65 Years of Smokey the Bear

In this post, my main point will be to show you how and why animation can be used to trick the viewer into some kind of emotional state. I am going to talk all about Smokey the Bear and why he has been influential over his 65 years of life.

The first thing that you need to know, and probably already do know, is what his message is. His message is and always has been, "if you start a fire, remember to put it out," and "only you can prevent forest fires." So if that is his messages, why did his creators make him a bear? Why isn't he Smokey the Deer or Smokey the Squirrel? Something that has more relevance to all of the worlds forests'. Bears are huge, girthy animals that look and are dangerous in real life. But not in the world of animation.

He is Smokey the Bear because he was animated to look as cute as a teddy bear that many children have by their side. I mean, what's more cute to you...



or


Smokey's message itself draws emotion, especially to those have have suffered due to a fire, but it is Smokey himself that draws in your attention. Everybody knows who Smokey the Bear is. If somebody told me they had never heard of or seen Smokey before, I would call them a liar. Smokey is a grade school classic. His cute smile and his cries for help have been heard for over 65 years in class rooms and his looks draw more emotions than his word. This is the perfect example of how animation can be used to draw emotion.