I know, most people think of all (or most) cartoons as being for kids. Personally, I think most cartoons are for anyone. Some, however, are specifically for adults, and inappropriate for young children. Others are specifically for little kids (I mean, little kids), and... many of those will hold zero (or less than zero) interest for me. But some of them I do like... but I feel it's unfair to try to assign them a place in the regular tier system for cartoons I like that I think may generally be enjoyed by people of any age. Or whatever. I dunno, I hope this makes some kind of sense....
Let's begin...
Ellen's Acres, Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network; official website; Wikipedia
Well, I don't watch that much of this, but it's not bad. It's about this 5-year-old girl named Ellen, whose parents moved from L.A. to a small town in Nevada, where they took over a hotel called the Emerald Acres. So now Ellen doesn't have anyone to play with, but is constantly using her imagination to have incredible adventures. Oh, and she has a feather duster and an old tire that she plays with. They become different things in her imagination. Mostly whatever adventures she's imagining have some relation to whatever's going on in real life, and tend to serve as a way for her to have fun while doing helpful things for other people, like her parents, the hotel staff (Connie and Cooter), or the guests. She really is a very smart, knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful, cute little kid, with a great imagination. I sometimes almost worry that she could lose her grip on reality, or get into dangerous situations while she's off on her own seemingly not paying attention to reality, but actually... things always turn out quite well, and in the end, she's always aware of reality and seems to be very happy and well-adjusted. I also feel like mentioning that she talks kind of like Dora the Explorer (her voice really projects and almost every other word seems to be heavily stressed), but I like her more than Dora, and I think her show's alot more interesting, even if they're both for preschoolers. (And I don't have anything against Dora, though I have little interest in watching a full episode of that show.) And I guess that's all I can think to say....
Krypto the Superdog, Cartoon Network, Mon-Thu 1pm
Cartoon Network; IMDb; Kids' WB on the CW; Toonarific; TV.com; Voice Chasers; Wikipedia; YTV
Okay, this show is made by some of the people responsible for stuff like Batman: The Animated Series (see cartoons 1) and its ilk. This obviously isn't part of that continuity, but it still has elements that might be enjoyed by more mature fans of such series. It has moments that are really pretty cool, or funny, though mostly it is very kiddie level stuff, just not in a bad (cringe-inducing) way. Usually. And most importantly, if little kids get introduced to the genre by stuff like this, a love of comix might be instilled in them from an early age, and later on they might start collecting comix, thus revitalizing the industry. That's my hope, anyway.
Now then, what's the show about? Well, when Kal-El (who would become Superman) was still a young boy on Krypton, he had a puppy. (I know, he should have left when he was a baby. Just go with it.) His dad put the puppy in a rocket for some kinda tests or whatever, and when there was a malfunction, the ship put him into cryosleep. Years later he awoke, full-grown, and landed on Earth. There he was befriended by a boy named Kevin Whitney, who named him Krypto. (By now, Superman is a well-known superhero on Earth, and oddly enough, an average kid like Kevin knows things like that he's from Krpyton and is affected by Kryptonite, and stuff.) Krypto discovers that he has super powers, so he becomes a superhero called Superdog (though Kevin and Superman are the only people who know Krypto is Superdog; unless you count Kevin's toddler sister Melanie).
Superman (who we only really see in the first episode, briefly) lets Krypto stay with Kevin. Also Krypto gets a friend, a cat named Streaky who belongs to Kevin's neighbor, Andrea. An accident in an early episode copied Superdog's powers onto Streaky, who becomes Superdog's sidekick, Supercat. There are other superhero animals that show up sometimes, including the Dog Star Patrol, and Batman's dog, Ace the Bathound. Lex Luthor also makes the occasional appearance (though not as a villain), as does his pet iguana, Ignatius (who is more of a self-centered nuissance than a true villain, though he does make trouble). There are several recurring (animal) villains, though the main ones are Mekanikat, and his henchman, Snooky Wookums. And that's about all I can think to say for now....
