Confessions Of An Animation Nerd

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Confessions Of An Animation Nerd
August-early September, 1996

Mikey didn't like it in the '70s and he won't like it now.

The news that the networks have decided to set aside 3 hours of programming a week for "educational" shows for kids should be distressing news for folks in the animation business. Why? Because when this issue last came around in the 1970s it spelled doom for the only cartoon genre that was anything resembling vital -- action-adventure cartoons, and the resulting programs that were created were by and large politically correct pap that no self-respecting kid would watch. I guess with the trend towards '70s nostalgia, this current attempt to regulate the networks into providing educational kidvid was bound to happen.

There were exceptions of course..."Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" and the "Schoolhouse Rock" shorts have had enduring appeal because they managed to include some fun in the preaching. And certainly the current live-action shows "Beakman's World" and "Bill Nye The Science Guy" also have the same appeal because of the fun quotient.

But for every "Fat Albert" there were several shows that would instantly flop because they were too preachy and too blatant in their attempt to be educational. Anyone remember "Kid Power?" I thought not. The shows were made to meet certain quotas for educational shows, and the networks didn't give a rat's ass if they were fun or appealing. These shows would run one season, get bumped from the schedule, and another show of similar flavor would take its place.

It's all well and good that there are places like PBS and the Discovery Channel where children get exposed to "Sesame Street," "321 Contact" and other educational kid's shows. PBS and the Children's Television Workshop has the formula wired...they have gotten large audiences because they have found the balance between teaching and fun. "Sesame Street" in particular has become an institution...when the show premiered in the late '60s I was right in their "target demographic" as TV programming execs like putting it. Now it's on all around the world, with Spanish-language and even Russian versions in distribution.

The thing is, the best attempts at doing this kind of programming are made when there are no threats of regulation hanging over people's heads. Nobody forced Disney to make "Bill Nye The Science Guy." Bill Nye, comedian and former aerospace engineer, pitched it to them and they could tell there was merit in the idea.

In all probability, this approach will not be followed. Instead, the major networks will probably create the same old throwaway "educational" shows to meet their quotas, and the kids will stay away in droves. The same shows as always will attract the kids...fun shows with plenty of action, the classic WB cartoons, and funny shows with the obligatory addition of gross jokes which have become de riguer in this post Ren & Stimpy cartoon industry. But the kind of shows which the Clinton Administration have in essence blackmailed the networks to run (it was either "agree" to a "voluntary" plan or Congress would have forced one on them) will likely be unattractive to kids, and the networks wouldn't care anyway. The throwaway shows would simply be viewed as the cost of doing business.

There is a legitimate need for programs that educate and entertain at the same time, and PBS is fulfilling that need in its typical yeoman style. If Congress and the President were less concerned with public grandstanding and legitimately concerned with educational programing for kids, they would better fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. But since the hysterical Right Wing has branded it, along with the National Endowment for the Arts, as being hotbeds for liberalism, homosexuality, blasphemy, obscenity and anti-Americanism (Shock! Horror! Filth!) such an elegant solution would escape the minds of those who would make TV "safe and educational" for Junior and Missy.

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