Changing Times, Changing Toons

Oh, those were the days, my friend. A time of, if not complete at least partial innocence. When cartoons were Tom and Jerry, Donald Duck, Po...

Oh, those were the days, my friend. A time of, if not complete at least partial innocence. When cartoons were Tom and Jerry, Donald Duck, Popeye and Yogi Bear. Yipadi-dipadi-doo-da. They were cute (to look at), naughty (in their behaviour), and amusing (in word or action). And, completely, ageless. There’s Tom lusting after Jerry with the same predatory desire as 40 years ago – and not a wrinkle between them.

We’re fortunate to have them still around. That cannot be said for the company they keep. Where did they pick up these creatures we see hanging around them? Have you watched Cartoon Network or

Jetix Disney Toon evening prime time? If not, prepare yourself for a seismic shock. Apart from superheroes with very strange powers (and unpardonably distorted features), there are a host of dudes (more like duds) and whatever passes for their female equivalent, acting like they’re attending a reform penitentiary. The guys leer at the girls, the girls jeer back, together they fight crimes or commit them. They employ adult language and, often display explosively violent behaviour. Watch something called (we think) Martin Mystery on Jetix or Toonami Beyblade and Static Shock on Cartoon Network: high school kids are involved in all sorts of diabolic situations and respond with extraordinary powers – at ear-splitting decibel levels (why is everything on TV so loud? Ever heard a TV commercial that does not beat your ears like they’re drums?).

Appreciate the difference with these programme profiles: Tom and Jerry Show: ‘‘Don’t miss a minute of this cat and mouse chaos…’’; Static Shock: ‘‘After being exposed to a mutagenic (huh?) gas, Virgal…an ordinary high school kid, is transformed into… a mega charged superhero with…electromagnetic powers…to defend the city … from the forces of evil, high school bullies and any problems that zap through between.’’

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Thing is, you have never seen an uglier bunch. In the case of superhero cartoons, the good guys were always handsome like Superman or Batman and the villains, villainous to look at. No longer: the good and bad look the same: shaggy-haired (leftovers from the seventies?), with deeply-lined faces, horrible scowls and pretty shabby clothes.

The second thing is the themes and characters are teen or adult as though Boston Public, the school drama on Star World has been animated. Such cartoons do exceedingly well in a country such as Japan, known to produce and avidly watch adult and very violent cartoons. It’s a cultural craze.

In India, we still believe cartoons are for children, young children – very young children. Parents feel reassured (perhaps erroneously) when their children watch cartoons; why, they actively encourage them to watch: ‘‘Tom and Jerry ke saath khana khao’’, they coax the dinner down their kids’ gullets.

That’s because we believe cartoons are good, clean, innocent fun. And inhabited, largely, by supernatural characters with magical powers, or cute animals with childlike behaviour that enchant and entrance the kids.

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The creatures at prime time can be surly, burly, manic. Is this for young kids? Parents may like to reconsider their children’s dinner dates with them. Which is why it is incomprehensible that Cartoon Network telecasts this ‘grown up’ stuff 8 pm. onwards and Tom and Jerry at 10.30 p.m (although earlier too).

The Great Indian Laughter Show (Star One) has renewed our belief that Indians can be funny. Didn’t realise we possess so many professional and amateur comics who make you laugh instead of themselves. That’s the real test. A lot of the fun is poked at spouses, families, neighbours, dogs (that’s right) and Hindi cinema (Shah Rukh Khan gets Rs.75 lakhs to make love to Kajol, give me Rs 5,000 and I’ll show you…) and of course there are plenty of PJs: ‘‘Have you got dog biscuits?’’/‘‘Will you eat them here or take it home to eat?’’. Still, people like Sunil Pal who won the contest, should immediately find employment – may be they can take over, occasionally from Shekhar Suman!