Cartoons Can Change Lives
5 cartoons with powerful life lessons for creatives
Happy Monday, y’all!
OBA’s founder and boss-man, , is on vacation this week—the first one he’s been able to take in YEARS. He works so hard and always takes care of his other team members first, so let’s all give him a round of applause for spending time to refresh his own mental space! We all need to give ourselves permission to take a break when needed, and we appreciate him leading by example.
Meanwhile, and I are chatting about cartoons! The medium of animation is a much higher art form than the general public gives credit for. Presented as evidence today, we have 5 examples of cartoons that changed the lives of countless humans—ourselves included.
Cheers,
Ceylan (OBA Studios editor-in-chief)
You have a story to tell and we want to share it.
5 Lessons for Creatives I Learned from Cartoons
This list could go on forever, which is a bonus lesson: art has so much wisdom to pass on to us, and art is always made by people just like you. So, today, there’s only five lessons to think about that come from cartoon shows. These are creeds, philosophies, and proverbs that can help every creative get through their daily hardships and offer guidance.
“Be Strong Enough to be Gentle.”
Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, the heroic leader of the noble Autobots in the Transformers franchise for forty years (!), credits his elder brother, Larry, a marine veteran of the Vietnam War, for inspiring the voice of his iconic character. Upon hearing that his brother was auditioning for the voice of a “hero truck,” Larry said seriously, “Peter, if you’re going to be a hero, be a real hero. Don’t go yelling and screaming and pretending you’re a tough guy. Be strong enough to be gentle.” Taking this advice, Peter Cullen would embed the tall and mighty Optimus with a humility, sturdiness, and gentility that has made the character a hero for generations of fans. Prime became known not as a brutal, harsh, or insincere boss but a leader whose strength comes from his vulnerabilities, kindness, and belief in others.
We do not need to be larger-than-life, nigh invincible, nor overpowering leaders or creatives to be strong and successful. Greater, this kind of gentleness can bring real good into this world. According to the stories from fans and industry professionals over many decades, Cullen and other actors who followed the advice to be strong by being gentle, such as Kevin Conroy when he played Batman for 30 years, embodied the best of their most famous roles, illustrating their great ability to be strong through their gentleness and, thus, changed millions upon millions of lives. We must also share that tenderness with ourselves.
Personally speaking, I too often measure my strength by Herculean standards of success in my work, and judge that, if I don’t complete every challenge with maximum ease and efficiency, then I am an abject failure who can do nothing good for anyone. Lately, I have been trying to be kinder to myself and present myself to fellow workers, friends, and strangers as an ordinary man–which I am–they can trust and believe in through his gentility, not supposed might. I have already seen better and more joyful results in my life.
Be strong enough to be gentle to others and yourself, and you can be a creative who will make a difference.
Never Take Yourself Too Seriously.
We animation nuts love to talk thematic treatises on the ignored magnificence of cartoons because, traditionally speaking, these shows have been, and continue to be, unfairly disregarded as dumb kids’ stuff by adults who do not care about the medium in the first place. Without a doubt, all animation deserves far more respect and admiration from general audiences and high-brow critics. Yet, spectacularly, there are still many cartoons that keep one of the medium’s original missions alive and well: to make people laugh.
The looney antics of Freakazoid. The timeless mischief of the Animaniacs. The quotable silliness of The Simpsons. The innocent hilarity of Craig of the Creek. The raunchy comedy of Archer. The funny positivity of We Bare Bears. The childish insanity of The Amazing World of Gumball. The memorable charms of Kim Possible. The absurd laughs of Spongebob Squarepants. The comical purity of Bluey. Cartoons like these do not strictly set out to tell epic adventures, hard-hitting truths, or challenge preconceptions of what animation can do. Instead, they exist primarily to make audiences laugh, forget their worries for 22 minutes, and have a good time. Yet therein lies their affecting and staying power. Cartoons, as much as dramatic animated series, have changed the lives of generations of viewers.
Now: always take yourself seriously as a creative, period. Also, if your work takes you down darker paths of the human spirit, keep on keeping on. Be who you truly are. Yet, along the way, do not forget to laugh. From time to time, let out a bellyaching laugh that does not mock you or your work but celebrates life’s wonderful–if sometimes a little intense–comedy. Like how writer Harlan Ellison described his work not as a clandestine exclusivity but as a practical service to humankind, know with pride what your work really is: public charity, a duty. Take comfort knowing you are creating and, so, have a pretty awesome job. Remember that creativity is hard, noble work of the imagination, so enjoy yourself and take a positive (not cruel) joke, because, as simple cartoons constantly prove, laughter and silliness can truly save us.
Animation, like all other artistic mediums, can be both a startling reflection of the real world’s terror–AND fun. So, do not take yourself too seriously. Silliness might just be the way out of a messy situation or be what another person needs from you to save the day.
You Can’t Go Back Home (Because Home is Ahead).
What, you thought I was going to discuss cartoons and not talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender, my all-time favorite show and one of the all-time greatest stories ever told? During my university years, I actually considered becoming an Avatar scholar akin to real-life Tolkien scholars. I could literally write a book on this magnificent fantasy epic, but, for now, I will share perhaps the most personal lesson of this story.
In short, Avatar takes place in a high fantasy world torn apart by a hundred-year war, where the Fire Nation has long since become a fascistic empire hellbent on conquering the world. They rage endless war against the Earth Kingdom, have brought the Water Tribe to the brink of destruction, and have wiped out the Air Nomads. The central characters, each from one of these four nations, inherit this apocalyptic existence.
They grieve parents and loved ones lost to war; suffer abusive parents by vindictive brutality or stubborn ignorance; above all–metaphorically or literally–they each search for ways back to their homes. The main cast yearns for the places they remember, where their mothers held them lovingly in their arms, their fathers were always there for them, and their houses were filled with joy. Indeed, at the start of the epic, the characters cannot let go of this longing, this desperate need, to return to the place where things make sense again.
