The Four Color Media Monitor

New York magazine's Vulture department listed 35 of the superhero cartoons they consider best, but are actually some of the most pretentious. For instance, Captain Planet and the Planeteers:

In 2024, it can be hard to find unironic merit in Captain Planet. The show is undeniably goofy, with stilted animation and melodramatic dialogue recited at a fever pitch. A parade of celebrity voices like Sting, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Goldblum, Meg Ryan, Dean Stockwell, and Martin Sheen often make it feel more like bizarre pop art than an actual series. But its intentions (ones that were quick to be lampooned throughout the apathetic ’90s and beyond) manage to outweigh its presentation at times — Captain Planet’s themes of environmentalism and teaching children that they are a vital part of our world are good, actually. Much more than a preachy cartoon seminar about recycling, Captain Planet strove to make kids understand their responsibility to the earth and its preservation. An empowering lesson between breakfast cereal commercials.

It may have boasted celebrity casting, but it was still little more than environmental propaganda, and hasn't aged well in that regard. Must it be pointed out that prevalent issues like Islamic terrorism - which has led to harm of the environment in its own way - are much more serious than whether a flower garden's going to be made a mess? Indeed, not everybody recalls this cartoon so fondly, based on how heavy-handed its messaging was, and the hero doesn't actually stick around to clean up pollution. For its time, it sure was one of the most absurd politically motivated cartoons that could be made, and come to think of it, casting celebrities as voice actors does not a merit-based production make. Say what they will, it was, regrettably, preachy. Next from the list is Harley Quinn:

Few comic-book characters created in the last 30 years have managed to have as immediate of an impact or been as instantly beloved as Harley Quinn. Introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, Harley’s star power has risen to the point that she’s led multiple live action films and now headlines her own Max show. Harley Quinn is raunch, sweetness, and violence all in one, partly thanks to its assured voice acting (Kaley Cuoco’s Harley is great, but Ron Funches’s King Shark is the heart of the series.)

More sugarcoating of a villainess, by far one of the most frustrating examples of a character whose history includes lethal behavior, certainly in the comics. Much of the "impact" HQ's had seems quite manufactured, and certainly the sad result of entertainment consumers who couldn't understand why cheering on criminals is a very poor example. Next up is My Adventures With Superman:

Though plenty of series on this list, from Teen Titans to The Batman, are obviously inspired by anime, none wear adoration for the medium on their sleeves quite like My Adventures With Superman. Nodding at everything from household names like Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon, to lesser known titles like Pretty Cure, Ouran High School Host Club, and Patlabor, My Adventures With Superman is a delight for both anime devotees and Superman aficionados. As the first new cartoon to give a real spotlight to the Man of Steel in over 15 years (the last one was 2006’s underrated Legion of Super Heroes), it’s a refreshing take that pulls liberally from the character’s near 90-year history. There’s a third season on the way, all but ensuring even more meet-cutes, fist fights, and declarations about the power of friendship.

And here, they fluff-coat how the series humiliates Lois Lane by making her look masculine. The part about drawing "liberally" actually figures in the sense leftists clearly oversaw how this was done, right down to race-swapping Jimmy Olsen. All that aside, what material I've seen doesn't look particularly anime-style. Then, there's X-Men 97:

Though it’s easy to lump the first season of X-Men ’97 in as a sort of “sixth season” for the classic ’90s cartoon, it very much stands on its own. In fact, ’97 seems to be in conversation with the original show, celebrating the influential series while also dissecting its themes and asking questions about its conclusions. (The idea that Magneto might be right about his whole “mankind will never truly empathize with us” treatise, something that has fueled a lot of X-Men discourse since the 1992 series, is pushed into the forefront in ’97.) It’s also jam-packed full of action, skipping across and melding adaptations of famous X-Men comics in a way that can be both thrilling and whiplash-inducing. Seeing if it sticks its landing in its second season will probably improve its ranking here, but for now, it makes for a fitting continuation of one of Marvel’s most beloved television efforts.

Interesting they don't mention the hack job this cartoon does with Rogue, dumbing down her physique in what was another form of political correctness, and leftist motivation, which includes the forced changes to Morph. That they also offed Gambit in one of the episodes is additionally reprehensible. Some "fit" alright, and some "celebration". There's also a most appallingly fluff-coated take on the Steven Universe on the list:

Regarded as one of the greatest cartoons of recent years, Steven Universe’s sense of broad empathy and its intricate portrayals of LGBTQ characters makes for a pleasant watch. Its lead character, the eponymous Steven, is also allowed to be affected by the stakes and dangers of the narrative, and his psychological trauma takes a forefront as the series goes on. Its follow-up, Steven Universe Future, is a rare treat, giving fans a chance to say good-bye while also looking back on the original series with both scrutiny and care.

No questions asked whether this is suitable material for children, if that's whom it's marketed to. Wow, of all the most sugarcoated takes on these past items, the above surely tops them all with its blatant gushing. It almost sounds like they believe that, because Steven Universe emphasizes LGBT ideology, that somehow makes its approach with the "narrative" praiseworthy. What about any cartoons that aren't built upon heavy-handed LGBT ideology and/or leftism, that still have adult subjects and situations? Why don't those count?

In the end, Vulture's done little more than produce another laughable article wasting time on cartoons that are otherwise juvenile, and in some of the examples, leftist propaganda is espoused ad nauseum, which doesn't age them well. And no questions asked whether the animation industry should show the courage to develop cartoons that, if adult, could explore far more challenging issues like Islamic terrorism and modern slavery, if serious topics are believed to be important for animation as much as live action.

Labels: animation, Batman, dc comics, golden calf of LGBT, golden calf of villainy, islam and jihad, marvel comics, misogyny and racism, msm propaganda, politics, Superman, women of dc, women of marvel, X-Men