Cartoons are a wonderful genre of art that can teach valuable lessons while keeping viewers entertained, but what happens when they lack depth or morals to learn from? Kids cartoons have always walked a fine line of being educational and fun, and sometimes they fail. This isn’t the end of the world as there’s nothing wrong with mindless fun, but there should be moderation.
This has led to discourse for years over whether or not kids should watch cartoons that are often mindless and prone to visual overload. Still, these are sometimes dismissed as nostalgia-blind arguments complaining about the new generations’ toys. While this is true sometimes, there is still legitimate concern over newer cartoons.
While there have always been bad cartoons, there’s been a more obvious rise of lower-effort shows that many deem ‘slop’. This isn’t anything new either, as cartoons like “Teen Titans Go” and “Fanboy & Chum Chum” are a decade old at least by now. This has gotten justified concern from parents and general animation enthusiasts alike, but the pushback was unexpected.
Does the phrase, “Who cares? It’s for kids anyway,” sound familiar to anyone? While this could be said better, the response does have some merit. People can be a little intense over kids’ media and that can make discussions weird and toxic. However, that doesn’t mean cartoons are immune to criticism. In the end, a cartoon is still a produced piece of media.
Money was put into making it, writers and animators put time and effort into creating it, and directors supervised the process. It was created, which means it can and should be discussed by its viewers. Being made for kids doesn’t make something automatically free to be terrible. Why would we want kids to watch subpar media? That doesn’t sound fair.
Besides, adults watch cartoons too. Kids and adults alike love shows like “Molly McGee”, “Bluey”, and “Moongirl & Devil Dinosaur”. Cartoons are a tool that parents use to bond with their kids. If the cartoon has poor quality, then the bond isn’t being formed, is it? The parents will be too busy worrying about what their kid is watching over enjoying their time together.
Most importantly, kids should be protected from mindless slop. Kids aren’t dumb; in fact, their brains are growing and they should be learning as much as possible, not be hindered by low-quality media.