PLEASE.
Avatar the last Airbender
Lowkey one of the best (if not the best) kids shows to come out of the last 20 years.
Avoid the Legend of Korra though. There are cops-a-plenty there.
probably the biggest problem with korra it makes almost everyone into a cop adjacent.
(Assuming OP is looking for kids shows for their kid to watch)
I wouldn't "avoid it," just wait until your kid is old enough where you can talk to them about the deeper themes going on. They hit some very complex social issues in a very digestible way in Korra.
There's a good set of videos that describe the flaws of the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ModX151Ipgs
That's why I said you gotta talk to them about what's going on. LoK is a good illustration of some social afflictions that rarely get acknowledged or addressed in public discourse, to be used to facilitate a fruitful conversation about the themes; not something to draw answers from.
I'm not the person you're asking, but I hate how much they westernized the world despite having no group representing European culture in the original series. It's lazy and revisionist - they could have imagined what the industrial revolution and the age of enlightenment would look like in a world without western imperialism, but instead they decided that liberalism was the inevitable conclusion.
I haven't seen it in a long time and I remember having a lot more complaints, but that's the big one. Where Avatar shined was the world building, and I just don't think the same can be said about Korra.
I still like Korra, but all these (and other) criticisms are legit. The cops being the good guys (and talked about the same way cops are in cop shows) is definitely a problem.
Avatar TLA arguably still has guards/soldiers whose authority is often respected... but it's quite removed from the typical image of a cop. Most places seem to do perfectly fine without violent authorities - violent authorities are usually the enemy.
Oh wow, that's super insightful and true. I've only ever seen KORRA_BAD takes on why it was disappointing, but I really agree with this one.
Yeah, I've watched pretty much the whole thing and there were definitely parts I enjoyed - I just couldn't get past that. I also didn't like their depictions of ideological extremists, but that's sort of tied into the western worldview that I'm talking about.
I’m rewatching Korra right now and yeah there are so many cops. But the original is cool. Also Korra is still pretty good.
Yeah, when Lin leaves the police that are then turned against civilians I thought they understood that cops aren't good...but then that is all gone after season 1
I mean sure but so does real life
they’re clearly not operating on the same level of insane American cops here
Hey Arnold, Rugrats and early Spongebob would be good choices.
That was my favorite show growing up. I miss the old cartoon cartoon block.
I maintain that It's Always Sunny is just Ed Edd n Eddy for adults. Just a small group of idiots with cartoonish resources trying to pull off a really stupid scam every episode.
Milo Murphy's law, the closest to a cop is a failson traffic sign dude
i mean they dont show cops as good but they do show space hitler as redeemable from what i've heard
oh shit steven universe struggle session
yeah but its wholesome restructuring more like class traitors. think cultural revolution but even elites convert genuinely
ill be real i have watched it sparsely as it came up on tv, but i remember that they just forgive the mega space Goering but the dude who understands violence is needed (Bismuth i think is called)? fuckin killed by steven himself
IDK HOW TO SPOILER TAG SORRY DONT READ BELOW
She was not killed she was later brought back and made ammends. Theres a difference between “poofing” where they return to a dormant incapacitated state and shattering where they are dead forever. Bismuth wanted to kill not incapacitate. In the end steven taught empathy to sociopathic space nazis and they learned oh shit caste system is fucked and thats a summary spoilers
yeah newsflash telling the nazi "murder is wrong dumbass" doesnt a nazi change.
ok but im not saying its a 1 to 1 comparison ofc that wouldn’t work irl. these are alien creatures who literally don’t understand emotions you haven’t even watched the source material. also steven has specific empathatic powers that transcend language. Idk its kind of long to explain but its in the text and universe why things occur the way they do imo.
ofc nazis irl cant be reasoned with but thats a dumb comparison
ok im sorry i just heard stuff about it and i disliked how liberal it sounded i didnt mean to get you angry
nah we are good the newsflash came across passive aggressive so i reacted in kind i apologize
adventure time is great, in a similar vein I think Star vs the forces of evil, The amazing world of gumball, and gravity falls are all amazing and I don't remember very many cops but gravity falls might have more than the others, though they aren't generally the good guys (again iirc its been a while)
There's a point where the Mystery Shack basically has a standoff with the feds. I don't think there's much sympathy for cops in Gravity Falls.
Gravity Falls definitely has cops. I’ve only watched three episodes, and so far they are pretty buffoonish (like most everyone else). But they are there.
Hey Arnold? I remember the writing on that show being super solid.
And of course, Freakazoid has the only good animated cop, Cosgrove.
Sarah & Duck - especially good for quieter creative kids or before bed. Really sweet, softly surreal, and they seem to live in an idyllic communist post-money Britain where things like local musical instrument shops and bakeries exist but you don't have to pay for anything.
Hey Duggee - Lightly educational, colourful short animated episodes littered with cool pop culture references, and the animals are a really diverse bunch (adopted, gay parents, wheelchair users etc) but it's all very natural and inclusive rather than making a big point of it. The songs are good too.
Storybots - The only true successor to Sesame Street as far as I'm concerned. Each episode is a look at how something works guided by very endearing little robots with loads of character and it's great at explaining quite complex science in simple ways. It's full of great songs, meme able animal gifs, and has lots of guest stars like Snoop Dogg as a computer operating system and Ed Norton as a New York corner electronics store owner of impossible to discern national origin.
Bing is good. No cops for sure and only a few mins per episode.
Octonauts is a bit longer and has good messages regarding ecology and marine life.
The Clangers seem to be an anarchist commune of space mice. No cops there.
Gumball, The Amazing Adventures of Flapjack, Fairly Odd Parents
Watch Mighty Machines. Uses to be on Netflix but you can watch on YouTube. Just real life video of workers fixing/building shit and getting jobs done. Plus the machines are voiced over and talk to each other. Theme song is awesome too.
