The TeeVee I Loved

We all had those phases in our lives. Those times that saw us heavily invested in a particular film or television show. We watched each and every episode and sometimes went far as to demand for the toys, cards and other collectible items. All of this signified our passion and aimed to keep us amused. I've had quite a lot of these throughout my childhood. Probably not as many as others around me (and probably none as intense either), but enough to keep me occupied over a certain period of time. I would be lying if I said that still isn't happening now and then today. I'm still going back and revisiting one or two of these television animes/cartoons, searching for that spark from when I was younger and attempting to reignite it. Here, I thought I would share what I remember from eight of them (although I do think that might be all of them) and too see if they are any good for watching or recommending to friends. I first must remind you though to not expect too much information as it's mostly just me sharing what remains of them in my head. Let's cut straight to them shall we?

I'm referring to specifically this series; Bakugan: Battle Brawlers. Was one of the easiest storylines to follow and always kept me hanging around for more. But for one of the easier stories, it certainly was one of the easier ones for me to forget now. Let's see what information I can retrieve from my mind about this particular anime. The story followed Dan and his newly invented game of Bakugan after he and others discovered strange cards with powers falling from the sky. He forms a team known as the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, which consist of Runo (who I think had a crush on Dan), Marucho, Shun, Julie and Alice. They find themselves up against an evil rogue bakugan called Naga that aims to absorb the cores of certain worlds to create the perfect core and have control over everything. Another thing I do remember was Alice being the only one for some time not battling. That is until Masquerade (an evil brawler sending bakugan to the doom world to power up his own) was revealed to be her alter ego. I'm afraid I can't share much more, as it has been so long since I've viewed it. But I do remember only seeing one season. Come the New Vestroia arc, I did lose track of where the story was heading and decided to give up, believing that it was becoming too complicated for me. And unfortunately, I don't have time nor the interest to watch it again, so I won't ask people to check it out.

Oh how my brother loved to give me crap about this one (he still does now and then). He never liked it, and often made jokes about it in front of me. But I on the other hand was quite a sucker for it, going into my high school years. Code Lyoko is considered to be one of the more underrated cartoons having come about during the mid-noughties. It was also considered to be France's answer to Japanese anime given the restricted animation and limited resources. But this was just one of the few shows that seemed to shine beyond the surface. Imagine another existential universe within this one. One that connects through computer technology. Not hard really, as it is a common theme throughout family-friendly film and television. Tron, Star Trek, Surrogates, Ready Player One, etc. But this cartoon seemed to have done it so well in my eyes. The stretch and challenge of creation. The exploring of new sensations. The massive prices to pay. For something so simple and somewhat childish, Code Lyoko took itself very seriously. It's a good thing I did stumble across this work of art (albeit at an age of little understanding). 

Code Lyoko takes place at Kadic Academy in France, which was said to be inspired by a real school in Sceaux. A twelve-year-old science prodigy named Jeremie Belpois, discovers an abandoned factory for himself, not far from the academy where he is enrolled. The factory is home to supercomputer hidden well underneath ground level which is the key to a virtual world called Lyoko and a corrupted and life-threatening computer program known as X.A.N.A., all created by disgraced scientist Waldo Schaeffer (better known as Franz Hopper). Jeremie meets Aelita, a young girl and the daughter of Franz Hopper who was long ago sent to Lyoko for protection against her father's enemies and lost connection with the real world after being shut down with the supercomputer. With the help of new friends in Ulrich Stern (an athletically gifted, sport-loving introvert), Odd Della Robbia (An exuberant prankster and rule-breaker with severe plantar hyperhidrosis) and Yumi Ishiyama (a covertly virtuous and determined Japanese immigrant), Jeremie strives to bring Aelita home and destroy the dangerous X.A.N.A. once and for all.

I adored this cartoon for its wildly imaginative story and ability to harmonize two different styles of animation (CGI and hand-drawn). While both styles here looked incredibly second-rate in quality having been created with a fairly small budget, I still found myself seeing beyond such visual discomfort to journey with an array of colourful personalities. I also loved the show for its edginess and unpredictability, not knowing how far the story traveled nor what came next. The primary antagonist in X.A.N.A. was made to look extremely menacing and insanely dark through its strong willingness and numerous attempts in killing young children. The characters (especially the warriors) at the time I was into the series, were so darn easy to like. Yumi was so attractively detailed. Aelita was sweet and soothing. Odd was the reasonably-sized comic relief. Others like phys ed teacher Jim were adorably quirky. I couldn't even come to hate Sissi. Code Lyoko was all for providing the audience with multi-dimensional characters, each holding very realistic traits. So what this cartoon lacked in appearance, made up for it in meaning.

