My overpacked backpack swung side to side as I rushed toward m mother car after school. I had fifteen minutes to get home so I could catch the Power Rangers. I truly miss the days when I felt as though television was real. Don't get me wrong as an artist I always try my best to keep my imagination and childish sense of wonder. However, day to day events bring me back to reality, which even the most successful in this world struggle to do on a daily basis. On top of all of this I need to include the fact that I cannot stand 90% of television shows. Let's face it, once the Disney channel arrived on the scene it was the death of children's Entertainment as we know it. All of their work is a duplicate in disguise, or at least very comparable to the show that ran right before it.

My favorite cartoon growing up was Rugrats, then it became Ren and Stimpy, both classic cartoon, that at the time were very original. I recall one episode of Ren and Stimpy when one of the two spit in a jar. My aunt was so offended, she told us we couldn't even watch it. Granted, she is a conservative woman, but it shows that the writers of children's entertainment back then were willing to push the envelope. Take notice how every the drawings, especially the close-ups are very detailed and well gross. I always loved this as a child, because I felt like I was geting away with something.



I even used to love Doug and Batman: The animated series, among other cartoons that weren't vulgar, but they wee original. The old Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network were great. The Doug theme song was always so cool to me, as well.



I will say that Family Guy and South Park still give me a piece of that feeling. The feeling that I get when writers enter that daring territory. However, these shows were not designed for kids. In this day and age parents continue to keep a tighter and tighter grip on their children's brains. This inhibits exploration of different forms of art at a young age. Chris Rock said it best, "Entertainment doesn't make kids insane. You;re kid was all ready crazy. WHat happened to plain ol' crazy?!" Another problem is sheltered children tend to become very rebellious at a certain age. I do agree there are certain things that children should not see, but I'm speaking of very graphic material. I miss those Saturday mornings when my father used to set up a banket for me to it on and eat my breakfast that he cooked me, as e both watched these cartoons. As a writer, at some point I want to give this feeling back to children.

One of my goals is to change children's entertainment, one cartoon at a time. Something that makes overly conservative parents cringe a little bit. I see how many kids sneak away to watch Family Guy and South Park I swear by the fact that you make it worse when you glorify it by criticizing these works of art. It becomes that much more interesting to children.

I'm looking for your opinion on this matter. You already know how I feel. Why are parents sheltering kids, and in your opinion why are cartoons so "Mickey Mouse" now a days? Also, if you are older than me, what retro shows do you wish you could go back and see the first time?