Controversial Cartoons

There have been ‘controversial’ cartoons since the first days of Animation. From blatantly racist cartoons in the early twenty century, to some cartoons (such as Tom & Jerry) being too violent for kids in the early TV broadcasting days, to complaints of most cartoons in the 80’s being just toy commercials, to -most recently- some cartoons pushing agendas such as gender issues that might not be appropriate for minors, sometimes associated with “toxic fandoms” that go crazy if you critize them. For example, Steven Universe features lesbians (they call them genderless aliens, but they aren’t fooling anyone) and one of its fans was harrassed for ‘daring to draw an obese character with normal body weight.’ Some shows that haven’t even come out yet, like the new She-Ra and Magical Guardian Spice are already under fire for being “too SJW.” I’ll be focusing on these last two problems today.

First of all: is animation really ‘just for kids?’ anymore? In this era of Diney/Pixar family films, not to mention Anime aimed at different age groups, I’d say that’s obviously not the case. Oh sure there’s still stuff that’s obviously still aimed at preschoolers, but the majority can be enjoyed by anyone with no shame. The “its for kids so you cannot complain about it” argument does not fly because these are products made for mass comsumption- the producers want as many people as possible to watch them (and buy the merchandise, etc.) There are cartoons that children should not see- not just those containing sex and graphic violence but topics that are too complex for them, like gender issues, religion or politics. Which brings me to my next topic.

Should cartoons contain real-life social issues? I’m OK with these (as long as the younger kids don’t watch them, and its their legal guardians resposibility to make sure of that) if they are handled well- which is tricky, but possible. And also as long they don’t forget that, primarily, animated series are enterteinment- things like action and characterization should come before any “message.”

What about “toxic fandoms?” It seems that with the coming of  ‘social media’, some people feel entitled to defend their favorite shows by insulting or even threatening those who disagree with them. Radicals like these have always existed; its just that now they are more visible. So no, I’m not convinced fandom is “toxic”. If you ever run into such an individual, just notify the administrators and let them handle the situation; then ignore them. Don’t feed the trolls.

In conclusion: I can see why some people are concerned, but I’m not terribly worried, nor do I feel most of us should be, other than by being picky about what we choose to watch (and let our preteen kids see.)

My problem with Little Charmers

Little Charmers is a doll line for little girls; here I’ll talk about the cartoon based on it.

The show is about three little girls living in a Magical World, trying to learn magic and inevitably getting in trouble. You can tell its true purpose is to sell the toys- every episode features the Charmers using their tools, flying on their brooms and going to their “charmhouse” right down to the same musical sequences. But this is par for the course for cartoons these days. That’s not what bothers me. It’s the (probably unintentional) message the show carries.

You see, most episodes go like this: a grownup warns the Charmers not to do something; they do it anyway; trouble ensues, and they usually end up going to a grownup to help them fix things and say they are sorry. So far so good.

But in almost all cases, the grownups will say “Oh well, I guess you learned your lesson” and forgive them. They never get punished. Sometimes they get congratulated or thanked! And it’s not like the stuff they do is always harmless; in one episode they ruined magic for the whole town, and in another, they froze it over!

But perhaps most annoying of all, they never learn! You can bet that not only they will be disobeying their elders again by next episode, but that often they commit similar errors too. It’s an insult to the intelligence of even its intended preteen audience to believe they could get away with that.

If I might be sounding too harsh, it’s because we are living in an age of enlightened cartoons that can teach lessons and still be entertaining- My Little Pony and Sofia The First are great examples of this. And other than this, the show is very good- in animation, design, music, and even worldbuilding.

To be fair, not all episodes are like that. Maybe someone took notice and a memo was passed around because some latter episodes improved. In some the problems were not caused by the Charmers, and in a few, they actually managed to solve things on their own! Possibly the best episode was the one where they turned themselves into ogres so they could win a game, only to learn that playing unfairly ruins the fun for everyone.

Overall, Little Charmers is a cute, harmless show. Just make sure you watch it with your kids and that they don’t get the impression they can away with a “sorry” in real life.