But the best thing about this show, was that is while it looked simple and ridiculous on the outside, a deeper view of it has it coming off as incredibly sophisticated. Its complex storyline even had the ability to really share strong ties with our reality, asking us how far the possibilities could go with our relationship and understanding of computer technology. Could there ever be such a damaging power? Could humanity in hundreds or thousands years ever go far as to create life within such extraordinary machinery. Probably not from here, but the mind can imagine. As for the simple things in regards to my short-lasting obsession with the series, I own the first twelve episodes on DVD and occasionally listen to the associated music performed by Kidnap Kings (formerly Dropping Daylight) vocalist Sebastian Davin (though he and the fellow producers go under the name 'Subdigitals', the show's fictional pop band). As a matter of fact, this show helped kick-start my love for music in general. I without any doubt, still hold Code Lyoko close to my heart. I'm even considering one or two posts about it later on. I have a fair idea for what one of them will be about but for now, I'd rather not talk about it.

I don't quite expect anybody to have either heard this one or remember much of it. I myself don't remember much of it now, but one thing I do know is that there was a period during my primary school years when I anticipated new episodes every morning. I vaguely recall it centering on two siblings, a brother and sister. The brother is chosen as the bearer of the Golden Dragon power, which triggers the sister and brings out her envy and sudden detachment form the heroes. Not long later the sister finds herself working with the enemy and the heroes, especially her brother try hard to convince her of her mistake. Sometime moving forward she eventually returns to the good side, and shares the power of the 'Golden Dragon' with her brother. The second seasons sees them facing a much larger threat. Not exactly the most detailed synopsis of the show's first half, but it makes more sense for me to not chase it now and come back pretending I knew exactly everything that took place. As for my current feelings for Legend of the Dragon. Meh! I don't regret having glued myself to this cartoon at the time. But it isn't something I'm desperate to revisit anytime soon.

Yet another show lost in the past for me. It's still running of course, but it consumed me too much. Either that or the morning program discontinued the series for some period of time. As a result, I lost track around the before the seventieth episode. Just after the Whiskey Peak arc. But I do remember a fair whack of what I saw from this anime. The characters are near impossible to forget. The young determined Money D. Luffy, aiming to build the ultimate pirate crew and find the long lost One Piece treasure. His two main partners in Nami and Zoro. The long-nosed, squeaky-sounding (English dub) and clumsy Usopp. Cool-headed, lethal-legged Sanji. Then there are evil outsiders like the moonwalking Jango, the menacing Captain Kuro and the scary leader of the Fishmen crew Arlong. Many characters of different species. A few with special abilities as well, all brought about from the consumption of 'devil fruit'. Definitely remember Luffy for his powers of incredible elasticity. One Piece has that distinctive identity, and it can be argued that it has grown bigger over the years despite my loss of interest. And though that interest will most likely never come around again, nothing will change how much I thoroughly enjoyed the series at the time of its airing down under.

If one were to say they've never heard of Pokémon, would you honestly believe them? Surely not! This is one of the largest and most successful media franchises to come out of Japan. It has been running for more than twenty years now, and still appears to be as big as it was when my brother and I were much younger (perhaps bigger). So much so that there isn't much need for me to go into detail about the anime. Besides, I wasn't as fixated with it like my brother was or like my little cousins are now. But what I do remember is visiting the old VHS tapes with the early episodes of the show, which were recorded by my brother in the early mornings before school. It was the adventures with Ash, Brock, Misty and Tracey in the regions of Kanto, Johto and the Orange Islands. It was the simpler and more enjoyable days, back when you could count all the Pokémon and easily remember all of their names. Now I don't even know half of them anymore given there is currently over 800.

That's not the worst part about the show now. It has been over 21 years and 1000 episodes since the show started, and it's still seen to have made little to no necessary changes. After travelling to eight different regions  (Kanto, Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and Alola) with sixteen different fellow travelers (Brock, Misty, Tracey, Max, May, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Lillie, Kiawe, Mallow, Lana and Sophocles) so far, Ash is still around the same age and still fighting to become that ultimate Pokémon master. Team Rocket members Jessie, James and Meowth are still working for Giovanni and after countless failed attempts, are still after Pikachu. That hasn't changed, but was has? Well the animation is now crappier, the Pokémon look and sound more annoying and the adventures have become more lifeless than ever before. What seems to keep the show on its feet may possibly be the franchise doing successful elsewhere, in particular the merchandise. From the endless video games to the collector cards. I'll give them those, but the show in my opinion has long jumped the shark. Nothing will ever beat the original series.

