The document proposes researching screenwriters' responsibilities toward preadolescent audiences of animated films. It aims to discover what adult content screenwriters can provide to aid cognitive and cultural development in 8-14 year olds. The researcher plans to examine differences between past and present animations, and get perspectives from industry professionals and developmental psychologists on including more mature themes. Interviews are planned with experts who worked on films like Animal Farm, Watership Down, and The Plague Dogs. The conclusion will analyze whether screenwriters' responsibilities should change based on the research findings.

1. +
What are screenwriters’
responsibilities toward the
cognitive and cultural
development of
preadolescent audiences of
animation in the western
world?
Dan Walsh
B1039455
MArt Film and Media Production
Task 1 - Research Report Proposal
and Presentation

2. +
Why this question?
 Modern Culture now dictates what young audiences have
access to regards information, story and character.
 Animation Films have veered away from tackling challenging
storylines and serious themed material.
 Young audiences are seen as vulnerable and not capable of
challenging influence, when really by contrast they are the most
adaptive and encouraged to accept new ideas.
 Animation film is a leading form of child entertainment / external
experience, and thus plays a big role in cognitive development.
Screenwriters Responsibilities to Young Audiences…

3. +
MY AIM
My aim in this report is to discover what screenwriters can
suitably provide a preadolescent audience with in terms of adult
content, and whether they should do so more often to aid the
cognitive and cultural development in the specific age group of 8-
14 year olds.
I will also seek to find out what the opposition to this thought is
and what the reasoning is for them to take this more restrictive
approach.

4. +
Animal Farm
The Plague Dogs
Watership Down
Era between 1950-1985
Animations of
the past as
examples used
in the research

5. +
My own reasoning for tackling this
issue.
 I personally feel I was most
influenced by darker more
serious drama media pieces
growing up and it gave me a
good sense of right and wrong.
 I believe that modern day child
animation content is based
predominantly on entertainment
and lacks substance for them to
strive and learn from.
 I wish to pursue a career as a
animation screenwriter, but feel
there is a two-party politics within
broadcasting material which is
either child or adult, I want cover
the middle ground, and feel there
are limited opportunities to do so.
 I see moral and educational
shifts between different
generations and ages of
people. I think this could be
down to what they are exposed
to in their youth alongside
cultural evolution.

6. +
Chapter 1
 In this chapter I will look at the current
animation industry, the way it delivers
content to preadolescent audiences
and contrast it to how this happened
in the past.
 I will address the differences in
content and the ethics used in
storytelling.
 I will look at the types of educational
learning young audiences get from
animation as a media resource
 I will also go into detail about results
from older demographics that reveal
what they got from their own eras of
animation and how it molded them as
an individual.
 The way I will get my
information is through a mixture
of interviews, industry statistics,
cinematic examples, data
collected from target audience
interaction and adult volunteer
participation questionnaires.
 I may also use visual
appendices of tables or graphs
as supporting evidence to my
writing.

7. +
Obstacles and Examples

8. +
Schools attending and research
planned
Wombwell High View Wath Comprehensive

9. +
Chapter 2
 In this chapter I will look at
industry professionals takes on
the question at hand, along with
their experiences of handling
more mature content as
screenwriters.
 I will address the psychological
aspects of the question and look
at child developmental practice
and findings that can be linked to
entertainment and learning.
 I shall attempt to specify how
animation can play a role as an
academic tool as opposed to real
life in pictures and moving image.
 This research will be made up
predominantly from academic
reading and industry
professional interviews.
 It will consist of references to
scientific sources and findings
made from third party
psychological research.
 Face to face conversations will
be recorded, transcribed and
added to the appendices.

10. +
Child Developmental
Psychologist
UCLA, Common Sense Media Centre
Dr. Yalda T.
Uhls
Yalda is a Child
Developmental
Psychologist with a
PhD, she works at
UCLA in this field,
and was formerly a
Movie Producer
She is also married
to Hollywood
screenwriter Jim
Uhls, writer of the
screenplays for
Fight Club and
Jumper.

11. +
Producer, Director,
Screenwriter
Watership Down
The Plague Dogs
Martin
Rosen
Martin was the
filmmaker
responsible for two
of the most
important films
being referenced in
my research
Both he and
Richard Adams
(author) both insist
the works are not
directed towards a
child audience.

12. +
Screenwriting Professor
and Author
UCLA
‘The Essentials of Screenwriting’
Richard
Walter
Richard is a
professor of
screenwriting at
UCLA and is
credited with
screenplays for
films and TV.
He has also written
several books about
the art and craft of
screenwriting which
I will be referencing
in my report.

13. +
(Not yet confirmed)
Halas & Batchelor
Makers of Animal Farm
Vivien
Halas
Vivien is the
daughter of
animators John
Halas & Joy
Batchelor, the
makers of 1954’s
Animal Farm
She is now
responsible for the
production
companies
copyright and film
archive

14. +
Conclusion
 The conclusion for this report will rely heavily on the information and
different perspectives I encounter during my own resource collection.
 I hope to be able to suggest a future path for suitable screenwriting styles
and content that can be beneficial to the target audience of
preadolescents.
 I will see if my own opinions have been influenced by the research as
regards what responsibilities a screenwriter really has to their audience.
And explain if and why these thoughts have deviated path.
 I will try and collect the information given by different academic fields and
deliver them side by side in order to create a solitary solution that works
cross-industry.
 Finally I will try and answer my own theoretical questions about the
animation industry and it’s affects on young demographics.

15. +
Bibliography
Books
Orwell, G (1945) Animal Farm (1971 print)
Marti Secker & Warburg: London
Shaw, T (2001) British Cinema and the Cold War
I.B.Tauris & Co: New York
Adams, R / Rosen, M (1978) Watership Down: Film Picture Book
Penguin Books: Middlesex
Adams, R (1972) Watership Down (1974 print)
Penguin Books: Middlesex
Adams, R (1977) The Plague Dogs (1978 print)
Penguin Books: Middlesex
Walter, R (1992) Screenwriting: The Art, Craft and Business of Film and Television Films
Penguin Books: Australia
Walter, R (1997) The Whole Picture: Strategies for Screenwriting Success
Plume Books: New York
Online Journals
Simon, B (2006) Watershipped Rabbits and Plagued Dogs
http://animatedviews.com/2006/watershipped-rabbits-and-plagued-dogs-the-animated-world-of-richard-adams/
Tobacco and Alcohol Use in G-Rated Children’s Animated Films
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=189199
Indirect Aggression in Animated Disney Films
http://am6ya8ud8k.search.serialssolutions.com/?url_ver=Z39.882004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal%20of%20Communication&rft.atitle=Indirect%20Aggression%20in%20Animated%20Disney%20Fil
ms&rft.volume=58&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=382&rft.epage=395&rft.date=2008-06-01&rft.issn=0021-9916&rft.eissn=1460-2466&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fwiley.com%3AOnlineLibrary
Fischer, N (1987) Peace and Animal Liberation Themes in The Plague Dogs.
Peace & Change, 12: 45–50: DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0130.1987.tb00092.x
Thompson K, Yokota, F (2004) Violence, Sex, and Profanity in Films: Correlation of Movie Ratings with Content.
Medscape General Medicine 2004;6(3):3.
Kirsh, S (1997) Using animated films to teach social and personality development.
Teaching of Psychology; Volume 25. Pages 49-51
Films
The Plague Dogs (1982)
Watership Down (1978)
Animal Farm (1954)
When the Wind Blows (1986)
The America Tail (1986)
The Thief and the Cobbler (unfinished)
Up (2009)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
The Fox and the Hound (1981)