Best Cartoons to Watch While Social Distancing
Editor: Anita Newkirk Hackney
Cartoons are an escape from the harsh reality of Covid-19 while people are social distancing. So, why not re-forge a bond with cartoons? Cartoons like Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Owl House and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are good shows for viewers of all ages to watch. Cartoon shows are aesthetically pleasing and are good teaching tools for children to understand and learn about diversity and gender equality.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a 2005 cartoon from Nickelodeon about a world divided into four separate nations. Each nation is divided and represented by one of the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. These nations have the ability to control and manipulate one element. For instance, people from the Water Tribe can bend water while the other nations have a different bending ability. Only the Avatar is the master of all four elements.
The Fire Nation wants to control the world; and only the Avatar has the ability to stop them, but that pillar of power has disappeared. Two Water Tribe civilians find the long-lost Avatar and go on a journey to safeguard the Avatar as he learns to master the elements and then defeat the Fire Nation once and for all.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is a reboot of the 1980’s series of She-Ra. A magic sword transforms an orphan into She-Ra, the warrior princess, who unites a rebellion against Hordak and his Horde army. As She-Ra, Adora leads the princesses of power to defeat the Horde for the good of the nation, while facing her old friends along the way.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2012 cartoon from Nickelodeon about Master Splinter and four teenage mutant ninja turtles named Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. In this newer remake of the popular cartoon, Master Splinter allows the Turtles to visit the surface for the first time, where they learn teamwork and uncover the mysteries of their existence.
The Owl House
The Owl House is about a self-assured teenager named Luz Noceda who stumbles upon a portal to a magical realm known as the Boiling Isles. There she befriends the rebellious witch, Edalyn Clawthorne and King. Despite not having magical abilities, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch as Eda’s apprentice. During her magical training, she faces difficult challenges that no human has ever gone through before.
Cartoons like these have become a much-needed diversion as Covid-19 affects the world. Children and adults can escape the fear-gripping reality during these trying times of avoiding the pandemic like the plague. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and The Owl House have changed the voice of DreamWorks and Disney cartoons as the public knows it. These well-known cartoon networks are creating a more diverse way for children to accept one another for their creative differences and to accept people for who they are. These shows are transcending the social norms of television as a whole teaching child to accept people of different races and sexual orientations.
