This study investigates whether color and background information in motion visuals have different effects on memory and comprehension of students in various grade levels. A three-by-three factorial pretest-posttest design was used, comparing levels of visual complexity and grade levels. The instructional content was a 12-minute computer animation concerning life styles of animals. A total of 412 third, sixth, and eighth graders were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: simple group; simple with color group; and simple with color and background information group. All subjects received a pretest, treatment, and two posttests. The posttests were designed to test the subject's memory and comprehension of the instructional content. In addition, a questionnaire was administered to the subjects in order to understand their perceptions of visual complexity in the treatment. Results indicate that there was interaction between amount of visual complexity in motion visuals and grade level. Color and background information affected the third graders' achievement in memory and comprehension differently, while both the sixth and eighth graders' performance was not at all affected by the amount of visual complexity in motion visuals. (Contains 28 references.) (Author)