ComicMix Six: Television for the next generation of fandom
We were all kids once and, let’s face it, for many of us there was a particular television show or short that caught our attention and grabbed our inner-geek by the shoulders to shout “Look at me!” Whether you had a particular fondness for Interplanet Janet (“She’s a galaxy girl!”), Underdog, or Super Grover, chances are that something you saw in early childhood helped shape you into the fan you are today.
My sister and I always loved Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (new action figures are coming out this year!), and my niece is a huge Power Puff Girls fan. This got me wondering what shows will inspire today’s budding geeks. The great thing about these days is that DVD and the Internet make it possible to view not only the latest children’s shows, but everything you feel that old nostalgia for as well. However, today’s children aren’t always as excited about the Wonder Twins or Cowboy Curtis as Mom and Dad may have been. Here, then, are some more recent selections for the latest generation of fans:
1. Backyardigans
From Pirates to Samurai to Space-Travelers and everything in-between, this colorful and musical CGI-animated show (formerly aired on Nickelodeon, and now available on DVD) is all about five anthropomorphic neighbors whose imaginations take them on adventures to faraway times and places. While teaching children about the value of friendship and imagination and introducing several styles of music and dance, this show also stirs the core of future gamers. You see, the characters, Austin (a kangaroo), Pablo (a penguin), Tasha (a hippo), Tyrone (a moose), and Uniqua (a creature vaguely reminiscent of a child-sized pink ant), are like a game group. They meet, they create characters, they play out their roles and scenarios as their game characters, and then they have a snack. If you’ve ever gamed at a con, you know this drill.
2. Cyberchase
This popular PBS show has such a huge fanbase, it even has an exhibit devoted at the New York Hall of Science. Cyberchase is about three Earth children who get pulled into cyberspace through a computer. The kids use their math skills to get out of challenging situations and defeat the evil bad guy Hacker (voiced by Christopher Lloyd). Each episode takes place on a cybersite—essentially a different world within cyberspace—so these children are also able to take on different roles in a variety of fantasy realms. It has the added bonus of teaching kids that math can be cool whether you’re a girl or a boy, and that’s awesome!
3. Super Why!
Here, we have a cheerful group of friends from a place called “Storybook Village.” The friends are fairy tale characters until there is a problem to be solved. Then Princess Pea, The Littlest Pig, Little Red Riding Hood, and Whyatt Beanstalk (whose older brother Jack is now a guitar-strumming teenager) turn into little heroes, complete with costumes and coordinating vehicles called “Why Gliders” that allow them to enter a book where someone is encountering a similar story. They change the story to a more agreeable outcome and learn the answer to their own problem as a result. Not only will this show help children learn to read, it will likely inspire the next generation of fanfic writers!
4. Dragon Tales
What’s not to love about friendly, bilingual dragons? This series focuses on two children (and then later adds the boy who lives next door) who have a magic dragon scale that transports them to a fantastical land of dragons, fairies, and really amazing plant life (pillows grow on trees here!). The children befriend a small group of juvenile dragons and they all learn how to play nice and be polite in English and Spanish.
5. Kim Possible
Though aimed at a slightly older set than the rest of the list, KP still has a great appeal to the kindergarten set as well as their parents. Produced by Disney from 2002-2007, it follows the life of a fashion-conscious cheerleader who fights crime with the help of her best friend Ron Stoppable, his hairless molerat Rufus, and a genius boy named Wade who practically lives at a remote computer console. Kim has to balance the stresses of school, friends, family, cheerleading, and saving the world from villains bent on controlling it—and she’s still as stylish as ever!
6.Word Girl
Word Up! Following the adventures of a girl with the powers of super-strength, flight, and amazing vocabulary, Word Girl teaches children new and interesting words while keeping grown-ups entertained, too. Along with her chimpanzee sidekick Captain Huggyface, Word Girl defeats an interesting variety of villains, many of whom seem to have a food-based power—the Butcher can shoot meat from his hands, and once gained an attack called “Chicken Cordon Blam!” after stealing “The Beef Jerky of Supreme Power! Word Girl is not just an entertaining and educational program, however— it’s also a comic book!
