I remember when my father used to make remarks about the cartoons that my siblings and I watched as kids. He told us about how his cartoons when he was younger were way better than the current ones, and that ours just plain sucked. As I get older, and catch glimpses of the cartoons my niece watches, I am beginning to understand what he meant. Cartooning dates back as far as 1908, when French graphic artist created the first animated film“Fantasmagorie”. This kind of animation was done “ using drawings, cut-outs, puppets and more” (Pfingstrosen). Animation has since then moved on through the generations, from Looney Tunes to Mickey Mouse, and Winnie the Pooh to Adventure Time. Recently, cartoons our generation loved as children are being remade to fit the next generation’s interests, or rather “society’s” interest. They no longer show coyotes getting blown up by huge dynamite, but rather real-life characters and creatures that end up in odd situations. Cartoons nowadays do not focus on fighting and action as much as the older cartoons.
To break this down, I would like to discuss one cartoon remake in particular. The original Teen Titans was a show about “A team of five teenaged superheroes [that] save the world from many villains around their city while experiencing things normal teens face today” that ran between 2003-2007 (IMBd). The show was definitly more centered around a teenage and pre-teen audience, as it showed love scenes between two of the main characters and action packed violence. Each character of the show demonstrated a different kind of “typical” teen in the current society, while also going into great character depth. Robin, the courageous and brave leader of the group, showed the audience that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything. His character taught the audience leadership skills, as well as possible relationship skills when he began chasing after his secret crush Starfire. Although he does not have any actual super powers, Robin never seems to have a hard time winning a battle. Starfire’s character was smart, witty, and extremely caring. She was really the “mother” of the group and cared for each character’s well-being, while also kicking ass. She was extremely independent, as she left her entire planet to live on her own. Starfire, along with the other girl character Raven, is the perfect definition of an independent woman. 
Raven, although also a badass, was more like the teenager with an attitude problem. She did not care much for people's jokes and humor, and was very serious most of the time. She never showed emotions. She was literally the perfect example of a teen going through an attitude phase or puberty, but then grew out of it as time went on. Then there is beastboy, who could change into any animal he needed to fight in battle. He could be a normal looking boy one minute, aside from the green skin and hair, and then a huge hairy werewolf the next. He was kind of like the class clown or slacker at school, until he learned that slacking was not the best option for him. Cyborg was more of the “jock” type of character that had a lot of confidence, and a lot of muscle power. He was the half robot- half human type of teenager that was more into cars than his schoolwork.
Raven, although also a badass, was more like the teenager with an attitude problem. She did not care much for people's jokes and humor, and was very serious most of the time. She never showed emotions. She was literally the perfect example of a teen going through an attitude phase or puberty, but then grew out of it as time went on. Then there is beastboy, who could change into any animal he needed to fight in battle. He could be a normal looking boy one minute, aside from the green skin and hair, and then a huge hairy werewolf the next. He was kind of like the class clown or slacker at school, until he learned that slacking was not the best option for him. Cyborg was more of the “jock” type of character that had a lot of confidence, and a lot of muscle power. He was the half robot- half human type of teenager that was more into cars than his schoolwork.
The remake of this show is very different from its original. Remakes of cartoons are rarely ever a success. According to the article “How a good cartoon, like a good movie, can be ruined by TV” the author states how one comic that had great potential was ruined when it was remade into a television series. He discusses how “Dilbert" has a great comic strip as its source of inspiration, intelligent writers doing the scripts and funny voices bringing the words to life, yet it somehow succeeds in being a great deal less than the sum of its parts, with only little crumbs of sophisticated humor to lead a viewer on” (Ted Cox). Teen Titans Go! is the attempt at bringing back the teen titans to young fans. Airing within the past couple years, this remake has a completely different look. According to What Culture.com, the new animation is called “Flash animation style”, and is current in style of animation. The original 5 characters, along with their voice actors, are all still the same. The characters clearly resemble those of the original series, aside from their personalities. So what is different? Well, the new series has completely ruined the characters for previous and new fans. In the original series, each character had their own unique personality, attitude, and place on the team. In the Teen Titans Go! “Their characters are given little opportunity for growth and seemingly remain static throughout the episodes.” Every episode shows the characters in the same exact way: “bare-bones versions of their previous selves” (7 Reasons Why). 