Unlike the other shows here, I viewed Sonic X around the age of 21. No joke! It was sometime last year I decided to binge-watch the whole series from start to finish in the space of a few weeks. All thanks to Sonic Boom, my liking for the fast-running hedgehog was rediscovered. I watched videos, listened to critics and got in touch with some history, all leading me to curiously setting foot into a more Sonic-focused environment. That being the one provided by Sonic X (For more on this: The TeeVee In Me). However, it seems my short-term memory is playing up a little, as I can't exactly remember a lot of it. What I do know was that it involved some of our favourite characters from the Sonic universe accidentally teleported to Earth via the seven chaos emeralds. They stumbled across humans, in particular a young boy name Chris Thorndyke and his family which offered hospitality while searching for the answer to get everyone back home. In the meantime, Doctor Eggman and his robots were still causing some trouble for Sonic and his friends.

As for the third season, I can't recall much other than it taking place in outer space and involving enemies called the Metarex wanting to wipe out all creatures and dominate through universal forestation. It was a satisfactory change from the American city and carried a storyline more vigorous than the first part of the series. I think I might have enjoyed that season more than the first two because of this. As for the series altogether, it wasn't all that fantastic. Though sticking to a lot of the source material, I couldn't get myself to connect with the show very well. To top it off, the characters aren't as likable as I wanted them to be. Sonic was too distant and didn't so much feel like the main character. Amy was the usual irritating and obnoxious leech for Sonic. And for some reason, I just couldn't seem to like Chris as much. Something about him always got on my nerves. The English voice dubbing was also pretty poor in my opinion. It was too vibrant that it almost felt out of place. Overall, Sonic X isn't something I would highly recommend to anybody right now. But I'm happy that I tried it out for myself when I did.

We remember the classic ten-season series of the heroes in a half-shell. We praised the modern short-lasting CGI bunch and are about to meet the new lot within a couple of months. But what about the version in-between. I'm not talking about that rubbish live-action piece of dung from 1997, but the one that came six years later. I'm sure everyone around my age knows what I'm referring to. The 2003 series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the much darker portrayals of the famous yet fictitious New Yorkers from the sewer. Much inspired by the Mirage comics, the turtles came across as distinctively different and far more serious from their older counterparts. This surprisingly well-detailed morning cartoon had seemingly pushed boundaries on the odd occasion, never fearing the opportunity to go a darker direction. A direction ever expanding on ancient history, science and imagination. It has its light, humorous moments too, with most of them coming from the comic relief Michelangelo. Not to forget the voice cast just seems so accurate and they match with the character personalities amazingly well.

There was very little wrong with this show at first, but the 2003 turtles didn't conclude without some significant failings. Most of them had risen when the licensing company (4Kids Entertainment) that partly owned Eastman and Laird's material at the time was in turmoil. The series slowly began to rot when the budget dropped and the designs became oversimplified to the point of looking cheap and flavourless. Adding to the animation breakdown was the need for all shows to meet new family-friendly requirements. The grittiness of these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were disposed in favour of a lighter and cheesier atmosphere. All of this did not sit so well with the critics, and rightly so. Both TMNT: Fast Forward and TMNT: Back to the Sewer, tarnished the entire image. Nevertheless, these two seasons couldn't sway me from seeing the first four seasons (and the lost episodes) as some of finest television I've so far come across. Stuff like this, isn't at all easy to find.

I didn't exactly find myself completely engrossed with this cartoon when I first saw it. It actually took me quite a few years to truly recognise the essence it held. But the long road was worth it. This take of the turtles was certainly the one that brought out my utmost respect for Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and their marvelous creation. It led me to the newer CGI series, the 2007 animated movie and the two most recent works from Michael Bay. Sure the franchise isn't super rich and the criticism has been heavy at times, but it will never change how iconic these four turtles have become in pop culture. The 2003 show would probably be left to catch more dust than any other Ninja Turtle related project overtime. I however, see it as arguably one of the best works to represent the TMNT universe. I still rewatch this in some of my spare time and I definitely encourage those that haven't seen it to at least give it a shot (especially the first five seasons). Cowabunga!

Should I be embarrassed? Maybe. Maybe not. But I must share to you that it wasn't the show I was into, but one particular story arc during the 4Kids era; season three. In their final year at Alfea, Bloom and her friends Stella, Aisha, Flora, Musa and Tecna aim to obtain their new fairy forms called 'Enchantix' (which if I recall were through an ultimate act of bravery). While doing so, they're left to overcome many troubling situations brought about by old foes, the Trix (Icy, Darcy and Stormy) and their new villainous partner in crime, leader and dark sorcerer Valtor. That's all I seem to remember right now. Overall Winx Club had its strengths. But like just about any cartoon targeted to a young female demographic, I utterly despise the messages it is open to communicating. It's not so much this being what it is (a show for girls), but what is believed to make a girl's show in general. You can plainly see it being demonstrated here. The fairies here have to look all glitzed and glamoured in everything they do when really they appear to be malnourished whilst somewhat presenting unrealistic body shapes to viewers. And the supporting male characters are made to look 'hot', operate wind riders (their form of a hoverbike) and fight with weapons. It may be indirect, but the message is still visible and to me it sets a bad example. It could teach girls too look and act unnatural, having them always wanting to go one-up for their image. Winx Club is another one I don't regret having viewed once, but at no stage will I be running back to it.

