Family friendly cartoons
I admit that I haven’t grown out of my fondness for cartoons – hell, for a long period in my childhood I wanted to be an animator. I still see most animated movies at the cinema, and have an especial never-miss fondness for ‘mature’ cartoon series like South Park, Family Guy, American Dad and The Simpsons (I’ve never seen Aqua Teen Hunger Force or Capdog’s suggestion of Monkey Dust).
Anyway, this post isn’t so much about these cartoons, specially designed for adults. Rather it’s about good, wholesome animated entertainment for the whole family. Because, frankly, a scan over the kids’ TV timeslots reveals a desperate shortage. Gone are the days of enertaining wholesome Disney series like Ducktales, Rescue Rangers and the Gummi Bears. Today, if the series aren’t live action (*yawn*), they’re typically horrible, largely incomprehensible anime series based on always changing card games (‘I choose YOU’), or involving weird busty, big eyed girls who sprout tails and feelers and have something called ‘Mew Mew power’.
Even worse, there’s been a splurge on Western series with a stylised, clearly anime-influenced look that deal with totally unoriginal subject matter like girls who are elemental witches and boys who turn into dragons.
The best of the bunch is probably The Batman, which is action-packed and visually inventive, but lacking the emotional punch of the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series. For example, Mr Freeze has a... er… cool new look but the backstory about avenging his cryogenically frozen wife has been completely removed in favour of his becoming a common jewel thief.
Cartoon Network remains probably the best bet in terms of cartoons that both kids and adults can enjoy together. You just have to sift through the dull, kiddies-only fare like Ed, Edd and Eddy, The Cramp Twins, Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi and Codename: The Kids Next Door.
Once you push aside the crap though you’ll find gems like The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Lab, Johnny Bravo, Evil Con Carne, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and, of course, my personal favourite, Samurai Jack. These series offer everything from dark wackiness to cinematic high art. And they owe a lot to the visions of animators Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig McCracken and Maxwell Atoms.
But one series, I think above all others, stands out today for a combination of pure originality and material that children and adults can enjoy: The multiple-Emmy Award winning Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
The plot synopsis:
In this world, imaginary friends become real the instant a child imagines them. Unfortunately for the imaginary friends, the children outgrow them. When that happens, the friends are left to fend for themselves. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was founded by the elderly Madame Foster to provide a foster home (hence the title) for abandoned imaginary friends; their motto is "Where good ideas are not forgotten."
The series centres on mischievous Bloo and Mac, his human best friend and ‘creator’, who has to keep visiting Foster’s Home to protect Bloo from adoption. Self-absorbed Bloo is a wonderful spoof of the scheming, consumer-whoring that children today can succumb to, but what really sells the series is the act that the series is not restricted by a formula (e.g. Hero saves day from stock villains). Guest characters include a girl with an overactive imagination who is banned from Foster’s Home for overpopulating it with abandoned imaginary friends, and Dutchess, a stuck-up imaginary friend who resembles a Cubist painting.
Then there’s the supporting cast that includes Eduardo, a giant, sharp-toothed Spanish-speaking monster who is actually a complete coward; Wilt, an overly courteous basketball player who is falling apart, and my personal favourite, Coco an imaginary friend composed of a bird, aeroplane and palm tree who pops out plastic eggs full of toys.
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friend is undoubtedly the cleverest family-orientated cartoon series on TV at the moment. It deserves every award it receives, and whatever audience it can attract.
Anyway, this post isn’t so much about these cartoons, specially designed for adults. Rather it’s about good, wholesome animated entertainment for the whole family. Because, frankly, a scan over the kids’ TV timeslots reveals a desperate shortage. Gone are the days of enertaining wholesome Disney series like Ducktales, Rescue Rangers and the Gummi Bears. Today, if the series aren’t live action (*yawn*), they’re typically horrible, largely incomprehensible anime series based on always changing card games (‘I choose YOU’), or involving weird busty, big eyed girls who sprout tails and feelers and have something called ‘Mew Mew power’.
Even worse, there’s been a splurge on Western series with a stylised, clearly anime-influenced look that deal with totally unoriginal subject matter like girls who are elemental witches and boys who turn into dragons.
The best of the bunch is probably The Batman, which is action-packed and visually inventive, but lacking the emotional punch of the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series. For example, Mr Freeze has a... er… cool new look but the backstory about avenging his cryogenically frozen wife has been completely removed in favour of his becoming a common jewel thief.
Cartoon Network remains probably the best bet in terms of cartoons that both kids and adults can enjoy together. You just have to sift through the dull, kiddies-only fare like Ed, Edd and Eddy, The Cramp Twins, Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi and Codename: The Kids Next Door.
Once you push aside the crap though you’ll find gems like The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Lab, Johnny Bravo, Evil Con Carne, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and, of course, my personal favourite, Samurai Jack. These series offer everything from dark wackiness to cinematic high art. And they owe a lot to the visions of animators Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig McCracken and Maxwell Atoms.
But one series, I think above all others, stands out today for a combination of pure originality and material that children and adults can enjoy: The multiple-Emmy Award winning Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
The plot synopsis:
In this world, imaginary friends become real the instant a child imagines them. Unfortunately for the imaginary friends, the children outgrow them. When that happens, the friends are left to fend for themselves. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was founded by the elderly Madame Foster to provide a foster home (hence the title) for abandoned imaginary friends; their motto is "Where good ideas are not forgotten."
The series centres on mischievous Bloo and Mac, his human best friend and ‘creator’, who has to keep visiting Foster’s Home to protect Bloo from adoption. Self-absorbed Bloo is a wonderful spoof of the scheming, consumer-whoring that children today can succumb to, but what really sells the series is the act that the series is not restricted by a formula (e.g. Hero saves day from stock villains). Guest characters include a girl with an overactive imagination who is banned from Foster’s Home for overpopulating it with abandoned imaginary friends, and Dutchess, a stuck-up imaginary friend who resembles a Cubist painting.
Then there’s the supporting cast that includes Eduardo, a giant, sharp-toothed Spanish-speaking monster who is actually a complete coward; Wilt, an overly courteous basketball player who is falling apart, and my personal favourite, Coco an imaginary friend composed of a bird, aeroplane and palm tree who pops out plastic eggs full of toys.
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friend is undoubtedly the cleverest family-orientated cartoon series on TV at the moment. It deserves every award it receives, and whatever audience it can attract.
Comments
I've got a new cult favourite, produced by BBC 3 again. Called "The Mighty Boosh", it's not animation but real life intertwined with fantasy... absolutely brilliant.