Seeking to enhance conventional methods of storytelling, a SCAD animation graduate student analyzed the dominant theory of animated narrative, finding that most animation texts stress the stress the presentation of simple, straightforward, and singular themes. In response to these findings, the student developed a critical framework for employing polythemes, or multiple themes, in creating new narratives with meaningful, nuanced perspectives and greater intrigue, complexity, and emotional depth. The student’s research concluded that by implementing historic, mimetic, romantic, and didactic elements and measuring them on the EPIC scale — that is, how animated media entertains, persuades, informs, and connects with audiences — contemporary animation storytelling can more fully reflect the subtle distinctions that comprise the human experience.