How important is animation and visual style to you in animated shows?

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Seems like a redundant question, but the answers one gets can be surprising. Are you the type of guy/gal who nitpicks about frames per second, or do you allow a certain amount of leeway?

I'm fairly lax on fps. I'm not into "squiggly" animation, but I don't need a whole bunch of frames to make me like a show. I appreciate cartoons that rely on visuals to tell a story, but I don't have anything against "talking head" animation like King of the Hill, either (there goes my credibility...).

Does design style matter to me? TO an extent, yes. Animation is about some kind of visual style, so I have to have something interesting to look at. That said, "interesting" can mean a lot of things. It could be paper cut out visuals, or hyper detailed visuals. For me, this could swing either way.

How important is story to me? Some fans think that in animation, animation is more important than a story. Some people think that a simple, well told story is good enough. Some people like unpredicable stories, and some like complexity. Well, since I like reading novels and long winded comic books, I am attracted to unpredictable, complex stories, and it seems I do have a preference for some kind of loose continuity in my shows, like King of the Hill or Batman.

Can a story overcome bad and badly drawn animation? My answer is...yes, expecially if the animation begins to seem appropriate for the story. A gritty show need not look pretty or well-drawn. A funny show need not be a visual wonder--slick visuals can actually detract from a show if it is not appropriate.

So overall, I'm a very different animal from what you may call an animation fan.

[Nightwing]

Frankly I could swing either way myself. Regarding story and animation, I'm not sure I could say one is more important than the other because they're supposed to compliment each other, like a person's personality traits making up his unique and cool originality.

For example I was watching that first show on Adult Swim that's animated (horribly) like that of Dr. Katz. Yeah the animation is terrible, but I think it adds much to the humor at times. It's really funny. So for a fan to say the show is bad simply because the animation is might not be a fair judgement, woud it?

Although to that specific show I'm somewhat biased because although I think it's really funny, something deep down says I'd rather have Dr. Katz back. I know, love, and miss the characters and the humor.

[Calhoun07]

The story is more important to me. You can have a visually stunning show, but it's only eye candy in the long run if the story is lackluster, and there is just too much out there demanding my attention for me to settle with eye candy. As for styles of animation...there isn't any I wouldn't watch. I like all sorts of art styles in comic books, and I like to see a wide variety of animation as well.

[BourgeoisBuffoon]

Calhoun said everything I would say: The story is more important to me as well, and having a beliveable plot and characters will save ANY show, and keep it running for years. After all, what good is a novel without these things? Animation simply gives us a visual aid.

I like pretty animation as well, but it's not important. Fps, I also alow leeway. Fortuantly, with all the new techniques, we may not have to worry about this part anymore...you really have a lot of choice nowadays. CGI, anime, American style...everything! :)

[NewMaxFranklin]

I say, it depends on the content of the show or film. I've seen Street Fighter 2 The Animated Movie many times, I like it a great deal. If you've seen the movie, you know it doesn't have the most original, or deep story in the world (though the chatracters are represented well.) But, that doesn't hurt the film overall, because the animation is very detailed and striking, and the fights are well choreographed and exciting. And in a movie called "Street Fighter" there better be a lot of cool fights!

When I watched a show like "King of the Hill" I'd often change the channel because the animation was unimpressive, though the show is well written. But, I'd be more likely to watch a lousy episode of the Simpsons because it has a distinct and polished style.

To me, the perfect medium for a storiy is the printed page, books. Film and television are about pictures; telling a story through images and sound. You can't judge a book by it's cover. But films are judged by their appearance.

I feel a story that merely gets the job done can be made into a decent film. But, a great script, incompetently directed, poorly lit, or badly cast/acted, has no chance.