#i know these things don't have the greatest support network behind them but still :

[wild-at-mind]

Also now I'm feeling really shit about not getting to anything for trans day of remembrance this year.

[carlasarmentoassignment]

First things first.

I know, not a very creative name for a blog, but I've been in real deal pain in the past days for being an adult with poor decisions (poor diet, tons of coffee and gastric bypass, results are shocking), and not a native english speaker make creativity not being my forte.

So, Cartoon Network was always great in encouraging new shows and productions, originals. Back in the day, they used to have this segment called Cartoon Cartoons, that was basically one short episode of a new show, about 10 minutes, and depending how the audience responded to it, they started to invest in the new production. The greatest success of Cartoon Network came from this place, such as Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed, Edd n Eddy, tons of others productions, and my favorite Cow and Chicken. Sure, as a cartoon freak, I love all (not Johnny Bravo as much), but something about the nonsense, reference to old cartoons, kept me glazed.

Cow and Chicken (1997-1999, Hanna-Barbera & Cartoon Network)

Cow and Chicken was a show created by David Fess in 1997 to 1999, with 52 episodes in 4 seasons, Fess is well known for his taste for the nonsense because of other productions that he also participated in, such as Ren & Stimpy.

An 11 year old skinny and tiny chicken, named Chicken is the older brother of Cow, an 7 year old cow over 400 pounds, with "human" parents, living in some suburbia, attending to school as normal kids, but problems finds them through the Red Guy, comical version of the Devil, who has the main focus to drag the siblings to hell, when he remember how. Chicken always tries to protect his sister, not that he wants that, but it's his sister, and usually she ends up saving the day, turning herself to super Cow, a heroine. The support characters are an extra spice to this madness: Mom and Dad, that always said delusional things, and never show anything waist up, only waist down, just like in Tom and Jerry, where the humans never showed waist up, but in one episode we find out that they don't show waist up, because they don't have anything else, no torso, no arms, no faces! Flem and Earl are Chicken's best friends, and both are in love with Cow. Cow's secret identity, super Cow, is a super heroine who is always saving the day, and she is very inspired in Mexican wrestling, she even speaks spanish! And we finally get to Weasel and I.R. Baboon that runs a spinoff in the middle.

By this premisse, we notice that this is not a regular kids show, and maybe that's the reason why it dazzled me in the first place. Not silly situations with the intent of having a great lesson by the end. It's a different kind of comedy, made to amuse, creating ridiculous situations, with real human emotions that are not so noble, such as anger, envy, hate, etc. This show was my first time experiencing that a cartoon doesn't need to be just for kids, it could be anything themed, any age and kinds of audience. Unlimited possibilities!

The Simpsons (1989 - , Fox/Disney)

The American dream! The stereotype of the perfect north american family living in the USA, with a not so perfect life, with not so perfect dreams and desires. The Simpsons is one of the longest TV Shows ever, with more than 30 seasons and still running, it shows us that a good thing, well thinked, well executed can last forever (or almost). This show tells us a story about Marge, Homer, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson, a typical American family, with mess, fights and love. The geniality behind their script is Matt Groening, who was able to run a Comedy TV show that could fit to all ages audiences, with sutil jokes that adults understand and are still fitable to children (with supervision) to watch, because there is no explicit content. It's all about the acuteness, the sutil art of not making everything so clear, and embracing the flaws of being human.

Steven Universe ( 2013-2019, Cartoon Network)

Who would tell, another Cartoon Network production! Created by Rebecca Sugar, Steven Universe is one of those shows that never is enough, and that great things have to end. The premisse is about Steven, a 10 year-old boy raised by 3 women "friends/sisters" with his mother, who died giving him birth. She and her friends are aliens, and as an alien she becomes part of him, half human, half alien. In this context, Steven starts to find out about his mom's past, things that she did, and in the meanwhile, learns how to control his powers and save the earth. Despite it looks like a classic script of the hero's journey, this cartoon goes way deep in emotions, with emotional conflicts, dealing with complex feelings that all of the characters feel and have in this amazing show, enlightening things like feminism, transexuality, different kinds of love, mindfulness, and etc. Along with that, Sugar also writes and produces most of the songs in the show, it's a very musical inclined show, she even sings the end song of the episodes. Add with a stunning aesthetic, that gives this cartoon a very sutil, magical, sensible and still very strong atmosphere. One of my favorite shows of all time. I'm not a person who cries with shows and movies, but this makes some tears drop a few times. 

As you can noticed in the above lines, a good script, unlimited possibilities and aesthetics that can change completely are the most fascinating things for me in the 2D animation world.