| Cartoons rule as far as children are concerned. Here is a pick of the most popular programmes |
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THERE"S TOM chasing Jerry, Pikachu figting the evil Bulbasaur, Bob the Builder on the site, Tintin on his usual whodunits, Mr. Bean and his misadventures, GI Joe saving the world, ...we are in childrens territory, of cartoons, that is. Cartoon Network recently completed 10 years in India and the head honchos in the channel rightly feel they can safely manage another decade. Why not? CN (as it is called now) not only heralded childrens programming in a big way but also opened doors to other kiddie channels like Nickelodeon, Disney and Hungama. Ask any mom today and chances are she must have resorted to a little help from cartoon channels in bringing up her tiny tots. Child not eating food? Switch on favourite cartoon channel. Child not doing homework? Promise him/her an extra hour of watching cartoons. Kid behaved badly at a party? Deduct that extra hour you promised.
No wonder that cartoon channels have been doing very well in India. Fortunately, though parents are not too sure of how much cartoon viewing is too much, there are some cartoon shows, which are informative. For instance, the Half Ticket series and Tiny TV segments of CN can definitely teach a thing or two to pre-schoolers (a segment of the childrens group thats being increasingly catered to by every childrens channel programmer who knows the power he can wield on hapless parents). We spoke to a few children for whom cartoon channels are an inseparable part of their lives. Mention their favourite cartoon and their faces light up. For sisters Snigdha and Meghna Vartak, students of NGV English School, Virar, watching cartoons was the most exciting part of their day till their morn decided to "cut off cartoon channels as exams were around the corner." But ask them their favourites and they chorus, "Takeshis Castle, Tom & Jerry, Playhouse and Stanley." They also extol the virtues of "Beakmans World. Hes a scientist and that show is very informative as it teaches about scientific concepts," says Snigdha.
So how many hours of cartoons did they watch before the ban? Eight-year-old Meghna says cheekily, "Twenty hours of cartoons and four hours of studies." Now that explains the ban! For cousins Manthan and Yash Savla, students of DPYA High School, Dadar, a daily dose of two-three hours of cartoon watching is still permissible. "Pokemon and Beyblades are our favourites. I can watch them any number of times," says the older Manthan. Yash adds his favourite, "Mr Bean. Hes too good and Tom and Jerry." Class 7 student of Don Bosco, Matunga, Shannon Fernandes, however, rues the fact that unlike Goa, where he could watch cartoons in English, in Mumbai, he has to put up with "Hindi cartoons. But I watch them anyway. Beyblade, Pokemon, shows on Nickelodeon and Pogo are my favourites. And of course, the Harry Potter films. Though, I sometimes times feel they should show the newer series of Pokemon and Beyblades instead of the repeats." Then there are the Rai siblings. If eight-year-old Nilay is making do with playing WWE on the computer because of his moms no watching cartoons rule, his two and a half year-old sister Suhaani is exempted from any such ban. She can lisp the names of all characters of Oswald!.
For 10-year-old Akash of Chartrabhuj Narsee Memorial School, Richie Rich and Maisy also figure among his favourites. He adds grinning, "And I absolutely love Tom & Jerry." The crazy antics of the cat and mouse continue to impress 13-year-old Karan Ravi, even now, though he no longer watches cartoon channels. He says, "I do not enjoy most of the cartoons as it is for smaller kids. I like watching Nickelodeon for Hey Arnold and Wild Thorn Berries. But now I enjoy watching the History Channel and Discovery Travel and Living more." So does that mean cartoon channels make way to more interesting, informative and educative forms of tube-watching as they get older? Now that merits another story!
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