SheWalksSoftly

Cartoon Makeovers

Some of you are probably sick of me writing about the soul-less characteristics of modern popular animation. I do give kudos for technical prowess, but animated characters are becoming increasingly homogenized. My fellow children of the 80’s may be disappointed to see how our classic cartoons have been made over recently.

Take Strawberry Shortcake, for example. It appears she has lost weight, and lost her signature curls, freckles and bloomers:

Rainbow Brite is another example, seen here sporting a more slender sophisticated look:

Oh Hello, Dora the Explorer. I know nothing about you since you were not part of my childhood, but at least you look just like everyone else (save for the slightly darker skin tone):

Even TROLL DOLLS, the epitome of ugly, follow the formula.

Then:

Now:

Haven’t had enough? How about a dose of sex appeal in your raisins? Check out the progression of the Sun-Maid Raisin Girl over the years:

So it appears that there is only one look for females in popular culture nowadays: very thin, huge eyes, small nose, lustrous straight hair, clear skin, large breasts, narrow waist…and no discernible personal characteristics. I hate to think of the message this is sending to young girls. In my opinion, uniqueness should be celebrated, not systematically erased from popular culture.

I miss the days when characters had…character.

shewalkssoftly

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12 responses to “Cartoon Makeovers”

  1. I knew about 80’s cartoons but raisins!?! My raisins have to have sex appeal!? and the trolls; just creepy. They look like those horrid Bratz dolls (and the Bratz dolls make me want to burn something)

    Reply

    • Evolving a character is fine with me. I just wish they didn’t make her look exactly like every other tween cartoon or toy. It sends a terrible message to little girls when everything in their media world has the same look!

      Reply

  4. Damn, I had no idea about the trolls. Why is everyone trying to design everything like a Bratz doll these days?
    Re: Dora – is she supposed to be older now? She looks much more like a young girl now that a small child, I almost wonder if it’s on purpose.

    Have you seen the new Wendy’s ads where Wendy is animated? She chews her burger ever-so-slowly and tilts her head ever-so-slightly. The tiny movements are actually really creepy. It’s only a matter of time when they sex-her-up, too.

    Reply

    • Oh, Wendy is going to be sexed up at some point…no doubt about that. The freckles will be the first thing to go.

      Reply

  5. PS: You should do a sequel to this post with updated male characters – they always make them more “Extreme”, i.e., Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or my favorite, the Looney Toons, otherwise known as The Loonatics. ::shudders::

    Reply

    • You said it, Nicole. As difficult as it was to be a little girl and teenager in the 80’s and 90’s, it must be far worse now.

      Reply

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