In my opinion, millennials grew up with the best cartoons. We had the classics such as Hey Arnold, Dexters Laboratory, and Johnny Bravo. Not only did these shows entertain us, they taught us well. There are many great lessons that we unconsciously learned from these cartoons.
SpongeBob SquarePants
Every episode of SpongeBob Squarepants is an adventure following one of the main characters. In these adventures, or misadventures, there’s always a lesson to be learned. One of the themes that carries over through many episodes, is Squidward’s attitude. He always seems like he’s bothered by everyone and everything, especially SpongeBob. By observing Squidward, we see that he’s usually a negative, pessimistic person. Watching this show has taught us to be more like SpongeBob; positive, willing, and optimistic. Even though Spongebob has hard times, and fails more than succeeds, he never gives up and stays positive.
Courage The Cowardly Dog
How did this show even get a green light? I mean, a horror show for kids? This show gave me the creeps, but was also one of my favorite cartoons. The show follows a dog, Courage, and his family in the middle of nowhere. Strange and scary things happen around the house and to the family members causing terrifying chaos every episode. Unfortunately, when things go wrong, Courage is always the one that has to fix these problems. We learned from Courage to be brave, and fearless. No matter how scared Courage was, he had to make a move. We learned that even though we may get scared, we must be brave and take action when necessary. We have to have Courage, just like The Cowardly Dog.
The Fairly Odd Parents
The Fairly Odd Parents was also one of my favorite shows. Being an only child, I related to the main character, Timmy Turner. As a child, I wished I had my own Fairly Odd Parents. Unfortunately, I never was granted my wish. Furthermore, what we learned from The Fairly Odd Parents was, unironically, to be careful what you wish for. Timmy Turner would always create more problems by casting wishes, instead of fixing them himself. We learned from Timmy’s mistakes, to manage our own problems. Part of growing up is understanding that we can’t wish our problems away.
