Children can explore fantastical realms and become fully immersed in the stories they watch when they are exposed to fantasy cartoons. This research makes an effort to demonstrate that exposure to the fantastical realm has a major impact on young people's capacity to imagine a better future for themselves and the world. Therefore, 65 children (35 girls, 30 boys) between the ages of 6 and 12 were asked to participate in focus group discussions, which were held in two groups. The interviews were then examined, processed, and sorted into several categories. The findings revealed that kids who often consumed fantasy animations had a more realistic and fantastical view of the world in the future. It so occurred that there was a significant gap between their actual and ideal selves. However, the gap between kids' ideal selves and their actual selves shrank and their future expectations were more realistic when kids viewed fantasy animations for fewer than three hours each day. Importantly, kids who watched a lot of fantasy cartoons framed their thoughts and dreams in a fantastical world, which shaped the way they envisioned the future.

Fantasy; Children; Cartoon; Animation; Iran

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