Travis "TJ" James

ZOOTOPIA: The Best In Animation

Without a doubt, the Walt Disney Company is in the midst of a resurgence when it comes to its latest string of computer-animated films. Just when you think they would struggle to recapture the success seen in the nineties with the Disney Renaissance, they go above and beyond with quality material (both original and inspired) registering bigger numbers through new computer technology. Since 2010, Walt Disney Animation Studios have released critically acclaimed and moderately to highly successful feature films in Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6. Not to forget the smash hit movie Frozen and most recently the visually awe-inspiring Moana. These films had become so commercially popular, that it saw staff feel the need to hear out audiences and expand on franchises through another studio attempt at cinematic sequels. The first of the sequels is to be released in November this year with Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, the sequel to of course Wreck-It Ralph. Of all these latest theatrical releases however, one stands out the most in my eyes. That one being Zootopia.

Zootopia mostly takes place in the city of the same name, where anthropomorphic mammals of different species live in near-harmony, regardless of whether they are predators or prey. The film follows the story of Judy Hopps, a European bunny rabbit who is determined to show others that she can defy the odds. She achieves her life-long dream of becoming a police officer at the Zootopia Police Department, but soon discovers it's not all what she hoped for it to be. Not long after joining the police force Judy is given her first missing mammals case, which is later revealed as being a small piece of another’s major plan to divide animals and tear the entire city of Zootopia apart. Along the way she finds herself teaming up with Nick Wilde, a rebellious northern red fox and small-time con artist who despite being a natural predator to Judy's kind builds the unlikeliest of friendships with her. The two work together to uncover the city's biggest mystery and prove to all that the smallest of creatures can make the biggest of differences.

When one hears Disney, it's suspected that they're to first think of such things like fairy tales and magic. Basically anything that involves princes and princesses, castles, kingdoms, powerful villains, curses, etc. That is pretty much my view of Disney as well. Every time the name is mentioned, I'm reminded of classics like Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast, Tangled, Aladdin and even Frozen. All of which are inspired by old literary works of the earlier centuries and share many similar themes. But Walt Disney wasn't entirely for this direction alone. Throughout the mid-20th century, they heavily devoted time on simply making children and their families happy. That even meant expanding their focus to include other works like historical folklore and recent professional writers. Zootopia is yet another one of those steps outside the studio's original boundaries (and a successful one). It joins the modern age of CGI animation, and more than anything before it tries to engage with the audience in more ways than one.

Where do I begin with this movie? Well for starters, it's simply one for all ages and provides a perfect balance of content to suit everybody. It's a strong representation of diversity both inside and out. It speaks in many ways about the importance of such a thing and demonstrates it through a large intriguing city divided into sections, each under a different conditions to suit certain animals. Us as viewers are given an independent and resilient female lead to follow. We watch her travel through a seemingly huge amount of memorable situations which include the Mystic Springs Oasis and the famous, side-splitting DMV sloth scene. And that's not all. Not only does the movie make attempts in entertaining the younger audiences with amusing content, the people behind this amazing film (specifically the directors in Byron Howard and Rich Moore) also aimed to educate younger viewers through the simplest and most age appropriate of ways about the real world.

One of the main reasons why I love this film so much, is because of the protagonist. Zootopia aims in telling each and every person to go for broke and achieve anything with a positive outlook on life. Who better to represent this lesson than the energetic bunny? It is hard to find a more inspirational character than Judy Hopps. She carries some of the most important values one could think of. Throughout the entire film, she comes off as strong and resilient, defying the odds and proving every single one of her doubters wrong. She carries confidence, persistence and believes that anything is possible if she puts her heart and mind into it. Judy rarely gives up and even when she does (as seen in the film), she manages to fight her way back and fix her mistakes. She along with her journey, share a strong correlation with reality. Young people are taught that no matter how difficult the challenges are, they are to persist with their heads held high and by doing so they are bound to succeed in something.

What makes Judy more special is that she completely stands out? Ironic is it? The small bunny within the crowd of larger mammals somehow shines the brightest. In a film that heavily touches on discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes, Judy is a representation of the ideal everyday person. One that is calm, supportive and kind-spirited. One that shows a great amount of enthusiasm. One that walks in with respect and never judges anybody without properly getting to know them. Most importantly, Judy is willing to step in and help change one's life for the better when they have almost lose hope, as was the case with Nick Wilde. Overall, her positiveness is extremely infectious, which makes her nearly impossible to dislike. And the fact that she is voiced by Once Upon A Time alumni Ginnifer Goodwin, makes her heaps more enjoyable. If you don't like Judy, then you would most likely be someone hard to make friends with, hard to trust or simply hard to predict.

