Absolutely. As I've said before in earlier posts and as Tabuno pointed out, animation is a process, not a type of film. Quite a bit of animation directors who have their own sense of vision for animated features, such as Don Bluth and Hayao Miyazaki, know that the biggest question which comes to their mind: "How am I going to tell this story?" Indeed, live-action filmmakers have this thought as well. So in a way, it would be pointless to be narrow-minded and saying animation is just for kids because then that means you're ignoring that animation can also tell stories in as much of a profound way as live-action can.

This is why I dislike the most recent Disney films: they aim to please kids and family only but they never seem to have their own voice. Disney, as of recent years, seems to forget its past and how its earlier films were marvels not just about animation but storytelling as well.

And it is interesting how there's such a difference in culture in Japan versus America, where Miyazaki and many Japanese animators aim to simply tell stories dramatically, even if animation is one or the only way they do make motion pictures. Take "Spirited Away" for instance. I can't place it into a kids and family category because it's very mature and it runs just as if it was a dramatic live-action film, with of course the only difference being that it's an animated feature.

And thank god "Spirited Away" has gathered great attention in the US. It's about time that in this country, more people realize that animated features are more than just simply "cartoons."