About the Book
In recent years, there has been a surge in animated projects that have pushed boundaries, broken taboos, prompted discussions and wowed festival and online audiences alike through compelling storytelling and unmatched artistry.
Join Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley of Skwigly Online Animation Magazine and the Intimate Animation podcast as they take you on a tour of the landscape of contemporary animated films that deal with themes of love, intimacy, relationships, anatomy and sexuality – and the incredible artists behind them. Through research and firsthand interviews with trailblazers such as Signe Baumane, Andreas Hykade, Ruth Lingford, Michaela Pavlatova, Bill Plympton and Joanna Quinn, as well as newer voices including Sawako Kabuki, Renata Gąsiorowska, Will Anderson, Sara Gunnarsdottir, Michaela Mihalyi, David Stumpf, Levi Stoops, Lori Malepart-Traversy, Anna Ginsburg, Veljko Popović, Renee Zhan and more, Intimate Animation looks deeply at the role animation has played in presenting elaborate and complex concepts relating to love and sexuality.
Exploring the role animation has played in sex education, self-discovery, the body, lust and love, as well as how the medium can be used to visually represent emotions, feelings and concepts not easily described in words nor depicted through live-action filmmaking, Intimate Animation is the ideal book for professional animators, filmmakers, enthusiasts, researchers, academic and students of animation and film studies interested in the themes of love and sexuality.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: A (Very) Potted History of Erotica in Animation
1 Sex Education
2 Self-Discovery
3 The Body
4 Lust
5 Love
Appendix A: Intimate Animation Podcast Episode List (2016–2022)
Appendix B: Suggested Further Viewing and Resources
Appendix C: Suggested Further Reading
About the Author :
Ben Mitchell is a Bristol-based animator, filmmaker and writer. Alongside his work as an animation freelancer and independent director, he was written extensively on the animation industry, primarily as Editor in Chief of Skwigly Online Animation Magazine, for which he also hosts and produces several podcast strands including Intimate Animation, which began in 2016. As an educator Ben has lectured and tutored at several universities and is the author of the book Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press). He has also worked with and alongside a number of international industry events (including Encounters, ITFS Stuttgart, Animafest Zagreb, the British Animation Awards, Fredrikstad Animation Festival, Manchester Animation Festival and Cardiff Animation Festival) in a variety of capacities spanning preselection, awards juries, programming, hosting and panel moderation.
Dr. Laura-Beth Cowley is an animator, filmmaker and educator based in Bristol, UK. She has a PhD from The University of the West of England, with a focus on the use of new technology within the animation industry, and has written academically, critically and journalistically for various online and print journals. She has spoken at multiple conferences, festivals and symposiums, taught at several universities and is the Second Year Stage Leader for MA Character Animation at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Alongside her academic work, Laura-Beth has worked in the animation industry for various studios and clients including Aardman Animations, Calling The Shots and BBC Arts and is a co-founding member of the Weird Eye Collective. She is the Features Writer and co-host of the Intimate Animation podcast strand for Skwigly Online Animation Magazine.
Review :
"Two writers from online animation magazine Skwigly, Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley, explore a vast landscape of movies dealing with love, lust and talking genitals in Intimate Animation. Its intro zips through a "(very) potted history of erotica in animation", paying attention to grown-up toons like Bob Godfrey's Wicked Willie (1990). A Chapter on 'Sex Education' led me to Disney's bizarre STI health warning short VD Attack Plan (1973). And there are great first-hand interviews with animators such as Ruth Lingford, whose Little Deaths (2010) uses experimental animation to depict orgasms."
Katie McCabe, writing for Sight and Sound magazine, October 2025 Issue.
"Intimate Animation is a must-read for anyone who wants to delve into the complex subject of sex, love, and relations. The book is well-written, insightful, and a great, fun read."
Nancy Denney-Phelps, writing for Animation World Network.
