Too Much Villain

One bad dude

I watched the feature cartoon Rio with Ev last night. It is one of those super animated movies-- "from the creators of Ice Age." The movie is filled with fun action and humor of the type that kept Ev entertained throughout. But I had a problem with that kid's movie.

The problem is this: Is it just me or have cartoon villains become truly evil? I grew up on a fairly steady diet of Bulwinkle, Under Dog, Quick Draw McGraw; all of which regularly featured villains, bombs, guns, and plenty of POW! But they never featured credible threats, bullying, or terror ( with the possible exception of Sweet Polly crying out to Under Dog).

Years ago Disney rolled out Bambi with issues of loss of a parent. Dumbo with the issue of separation from a parent. Snow White, Cinderella, The Fox and Hound-- every one of these challenged children to face issues that were probably well beyond their years. Witches, evil step-mothers, mean adults. Frankly, I didn't see the value in exploring those complex issues among kids sitting in theaters eating Good 'n Plenty and buckets of popcorn back then any more than I do now.

Historical Disney aside, the current generation of cartoon features, well tailored to adult and child audiences, are different. The villains in Rio, the exotic bird smuggler Marcel or his trained Cockatoo thug Nigel, are truly mean. They're cruel and use terror and intimidation as their sole m.o. These characters have PhD's in bullying and lack the bumbling incompetence of earlier cartoon villains. These characters make the viewer genuinely fear for the safety and wellbeing of our protagonists and convincingly sell cruelty as a means to an end. By movie's end the bad guys get their due and our heroes prevail, but the path has been frightening and filled with multiple layers of mean.

Maybe I'm just getting old but, is this formula necessary? Are children, 3, 4, 5, and 6 year-olds, starved for examples of how intimidation and threats are used so effectively by some? Does a movie like Rio equip them to more capably navigate the multitude of mean and dangerous people they'll meet in life?

To be fair, I must disclose that I've never been able to sit still for a scary movie or one that dealt with complex or threatening psychological issues. I love a happy ending and a smooth ride in route. Think Nora Ephron or Woody Allen. Perhaps I'm just naive. Perhaps even small kids today are just way too sophisticated to endure the bumbling incompetent villains of the past generation of children's entertainment. But if that's true, I have to think we've made them that way.