Children's Media: An Insight on Modern Cartoons

One of the rules for creating children's media is that it has to be appealing to not only to children but to adults as well. Cartoons are suppose to be for everyone right? 

Some people (outside of the animation community, of course) will consider cartoons as either a means to keep a child entertained for about an hour while giving them an "after school lesson" through story or (in the likes of Family Guy or shows like it on FOX) a form of adult entertainment that only airs late at night where the obscure jokes of drugs, sex and violence can be mocked and poked fun at. The problem with this notion is that either way you put it, people view cartoons as immature and to not be taken that seriously. This was apparent in children's media not to long ago, when the whole reason as to why there was such a variety of characters in one show was just to sell toys. It wasn't to bring up interesting and entertaining characters that we could grow and relate to, which is what today's selection of children's media is bringing us now. And that is only one of many examples as to why cartoons today are very effective as entertainment for both sides of the spectrum.

Personally, i think that cartoons today have broken that mold of toy sales and plain old after school lessons. Here are a few examples as to why we have broken that mold and why they are important to children's media today. And why a good chunk of them appeal to ADULTS as well!

New Interesting Characters & Settings

Think about these characters and settings for a second... A human boy and his talking transforming dog exploring and having adventures in a possible post apocalyptic world in which an ice king and a princess of a kingdom of candy are present. A show centered around this one summer vacation where a twin brother and sister stay at their grand-uncle's Mystery Shack tourist trap in the middle of the state of Oregon while discovering the weird supernatural mysteries that are happening there. A series centered around a boy and his three gemstone themed superheroes of earth caretakers teaching him about his undiscovered powers and the world of which they came from. From the descriptions alone, it is obvious that we have gone past just animated shorts about a cat and mouse chase. Not only creativity, but good craftsmanship as well the designs and stories these shows are telling.

Continuing Stories EVERYWHERE

 For as elaborate as each of these shows sound they are presented in a simple, easy to digest format that is both entertaining and interesting for the viewer to watch. And each episode adds onto an ever expanding plot that gets more and more interesting as each episode continues forward!

Just like every other television show in the age of streaming, all these new shows have an overarcing plot of some sort spanning many episodes. I mean, it's not like other cartoons before didn't have a big story connecting all the episodes together. But now in the age where we just play an episode one after another, this overarching story is made more apparent, is allowed to be more interwoven and interesting as ever! Gravity Falls is a good example of this just because of all the mysteries that the viewer is trying to solve along with the characters in the show. My goodness, the creators add secret messages at the end of each episode for the viewers to decode for themselves in this one! It's all just making it even more fun to watch cartoon episodes in order.

Showing lessons for both kids and adults

Not all shows are aiming their lessons to kids. Animators like to add that extra layer of story that brings out a hidden lesson about being an adult as well. Whether it'd be how to deal with relatives, how to handle a new budding romance, feelings with anxiety and/or depression or even how to deal with death. There is something in there to poke at the feels of adults along with the kids. 

Lessons that have been around for a long time for kids as well, such as sharing, telling the truth, showing generosity & kindness to one another and growing up can still be seen in these as well. But it is added on with even more positive lessons like accepting yourself for who you are, dealing with tough feelings like sadness and loss, learning to accept one another's differences, to forgive someone despite all of their mistakes in the past. These are important lessons being taught here and i'm glad that it's in the shows that our kids watch. I'm glad because it is shaping a better and hopeful generation to come.

The best part about cartoons also speaking to adults as well. And when the kids who grew up watching these stories go back to watch again, they'll get even more out of it.