Do you remember that sweet pastoral feeling of waking up on a Saturday morning to watch your favorite cartoons with a fresh bowl of cereal? The brightly colored characters dancing across the screen while you smile along with the cheerful theme songs.

     As we get older, many of us turn to different new forms of entertainment outside of our childish realm of the Saturday morning cartoon to more mature programs. However, I have never given up my cartoon watching ways and find myself waking up extra early before school to watch my beloved cartoons. I have found that they give me something nice to look forward to in the morning and help me de-stress before I start my day. I can’t help but feel that my simple love of all things cartoon is more than that of the average teen.

     Though I am not ashamed of my inclination towards these bouncy, effervescent programs, I wanted to know if other students felt the same way. Most of us grew up with cartoons. We have our favorite theme songs, characters, episodes, and quotes. But have most students moved on from our animated amigos to something more refined? I set out to find out how the community felt about cartoons and whether or not high schoolers still indulged in them. 95% of students surveyed had grown up watching cartoons as a child, but only around 57% of these students still watched cartoons today. 76% of students also say that they have or have had a favorite cartoon.

     Of the favorites, the cartoon listed most often was a classic, Tom & Jerry. While many students have moved on from watching cartoons today, they still had found things to say about how they have made them feel over the years. Almost all the students surveyed had nothing but positive things to say about cartoons and how they make them feel. Cartoons bring us the sweet feeling of classic nostalgia and a simpler time where all we worried about was whether or not Ed, Edd and Eddy would ever get a jawbreaker.

    These cartoons can allow us to look back on tough times and happy times through animation. Cartoons give us this power to reflect on where we are now and where we were then. Cartoons also provide us a release from reality. The fantastical settings and bizarre situations can really help pull us out of our world and into another that is much louder and more colorful. Cartoons have the ability to distract us in a positive and eccentric way which can bring relief to our own hectic lives. The world of animation is absolutely boundless. In cartoons, anything goes, allowing us to meet and learn about characters and places that cannot be replicated in real life. Cartoons when it comes down to it, is an art form that just happens to be appreciated primarily by children. But can you ever really be too old for cartoons? Never. Cartoons today have expanded their audiences, allowing parents to watch shows with their kids that they actually enjoy. There has also been a significant increase in interest of adult cartoon programs with success in shows such as Rick & Morty, South Park, Bojack Horseman, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers.

     Most cartoon shows are also short making them a convenient show to go to when you need a bit of a brain break. Cartoons are easy to enjoy whether you are 5 years old, 15 years old or 50 years old! Cartoons provide us a quick escape from our world into one that holds excitement, zany characters and outlandish predicaments that we could never imagine but relate to. You can never outgrow characters and cartoons because they have grown with us. So the next time you hear, “Are YOU ready, kids!?”, I hope you respond with a rousing, “AYE, AYE CAPTAIN!”.

Written By Jade Howe