Or rather, the lack of it.
When I was a kid, Ted Turner came out with Captain Planet and the Planeteers, a series about the adeventures of five kids with power rings representing the different elements (wind, earth, fire, water, and heart (not an element, but...it's there)). At the behest of the goddess Gaia, they travel around fighting polluters, and when a problem seems beyond them, they combine the power in their rings to summon Captain Planet.
A few years ago, I watched a couple of epsiodes out of nostalgia, and have to admit, while the premise and message are fantastic, the dialogue is rather cringe-worthy and the plots are a tad cheesy. But like I said, the premise and message are brilliant. A kids show about the environment! What better way to ensure the health and safety of our planet than by pressing its importance on the impressionable minds of children. Children who will then encourage their parents to hold a similar mindview. I know the show affected me as a kid, and is most likely one of the core reasons why I am an environmentalist today.
With this in mind, I wondered if there were programs made since the early 1990s (Captain Planet's original run) that were about the environment. Google tells me no.
Typing 'shows like Captain Planet', 'environmental cartoons' and 'environmental kids shows' into the search engine has come up with very little. Most are environmental political-style cartoons, however, I did come across an article about environmentalism in Disney cartoons. Said article from the Sunday Times states that many of Disney's movies carry environmental messages, backing up its claims with examples from the films. No offence to Mark Henderson, the writer of the article, but many of those examples are ones that will fly over a child's head like a jet fighter. Adults may pick up on it, but the chances of a child seeing Ariel falling in love with Prince Eric as "a fundamental division between humans and the natural world that can, at least partially, be overcome" is slim in the extreme. Any affect the films have on a child regarding the environment will only be subconscious, until such time as the child has grown and viewed the films through educated, adult eyes.
There are two films listed in the article, however, that I do agree that children would be able to pick up a message. Every kid is traumatised to varying degrees after seeing Bambi's mum get
shot, and I wouldn't be surprised if the film was the reason why some people never took up hunting or ate venison (or meat in general) or why they later decided to work for the World Wildlife Fund. Finding Nemo is another Disney film whose environmental message is overt enough for children to pick up on it. From the scene of Nemo being torn from his father when he's captured by humans, to the varying psychologically upsetting states of the fish in the dentist's tank, the film does clearly demonstrate the damaging affect taking animals out of the wild for pets can have on them."The reaction to the film by the general public has led to environmental devastation for the clown fish and has provoked an outcry from several environmental protection agencies, including Marine Aquarium Council, Australia. Apparently the demand for tropical fish skyrocketed after the film's release. This has caused reef species decimation in Vanuatu and many other reef areas.
Even more bizarre, after seeing the film, some aquarium owners released their pets into the ocean, but the wrong ocean. This has introduced species harmful to the indigenous environment and is harming reefs worldwide as well."
...or maybe not.
But these are films, not half-hour cartoons kids can watch while they eat their cereal in their pyjamas. Granted, it's been a while since I watched a Saturday Morning Cartoon. Environmentalism could very well be present in some of the shows on YTV and Cartoon Network and CBeebies. But as far as overt, clear-cut, in-your-face environmental cartoons for kids goes...
It looks like Captain Planet is our hero.
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