Date of Graduation

5-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

English

Advisor/Mentor

Booker, M. Keith

Committee Member

Hinrichsen, Lisa A.

Second Committee Member

Marren, Susan M.

Keywords

Literature; Communication and the arts; Animation; Child; Children's media; Films; Gender; Horror

Abstract

This project seeks to define the subgenre of children's animated horror film by examining its classification within the children's film genre and its use of generic conventions of horror. While this project does not aim to conflate children's film as a genre and animation as a medium, the scope of this project will be limited to children's animated horror films from 1993 - present day. In order to explore the subgenre of children's animated horror films from 1993-present, I will focus specifically on the following films: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit (2005), Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2006), Monster House (2006), Igor (2008), Coraline (2009), 9 (2009), Frankenweenie (2012), Hotel Transylvania (2012), and ParaNorman (2012). These films not only raise questions about children and childhood, but also specifically engage in the generic conventions of horror through various monsters, use of comedy, gender stereotypes, and generic hybridity. By engaging in conversations with the conventions of horror films, children's animated horror film legitimates its status as a horror subgenre, not merely simple children's films.

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