Lowest Common Denominator (Dumbing Down of Mind or Warming Up of Heart?)

The lowest common denominator of mass appeal can be viewed as either a "dumbing down" of the mind or a "warming up" of the heart. A "dumbing down" of the mind could occur if less action was used to show a situation either animated or not animated. However, the situation of using less action but also showing emotional expressions and great attention to acting could be considered a "warming up" of the heart. If the acting is improved by eliminating excess movement, this should never be considered a "dumbing down" of content. In fact, overly exaggerating emotions within a scene can make the scene less realistic and cause less mass appeal due to viewers not being able to connect to the character as well. A "warming up" of the heart should be the expression used for the lowest common denominator of Disney animation.

For example, if character gets angry in an animated work, overly-animated actions such as an explosion of the head or any other technical animation is not always necessary. Although the action of an exploding head goes along with the phrase "exploding with anger," it may be difficult for viewers to connect to something as unrealistic as that. The principle of acting often triumphed over exaggerated animation. In The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, it is mentioned that Walt always brought important visitors to Fred Moore's room and that those visitors liked drawings that could be flipped and show an expression change (Thomas, Johnston 125). Because of the viewers enjoying the expressions and acting, it could be said that the mass appeal of Disney viewers revolved more around slightly exaggerated realism with careful attention to acting than completely exaggerated animation.

Dick Lundy's work, shown on pages 122 and 123, was apparently admired by Fred Moore (Thomas, Johnston). In this animation, Donald Duck is shown being angry about something or at an unseen character off the page. The animation makes Donald look as though he is getting ready for a fight because of his fists being out, his stomping feet, and his angry facial expression. This selection supports my thesis because it does seem to focus more on acting than exaggeration. The only exaggerated part seems to be the hat popping off his head and landing back on it. No over-the-top animation with completely red face and exploding head exists in this animation. It is also easy to see Donald's angry face with wide open mouth and bad attitude. An audience could relate to this kind of temper tantrum more easily than one involving too much exaggeration, therefore, this animation has more heart.

A difference exists between "dumbing down" of content so people understand it and a "warming up" of the heart of the audience. My above example of Donald Duck could have been animated in a much different way. For example, instead of Donald throwing a fit with fists raised, stomping motions, and an angry expression, he could have stood in one spot getting more and more tense and turned red until he exploded. The problem is that even though that kind of animation would be entertaining, the audience would have trouble realistically relating to it. Instead of just using effects such as the temper explosion that I mentioned, focusing on acting to make the character seem realistic makes the character easier to relate to by an audience. When a character is easier for an audience to relate to, it could be considered a "warming up" of the heart. This "warming up" of the heart must be effective since Disney is still around and successful even today, and they often use the same method.




Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. 1995. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.