On the subject of exhibits from my childhood, there are a lot that I like to recommend to individuals in the event that they’re in search of cartoon with superior themes.
Usually, I’ll convey up one in every of my favourite rewatches, Avatar: The Final Airbender. Or, I’ll point out Phineas and Ferb and its limitless quantities of enjoyable. Typically, I’ll even point out the finest SpongeBob Squarepants episodes as a result of I stand by that present’s earlier seasons as nice youngsters TV.
However there’s one present I haven’t actually talked about on right here that a lot, and that’s Teen Titans. No, I’m not speaking about Teen Titans Go!; I’m speaking concerning the OG Teen Titans that ran from 2003–2005. And I truthfully forgot about this present.
Alright, nicely, possibly “forgot” is a giant phrase, however this was a collection that I actually didn’t return to that a lot – till lately once I dived proper again into it for enjoyable and realized simply how forward of its time it was.
Earlier than The Story, The Animation Is A Lot Of Enjoyable
Truthfully, we’re residing in an animation renaissance proper now. I really feel as if motion pictures like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have actually modified how we view animation as greater than only a CGI rendering, and there’s a lot colour and depth added to it — from exhibits like Arcane to newer motion pictures which might be testing out newer animation kinds.
However when watching Teen Titans, the animation is fairly cool. Positive, it’s normal 2D animation, but it surely’s drawn in such a means that the characters really feel so distinct from every other cartoon on the time. You knew somebody was from Teen Titans immediately, and that’s one thing that I can respect.
The Themes Are Tremendous Mature For A Cartoon
If we’re being trustworthy, plenty of the brand new youngsters exhibits on the 2025 TV schedule simply… don’t hit as a lot. Positive, there are exhibits like Bluey that genuinely educate excellent life classes, however I really feel that only a few these days have themes that each youngsters and oldsters might relate to.
Granted, I’m not a father or mother but, however I really feel like I’ve watched sufficient kids’s tv in the previous few years to at the least have a light opinion on it.
Teen Titans, nonetheless, does dive into tremendous deep themes, each of which kids, teenagers, and adults can relate to. For teenagers, it’s enjoyable to observe superheroes, however these characters undergo grief, loss, self-love and self-hate, studying develop into a greater particular person, and a lot extra. Granted, it’s not delivered the identical means a typical youngsters present would do it – it’s often served with a aspect of butt-kicking, but it surely’s executed very nicely.
The Characters Are Morally Flawed, And That’s Such A Good Factor For A Child’s Present
The largest factor that exhibits Teen Titans was forward of its time is that actually each character on this world—possibly other than Beast Boy—is morally flawed. They aren’t all the very best individuals on this planet and most actually usually are not goody-two-shoes.
I believe in each episode of Teen Titans, there’s one thing occurring with these characters, and it looks like they must make some big, life-altering choice for somebody, and the viewer might agree with it or not. They’re nonetheless seen as the great guys – as a result of the dangerous individuals on this present are dangerous – however they aren’t a golden boy or lady.
They make errors, mess up usually, and typically work for the unsuitable aspect, which is good for kids’s TV.
As a result of on the finish of the day, they return to the great. They combat by way of, be taught a lesson, and all the time, all the time attempt to maintain out for a greater tomorrow. And that’s the sort of youngsters TV that we actually want these days.
It’s truthfully a disgrace that Teen Titans solely lasted for 5 seasons when exhibits like SpongeBob and Teen Titans Go! have lasted for therefore many extra. However possibly that’s the signal of collection – you realize when to shut it out, like what Arcane’s co-creator did with its two-season construction.
However in case you haven’t seen Teen Titans and also you need to test it out, make sure you watch it. It’s significantly an awesome collection – and one I might completely advocate to anybody who’s in want of one thing new!