ANIMATING CHANGE: DO ANIMATED WORKS IN ENTERTAINMENT AND ADVOCACY HAVE EQUAL IMPACT ON SOCIETY AND CULTURE?

Animation has long been a space of imagination, humor, and fantasy, but beneath its colors and characters lies a powerful storytelling medium capable of influencing real-world behavior and perception. 

Beyond the talking animals and whimsical worlds, animation has been used to tackle some of society’s most pressing issues, from mental health to climate change, from public health campaigns to social justice advocacy.

While some animated works are intentionally crafted as educational or advocacy tools, others are designed purely for entertainment, yet still manage to spark deep reflection and social dialogue. 

The distinction between these two strands, the non-entertainment advocacy animation and the entertainment-driven animation, is not just in purpose but also in method, audience engagement, and long-term impact.

This article explores how both forms contribute to health and social change, comparing their strengths, limitations, and overall effectiveness in shaping awareness and inspiring action.

Animation as an Advocacy Tool

From global health organizations to grassroots social movements, animation has been used as a visual language for awareness. Advocacy animation, or what we might call "non-entertainment animation", exists primarily to educate, inform, or persuade. It is direct in its intention, to change behavior or attitudes toward a specific issue. Below is a collection of videos by UNESCO, tackling health and well-being for adolescents.

Animated videos by UNESCO promoting Health and wellness for adolescents

During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF deployed short, animated explainers to illustrate hygiene practices, mask usage, and vaccination benefits. 

These animations, often under two minutes long, simplified scientific information into accessible visual metaphors. They were shared widely across social media platforms and broadcast channels in multiple languages, an essential tool in reaching diverse populations with varying literacy levels.

Similarly, NGOs and government health agencies have commissioned animations to raise awareness on topics like HIV/AIDS prevention, sanitation, and nutrition. A notable example is the “Meena” series developed by UNICEF in South Asia, which used a young animated girl as a relatable protagonist to promote gender equality, health education, and child rights. Meena’s stories were engaging but always carried a clear moral lesson, which involved, empowering viewers, especially children, with actionable knowledge.

The effectiveness of these works lies in clarity and intent. They communicate messages that are specific and measurable: “wash your hands,” “get vaccinated,” “seek help,” or “respect diversity” because their purpose is explicit. Advocacy animations are often evaluated in terms of behavioral outcomes, for example, increases in health-seeking behavior or improvements in public knowledge following a campaign.

Yet this precision comes with trade-offs. Advocacy animations are typically short-term interventions, often powerful within their campaign context but rarely revisited afterward. 

Their aesthetic and narrative simplicity, designed for accessibility, can sometimes limit emotional resonance or artistic depth. Once the campaign ends, the animation may fade into digital archives, remembered only by those who engaged with it directly.

Entertainment Animation and the Art of Indirect Influence

In contrast, entertainment-based animation, created primarily for storytelling and leisure, often approaches health and social issues indirectly. Instead of instructing audiences on what to do, these works invite reflection through empathy, weaving themes of mental health, identity, environment, and morality into character-driven narratives.

Pixar’s Inside Out (2015) is a defining example. By personifying emotions as animated characters, which include, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, the film offered an accessible framework for understanding mental well-being. It became a conversation starter for parents, educators, and therapists, who used its metaphors to teach children emotional literacy and resilience. The film was never marketed as a mental health resource, yet its impact extended far beyond the theater, influencing real discussions in psychology and education. Below is the trailer and a site you can read all about it.

Inside Out (2015) Trailer

Read all about Pixar's Inside Out

Similarly, BoJack Horseman (2014–2020), a Netflix adult animated series, tackled issues such as depression, addiction, and the emptiness of fame. Its candid portrayal of self-destruction and recovery resonated deeply with adult audiences who saw reflections of their own struggles within the anthropomorphic characters. Critics have argued that BoJack’s raw honesty did more to normalize conversations around mental illness than many traditional awareness campaigns. Below is the trailer and site you can read all about it.

Bojack Horseman trailer

Read all about Bojack Horseman

Entertainment animation also plays a crucial role in social critique. Zootopia (2016) cleverly disguised commentary on racism and bias within a detective story about a rabbit police officer and a fox con artist. Meanwhile, Pixar’s Wall-E (2008) used the story of a lonely waste-collecting robot to highlight environmental degradation and consumerism. Viewers were entertained, but they also left theaters reflecting on sustainability, empathy, and social responsibility. Below are the trailers and sites to read all about Zootopia and Wall-E respectively.

Zootopia trailer

Read all about Zootopia here

Wall-E trailer

Read all about Wall-E here

What makes entertainment animation effective is its ability to sustain emotional engagement. This is often due to audiences connecting with characters and narratives rather than being told what to think, the resulting reflection is often deeper and more personal. The messages linger, not because they were taught, but because they were felt.

However, the indirectness of these messages can be both strength and weakness. Interpretations vary, and some viewers may miss the social commentary altogether. The success of entertainment animation in inspiring real change depends largely on audience context, media literacy, and cultural conversation surrounding the work.

Comparing the Two Approaches

Aspect	Advocacy/Non-Entertainment Animation	Entertainment-Based Animation
Purpose	Inform, educate, and promote behavioral change	Entertain and emotionally engage, often with implicit messages
Audience	Targeted groups (health workers, local communities, students)	Mass audience, cross-generational and global
Tone	Instructional, factual, motivational	Emotional, narrative-driven, interpretive
Engagement Style	Cognitive (understanding and recall)	Emotional (empathy and identification)
Measurable Outcomes	Clear knowledge gain, behavior change	Subtle for attitudinal shifts, discourse change
Longevity	Short-term campaigns	Long-term cultural relevance
Artistic Freedom	Often constrained by message clarity	Expansive, allows symbolism and complexity

Both forms hold undeniable value. Advocacy animation excels in precision and focus, while entertainment animation thrives in depth and reach. 

The most impactful change often happens when the two overlap. When advocacy borrows storytelling techniques from entertainment, or when entertainment draws consciously from real social issues.

When the Two Worlds Meet

In recent years, the line between entertainment and advocacy has blurred. Short films and series increasingly blend artistic creativity with social intention, producing hybrid works that both engage and inform.

The non-profit Barbara Sinatra Children's Center Foundation in California, has developed a national campaign on fighting child abuse awareness and prevention, using animated videos, in conjunction with Wonder Media and The Joshua Center on child sexual abuse at the University of Washington. The collection of animated videos help children know about what to do, when confronted with abusive behaviour. Below is their YouTube page, which has the collection of videos.

Barbara Sinatra Children Center Foundation animated videos fighting child abuse

Pixar’s Out (2020), a short film on Disney+, is a poignant example. It tells the story of a gay man struggling to come out to his parents. The narrative is heartfelt and personal, fitting within Pixar’s entertainment brand, yet it functions as quiet advocacy for LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance. Its strength lies in normalizing queer identity within mainstream family entertainment, reaching audiences who might not seek out advocacy content. You can watch the 10 minute film below.

Pixar's Short Film "Out" (2020)

Independent studios and collectives have also mastered this balance. The British animation collective The Line collaborates with charities and musicians to create visually striking short films that tackle topics like domestic abuse or mental health. These pieces are emotionally rich and aesthetically bold, works of art that double as public awareness campaigns. Below is a link to their studio website to learn all about them.

The Line Studio

Another compelling case is Pearl, a Google Spotlight Story, which uses virtual reality animation to explore parent-child relationships, loss, and dreams. While not overtly educational, its emotional narrative fosters empathy, an essential driver of social cohesion and understanding. Below is a link to watch it.

Pearl Google Spotlight Stories Animated Short film

These hybrid approaches demonstrate that impact thrives at the intersection of intention and creativity. When advocacy embraces entertainment’s emotional depth, and entertainment integrates advocacy’s sense of purpose, animation becomes not just a medium for awareness but a catalyst for empathy-driven transformation.

Which Form Creates Greater Impact?

Determining which form of animation, advocacy or entertainment, that has a greater impact depends on what kind of change we seek.

If the goal is immediate behavioral change, such as promoting vaccination or preventing disease, advocacy animation is unmatched. It provides clear, actionable information and can be evaluated through data-driven methods like surveys or engagement analytics. Its directness makes it indispensable in public health communication.

However, if the goal is cultural or attitudinal change, to shift how people perceive mental health, gender equality, or environmental responsibility, then entertainment animation often prevails. It does not instruct but rather cultivates empathy and long-term reflection. It plants seeds that grow slowly, shaping norms and dialogue over years or even generations.

For instance, environmental awareness today owes much to the storytelling legacy of films like Wall-E, Princess Mononoke, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, all of which infused ecological consciousness into emotionally compelling stories. Similarly, empathy for mental health struggles has deepened through characters like Sadness in Inside Out or BoJack in BoJack Horseman, who humanize emotional pain in ways statistics cannot.

Ultimately, the two approaches are not competitors but collaborators. Advocacy animation delivers knowledge; entertainment animation nurtures empathy. Knowledge changes what we do, empathy changes who we are.

The Future of Animation in Health and Social Change

As technology evolves, animation’s potential for social influence continues to expand. Interactive formats like VR and AR can immerse audiences in social realities, from walking through a refugee camp to experiencing the world through the lens of someone with autism. These experiences merge education and empathy, dissolving the boundaries between advocacy and entertainment entirely.

Moreover, the rise of social media and short-form video platforms means animation can reach audiences faster and more organically than ever. Independent animators can now produce socially relevant work without institutional backing, fostering a more diverse, grassroots ecosystem of change-making art.

The future of socially conscious animation may rest not in choosing between advocacy or entertainment, but in integrating the best of both, while involving clarity of message, emotional storytelling, cultural reach, and creative freedom.

Conclusion

Animation’s power lies in its universality, that transcends language, age, and culture, distilling complex issues into images and emotions that anyone can understand. Whether used as a tool for public health education or as an art form that invites introspection, animation continues to prove that change can be inspired through imagination.

Advocacy animations may teach us what to do, but entertainment animations remind us why it matters. The greatest impact occurs when knowledge and emotion intertwine, when an animated story moves hearts while informing minds.

In a world increasingly shaped by visuals, animation remains one of the most effective mediums to not just tell stories, but to change them, transforming pixels and drawings into empathy, understanding, and, ultimately, social progress.

What is your take on the impact of animation in the advocacy space, be it through entertainment or non-entertainment methods? Which side are you on? Let us know in the comments