Robin is no longer a badass brave fighter, but a dumb obnoxious kid who tries to be a leader despite the fact he doubts himself. There was one episode where he brainwashed the Titans so that they would respect him as a leader once again. He barely knows how to fight and chases around Starfire like a lost puppy. He is definitely no longer a character the fans can look up to, but one that they can laugh at. Starfire has also been simplified and dumbed-down, no longer making her appear like the independent women in the original series. She is pretty much what society would call “ a dumb blonde “ but with pink hair. She acts more like a child than a superhero teen. Cyborg and Beast boy are pretty much grouped together to form this pairing of annoying, obnoxious young boys. They can be seen fighting bad guys, but almost always it is in a video game in the Titan living room. They demonstrate society's phrase of “he's just being a boy” by doing stupid things and not having any consequences. Raven, although seemingly emotionless, is the one character that has not changed. However, she is shown with her hood down far more than in the original series. She also shows a bit more happy emotion than old fans prefer.
Robin is no longer a badass brave fighter, but a dumb obnoxious kid who tries to be a leader despite the fact he doubts himself. There was one episode where he brainwashed the Titans so that they would respect him as a leader once again. He barely knows how to fight and chases around Starfire like a lost puppy. He is definitely no longer a character the fans can look up to, but one that they can laugh at. Starfire has also been simplified and dumbed-down, no longer making her appear like the independent women in the original series. She is pretty much what society would call “ a dumb blonde “ but with pink hair. She acts more like a child than a superhero teen. Cyborg and Beast boy are pretty much grouped together to form this pairing of annoying, obnoxious young boys. They can be seen fighting bad guys, but almost always it is in a video game in the Titan living room. They demonstrate society's phrase of “he's just being a boy” by doing stupid things and not having any consequences. Raven, although seemingly emotionless, is the one character that has not changed. However, she is shown with her hood down far more than in the original series. She also shows a bit more happy emotion than old fans prefer.
Now one may think that a show titled Teen Titans Go! would try to connect to teenager and pre-teen audience, but this is not the case. This remake take is a more comedic take on the show and appeals to much younger audiences. In a media review, it can be seen as rated for ages 7+ while Teen Titans was trying to attract kids 8+ (Common Sense Media). This one year may not seem like a huge difference, but it may still make one wonder why the new show was cut down a year younger. Aside from the age group, the remake no longer has the depth and detail like its original season. The mature topics gone over in the original series were replaced with silly skits of nonsense. The original storyline followed the world they lived in outside the Titan tower, as well as inside of it. The characters had the ability to grow from experiences they had throughout the seasons. They began as young teenages that did not know much about each other or the world, and ended up being a group of best friend superheroes.
Why is this change so bad? These changes show the changes within our own society. Not only were the superheroes dumbed down, their characters were worked over to demonstrate typical stereotypes. Although the original series demonstrated this at the beginning, the characters were allowed to change and grow up by the end of this show. In the remake however, these characters are always going to be stupid and naive teenagers, just like how the world portrays them. This is a perfect demonstration of how elders think of the younger generations. Teenagers are all just dumb children that do not know what life is like yet. The Teen Titans Go! Characters are nothing but society's examples of the typical teenage girl or boy. By showing Cyborg and Beastboy being obsessed with videogames and less interested in fighting villains, it gives the audience a sense of the real world. However, cartoons are meant to be animated and unrealistic. The point of the original series was to show teenagers overcoming their own self-doubts and kicking ass, not acting like children and never learning to grow up.
Works Cited
7 Reasons Why Teen Titans Go! Has Failed. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2016, from http://whatculture.com/tv/7-reasons-teen-titans-go-failed?page=2
Cox, Ted. "How a good cartoon, like a good movie, can be ruined by TV." Daily Herald [Arlington Heights, IL] 16 Nov. 1999: 3. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 3 May 2016.
Lomography - First Animated Cartoon Ever. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2016, from https://www.lomography.com/magazine/118612-first-animated-cartoon-ever
Teen Titans. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2016, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343314/
Teen Titans Go! - TV Review. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2016, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/teen-titans-go
Images/GIFS
Teen Titans Season 1 Episode 7 "Switched" - Video Dailymotion. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2016, from http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3h9t17
Starfire GIF:
Teen Titans Go! GIF:
www.google.com
Heather Sciacca
No comments:
Post a Comment