Animated comments

I wrote about “The Incredibles” in a recent entry and that got me thinking about the cartoons on TV that my kids watch. There are good and bad.

Here’s the top 5 of the good:

1: “Arthur” on PBS. The show is witty and makes family and school issues relevant for many ages. I love the episode told from the point of view of the dog, Pal, and baby, Kate. Sometimes DW is too annoying, but those times are rare. Check out pbskids.org.

2: “Backyardigans” on Nick. This is really for young children, but it’s fun to watch as an adult as well. The computer-generated graphics are sharp and the songs fun and memorable. The characters (animal figures) play in their back yards but imagine a bigger world. The show teaches lessons on sharing, listening and respect. The Yeti episode is my favorite. Look on www.nick.com.

3: “Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius” on Nick. Computer graphics and absurd fun with science. True, the characters fly through space without oxygen helmets and in blatant disregard to physics, but the show illustrates that science must be balanced with intangibles like family love, friendship and respect.

4: “Danny Phantom” on Nick. Danny stumbled into ghost powers that he must balance with normal life. The struggle here is a literal manifestation of the adolescent changes Danny is going through as a ninth-grader.

5: “Fairly Odd Parents” on Nick: A 10-year-old boy gets fairy godparents because of his evil babysitter, Vicky. The show teaches that everything has repercussions, something like dropping the stone in the pond and not knowing where the ripples touch. The show does have annoying moments, but I can get past them.

Honorable mention: “Kim Possible” on Disney gives a strong, positive female role model (www.disney.go.com/disneychannel/index.html); “Avatar” on Nick is drawn too much like Anime, but it shows how people grow, change and deal with problems they often create; “All Grown Up” on Nick is the “Rugrats” about a decade later and it’s smarter and less gross than its originator; and “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” on Cartoon Network (http://www.cartoonnetwork.com) is odd enough to make my radar and has some good lessons about friendship and responsibility. The animation took some getting used to.

Guilty pleasure: “Catscratch” on Nick is funny, but it has few redeeming qualities. One of the cats (Mr. Blick) is just selfish and mean and the other (Waffle) kind of stupid. I just love how the third cat (Gordon) refers to the person he has a crush on as “Human Kimberly.”

Avoid: These cartoons are terrible: “Hey, Arnold” on Nick is full of unresolved conflicts, anger and examples of bad relationships; “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy” on Cartoon Network is dreadful. The Grim Reaper lives with these two children, who are gross and nasty. It’s just stupid.

Oddly enough, Cartoon Network during the day lacks good animated shows for kids. This network is populated by violence, grossness and disrespect. At night, I admit I watch “Adult Swim,” especially “Family Guy,” “Futurama” and “Robot Chicken,” but this is not for kids and I see it as a seedy kind of fun, like watching “South Park.”

Thought: Draw your own conclusions.