I Wanna Be Where the Fandoms Are

In taking the Can We Guess Which Fandom You Belong In? quiz, I knew with absolute certainty that it would most likely be one of two answers... Disney or Fantasy.

My result was animation.

I wasn't like other kids my age. I had cerebral palsy, so while I did sports I got made fun of a lot for my leg braces or walking funny. We didn't have cable so my brothers and I, with some of the kids my mom used to babysit, would sit down and watch the shows that showed up on the WB. It was there that I found two inspirations, Mary Jane Watson and Harley Quinn.

They were two girls that were strong, and didn't take lip from anyone (though Harley was a bit of a pushover to Mr J at times). Mary Jane would put Peter in his place and Harley moved with a gymnastic ability that someone with my limited mobility could only marvel at.

These were strong women that I could look up to. That would fight back against those who stood in their way, and it gave me confidence to hold my head up high and ignore the mean comments that the kids would make. I could be strong and independent as well. I didn't need to listen as others tore me down, I was better than the rest of them that I was above it.

As I grew up, the people around me would grow out of their love of cartoons or Disney movies, or at least would pretend they did. Growing up there wasn't a huge amount of internet, in fact if I wanted to get on it I would have to travel to the library. So I had to act like I wasn't excited about the new Disney movie, or happy about the new Sailor Moon episode or movie.

But then I had my siblings, both of whom are mentally disabled. Highly intelligent, of course, but mostly on the things that they focused on. My brother it was anime and my twin sister, who I have little in common with outside of cartoons, was Disney.

While my parents and older brother wouldn't follow my brother's train of thought at times, I kept up as best I could with all the anime that he was into, most notably Full Metal Alchemist. He was pleased as punch when he found out that I met his favorite voice over actor, Vic Mignona, who does the voice of many anime characters.

With my sister, I would watch whatever the latest Disney movie was with her. We bonded over our love of Tinkerbell, and Beauty and the Beast is a movie that we share as our favorite disney movie, as well as Belle being our favorite Disney Princess.

I guess what the point of this article is, is that animation is more than just pretty colors and story telling. It's a way for people to connect. It's not just about what genre it is, it's about the emotions it makes you feel, the confidence you get when you connect with a character. While it, in and of itself, is a fantasy, it's also it's own world. It doesn't need to be marred by whatever scandal is going on with the actor, or what special effect honestly looks slightly fake. It's voices that you fall in love with, it's hand painted drawings that are so beautiful they should be hanging up in a museum.

It's magic, that even if you aren't willing to admit it, pulls somewhere at your heart strings as an adult and makes you feel something.

You always remember your first animated movie. Your first Disney Princess, your first adventure movie. It is a genre that spans over all genres, fantasy in it's tellings (there is even a Lord of the Rings cartoon), romance in your favorite disney princess movie, adventure in so many that it is impossible to list (though who didn't love Mulan?) comedy in it's many diverse characters and scifi in the most amazingly different stories (iron giant comes to mind)

Animation is for the kid in all of us. It can extend to whatever genre you are in the mood for, and has a touch that no live-action movie, at least for me, has been able to give.

It's truly my favorite genre. And as a grown adult I am not ashamed to admit that. You shouldn't be either