The Backyardigans is still on the Nick Jr. schedule, but maybe it's out of regular production. There have been episodes about Secret Agents and Superheroes too!"Fineas and Pherb" on the Disney Channel is a good show. Nice music and there is a subplot in each episode where Perry the pet platypus foils the plans of the Mad Scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz. The brains that write this have been dipped in the same candy coating as most ComicMix readers. The gags play off of classic comic book themes.The Mighty "B" features Amy Pohler, recent alumni of Saturday Night Live. The show revolves around a wacky "Girl Scout." The satire can be strong. But this occasionally degenerates into Ren and Stimpy or Spongebob-type gross out humor in it. There's a place for gross out humor. But not with very small children. It scares them."The Wonder Pets" also has a Superhero aesthetic. But it's a bit too cutesy for my tastes.
Second the vote for "Phineas and Ferb". My granddaughters were here the past week, and three-year-old Maggie insists on watching Disney Channel – much of which makes me want to give myself a lobotomy with a blunt spoon (and yes, i am looking at you, "Higglytown Heroes"…).But "Phineas and Ferb" is just a delight on so many levels.It hits a lot of the same tropes as "Kim Possible" … but a lot more, too. ("Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!")
I agree, Higglytown Heroes is awful. Once you get past the They Might Be Giants title theme, the music is bland pablum. It's not sincere. I would say the same for the Doodlebops and Yo Gabba Gabba. I can't watch 'em. I can't control my gag reflex."Phineas and Ferb" (I got my "PH" and "F" mixed up before) is a highlight of the current Disney Channel line-up. I wonder how well "Phineas and Ferb" would transfer to a comic book format! You wouldn't get the original song each episode normally contains. But most of the other gags and bits would work.
In this world where mediocre-to-bad cartoons are getting mediocre-to-ghodawful movie adaptatons (and yes, i am looking at you, "Speed Racer"), i'd say "Phieas and Ferb" is ripe for a feature-length treatment (as long as the creators do it).As a Disney XD TV movie, if nothing else
The Powerpuff Girls Movie killed the Powerpuff Girls. The Recess Movie spelled the end of Recess. (That might not be literally true, but it feels that way to me. Feature movies generally doom the show. The Simpsons is the exception.) I can wait seven to ten years for a Phineas and Ferb Movie. Besides, I really like that Phineas and Ferb packs two over the top plots and a song into just eleven minutes. I have trouble imagining how that would get dragged out for 88 minutes.
Two superhero episodes of Backyardigans that I can recall – "The Key to the World", in which Weather Woman (Uniqua) and Captain Hammer (Austin) have to save the Key to the World, possession of which would let the villains run everything, from Dr. Shrinky (Tyrone, with scrubs and a black domino) and Yuckyman (Pablo); and "Super Snap!", in which mild-mannered newspaper photographer Tasha, aka the speedster Super Snap, saves the city from a giant robot that yells "Cheese!" a lot, with the help of Bug Girl (Uniqua) and Captain Bubble (Tyrone).My autistic daughter is a huge fan, so I think I've seen about all the episodes… :-)
I can't resist the temptation to add here that one of the driving forces behind DRAGON TALES was Tim Eldred, a writer/artist with a very solid background in comics. In addition to a number of solo projects, he and I worked on some ROBOTECH comics together, and he wrote and drew the terrific graphic novel GREASE MONKEY, which Tor published in 2006. Check it out, if you can.
Kim Possible ROCKS!
We love The Backyardigans and I know Russ does too. Great music. We have their CDs in the car for the kids.We've been following them since they first appeared in 2004. My wife even blogged about them on Blogging Baby (now AOL's ParentDish).Also fans of Super Why and Kim Possible.So basically all of the odd numbered entries above. ;-)
my brother loves you shows he aways wanted you and his only 1 in a half