The Evolution of Middle-Grade Fantasy and Television

[Wilson Fowlie]

The Evolution of Middle-Grade Fantasy and Television

Introductory paragraphs:

When I was a kid, I watched a lot of cartoons. Thundercats, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Inspector Gadget…the list goes on. Thanks to Netflix, I’ve started re-watching many of these shows, but I find that it is hard to re-capture my childhood appreciation. Most did not age well (or maybe I haven’t), but it is somewhat saddening to see stories I loved as a kid come off as puerile now. Interestingly, the books I read as a child do not suffer from the same problem. Why are the shows I watched at eight or nine unwatchable now, but the books I read at the same age still enjoyable? Have I just become some sort of egg-headed curmudgeon (obviously I have, but is that the cause?), or is there something different about these stories that affects their longevity?

Since Hurricane Irene knocked out our power for the last couple of days, I’ve had nothing to do but think about this while twiddling my thumbs by candlelight. And here’s the conclusion I’ve come to: what sets timeless middle-grade fiction apart from the cartoons from the ’80s and early ’90s is the evolution of character and moral ambiguity.

A bit more:

Much of the middle-grade fantasy I read as a child (Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain, Madeleine L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time Quintet, or Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising) relied on the standard portal/quest structure. The youthful hero/ine has to leave home, find something, and return.

...

While adult readers might deride the portal/quest fantasy structure as trite, its ability to harmonize the characters’ emotional journey with their physical adventure continues to make it resonate. The key to that resonance, particularly for young readers, is how compelling the characters are. If the characters are uninteresting, no kid will ever enjoy the book. If those characters do not change, then young readers will rapidly outgrow the story (if they ever get into it at all).

Discuss.

[Scattercat]

When I was a kid, I watched "The Addams Family."  That show still holds up.  :-D

[danooli]

I wonder if it has more to do with the quality of the animation as opposed to the story content?  When watching the cartoons from my youth ('70's and '80's) it seems like the look of it hasn't held up, but rereading some of the books of that time, my imagination is still as rich as it had been.

Just a theory...

[Ocicat]

When I was a kid, I thought Thundercats, GI Joe, and Transformers all sucked.  On the other hand, I loved the books mentioned.  I think some adult handed the author some fine children's lit, and he found the drek on TV on his own...

Now, there were some better children's TV on the air - things like the old Loony Tunes, Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Muppet Show, Animaniacs / Pinky & The Brain, Batman: The Animated Series - these shows still stand up well.  Of course, they're the exceptions - but then again most books suck too. 

[FireTurtle]

Oh, Ocicat, you had to go say Pinky and the Brain. Sigh. I love that cartoon. Narf.

Seriously, though, I think some of the cartoon that don't hold up, ok, maybe all of them, were the ones that were built around product placement. He-man, She-ra, Transformers, Go-bots, etc.

The books, however, were only meant to sell themselves.

Its just a thought.

[Wilson Fowlie]

I encourage people interested in this subject to take a look at the rest of the article itself. I didn't copy the whole thing because, well, it's there to read.

It says more about the features of cartoons from the 80s and 90s that differ from (some of) those of today that may allow today's cartoons to survive time a little better. The article cites Avatar - The Last Airbender as a prime example of something that may have more staying power.

[stePH]

The article cites Avatar - The Last Airbender as a prime example of something that may have more staying power.

Netflix has Pablo, the Last Airbender available streaming, and this 42-yr-old has been enjoying it quite a bit (about six or eight episodes in so far.)

[Spindaddy]

I read through the article and I think that the guy is missing a few things. First, there were a couple of stories that were told in a series of arcs--Star Blazers comes to mind. I watch GI JOE, Thundercats, et al, but they were all just to sell products. Those cartoons really didn't have a storyline--but then again neither did Dukes of Hazard or the A Team or Knight Rider. Every so often I catch those shows and they are cheesy sure, but I watch them with my kid and we both laugh.

Look at some of the cartoons today. There are so many cartoons out there that are absolutely horrendous. The Last Airbender cartoon is nothing like the "common" meter stick  for all cartoons produced in the current time. SpongeBob is exactly the same as any 80s cartoon except it lacks the silly PSA at the end.

Mostly I think its a case of "you can never go home." After you grown up and been around the block, GI-Joe, He-Man, Thundercats.... they all seem kinda silly and dated. However, I bet if you show them to your kids at the same age you were and they will enjoy them as much as you did. I have some old heman cartoons on dvd. For a couple of months, my kid loved watching them so much I went to my moms house and dug out my old action figures. We had a blast.

[stePH]

I read through the article and I think that the guy is missing a few things. First, there were a couple of stories that were told in a series of arcs--Star Blazers comes to mind.

Star Blazers (as well as Speed Racer and Robotech to name a couple more) were Japanese imports; story arcs were much more common in Japanese cartoons.

[Gamercow]

I read through the article and I think that the guy is missing a few things. First, there were a couple of stories that were told in a series of arcs--Star Blazers comes to mind.

Star Blazers (as well as Speed Racer and Robotech to name a couple more) were Japanese imports; story arcs were much more common in Japanese cartoons.

Side note:  If you like Star Blazers, you owe it to yourself to acquire a copy of "Space Battleship Yamato", a film only released in Japan this year.  It is a simply astounding live-action take on the classic cartoon series.  

Edited:  Actually, movie came out last year, and is now available at Amazon.com with subtitles for $15.

[Darwinist]

I wonder if it has more to do with the quality of the animation as opposed to the story content?  When watching the cartoons from my youth ('70's and '80's) it seems like the look of it hasn't held up, but rereading some of the books of that time, my imagination is still as rich as it had been.

Just a theory...

Interesting theory.....for me I have to say I find the older animation kind of charming in a way, it is the stories that for me that don't hold up.  I've watched some of my old 70's favs on Boomerang TV channel and, wow, I'm surprised that I used to love some of this stuff.