Just thinking, is the art style only symbolic of the universe or is everything actually like that in-universe?
They see themselves like that but that’s also their reality, they don’t know otherwise.
You occasionally get situations when the animators switch the art style every now and then, but the characters still exist in the same universe, so I wonder if the characters wonder why everything looks slightly different.
Inside Out is a great example of just that. While I couldn’t find the scene, here’s an excerpt from tvtropes.com:
*Entering the Abstract Thought Chamber in Inside Out caused the characters to turn into 2D figures with increasingly less defined shapes. *
If I remember correctly, the characters actually acknowledge the shift to less detailed artstyles.
Depends on whether the author is breaking the fourth wall or not
In Star Trek SNW’s crossover episode with Lower Decks (cartoon), Boimler’s first comment when he meets the crew from SNW is that they look “very realistic”
Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks actually addressed that.
I’m so sad they are cancelling the show after this next season airs in a few weeks. Best animated adaptation of an existing universe.
It depends on the author! Authors create symbolic universes and they get to choose the rules of those universes. You can read Robert McKee’s work for more on this.
