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.
","abstract_html":"<p>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.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Troutman, Megan Estelle"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Hinrichsen, Lisa A.","Marren, Susan M."],"advisors":["Booker, M. Keith"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:01Z","subjects":["Literature","Communication and the arts","Animation","Child","Children's media","Films","Gender","Horror","Other Film and Media Studies","Visual Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1090","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Hinrichsen, Lisa A.","Marren, Susan M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Booker, M. Keith"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Troutman, Megan Estelle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2015"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Literature","Communication and the arts","Animation","Child","Children's media","Films","Gender","Horror","Other Film and Media Studies","Visual Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1090"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["(Re)Animating the Horror Genre: Explorations in Children's Animated Horror Films"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Hinrichsen, Lisa A.","Marren, Susan M."],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Booker, M. Keith"],"dc:creator":["Troutman, Megan Estelle"],"dc:date":["2015"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1090"],"dc:subject":["Literature","Communication and the arts","Animation","Child","Children's media","Films","Gender","Horror","Other Film and Media Studies","Visual Studies"],"dc:title":["(Re)Animating the Horror Genre: Explorations in Children's Animated Horror Films"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:01Z"}