Judy on her own is amazing, but the relationship she has with her surroundings is next level. Her chemistry in particular with Nick is occasionally seen to define most of the film, which surprisingly was the intention. In a few interviews, the directors themselves had stated that the core of the film mainly revolved around the growing relationship between the bunny and the fox. It looks to have worked a treat. Judy and Nick's friendship/partnership happens to be very popular in fan-art and remains as a huge reason for why Zootopia is loved and enjoyed by many. It's fair to say people aren't wrong here. I find Judy and Nick’s chemistry to be some of the best I've ever seen between two or more characters in quite some time. I could even go as far in saying that it is the best that I've ever seen. The growth seemed so natural and the significant differences between both mixed together quite nicely. It just makes me wonder how Disney did it. How did they make something so breathtakingly meaningful out of predator and prey? Whatever they did, it definitely had them succeed because this is outstanding.

It is important to note that Zootopia does break a few boundaries and explore some dark territories. This film's collection of lovable and quirky animal characters are used to demonstrate social and political issues revolving around discrimination, prejudice, and common stereotyping. Other undertones include workplace bullying, animal cruelty and even certain aspects of life in 20th Century America (in particular the Civil Rights Movement). Most of the time these hidden topics aren't staring us in the face and instead encourage us to find them through hard thinking and strong understanding of each character and the matters they deal with. Nevertheless, this secret adult content never pushes away younger viewers and so it shouldn't. Zootopia is still the extremely entertaining movie it had always aimed to be, and carries a sublime and wonderfully detailed universe with nothing of annoyance in sight. I don't think the crew behind the film ever put a foot wrong.

The dark undertones are not the only things that strongly link Zootopia with reality. The movie regularly addresses actual characteristics and behaviours associated with particular animals and even makes jokes out of a few of them. There are many moments that make fun out of rabbits being fast breeders. Nick Wilde represents the typical cunning fox. We know of the slow-moving sloths at the DMV. Chief Bogo is an African Buffalo, aggressive and hard to get through. And there is no ignoring the Frozen reference with Duke Weaselton (with Alan Tudyk funnily enough, providing the voice of both characters). But the fact is there may be plenty more of these hidden trivial symbols. Mayor Leodore Lionheart could have possibly had some hidden reference to The Lion King or represent the general idea of a lion usually being a king of their habitat. And the yoga instructor Nangi, may have most likely been the filmmakers playing around with the idea that an elephant never forgets. These small details are what they are, but can be a joy for people to find.

For a short period of time, there was a small debate about which of the two was the superior film out of Frozen and Zootopia. As everybody already knows, Frozen was an absolute box office hit and still to this day is successful in merchandise sales. Its achievements have sparked the growth of the franchise, with a further few animated shorts having followed and another full-length feature film set to be released late next year. All of this providing the young viewers plenty opportunities to join their favourites in Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven on many more magical adventures. I admired Frozen for its amazing animation, storytelling and powerful messages. I’m not afraid to admit though that the commercial success and popularity of both the film and the hit song ‘Let It Go’ had at times got on my nerves. The film however screams Disney and allows to expand children’s imagination. Yes, almost every little girl is heavily captivated by its beauty. But that doesn't change the fact that it's the perfect film to keep them occupied.

While the commercial figures favour Frozen, a larger all-round demographic of the population believe it's Zootopia that wins the battle for Disney’s best modern computer-animated feature. And this sector of the population just so happens to include myself. Zootopia looks to be more welcoming and it doesn't appear very selective when it comes to the audience. While both films do visit the same sort of themes like the difference between one another, it's ironically the animals of Zootopia I tend to connect to more than the humans of Arendelle. I see these animals being more grounded, as they share problems people can easily relate to. Compared to the modern icy fairy tale, this fauna-infested flick attempts more comedy, neatly spacing it out and presenting it when most appropriate through numerous different characters. The storyline flows smoothly, whilst the action is more intense and the mystery glues me harder to the screen. Overall I find Zootopia delivering a warmer atmosphere (and it's not because Frozen is associated with most things cold). It's just easier to fall in love with.

And of course, who could possibly forget the catchy pop song ‘Try Everything’, which is sung by Shakira (also the voice of Gazelle). A generic yet powerful track aimed towards everybody, encouraging them to smile, keep their chin up and continue following their dreams with a high level of motivation. The song is a personal favourite of mine, not only for its simplicity of lyrics and tune, but for its positive atmosphere and catchy sing-along lines. In one way, I do consider it to be quite underrated due to its low charting and substandard digital sales. It's one of Shakira's finest English recordings. Not to mention it was one of Australia's super talented singer-songwriters in Sia who would co-write the song (In fact, Sia was also responsible for co-writing my other favourite Shakira song 'Chasing Shadows'). I must warn you not to take the song too literally, because the words 'Try Everything' don't necessarily mean to try things that are not generally recommended by most.

