Morality of Killing in Children's Animated Films

Death is a topic most adults avoid, especially when it comes to children. Yet, death saturates American media, including the animated films that children watch most. Despite cultural assumptions of animation as innocent fantasy, popular animated films introduce young audiences to violence, killing, and moral judgments at alarming rates, shaping the way children understand both mortality and morality.

This book offers the first in-depth examination of homicide in children's animated films to explore the moral judgments about killing offered to child viewers. Combining areas of psychology and cultural studies with media research, it reveals consistent moral messaging about the justification of homicide based not on the violent act itself, but on who performs and who receives it. In situating these patterns within broader Western ideologies, this book highlights the nuance with which media teach children about more than just death, but also about right and wrong, including who deserves to live and who deserves to die.