“Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today,” “friendship is magic,” and “Tikki, spots on” are all nostalgic phrases for most of us. Given how many times I’ve watched, re-watched, and re-re-watched my favorite childhood shows, these all hold a special place in my heart.
I’ve been told I have the mentality of a third-grader, so perhaps that is why these shows are so compelling to me. Still, there is something especially appealing about spending the limited free time I have watching these cheesy cartoons that I grew up with, rather than more age-appropriate content, like reality TV shows or K-dramas. Years later, I still find myself going back to watch My Little Pony and Miraculous Ladybug. I can proudly boast that I’ve watched every season, every movie, and every special in Miraculous, and the rewatching frenzies I fall into always bring about this wonderful feeling of nostalgia. With every theme song, I’m brought back to elementary school when all I had to worry about was memorizing my times tables.
While the occasional dose of nostalgia is wonderful, I don’t just rewatch. Even shows I never watched as a kid entice me to watch them, and I’m seldom disappointed.
As a high school student constantly worried about academics, these shows now serve as an escape for me as well, a refuge, and sometimes a form of procrastination. The shows present no real challenging content, so they offer a perfect opportunity to take a break from re-reading the same math problem I have been solving for the past 10 minutes. These shows are targeted toward children, so therefore the plot, characters, and dialogue are created to be simple and easily digestible. I don’t have to look at the camera angles and try to analyze what themes are highlighted in the storyline, like I have to for Honors Humanities—I watch for pure enjoyment.
That isn’t to say that these shows have no mature themes at all, they’re just buried underneath cupcakes and rainbows—literally. With Avatar or Steven Universe, there are real world problems demonstrated in troubled characters. So many characters are wronged, but each finds a way to forgive. These were simple and easy to understand as a kid, but as I matured and found myself facing similar situations, the message in those shows became all the more real to me. Even the simplicity of the messages themselves are beautiful. Sometimes, less is more, and the same goes for shows.
And of course, I couldn’t possibly forget the music. Reality TV shows could never quench my thirst for catchy tunes and clever rhymes, not to mention the absolutely epic harmonies in some of the songs. Now that I’m older and well-versed in music as a chorister, I can really appreciate the work and talent put into these childhood shows. Singing harmonies is not an easy task, especially in shows where they’re usually duets and a small mistake is obvious. This makes the confidence the voice actor has in their part pivotal. And as a person who has dipped her toe in songwriting, I can say for certain that creating addicting and catchy songs is challenging to say the least.
As I aged, so did the shows. Some people like their wine fresh, and some like it fermented. The same goes for childhood shows; they’re enjoyable for all ages. There’s a reason people still post fan art of Avatar the Last Airbender after almost ten years since its end, even creating crossovers with other childhood shows.
There are also many hidden themes that most kids don’t catch when they watch it originally. Had I watched Steven Universe as a kid in elementary school, I don’t think I would have picked up on some of the symbolism or deeper meanings in the show. I likely wouldn’t have recognized the hard work Steven put into fighting as a desperate attempt at earning approval because of his lack of self-worth. My brain was not that developed at age 10. But watching these shows as an older and, dare I say, more mature person really lets me see a different side of them.
Childhood shows hit hard and always have me coming back for more with their cheesy jokes and catchy songs. Is this an addiction? I’m not going to answer that. Oh, and has anyone seen Perry?