Much to everyone's surprise, Zootopia exceeded expectations. It was something all initially thought would only achieve moderate success and fade out after a few months. Instead, it had went on to become Disney’s biggest original hit and second biggest animated hit so far. The movie has seen the birth of an incredibly large following and remains one of the biggest ideas for fan-fiction. Despite it’s name change in many different parts of the world ('Zootropolis' in selected European countries, 'Zoomania' in Germany, 'Zootopie' in France and 'Crazy Animal City' in China), it’s still the same universally praised feature film. In my honest opinion, it would take a lot of effort to top this movie. There is so much that can be explored of this world, which makes Zootopia seem too good in standing on its own. Not only would it seem to be easy turning the film into a franchise, but it also looks to be something that both Howard and Moore simply have to do.

I personally would recommend anybody who has not seen Zootopia to go and check it out for themselves. This movie is pretty much ‘perfection’ in almost every single way. The originality of the story is staring right at you and the animation is too beautiful to ignore. It's an incredibly rich story, jam-packed with hilarious gags, historical facts, important lessons, heartbreaking backstories, cryptic messages and intense action. It's nearly everything to welcome and accommodate any individual, and it's all delivered through dozens of different animals with colourful personalities. While you may discover many flaws and goofs as the film progresses, everything else just helps with pushing them aside. It just comes to show that you do not have to be a ‘furry’ or any kind of massive animal lover to enjoy this adventurous modern-day masterpiece. If I had to rate this film I’d give it a 9.85 out of 10, with that absent 0.15 being because of me just wanting more. Then again, I don't think it's possible for me to ever have enough of this.

Travis "TJ" James

Kids TeeVee Gone Wrong

Children's television has evolved over the years. Not just through the quality of animation and sound, but also through the visual concepts and messages. Nowadays it is more accessible and is presented by a wide range of different streaming services. Compare this to the times of my childhood, when kids had a selected number of shows playing within two separate time periods (which were before and after school) on the one analogue channel. It's fair to say that the little ones of today are very lucky. There are so many more worlds to explore and the choices are there for them to pick from. However, that's not to say they aren't unlucky as well. In recent times, particular ideas for children's programming have seen both parents and children alike, witness a sort of small deterioration. A sense that 'learning' isn't seen as important as it should be. Certain children's content is heavily criticised for looking less supportive to a child's development and more worried about profits from distinctive visual and aural qualities.

There are shows like Luo Bao Bei, Floogals, Pablo, Sesame Street, The Pajanimals, Play School and Puffin Rock that are incredibly deep in meaning and understand the complex perspectives children can develop at a very young age. You have shows that know what they're aiming for, but do so in a questionable manner like Dirtgirlworld, In The Night Garden and Peg + Cat. Then come the completely terrible programmes that provide barely any educational message nor have children gaining anything of value from them. More of these programmes have either seen the light of day or grown massively in popularity over the past decade than during my childhood years. They're known to often blindly teach kids irrelevant lessons or not teach kids anything at all. I decided to find eight of these preschool shows that I have seen over my years growing up and briefly look at how insanely bad they are (or at least certain aspects of them). This list won't include any I haven't watched, so shows such as Max & Ruby won't be touched on. And I'm not going to bother with ranking them because it's hard to pick which one is worse out of a few. Allow me to begin:

Ugh! Can you possibly get any more irritating than this? The UK is known for being home to some of the more phenomenal classics such as Postman Pat, Thomas The Tank Engine and Bob The Builder (the original stop motion animated series of course) for kids to enjoy and hold close to their heart as they grow older. But there are some like this one that are just simply worth forgetting. Baby Jake was a children's show that lasted for just over a year, which I'd complain was still too long. One could pretty much find a problem in almost every facet of this programme. It's almost as if the creator wanted to slow down the development of toddlers. The short-lasting series takes place in a windmill, home to a large family including ten children with names beginning with the first ten letters of the alphabet. The focus is specifically placed on the relationship between the youngest two in Isaac and Jake. Isaac is shown to have a strong understanding of what Jake is trying to communicate. Unfortunately that is about as good as you can get from this, because everything goes severely downhill from there.

Jake is made out to be (surprise, surprise) a magical baby that goes on adventures. What an incredibly original idea! I'm sure no one could have thought of such a thing. These unimaginative adventures take place in a bland place of nothing but hills with features so trippy, that they would have you thinking you took some sort of psychedelic drug. On top of that, these episodes of shoddy animation are accompanied by grating and ear-piercing narration from a young child. And the songs! My goodness, the songs are absolutely horrible to listen to! They are played in every single episode and are made up mostly of nothing but complete gibberish. From 'Goggi gee-ha' and the infamous song with lyrics such as these:

Yacki Yacki Yoggi, doo doo dee

Baa baa baa beep beep noo see.

