Remember the time when cartoons had atmosphere, peace, and quiet? Well, your happy memories will never resurface when watching today's cartoons, which seem to have been infused with coffee, sugar, and... you got it, ADHD.
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| Xiaolin Chronicles, featuring old men, Kung Fu fighting, and the shameless mockery of people who can't control their bowels. |
Xiaolin Chronicles is one of today's cartoons, that, while animated by drawings for a change and not this new hip computer-generated clay stuff (for the most part), seems to have been rushed right through during its production. Is the lifeblood of the writers and editors caffeine? It seems to be so, because the storyboard cuts are so spastic and the characters have no time to develop their conversations relating to something other than the cut-and-dry Plot that is afoot. Of course, Xiaolin Chronicles' predecessor Xiaolin Showdown (for which I wrote fanfictions, that seem to be what Xiaolin Chronicles is in a nutshell), gradually throughout its run started to unveil the same flaws of not slowing down the pacing of an episode, but it also took at least a few breathers here and there -- to shed light on a deeper plot, to establish conflict between the main characters, or even to spare us the agony of bad jokes rearing themselves every five seconds. None of this is present in the new show, where it would be most welcome. Sure, I mustn't forget that these shows are aimed at kids. Still, do we need to shorten our children's attention spans even further by having flash-without-substance thrown at them on the television screen? And will this process not contribute to the compounded enjoyment of loud, ear-killing music and seizure-inducing light shows that entice young people to "join in the fun"? Enough stimuli is enough!
-- Stick in the Mud, out. --
