Romance in Kids' Cartoons

[SweetShop209]

I know it's after Valentine's Day, but it's still February. There's still some relevance. Anyway, romance in kids cartoons seems to have a mixed reception, at least from what I heard. Some people think it's funny with how media portrays romance, while other people don't think so. For me, generally speaking, it depends on what they're trying to do. Whether it's a serious romance or a comedic romance, as long as the characters are in character, then I'm fine. There are some exceptions, but this is my general rule. What do you think? What is your view on romance in kids cartoons? What do you think can be done to improve romance in kids' shows?

 

[ShadowBeast]

I think the whole romance thing gets too much focus these days, and can ruin the show if it's not done right or done too much. Just look at Legend of Korra, there was WAY!!! too much shipping in the series and most of the couples made little to no sense.

 

[ToonJay723]

I think it's weird how 9 and 10 year olds can develop romantic feelings for one another like with Helga loving Arnold or Jimmy and Cindy loving each other. When I was a kid I didn't think anything of it, but as an adult it's weird. Someone as young as 9 shouldn't be in love, they would just have a crush at best.

To reiterate, I think it's not good if the characters are under 12.

 

[JTMarsh]

As with any medium, as long as the romantic subplots are balanced out well with the main narrative it doesn't bother me.

 

[ABrown]

I like a little romance. Probably my favorite romance in a kids cartoon would be Silverbolt and Blackarachnia in Beast Wars/Machines. I think what made it really interesting was that Silverbolt was a Maximal and Blackarachnia was a Predacon. Their romance was one of reasons that Blackarachnia left the Predacons and joined the Maximals. If handled properly, as I feel this romance was, it can be something that absolutely can work in a kids show.

 

[CyberCubed]

Usually romance in kids cartoons is lame and goes nowhere (Ash/Misty from Pokemon), but then sometimes they try to rebound and do it right (Ash/Serena), even if that may go nowhere too.

I do like romance in some superhero shows. Young Justice had Artemis/Wally, Superboy/Miss Martian. Loved Superman/Lois, Robin/Starfire, etc.

 

[Arrow]

Romance only becomes a problem when it dominates too much of a series or does a disservice to one or both of the characters involved. An example of both of these would be Korra and Mako in Legend of Korra’s first two seasons. I found that both of them became far more likable after they broke up, or when they weren’t dealing with each other. Another example would be the ongoing Dipper and Wendy subplot in the first Gravity Falls season. The individual episodes concerning the two were often good, and the writers got a lot of drama out of it, but not only was the writing repetitive but it had the unfortunate effect of sidelining Wendy that season.


Otherwise, I find that romance can be a useful tool for character development (if the cartoon is one where characters are meant to develop), making for entertaining dynamics, or just being a good story to tell in an episode. For that reason, I’m certainly not against the idea. Like most things, it just has to be written well.

 

[SaneMan]

Depends on the execution
should not be the main focus
should make sense for the character

 

[Light Lucario]

Usually romance in kids cartoons is lame and goes nowhere (Ash/Misty from Pokemon), but then sometimes they try to rebound and do it right (Ash/Serena), even if that may go nowhere too.

I don't see how Ash and Serena is an example of trying to rebound and doing romance right, especially when it won't go anywhere either. There's no doubt about that. I can guarantee you that Ash will still be oblivious/clueless about Serena's feelings by the end of XY.

Anyway, having romance in a kids' show certainly isn't a bad idea. It just really comes down to execution. Legend of Korra is a perfect example as to not handle romance in a series in my opinion. The romance subplots were taking up way too much focus during the first two seasons, Mako and Korra didn't have much chemistry and their relationship was just painfully bad to watch with their constant arguing during season two. It felt forced and contrived to put them together, but at least they never had them get back together afterwards, so that was an improvement. Still, the romance for that series was easily one of the worst aspects of it and once they finally took a breather from heavy romance subplots in the last two seasons, the show improved.

There are good examples of romances between characters like Robin and Starfire from Teen Titans, even though they did pull the usual not ending up together until the end of the series card there. While I think Young Justice is completely overrated, I do remember liking the chemistry between Artemis and Wally once they became a couple. A good romance should involve characters with good chemistry together, so that making them into a couple doesn't feel forced, and it shouldn't be the main focus point of either character. It can be a good way to flesh out their individual personality traits and help them to grow, but they should ideally still get focus outside of their relationship too.

One other pet peeve of mine with romance is how they often have one character bully another and then at some point claim that they're a bully because of their feelings. This usually seems to happen with younger characters like with Helga from Hey Arnold, but I still really dislike that approach. It just reinforces the idea that boys picking on girls, or vice versa, are doing it because they like them and that's just a terrible message to send for multiple reasons. Avoiding that would be a good thing to do as well.

 

[Frontier]

I'm actually a big fan of romance and always really liked seeing it in the shows I watched as a kid, so I definitely think it has a place in kids shows. I think some great points have been brought up as to how romance can add a fun and interesting dynamic to the show, as well as help in character development, which makes it a positive element overall. But at the same time it can also become tired and drag on too long, and do disservices to the characters involved and make them look bad. So really, it's all in the execution and how it's used, though I think sometimes that can be subjective to the viewer .

