears.
Understanding the Audience
When creating animation, the first and most important thing to focus on should be to figure out who exactly the audience is, how old the target audience is, and what purpose the animation is going to serve. Is it purely an entertainment animation targeting younger kids, or an educational animation for a slightly older audience? What are the demographics, and what cultural points to take into consideration? These questions will directly influence the type of animation you create.
Case Studies: Successful and Engaging Animations for Kids
The animation world has seen hundreds of successful projects that became extremely popular among kids. From TV series to feature animation and web series, there is no shortage of high-quality animated projects created specifically for kids . Let’s explore some of the most successful ones.
Successful TV Animations for Kids
Peppa Pig
Peppa Pig is one of the most loved kid cartoons ever. The show has been running for 17 years over 400 episodes and has been published in 180 countries. Almost all characters in the show are animals that live in houses, wear clothes, drive cars and do daily activities.
Peppa Pig features simple storylines that resonate with kids very well. It uses bright and colorful visuals and tells the stories of Peppa and her families’ daily activities in a fun and engaging way.
The show’s consistency in creating high-quality episodes has helped it create a massive international audience over the years. Peppa Pig is created using 2D animation, which adds to its charm and simplicity.
The Boss Baby
The Boss Baby is a popular 3D animated feature film produced by DreamWorks. It tells the story of a highly intelligent baby who acts normal when adults are around but stuns his 7-years old brother by talking and walking like an adult when the parents are absent.
The movie depicts the topic of sibling rivalry that is universal to all kids. The Baby Boss’s unique idea, humorous plot, and strong voice acting are some of the reasons why it became a popular movie among both kids and adults. The movie was nominated for the best animated feature film Academy Award for 2018. The Baby Boss was a financial success as it grossed over $528 million against its $125 million production budget.
Masha and The Bear
Masha and the Bear is one of the most-watched preschool animated TV series in the world. The show is created by the Russian animation studio Animaccord. It has over 150 episodes and narrates the story of a girl named Masha who is mischievous, hyperactive, and unafraid to take risks.
The bear in the show is a retired circus bear who lives in a tree in the forest. He acts as a caring and patient figure in Masha’s life. The show relies on universal themes such as friendship, mischief, exploration, and problem-solving. It features outstanding visual storytelling and physical comedy. Its high-quality 3D animation has played a huge role in its massive success.
Paw Patrol
Paw Patrol is a widely popular 3D animated series made specifically for children. The show portrays the story of several adorable rescue puppies each with unique personalities and skills. The show has an engaging action-packed plot. The animations are eye-catching and vibrant.
Paw Patrol teaches on important values such as integrity, honesty, safety, responsibility, and problem solving.
It has been sold to TV networks in 160 different countries and has made over $500 million.
Nursery Rhyme Animations Made for Children
Nursery rhymes and children’s songs are very popular among kids. They create long-lasting positive effects on children and teach them good habits. These are often accompanied with animation for better engagement and storytelling. Let’s explore some 3D animated videos made for nursery rhymes.
Baby Berry Potty Training Song Animation
Made by Pixune Animation Studio, this animation has been watched over 6.1 million times on YouTube. It features high-quality 3D animation.
Happy Derik
Happy Derik is another kids animation made by Pixune Studio for the Bath Song nursery rhyme by Happy Derik.
Cocomelon
Cocomelon is a popular YouTube channel that publishes 3D animation for nursery rhymes and children’s songs. With over 188 million subscribers, It has made over $128 million every year.
Final Words
Animation has become a major tool for both entertainment and education for kids worldwide. To create professional kids animation, it is necessary to focus on colorful visuals, relatable characters, and engaging stories. This will lead to the production of impactful animation that creates long-lasting memories for kids.