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat, PBS
IMDb; PBS Kids; Toonarific; TV.com; Voice Chasers; Wikipedia
I dunno, I never watched this much. It's about this kitten named Sagwa, and her friends in a village in China once upon a time. I can't really tell you any more than that, except I think the animation is fairly cute, and I don't dislike the show, or anything. In fact I kind of would like to see a bit more of it, but I dunno if I ever will. It's decent, though.
Shuriken School, French
Animation Insider; IMDb; Jetix UK; Nickelodeon; official website; Voice Chasers; YTV; Wikipedia
This was airing on Nickelodeon, but it hasn't been on for awhile, so I'm not sure what happened or if or when it'll be back. Anyway, I've just seen a few eps, but... well, so far it doesn't seem great, exactly, but it's okay. I wouldn't mind seeing some more of it, but I don't really miss it, or anything. Anyway, it's about a group of kids who study to be ninja at a place called Shuriken School. There are a few teachers there; one is Kita Shunai, who was formerly a teacher at a rival ninja school called Katana. And there's a rather boring teacher named Kubo Utamaro, who's better at theoretical ninja skills than actual practical application. And there's a Russian teacher named Vlad Keitawa. So far the main character seems to be a Shuriken student named Eizan Kaburagi. He's in a group with two other students, a boy named Jimmy B. and a girl named Okuni Dohan, who's probably the most sensible of all of them. Some of the others include a Tibetan monk named Choki, who often floats around, and a French guy named Jacques, who wears a diving suit and talks like Jacques Cousteau, and there's a blonde girl named Ami Saeki, and plenty of other students with whom I'm not that familiar, though one of them is a pig. The top student at Katana is named Naginata, and he and his partners are rivals of Eizan and his partners, I guess. And I dunno what else to say right now, but it's all a fairly cute and enjoyable show, if simple....
Wonder Pets!, Nickelodeon, weekdays 11am
IMDb; Nick Jr.; Noggin; TV.com; Voice Chasers; Wikipedia
First of all, I suppose I should say this show uses like some new kind of animation, called "photo-puppetry," though I must say, none of the animals look photo-realistic to me (though I can't say what they do look like, drawings or CGI or toys or whatever, but they look good, anyway). Promo materials claim the animators manipulate photos of real animals, but I can't quite believe that. Whatever the case, it isn't really important to me. What's important is that it's a really terribly cute and amusing little show. Yeah, it's for preschoolers, but I think it's just adorable, so I've been watching it some days. It's fun.
There are these three classroom pets: the leader is Linny the Guinea pig, and the other two are Ming-Ming Duckling, and a turtle named Tuck. After the kids leave the little schoolhouse for the day (I'm not sure if it's a preschool or kindergarten or what), a tin-can phone sort of thing rings, and the Wonder Pets answer it. It's some animal (usually a baby animal) in trouble somewhere. Well, usually an animal. Once it was a baby tree. Once there was even a baby unicorn they had to go into a storybook to rescue. Anyway, after they take a call, they get ready for the mission, put together their "fly boat," and face some minor challenge that foreshadows a problem they'll have to overcome on the actual mission. Then they fly off to save the day. I think it bears noting that despite the fact that the show always follows the same formula, it never seems to use stock footage... even if the opening song the Wonder Pets sing when the phone rings is always the same, and the routine they go through before answering it (and when returning after the mission) is basically the same... there are always subtle differences in their actions and surroundings (and when appropriate, the audio), which I think is great.
Oh yes, the songs: most of the time they're singing, it is also important to note, and the creators consider each episode a mini-opera, though it may use different styles of music. And there are some simple jokes, and some catch phrases I always look forward to hearing (like "Good eye, Tuck!" and "This is sewious!") And it's also important to note that the Wonder Pets have no super powers, but they use critical thinking to solve problems, and most importantly, teamwork. Oh yes, the show is all about teamwork. Aside from teaching kids about problem-solving and teamwork, and being very entertaining, it also teaches a bit about different kinds of animals and places and stuff. And... I guess that's about all there is to say.