Kid's animated films have 2.5 times more deaths as compared to adults' films

A new study has revealed that kids' cartoon characters are twice as likely to die as counterparts in films for adults.

The study leaders Dr Ian Colman and Dr James Kirkbride said that rather

than being innocuous and gentler alternatives to typical horror or drama films, children's animated films are, in fact, hotbeds of murder and mayhem.

On-screen death and violence can be particularly traumatic for young children, and the impact can be intense and long lasting. Because of this many parents will not let their children see the "endemic gore and carnage" typical of films aimed at adult audiences.

The researchers analyzed the length of time it takes for key characters to die in the 45 top-grossing children's cartoons, released between 1937 (Snow White) and 2013 (Frozen), and rated either as suitable for a general audience (G) or with parental guidance suggested (PG) and also looked at whether the first on-screen death was a murder or involved a main character's parent.

The study found that two thirds of the cartoons depicted the death of an important character compared with half of the adult films and that the main cartoon characters were 2.5 times as likely to die as their counterparts in films for adults, and almost three times as likely to be murdered.