Yacki Yacki Yoggi, moo moo moo

That's just what we love to do.

Don't forget the result of such ridiculous animation. The characters (in particular Mr. Nibbles the rabbit with that twisted and stretch mouth) look plain disturbing and something that belong in a nightmare. I have stumbled across this show quite a few times on television in Australia, and never have I ever finished viewing one single episode. To think this cost almost two million pounds to produce. That's practically money gone for nothing good in return. I have nothing against Maddy Darrall for trying to give something of value, but this I'm afraid wasn't it. If or when I have children, I'm keeping them well away from this abomination.

Gee, Britain has made some really weird shows. I remember viewing this one, but I never knew what it was about. I still don't know what it's about and I'm in no way bothered to go and find out the answer. The question that puts it all in a nutshell. What the f***?! Boobah ran from 2003 to 2005 and was just about this magical sphere that floated around to unguarded children. A sphere which was supposedly home to a bunch of chubby, baby-faced things (I don't know what you call them). All they ever did was dance around, squeal and make farting noises. Much like Baby Jake it's another acid trip, but a much creepier one. These creatures were so unsettling to watch, that I was desperately wanting the 'storyworld' part to come around. But even the stories were bizarre. No point going on about this aimless pile of junk. It should be leaving everybody to scratch their head, thinking 'Why?'. If I were to list random things, this would be at the very top. It's the epitome of randomness.

If one were to discuss about terrible kid shows and not mention this one, then they can't be taken seriously. I have certainly come across this one in the past and am not afraid to admit how much it sucks. It's bad, and I mean really bad! For a person at the age I was to pick up on the exact same issues parents had with it, says it all. Caillou is basically about a 4-year-old hairless, spoiled little brat and his experiences with everyday activities from shopping with mum to walking the park. Talk about completely unprecedented! Seems to me that all the flavour of the show comes from the boy himself. If so, that flavour would probably taste really sour, and I don't mean that pleasant sourness from confectionery. Caillou himself is the lowest type of character any kid should follow and learn from. This kid is shown to frequently misbehave and talk in a whiny voice. But that's not the worst part. When things don't go the way of this pain in the arse, he chucks a tantrum. And to make things even worse, his mother and father give in to his demands just about every single time. What a beautiful example of parenting a child? NOT! No point going on about this one because it has pretty much been heard all before. We all know that Caillou is a downright disgrace and we're baffled as to why it's still going around today.

Of course, kids will find anything amusing. Just chuck everything in a blender. Bright colours, silly outfits, gentle narration, made-up words, undignified circus acts and exaggerated facial expressions. What would you get? Hoopla doopla!. While this is probably one of the better shows discussed here, I still look long and hard at it and am left unsure as to what it's providing young impressionable preschoolers. Maybe a laugh and maybe a smile but what else. You'd always be wanting kids to grow and learn from all the things they see and do. This programme does nothing but tell made-up stories using plastic acrobats with fake emotions. There is no caution or danger communicated, given the stunts that are often seen. I guess the series sort of implies some lessons like exercise and proper social behaviours, but they look to be placed on the top shelf and left for kids to reach. By this, I mean they're hard to get at as they aren't clear. I don't think the narrator even helps with this. Finally, the only words to ever come out of these 'almost' silent performers are, you guessed it; Hoopla Doopla! There are some things you just have to question.

Another show about a spoiled little brat, albeit one slightly more tolerable. But still we are to put up with endless demands from the ugliest looking of crooked-teeth girls. I want! I want! I don't want! I don't want!'. Gee I thought Veruca Salt was bad. This little selfish bitch would be a nightmare to babysit. Along with her are a small group of soft, pride-swallowing role players from her powerless parents (the king and queen) to others such as a chef and a gardener, each acting less of an authority figure and more of a child themselves. There are a lot of things about Little Princess that I personally have a problem with. The narration is plain annoying. The princess has no name, leaving me to assume that this particular hierarchy they present to the audience is of some sort of greater unnecessary importance. The accents are unbearable. The animation is downright hideous and once that theme music is in your head, it is a bitch to get out. Once again, this is purely my opinion. If you like the show, I respect that. But for me, Little Princess is one of the more discomforting preschool shows I've encountered.

This one isn't bad like the others. In fact it's rather educational and had grown to be wonderfully detailed in its short running. But why did I put it on here you ask? Well my problem lies from where it began, which was the very first series. It started off as being a bunch of shorts for toddlers where it was nothing but counting with multi-coloured numbats that had numbers 1 to 10 printed on each of their bellies. That's it! The series of shorts were roughly around five minutes long and were just picking a numtum and counting to the number on their tummy. The next thing you know, you're counting to that number... and again... and again. Annoying voices of children are repeating the number constantly, counting to it, and then counting the same number using elephants or stars. Then a song about counting to the number plays. True it was meant for toddlers, and it aimed to solidify the action of counting but there was no proper depth whatsoever. There was no creativity with the numbers. It was just counting.

