Justin Henry, a junior business major, and Cabrini baseball player has always had a soft spot for animation. He’s very into Anime from Japanese culture and other types of western animation we have here in North America. Animation has always been a big part of his life. But it’s also taught him some really great lessons about life. He talked about how cartoons had really helped him change his perspective of certain life situations.
“I feel more connected with animation than I do real movies or shows. because they’re easier to digest any really take in the lesson,” Henry said.
Cartoons have always been known for teaching people important lessons that will stick with them for a long time. Of course, there are adult cartoons that teach or discuss adult topics. But what about the more simpler cartoons like from Disney or Pixar? These companies make animations that are usually for children, but try to tackle adult subjects as well, such as love, death, hatred, and betrayal or even racism. These themes are important in our society today because the world is way different than it was 30 years ago. No longer are the days of just making simple stories about the prince saving the princess.
Henry says that one of his favorite cartoons to watch and learn lessons from is “Miraculous Ladybug Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.” The show was created way back in 2015. It has been rated as the top animated show of all time. It’s also coming out with a movie very soon. The show teaches themes about sacrifice, loss, responsibility and even sexuality. Miraculous Ladybug is actually one of the first children’s cartoons to introduce to gay couples. Which helps start a pretty mature conversation about sexuality and the meaning of it.
“I especially like how the show talks about loss and betrayal. Because I’ve experienced so much of that in my life,” Henry said.
Henry further explains how he recently lost someone he loved. Which really effected him in his baseball, school work and social life. One episode in the series helped him cope with it which was the season 3 finale, “Queen Wasp.” In the episode, the guardian of the miraculous had to give up his guardianship in order to save the magical jewels which are called miraculous this gives the two characters in the show their powers.
In the event of doing that he passes down the guardianship to Marinette, the main character of the series. This caused him to lose his memory of ever becoming a guardian in order to keep the secret of the Miraculous safe. Henry took it as a lesson about loss and how to move on from it.
“I see it as the show saying even though that person is gone you can still carry on their legacy no matter what,” Henry said.
Shows like “Miraculous” aim for a different approach than most children’s cartoons. It gives fast-paced action but the storytelling takes its time to progress through each season. Henry said that he loves this cartoon just for the reason because it’s able to tell a story and teach lessons in a natural way. He also likes Pixar and Disney for that reason because they are able to realize animated movies that don’t feel like they’re pandering but actually teach lessons and adult themes in a mature way.
