Mainstream American animated feature films are a form of art and entertainment especially popular among children. However, the genre has been understood in a limited way as being sentimental, didactic and bound to certain ideologies. These films have demonstrated a growing investment in stories which take place in city settings and draw attention to significant issues and problems concerning urban society and life. Nonetheless, little research has been carried out to examine and evaluate the representation and re-imagining of cities in animated films.

This study aims to explore how American feature animations engage with the city and what the implications of this are for the audience, based on a close reading of several groups of exemplar film texts. It aims to challenge to some degree the view that animated films lack subtlety and complexity, and applies Leo Braudy’s theorisation of popular culture to explore the potentially contradictory values that these films project in the particular context of modern urban identities. The study also explores how to conceptualise the various ways that these animations respond to the experience of the city. It addresses this question by adapting and applying Jenny Bavidge’s modes of representations of the city in children’s literature, accordingly classifying film texts into three categories: the nostalgic, the transformative and the disruptive. Moreover, it aims to investigate the way that the medium of animation contributes distinctively to the filmic representation and re-imagining of the city by examining the realistic aesthetic and anthropomorphism in animation.

The main findings of this study will suggest that mainstream American animated feature films can have subtle and complex dimensions, and articulate unresolved contradictions in public attitudes while providing playful experiences that can keep young audiences focused and happy when informing them of serious ideas. Moreover, these films display a variety of approaches to staging the city, which imply different attitudes in response to tensions and changes in city life. The realistic aesthetic and anthropomorphism in animation, in addition, play important roles in enhancing affective power and creativity. Overall, this study suggests that mainstream American animated features can provide a way of renewing public attention to issues and tensions in relation to city life, and potentially bring young audiences greater awareness of its various aspects in an affective manner.