The number of shows, movies and games that’s consumed on a regular basis is shocking but what’s even more interesting is the variety of ways that media is presented to us.
While there’s more depth to the styles themselves, the media often boils down to two different styles.
There’s realism, which is a style that’s grounded somewhat to the real world. Then there’s stylized media which doesn’t need to follow the rules of the real world (although CGI for live-action films and shows is significantly improving). As mentioned earlier, there’s a multitude of levels to realistic styles and even more for stylized ones but which one has more to offer to the audience?
While realism can be splendid in its own right and give the audience a simpler (or perhaps more believable) way to see themselves in the story, I personally find less realistic entertainment far more fulfilling and fun to watch. It’s captivating to see a world that doesn’t always follow the same rules we do plus it also provides an interesting outlet to escape to.
There’s an eccentricity that animated creations have to them that would be difficult to capture with realistic looking films unless you had the immense budget of a company like Disney or Warner Brothers backing you. A prime example of this distinction can be seen within one of Disney’s biggest properties, Star Wars.
The films have that tremendous wallet behind them which allows them to have massive amounts of CGI and interesting aliens whereas the live action shows have a decent budget but not on the level of having large-scale set pieces and designs consistently. The animated shows are a different story since they can have those wild worlds and amazing alien designs without worrying about making actors fit into it.
Not every stylized work is on the same level as Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse (2018) and the recently released Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) but they all have their own flair that lets them accomplish things that realistic media can’t.