Tragically, Avatar tells the truth. The sad reality is that none of them have homes to go back to. Dead loved ones will never return. Lost time will never be regained. War’s scars cannot be fully healed, and the world it killed will remain gone forever. The ideal home they lost cannot be found. All the characters have left now is the world they live in . . .
. . . and the future. Gracefully, Avatar tells the truth. None of the cast can go back home, but they can find a new home. They explore the world beyond their abodes; make new friends; learn new things; reunite with the living they have lost; face past traumas; find love again. They come to accept they cannot go back to the way things were and should be, but they CAN find and build a whole new, better place for their bodies and minds. In time, the cast have the chance to find new ideas of a home to call their own, filled with their own happiness, serenity, and hope.
Never stop believing you will find your better place as a creative. Yes, that innocence you may long for will probably never be returned to. Maybe that new home of yours is not exactly the way you imagined. Perhaps the success you deserve and want to feel whole again will never come your way. But there is a better place waiting for you–ahead of you–and you will find your way. As long as you keep fighting, keep going, keep working, and keep trying, you will find love again–whatever “love” means to you. You can always find another home.
Try New Things, Even If You Think You Won’t Like Them.
Sometimes I look back on who I used to be and do not get me one bit. Ask anyone who knew me as a kid, and they will tell you I was a scaredy cat. I approached anything scary with caution, understanding that anything that could frighten me was my enemy. But, boy, every Halloween I love seeing Ghost Face from Scream wandering the neighborhood streets. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh episode, “Cleanliness is Next to Impossible”, was pretty freaky and gross but was my absolute favorite in the series. Speaking of disgusting, I was taught by the adults of my childhood to disdain such uncouth media, and I followed their orders mindlessly. So, until I was a teenager, I tended to avoid anything that would make me feel uncomfortable.
But, in 10th grade, I discovered the cult cartoon, Invader ZIM. About 30 seconds of any episode of this show will tell you exactly what you are in for: a dark sci-fi comedy with plenty of satire, absurdities, gross-out humor, awkward jokes, and a thread of naughty, antagonistic intent. In the infamous episode, “Dark Harvest”, the titular alien steals organs from every child at his school, stuffing the parts inside him to be scanned as a human. Another episode has the robot, GIR, grotesquely eating a bubble-gum chocolate milk shake. None of the characters are designed to look pleasant, and most of them are vaguely unlikeable. There is a hint of grime and uncleanliness to almost everything in this almost dystopian, moronic world.
Invader ZIM was everything I did not like about cartoons, and I absolutely fell in love with this show! There was a twistedness to the series that was creative, playful, wonderfully strange, and downright hilarious. I had never embraced a cartoon like this one before, and I was rewarded by learning about a whole new side of the world–and me. My continuing fandom of Invader ZIM sent me on a path to try things I thought I would never like, such as the Alien series and the Aunty Donna comedy troupe. I even learned to accept I was a genuine fan of Tim Burton’s films. Ever since, I have longed to create a project as uncommon as Invader ZIM. Thanks to giving this cartoon a chance, I learned I was, happily, weirder than I thought.
You do not have to like everything you try, nor do you need to try everything. You know your limitations and gauge your capabilities of interest when something novel comes your way. One does not have to be daring to be adventurous. However, especially as a creative, always keep curiosity with you wherever you go to discover that which would remain unknown if you believe there is no learning to be had off the beaten path of life.
You never know what you may gain–like a new favorite cartoon–or what avenues of creativity you can and may want to take. Inspiration can be found all around you.
Believe in Your Qualities.
In the comedy series, Bob’s Burgers, Bob Belcher, a husband and dad of three, lives a stable but pretty troubled life. As the primary cook, he runs the titular restaurant with his loving family that is successful but never enough to make money problems go away. He is constantly anxious and always has to work hard to maintain this dream of his, not to mention providing for his family. There is always a misadventure the Belchers get involved in which often leaves Bob at the butt end of some joke. He has never been popular or highly respected, and there are plenty of “enemies” who keep pestering him.
In the show’s first episode, Bob, to a mirror, sums himself up as such: “You’re a failure. You failed. You fail at everything. You fail at marriage. You fail at family. Your kids are failures. And you’re fat. You’re not attractive. You never were. Well, you were a little bit, when you were a teenager, but then you got fat.” We’ve all been there, however true or false the statements are.
Yet there is one brilliant consistency through the show’s ongoing run for thirteen years: Bob is a master cook. Every single character, whether friendly or antagonistic, who eats one of his hamburgers cannot help but let out a sound of utter delight at his culinary creation. Sometimes Bob struggles to create the burger he wants, at one point even forgetting how to make one at all thanks to a case of overthinking. But, no matter how he gets there, Bob always makes an original masterpiece of a hamburger–which just so happens to keep his restaurant open, too. Regardless of what Bob may think of himself, he never once criticizes his ability to cook. He may think of himself as a failure, but he knows he is a genius cook, and never says otherwise.
Struggling with doubt, anxiety, discouragement, hopelessness, and frustrations is totally okay, and certainly to be expected as a creative. You do not lose anything calling yourself a failure from time to time. But–and especially if you have made it this far in your career–you must always remember that you are good at one thing, at least. Something no one else can do quite like you. You are probably good at many things. Just like Bob, despite his comments, is, in fact, quite a great husband and father. Never sell yourself short nor dismiss your qualities. Be proud of the skills, talents, practice, experience, and qualities you have and bring to each creative project. Acknowledge them and let others know about them, too.
Trust me, if you had absolutely no artistic merit, you would not be reading these words. Believe in your qualities, and others will follow.
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