Cartoon Films: Made in India, How do they Fare?

Abstract

Cartoons, these days have become an integral part of every child’s childhood. They are amongst the most prominent forms of entertainment for children. With the advent of the nuclear family and single child families, with no mate/partner to interact, play or learn from, it is with the help of cartoons that kids are exposed to the various facets of the world around us. Cartoon films screened on most TV sets in Indian homes were majorly dubbed versions of successful cartoon films from USA, Japan, Canada, etc. From around 2003 onwards, some Indian cartoons started to appear on TV especially after the Cable TV came to Indian homes. This paper looks at the cartoons, which are made in India, made for India, and their co-relations with the cartoons which are otherwise screened on Indian TV sets, which are dubbed versions of cartoon films from around the world. These Indian cartoons are analysed and correlated with each other based on various attributes namely, the locale, the age of the protagonist, number of episodes, number of character in the movie, gender ratio, etc. The observations and conclusions done in this study are enlisted and presented. Keywords: cartoon films, children’s television, comparative analysis, gender stereotypes, social science research