Topic: Does "It's for kids!" annoy you?

We see this a lot in the animation industry, people making crappy cartoons or crappy episodes of otherwise good cartoons, then use "its for kids" as a scapegoat for their own cheap and crappy writing. Doing this is basically saying children are morons who can't see quality entertainment if it hit them in the face. Its insulting to their intelligence, and it needs to stop.

For an example of what I'm talking about, take a look at this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AasFkaoo4FI

This however, also extends to video games to an extent. Nintendo games supposedly have no story because "they're for kids". Licensed games getting rushed, lazy development because "they're for kids". Mediocre toy scanning games like Skylanders being whored out every year with almost no improvements made because "its for kids". Cheap mobile games having no effort put in to them because "they're for kids" This agism in the industry is the reason why there's hardly anything decent for children these days. Children, while not stupid, are for the most part blank slates. What you get out of them is what you put in to them. If 6 year old Johnny grows up on crap, chances are, he'll still continue to play crap when he's 30, and won't know any better because he wasn't exposed to enough quality gaming when he was younger.

Not many developers in the industry think very highly of children and it shows. Outside a few Nintendo series like Mario, Kirby, and Pokémon, when was the last time you played a quality game that was good for kids, but had the polish, and presentation of some of the industries best work? There's a reason why Nintendo targets a broader demographic than most developers, because by developing games for a target audience, you shoot yourself in the foot and end up pandering to them by making crap. Make the games you want to play, not what you think 8 year old jimmy wants to play.

Legend of Zelda

Rayman Legends. Rayman Legends is one of the most impressive looking and well made AAA games out there and is a kid-friendly game.

And yeah, I hate when people put no effort for stuff made for kids. A good amount of entertainment I enjoy is technically considered for kids (though some of those anime for kids are like TV-14 here ), and I would be hard-pressed to think of something I would only enjoy as a kid that's actually any good. That's why I like how the ESRB uses E for Everyone, because those games SHOULD be good when you're 20 or even 50. And saying it's ok that kids get horrible entertainment is...while kinda true (your kid is not gonna become a moron because he watched a bad episode of Spongebob), also extremely cynical and is just kinda insulting kids.

True, I can tolerate a bad cartoon episode. But I hate it when people just use the target audience to excuse it. Or use their target audience as an excuse for corporate laziness.

Except there are kids shows that actually have good animation, story, etc. Like you said, there are shows that are half-donkeyed, and the studio uses their BS excuses as a result.

I agree. The industry caters some of the worst trash towards kids, and use their "target audience" as an excuse for a severe lack of quality.

What happened to great series like Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, or Banjo & Kazooie? They either withered away silently, or they got outsoruced and dumbed down until the end result was downright embarrassing. And the same happens with kids shows. Spongebob, Fairly Oddparents, most recent Disney cartoons in general, Teen Titans (not quite for kids, but still), and several others, lose their own standards while still claiming to be "for kids", even though some of that stuff is just tasteless for all ages, or at the very least makes absolutely no sense compared to how the shows started out.
It's a terrible trend, a disgusting practice, and, most importantly, a heavy downgrade in respect for kids - they deserve better, but when only trash is available, how should they know any better?

I see this more often in films, I guess. In a world where Pixar is a thing, there's no excuse for terrible, lazy writing just because it's "for kids."

It annoys me greatly.

Even at two years old my niece has already developed a taste and gravitates towards well made and critically acclaimed shows like Adventure Time, Ed, Edd, and Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog and The Powerpuff Girls. Most of the trash she's expected to watch at her age because "she doesn't know any better" barely holds her attention at all. "It's for kids" has always been a lame excuse for laziness and shoddy quality as well as an excuse for people to hide their ridiculous insecurities about adolescence. Crap is crap and gold is gold no matter who the intended audience is.

Not that much, suppose. I don't like it, but I don't see it much and hardly think about it. Does using that as an excuse for a bad game/movie/whatever annoy me? Yeah, it does, greatly, but I never think of it myself and it isn't bought up often.

Mediocre toy scanning games like Skylanders

Skylanders is actually a good series. Aside from SWAP Force, it hasn't really been taking big steps forward each year and is being milked, but that doesn't mean Skylanders games are bad games. You can tell there's a fair amount of love and care in them. The TFB games have very well-crafted lore, while SF had very good level and mechanic design.

yeah, apparently the last Skylanders game was actually really awesome.

Kids just want to play with the box anyway right?

Children are easily pleased and lack the cynicism that comes with age.

I've lost count of the number of films or TV shows I loved as a child but have since rewatched and thought were rubbish. There's still lots that are great, however. I loved the early 90's Spiderman cartoon and it's still awesome. Pixar films are an interesting example precisely because of their universal appeal. The witty writing and more complex jokes often go right over a child's head but are what engage an adult.

As for poor games aimed at kids, it's often because they're licensed properties where development is done on a shoestring budget and a limited schedule. There are still some great games that are aimed at younger audiences. The Lego games are great fun even for adults and Minecraft has been a big hit with kids - just see it's chart positioning in the UK during the summer holidays. There's also a wealth of older games downloadable on modern consoles and games that children can play together with their parents such as RPGs that aren't too scary or violent. Nintendo produce a lot of great family friendly content, too.

I agree there should be more family friendly games of higher quality but the market has largely shifted.

I can understand that people shouldn't judge a cartoon by its animation and art but rather by its content. Just the other day, I watched Powerpuff Girls and I didn't like it because it was cute but rather because its a bit.....girlish. Sorry to all girls out there but the show just isn't for me......

Yes we should let kids play phoenix wright. That will teach them what a good game is.

OMG YES. I've been saying this for so long. It's my biggest gripe with certain sectors of the industry. Nickelodeon is perhaps the most guilty of this. And not just their cartoons; ever try to seriously sit down and watch one of their sitcoms?

And aside from how that mentality belittles children, it's also behind why a lot of people don't respect animation, the adults who make it, and the adults who watch it. Anyone who looks at a show like Adventure Time and says, "That's for kids, that's garbage" obviously hasn't sat down and seriously watched it and seen how much of it really isn't made to entertain kids. It's made to entertain.

And yeah, that mentality is all-too common in the video game industry as well. When I worked at Gamestop I was very often asked by parents to recommend games for their kids. If they didn't own a Wii, the games I could seriously recommend I could count on one hand. And even if they did own a Wii, of the hundreds of titles on the shelf, often it was only first party games that fit the bill as something that was both kid-friendly and of high quality.

Those would actually turn kids off of gaming as there's very little "gameplay" as it is.

It'll certainly help them learn to read though. And develop a completely warped view of how investigations/trials work.

Unless I don't remember it right, but I don't recall there being much girly about Powerpuff girls. At the very least it isn't the kind of girly that a guy couldn't at least understand if not relate to.

Bubbles is the only really girlish thing in that show. Otherwise, it's a lot of the girls beating the snot out of monsters and somewhat adult humor. I mean, yes, the show does play up the fact that they are little girls on occasion to humorous effect, but the show as a whole cannot properly be called girly.

Fun fact: Craig McCracken's original title for Powerpuff Girls was "Whoopass Girls," but obviously that had to be changed when Cartoon Network picked up the cartoon to be broadcast on TV. Chemical X was originally a "can of whoopass."

it doesn't bother me because: