Like most from the archives, this article is at least six years old, so some of the references are rather dated. It’s another reminder that comments and additional examples are always highly encouraged.
Contributed by K.M. L.
There are, I have noticed, 3 distinct target age groups (excluding adult cartoons, which are their own genre) that almost all cartoons fit into. There’s the preschool group (e.g. Caillou, from Cinar); school-age, the definite majority (which is just about everything on Nickelodeon); and teen/ young adult cartoons (Daria and The New Ripley’s Believe It Or Not). The preschool-age cartoons’ animation is colorful, bright, and simple enough for kids to understand. Plots aren’t complex at all; rather, they are entertaining and they are good for holding the short extension span of this age group. Characters are friendly, and rarely do we find a villain. After all, no kid under 4 will watch something that gives them nightmares.