As for how I can see it improved...well, I guess just accepting that romance can be a nice element in a series, whatever age group it's aimed at, and not feel tacked-on or not taken seriously would help. Making sure the relationship is believable and works well for what it's meant to do in the show is also important .

 

[Rhaynebow]

I'm a big romance fan too, but I hate how cliche they tend to end up in cartoons. I remember SCREAMING at my TV for Mako and Korra to not get together at the end of season 1 because couples that get together mid-season tend to break up later on, to which I was unfortunately right. But then there were couples like Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable who had great chemistry and when THEY got together, they stayed together, which was nice ( I didn't even watch the show that much, but when I saw trailers for So the Drama years ago, I tuned in).

Now despite how bad everyone said Makorra was, I still shipped them and was happy to see them together. And despite how bad people said Danny and Sam were, I STILL shipped them. And Gwen and Kevin from Ben 10. Sure these guys didn't have much chemistry, but nobody said writing believable relationships was easy. That's why fanfictions exist, GOOD ones anyway. They tackle the stuff that the real writers may not have tried to make well.

But I digress. I thoroughly enjoy romance in cartoons as long as they don't set it up too strongly, don't stretch out the will they-won't they too much, and not have them split if the series keeps going.

 

[Kencana]

I was a big romance when I was a little girl, but currently? Not so much, Maybe it's because most romance is like this: guy meet girl-guy save the girl several times-they fall in love. Sure sometimes the role can be reversed, but then I remember quote from Hayao Miyazaki:

“I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live - if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.”

I agree with him, since I have hard time mention any show where female lead and male lead just stay friends until the end of story. In Star vs the Forces of Evil, while I don't mind Marco and Star dating and they'll make a cute couple, I'm hoping they'll just stay friends. Or have Star date a girl instead. It'll be a nice twist. Idk

 

[Goldstar!]

These days, I tend to prefer prepubescent children in fiction over teenagers because younger kids are less likely to be motivatied by sex. With teenage characters, nearly everything that do is motivated by libido. I can't tell you how tired I am of the premise in which boy doesn't like or care about something, but then decides to try it out just to get the attention of a cute girl.

Also, I'd like to see more boys and girls in fiction who are just friends. Romance is nice and all, but every interaction between a male character and a female character shouldn't be have to be a sign that love is in the air.

 

[SaneMan]

^ Clarence did that pretty well

 

[Zanneck]

^ Clarence is the ONLY show I've seen do THIS well, as of late - that isn't Steven Universe, of course (Clarence still did it better, however!).

 

[Mister Mayhem]

Countrymen,

There aren't a whole lot of romances I actually like in western animation. My biggest problem with them is that many of them feel one-sided or the writers wait until the very end to have the characters finally hookup.

 

[Eric Brown]

How about "comedic" romance as with Kim and Ron in "Kim Possible" ?

 

[Lonestarr]

I have my fair share of preferred pairings (I'm man enough to admit that), but it really grinds my gears that so many majority-preferred pairings seem to espouse negative (at least, for the impressionable target audience) viewpoints; that it's okay to love someone...as long as no one is around when you express it; it's okay to love someone...as long as you cover up your emotions with borderline-sociopathic behavior; it's okay to love someone...as long as you treat them like trash.

And I shudder to think about the kids who watch the shows and worship the pairings I (with intentional vagueness) described entering the animation business and creating shows of their own. What will those pairings look like?

 

[EJLD4Ever]

Personally, I am more entertained by tales of unrequited (one-sided) love that successful ones. Probably since it reflects my personal unrequited (pre-adult) love life.

 

[Dynamite Soldier]

I actually don't mind romance in kids' cartoons as long as...

1) Stalking isn't involved *coughs*Lola Bunny*coughs*. It's really annoying to see a character (especially females) stalk another, just because he/she like that person. If you really like this character, don't spent the whole time sniffing his/her hair and spying on said person. Talk to that person and express your feelings for him/her. That's why I couldn't stand watching Pucca because her stalking towards Garu is very creepy and disturbing. I kinda felt bad for Garu because he gets kissed by Pucca all the time even though he doesn't like her in a romantic way. Same for Chowder.

And even though I liked Lola Bunny from The Looney Tunes Show, her stalking towards Bugs is downright annoying and creepy as well. That's the only part I didn't like about her. The song "We Are In Love" says it all. Then again, Bugs did felt in love with her in "Members Only", only to find her obsession with him a bit too much before they became an actual couple.

2) Romance doesn't take up the whole show. I really hate it where the protagonist spends most of the episode's actual plotline winning over his/her crush (when said crush isn't interested) or flirting and kissing said boy/girl-friend. That distracts the episode's story (or even the show sometimes).

Yang and Lina from Ying Yang Yo! did end up becoming a couple in "Gone-A-Fowl" and they didn't spent the rest of the show obsessing about each other alot. The show continues to have different stories in each episode without having their romance spammed all over. Same with Modercai and CJ, Gumball and Penny, or even Numbah 3 and Numbah 4.

Characters like Dipper and Mabel from Gravity Falls do this all the time. The former spends several episodes trying to impress Wendy, but fails yet he doesn't move on until season 2, and the latter is way too obsessed with boys and still is as of "Northwest Mansion Mystery".