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.)

Big Hero 6: an Update

Well, talk about coincidences. I only recently made my review on this animated series (two blog posts ago) and since then, I’ve seen two more episodes that addressed some of the problems I have with the show. Not perfectly, but hey, its something.

The first was “Fan Friction” in which Hiro’s annoying classmate Karmi (who has a crush on his heroic alter-ego) starts writing fan fiction online about the BH6 in which she hints that “Captain Cutie” is her boyfriend, much to Hiro’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Obake breaks the assassin/chef Momokase out of prison so she can him lead the heroes to a trap, which she does by kidnapping Hiro’s “girlfriend.”

This episode was an appreciated homage to both fanfiction and Anime (the BH6 appear in ‘chibi form’ in Karmi’s stories) though I should point out that no smart person uses her actual ID on the internet precisely to avoid being stalked by strangers, you’d expect Karmi to know that. Another plus was seeing the show’s only two cool villains working together. Momokase even proved to be faster than Go-Go! I also liked that the show finally gave the BH6 (unofficial) names, because obviously they cannot use their nicknames. My only real complaint, however, was that Karmi did not recant her claim in the end; I get they wanted to end on a joke with Hiro still embarrassed but the final message the audience gets its that its Ok to write fanfics claiming false things about people, even if they put you in danger.

The other episode was “Mini-Max”. In this one, after Fred proves that he’s incapable of going out on a mission without wrecking the city, the others decide to build him a mini-max to keep him out of trouble (instead of, you know, convincing him to wait until he’s better trained.) He misunderstands the gesture and assumes Mini-Max is his sidekick! In a sideplot, Hiro notices that his teacher is doing something in the school lab at night, and sneaks in after her. He gets caught by spider-like security robots, the project she’s been working on. Obake then overrides their control, sending the robots after them.

I’m glad that it was FINALLY shown that Fred isn’t just an annoyance, he’s actually dangerous on his own. Unfortunately, Mini-Max has “Scrappy Doo” written all over him (that is, a new mascot character introduced to boost ratings that comes across as annoying.) Oh well at least the subplot regarding Obake’s origin was interesting, even if it made him even more of a Doctor Doom rip-off.

In conclusion: many (not all) of the points I made on my previous blog on BH6 were addressed at least partially. The show has improved a bit (though it still shows resistance to have characters actually develop.) There’s still hope for further improvement.

Big Hero 6, and Cartoon Adaptations

It makes sense that, if a movie becomes a hit, its producers would seek to exploit it as much as possible – via merchandising, TV shows etc. Even movies like Rambo and Robocop received animated adaptations!

Big Hero 6 might not have been Disney’s biggest hit ever, but it was pretty good in my opinion. Good action, a touching story, pretty good designs and animation, cool music- it even had a good message: Revenge only turns you into that which you hate. Favorite quote: “Tadashi-is-here” (if you don’t get why, watch the movie.)

When I heard they were turning it into a TV series, I was glad; the movie focused so much on Hiro and Baymax’s relationship it barely had room for the other four heroes. I was looking forth to more character development- especially for Honey Lemon, since there were rumors she was Latina (admittedly, only because her voice actress is one, but then, that’s the only major minority not represented in the team, so why not?)

However, until recently, I have been disappointed with the show. Not because of the animation or the music- a TV cartoon rarely can compare to a movie, since it has a much smaller budget. It’s the writing that just feels wrong. The characters are so one-dimensional it hurts. Hiro is a Smart Alec, Go-Go is always pissed, Wasabi is a scaredy cat, Honey is sweet and Fred is an idiot. At least Baymax is a robot so in its case it is acceptable. We also have not one but TWO jerks: Hiro’s teacher and his classmate/”romantic interest” (?) -and that’s it. These characters have no other sides to their personalities; and when the show tries to give them one -like in the episode where Go-Go secretly enjoys bird-watching- it is neither explored nor does seem to matter in the long run.

Now you might argue this is “a kid’s show” and therefore should not be “too hard to follow.” But considering the movie dealt with issues as serious as Death, the cartoon being turned into an action comedy with flat characters is something of a letdown. I’m particularly annoyed at the fact that Fred, despite being so incompetent he actually created a menace in “Kentucky Kaiju” barely got reprimanded.

I think the real problem here is, the writers may have their hands tied (or think do) by Disney and fear from straying too far from what we saw in the movie (which was very little). Also I get it, you don’t want to get too serious on a kid’s cartoon. But you can write solid stories that are still family-friendly.

The villains too, have largely been disappointing. Almost none of them are memorable. Or worse they are just plain silly. The only exception is Obake, the mastermind behind current events, and only just now have the heroes even met him. But at least he does come across as scary and competent. The subplot involving a female Asian artist/scientist and her secret inventions looks promising too.

Things I would like to see in the show:

*Hiro and his not-girlfriend finally admitting their feelings (this will likely eventually happen)

*Go-Go showing a vulnerable side. And stop frowning.

*Wasabi stop acting like he is afraid of his own shadow. Give him some other aspect!

*Fred quitting the team and the rest letting him until he stops acting reckless (for good.) You can be funny without being clumsy or gross.

*And Honey revealing her being Latino. Ok this is wishful thinking I admit it, but it would be cool.

*And because everyone wants to see it: the return of the original Baymax! Maybe turned evil by Obake.

Recommended for: Fans of the movie (if you’re not as picky as I am), and fans of animated superhero shows in general.