Who Put Age Brackets On Cartoons?
There are a number of cartoons from my childhood that shaped me, and I still enjoy today. I reference the Disney Channel series Recess more than most, and Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I somehow end up re-watching yearly, is arguably one of the greatest shows to exist.
However, it’s not the cartoons of my past that I tune into most mornings as I cosy down with a cup of tea and a chocolate chip muffin.
When I talk about ‘Cartoons’ I want to be very clear. I don’t mean the dark themed, busty chested and blood-soaked world of Anime, nor the conquered scape of Adult Animation which includes the likes of even The Simpsons.
In fact, I’ll even take out some of the debatably drug-induced, borderline adult content that Cartoon Network is somehow able to get away with.
By ‘Cartoons’, I want you to picture the essence of those shows you loved as a child. The ones that now live on in faint memories and the odd Buzzfeed listicle down memory lane.
Whilst at university some years back, I came across and started watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It was its inaugural series and for the life of me, I can’t even remember how I knew the popular 1980’s cartoon remake even existed, let alone what possessed me to seek it out. But I did.
For twenty-two minutes I was transported to Ponyville. I was engrossed in the life of neurotic and bookish Twilight Sparkle, as she met Rarity, Applejack, Pinky Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and learnt through them about the everyday trials and tribulations of friendship.
As a bonus, at the end of the series, there was then an opportunity for their friendship to somehow allow them to save their world of Equestria. Yeah, I questioned that one too but don’t worry about it.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic may have received notoriety because of the popularity of the show amongst middle-aged men, dubbed ‘Bronies’, but behind that was me. I too tuned in episode after episode singing boldly along with the theme song and chuckling away at jokes mostly written for five-year-olds.
When the announcement came in 2018 that the show was ending with its ninth series, I gasped audibly. Dramatic, yes.
Sure it didn’t have quite the following of Lost or Game of Thrones but that didn’t make it any less the end of an era. Something I had started during my first year at university and stuck with for almost ten years, which saw 222 episodes and a cinema released movie in 2017, was coming to be no more.
The characters grew, developed, and the series finale was both unexpected and deserving. So despite its finish, the tradition which My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic bred, stayed very much alive.
When I am able to answer loosely tossed questions about children’s cartoon people presume I have kids of my own. I don’t, and when this comes to light I more often than not am quickly given a look that tells me I have been sorted and categorised as ‘immature’.
If that’s a box which means starting the day with a positive outlook, focus and empathy, then it’s one I’ll happily sit in. As I tether on the edge of thirty I can tell you that my cartoon watching has had a range of positive mental health and productivity benefits in my life, so why would I stop?
The Ritual
Most morning during the week, but definitely on the weekends, I head to the kitchen and get the kettle going. Whilst it bubbles away I pack away any dishes from the night before, just in time for the kettle to reach tantrum level and calm itself down.
Tea made, I grab a muffin and head to the living room. The television goes on, I click through to find the latest episode of whichever cartoon I’m currently enjoying (It’s Moominvalley right now in case you were wondering), and I press play.
The almost absurdly bright images, the warmth from the tea and the structure of it all puts me quickly at ease.
Having such a routine which allows me to surround myself with familiarity and comfort at the start of the day acts as an injection of happiness.
White Noise
Like most, I used to start my day by reaching for my phone. Once the alarm had been silenced and I debated whether or not I could afford to quit my job, I would subconsciously reach back for my phone.
There would begin the scrolling through news articles and my twitter feeds, my mind filling with information and seeding worries about the day ahead before I eventually pulled myself out of bed and rushed myself ready and out of the house.
What I discovered is that cartoons had the power to act as a white noise machine. Somehow for those 22 minutes, my mind went blank, and when I came out on the other side, I found myself less anxious and likely to overthink the unlived day.
Adulthood brings hopelessness. But watching cartoons can again instill hope.
It helped that I stopped checking my phone for messages, news articles or updates on social media until I was settled into my commute, but it was more than that.
My mind utilized that time to do the work in the background, to calculate and overthink and then soothe and reassure, leaving me with a feeling of contentment. Life, as it always had done, would go on perfectly fine.
Life Lessons
The shows we may typically watch as adults have their own lessons for us to learn whether it’s should Izzie have cut the LVAD wire (Grey’s Anatomy), or should Alicia have stayed with Peter (Good Wife). However what you’ll find is like the questions above, it’s always a slightly more complex answer than yes and no (well maybe not in Izzie’s case).
The lessons balance on the scope of morality, sparking debate, rather than clear lines of right and wrong. Children’s cartoons, however, start at the basics. Whether it’s coming from Ponies, Barbies or Aliens, the lessons that have been built into the stories to teach their target audience aren’t any less powerful.
Going back to those childhood cartoons can teach us a lot about life.
There is no harm in going back to the basics some of us have forgotten on the way into adulthood. A standard level of politeness and civility in please and thank you, on a deeper level remembering to understand someone else’s feelings, and then looking introspective at yourself and appreciating the world around you.
Escapism
At its core, the brightly coloured oversaturated and sanguine world I lose myself in daily is all about escaping.
It was originally from assignments at university, and then it was looking for jobs when I left, and the day ahead and all it’s inevitable problems the more I dipped into my twenties.
Life, as we know, can be very serious if we’re not careful. Not just on a personal level from the direct debits, and plans for the future, relationships, and friendships etc. But also from what is going on beyond our own personal little worlds. The what seems like a constant blight of upsetting information in the news, Gossip and never-ending debates. It’s all understandably incredibly weighted and tiring.
And so I switch on my white noise machines and tune it all out. And frankly, that’s okay to simply have the time to say no to it all.
There is a harmless simplicity in children’s cartoons that more of us should be utilising. Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse reminded me that ‘Anything is Possible’ and such a simple phrase unlocked a lot of situations I had managed to overcomplicate or tell myself I simply ‘couldn’t’.
Making the effort to start off each day with my morning cartoons, means that in the best possible way I can hide under the covers from life. For those magical 22 minutes, my mind did all the hard work without me really there to watch and worry as it did.
I come out on the other side prepped and ready for the day ahead with a positive mindset and a conscious decision to be a little less self-centred, more kind and to see the brightness in the world outside of my television screen.