Heck, Sesame Street isn't that monotonous, as it just counts to whatever number between one and twenty and has a couple of cutaway clips about that particular number of the day. The Numtums however would dedicate an entire episode of repeating the same process with only the first ten numbers and nothing else happening. If I were to count anything, it would be the number of times they're counting. And I guarantee it would be at a number kids who watched the first series wouldn't understand. At least with the following two series, all the Numtums were given both names and personalities, and lived within a beautiful mixture of nature and artificial material. Slightly older viewers were being welcomed as the show became more creative with the numbers. Kids for example were being taught of numerous methods of using numbers through basic problem solving. They had a song about the many different ways to reach ten. They even went beyond the number ten to count up to twenty. Nothing else needs to be said. Series two and three were simply leagues ahead of the first.

The Astley Barker Davies animation company are known for only three series, all of which I've experienced watching bits and pieces of. You have The Big Knights, an extremely short but hilarious tale set in the medieval times about two large knights solving their own reckless mistakes with more clumsiness. Then you've got Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom, a wildly imaginative bunch of stories within a mystical garden where elves and fairies live in harmony, solving big issues and having loads of fun. But here comes the thing that sucks the most. Of the three shows from the company, the good two are stored away in the archives and the worst of them is not only still running but rapidly filling the company's pockets. Peppa Pig, a preschool programme consisting of short superficial stories that mainly centre on the character of the same name and her one-dimensional family. Seriously, what do people see in this one?! Aargh!

I remember this show back when it wasn't as big as it now is. I use to think that it was okay for its simplicity and ease of communication. Now I see that it has gotten out of hand and the problems with it are more visible than ever before. Peppa Pig has now become like a computer virus. It pops up in your feed when you never ask for it, merchandise is sold almost everywhere I look. Millions are live streaming new episodes online on a regular basis. I honestly can't see the fascination with it. It's just a bunch of regularly happy-go-lucky kids in a 'perfect' world performing meaningless activities. Episodes nowadays are usually five minutes long and are made up of nothing but pointless narration, reused sound effects, constant snorting, repetitive ideas, fat-shaming, unfounded knowledge and bratty children. I mean there are episodes where Peppa and her friends make little kids cry. There are episodes where Peppa, George and Mummy Pig are making fun of Daddy Pig's weight. And there's no forgetting the horror that is 'Mr. Skinnylegs', teaching kids to play with spiders. Luckily that one got banned here in Australia, especially since the fact that this country is home to two of the five most venomous spiders in the world. For crying out loud Peppa Pig, do your damn research! No offense to those who enjoy this show (although I can't see how anyone could), but I'd rather have my children watch paint dry.

Yo Gabba Gabba! was edging towards the category of shows with a questionable visual concept that meant well. But unfortunately I discovered the problems with it to be too significant. For some reason I gathered some kind of excessive American aura surrounding the programme. It was like the show wasn't very welcoming to international viewers. Quite strange because it wasn't ever something I took from Sesame Street or Barney & Friends. I guess that's just one of my own issues with Yo Gabba Gabba!. However there are a couple of others that are shared among the majority of people. One of them being the messages. This show came off as trying too hard to be morally correct that it lacked consideration for the consequences that came out of its own lessons. A prime example would be the episode with the 'Party In My Tummy' song. While it taught of both of the importance and fun of eating, it failed to take into account of the need to chew food and not overeat. Some other lessons it tried teaching were ones I found to be rather strange like 'Don't Bite Your Friends'. I mean yes certain children are likely to adopt unusual behaviours, but I'm sure there are hundreds of more important lessons to be taught before this one.

Now for the biggest issue of them all. The visual concept itself. I see it being one of the most random ones I've ever came across. The bright colours, whilst strong in catching a young one's attention, still appeared too nauseating to continue looking at. Quite a few parents have found the show to be overstimulating, baiting kids too hard with visually attractive qualities (e.g. flashing lights) without really having them take much out of the experience. It's loud noises clashing with each other. And there is no escaping the weird-looking characters. They don't look like what they're meant to be. As a matter of fact, I don't know what some of them are even supposed to be. One is said to be a pink flower bubble and another is a blue cat-dragon. The green, hairy, long-armed monster is just something to frequently laugh at. The robot is bossy and irritating. Not to mention that one-eyed Muno creature was what I long believed to look like something I'd poop out after eating a chunky chilli pie. Finally, the DJ Lance guy seems over the top in nearly every way. But I suppose that's what always attracts children. Yo Gabba Gabba! overall is that kind of special that looks to come from LSD.


Travis "TJ" James