Are Current Leading Kids Show Protagonists Too Nice?

[SweetShop209]

So, here's something for a bit of debate. When it comes to kids shows, or television in general, they always evolve over time. One example would be the case with the lead protagonists in kids shows. There's something I've heard that leading protagonists in modern kids shows being too nice and idealistic (with preschool shows, it's understandable since they target young audiences) to the point of feeling too similar. In contrast, it wasn't uncommon for shows in the 1990s and 2000s to have cynical lead characters. Some examples include Invader Zim, Bloo from Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, and The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy. In contrast, it's more common to see more idealistic and sweet characters, or at least where they have a clear set of moral standards. For example, there's Craig from Craig Of The Creek, Harvey Beaks, Anne from Amphibia, Luz from The Owl House, and more. One could say it's due to how much society changes over time, with wanting shows that are optimistic to function as a sense of escapism. That's not to say there aren't shows with cynical protagonists (or those with a lower sense of morality), but they're much less common these days. What do you think though?

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[Darkdawn]

It's not just the protagonist archetype but the overall tone and format of modern kids cartoons. Nowadays, many of them place emphasis on lore/worldbuilding and strive for inclusivity and cultural sensitivity in a way that 90's/00's cartoons didn't. I think you can (and IMO should) have characters who are selfish and flawed as the leads of these shows, especially since long-term growth is a major conduit in what they're emphasizing; however, they can't have someone on the level of Bloo.

Also (and at the risk of delving too deeply into real-life stuff), I feel that the increasing prevalence of wholesome kids cartoons protagonists in the past decade has occurred in parallel with politicians, celebrities and other famous IRL people behaving... more and more like the crass and meanspirited cartoon characters of the 2000s (Elon Musk is one example I feel comfortable mentioning). And I think that might be affecting the viability of having such characters as lead characters in mass media nowadays (not just kids cartoons).

 

[Red Arrow]

So we went from "Why are modern cartoons so mean-spirited?" to "Mean-spirited is an overrated word!" to "I miss mean-spirited cartoons"

Honestly, I really don't miss mean-spirited protagonists like we had them in the early 2000s. However, I wouldn't mind for instance a swindler as a main character. (like Eddy but less loony and a bit older)

I disagree that all nice protagonists are the same.

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

The biggest irony is that many of these creators preaching from the rooftops about love and tolerance end up being some of the worst people to be around. I think people should focus on making good characters first, and not try to make perfect role models all the time.

 

[Zanneck]

A good MC or set of them is a vulnerable and relatable one that the audience can root for, honestly. The cast surrounding them can vary, but that's usually OK as long as the MCs are worth rooting for, regardless.

Despite some obvious ups and downs, the 2010s gave me plenty of those that the 2000s and 90s were somewhat lacking in for me, personally.
I'd like to see that continue, but at the same time - yeah. Being too soft of any audience is a dangerous precedent to be weary of, 100%.

 

[Light Lucario]

This is kind of of a weird question to me, mainly because of the list of protagonists given as examples here. I'm not familiar with Harvey Beaks, but Craig, Anne and Luz aren't really just nice protagonists. Craig is an imaginative little boy, but he can also be too self-centered and get too upset to see that he can hurt his friends or family members. Anne often feels like a self-centered teenager, especially during season one, and I thought it was clear that her time in Amphibia is making her a better person/friend than she was in the human world. Luz might be the more typical nice kid out of the three, but she still is often too oblivious to realize how she affects other people, particularly Amity.

A protagonist being nice or friendly doesn't necessarily mean that they're one note, boring or don't have any flaws. I don't think that the jerk protagonist would be necessarily better or more interesting either, especially when I didn't care for most of the protagonists listed there either. I loathed Bloo and I didn't like Eddy. Grim and Zim were usually at least funny or more entertaining compared to the other two, but I don't remember liking them either.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

Well, it depends for me.

 

[SweetShop209]

That is certainly an interesting thing to talk about. There are certain characters where their negative traits or their good traits are more pronounced. It's just about how they're balanced out. Anne is a good person, though she can certainly act self centered. It's just the matter of how far to go about it. Episodes like "The Big Bugball Game" and "Anne Hunter" showcase more of her flaws (overcompetitive behavior and reluctance in going the extra mile) while still keeping her likable. It's helped by how they usually establish her good intentions even when she makes wrong choices.

 

[Darklordavaitor]

I don't know if there's necessarily an increase in "nice" protagonists in kids cartoons. There are a couple of friendlier and optimistic ones in recent memory, like Harvey Beaks, KO, and Clarence, but some of the other ones named tend to have more self-centered streaks, like Anne and Craig. And you can also look at a show like DuckTales, where most of the main characters are pretty flawed, to say the least.

The thing is, cheerful protagonists have their place in society, just as less likable ones do. But the best kind of unlikable protagonists have something you can latch onto. Look at Don Draper, Walter White, and Tony Soprano, for instance. All three of these have done terrible things and have strenuous relationships to their loved ones, but it's easy to relate to Don's attempt to build an identity out of lies, Walt's desire to make an empire away from mediocrity, and Tony's struggle to justify his family legacy and his hopes to shield his family away from it.

Of the "jerk" protagonists mentioned, there's a method to each level of madness. Zim is pathetic, but mostly likable in his patheticness. He wants the approval of the Tallest so badly, but he's also just too inept to succeed the majority of the time. It's also beneficial to Zim that Jhonen Vasquez generally seems to like Dib even less, and makes him come off as even less likable. Although on a side note, one of the things that made Enter the Florpus work so well was to see Dib finally get his due for a change.

Eddy is only one-third of his show's protagonists, and is rounded out by the more likable Ed and Double D. His greedy tendencies do get them in trouble, but he's more often than not punished for his worst tendencies. He's also proven to be a deeply troubled kid, as seen through mentions of his homelife, and most of all his brother in the finale movie. He's not the way he is for nothing.

Bloo is similarly rounded out by a more enduring cast. Mac, Wilt, Frankie, to a lesser extent Edurado, and Coco to an even lesser extent tend to round out his selfish behavior and attitude. I also don't remember him being vindicated for his behavior all that much, as he often gets on everyone's nerves and in plenty of trouble.

And the Billy & Mandy cast is rounded out with some questionable characters to say the least. Neither of the main characters are all that lovable, but the writing is generally strong enough to make them at least entertaining. Grim, Billy, and Mandy have their moments to make them crack me up at least, which is better than say, CatDog, which is full of jerks AND has weaker gags on the whole. But hey, that one's on me.

Heck, even with my previous DuckTales example, for as selfish as the nephews can be, on top of Scrooge's historic greediness and Donald's legendary temper, they do truly love their family and come back full circle.

Well, that explains how most of these examples of jerk protagonists work for many, but the question is if it would be better to see more of these kinds of leads in today's cartoons. I definitely think that there's room, but the important thing is to have balance. Or at least if you want to have main characters of questionable morality, give us something to latch onto to, as well as some solid writing to justify their existence.

 

[the_joker]

I'm not too sure if there's much I have to say about this as I haven't kept up with plenty of modern cartoons. I haven't seen any of the modern cartoons listed in this thread so far.

But I can comment on the ones listed from the 2000's as I've seen those shows, and it really just comes down to the execution. Zim isn't even that mean even though he wants to take over the Earth, but he's an entertaining character due to his incompetence and tendency to screw himself over at times.

Bloo is a bad example because he didn't start out as a jerk. I'd even argue that Mac was slightly more mischievous between the two in the premiere of Foster's. Anyways, the problem with Bloo is that he's such a jerk that I kept wondering why Mac even continued to care about him. I doubt Bloo would even care if he got adopted by someone else or if Mac stopped visiting. Oh, Bloo will say that he misses Mac at times, but then he'll go right back to causing him and everyone else trouble. And I doubt the intention of Foster's was to show an abusive relationship. It doesn't help that he had a pretty annoying and whiny voice, which was quite different from the one he started out with.

As for Eddy, I think @Darklordavaitor explained it best, and Eddy could provide some amusement as he causes trouble and then gets beaten up for it. I think Eddy could be a little annoying sometimes, but there are characters I personally like less than him in the show for my own reasons. It's funny that I actually like Eddy but dislike Bloo because Edd could also barely tolerate Eddy just like Mac could barely tolerate Bloo. I guess I just found Bloo too unlikable and not all that entertaining as he seems to exist just to be an annoyance.

I actually barely remember Billy & Mandy, but I remember it being a decent enough show at least, and none of the lead characters irritated me nearly as much as Bloo.