Angelina ballerina is a good kids' show. It's not obnoxious like the stuff of Cartoon Network right now. The characters are forgettable, but so are thousands of others in even adult and teenage-oriented works. Angelina is a little bit well-articulated for a girl her age, but a little kid not freezing up when asked a question is not an element of reality I want recreated. The animation is well done and the characters are visually appealing; who knew that rats could look clean and well-dressed? The dancing movements are beautiful; kudos to the people who plan out routines for the characters, as well as the CGI artists who have their human body proportions down spot-on.
But there is one thing that makes me feel sad about this show. Angelina will never achieve her dreams. She will forever remains a little kid, never to grow up. I know the reasons why the suits like it that way, but the lack of continuity (and thus the chance of Angelina growing up to be a real, adult ballerina) has always been a troubling thing to me.
I consider lack of continuity to be a monster to fictional characters. It robs them of their achievements and robs me of emotion. To name one example, when the Simpsons save their entire town (and everyone knows it) in their own movie, it's meaningless when the continuation of the television show shows they're not being hailed as heroes all time the time. And by extension, if saving thousands of lives doesn't have any meaning, why should I care or invest my time in the show?
Killing off their friends and destroying their homes is tragic for any fictional character, but the worst thing any creator can do is imprison their creations in the purgatory of "Groundhog Day" Loop just so you can keep the show going. I understand that averting Continuity Lockout (or if the writers just like writing short stories rather than a huge Myth Arc) is a positive, but there are few greater tragedies other than the poor man who wins the lottery remaining poor even if he saved his money, the fact that the enemy that was finally killed or captured will be alive and free, the skill that was learned will be forgotten, and the lesson that was taught will slip away from the mind as well, all for no reason.
The choice to have it take place in a realm of cosmic meaninglessness is troubling, but it's still a good show.
Good, but Tragic, although not in the way you would think
Angelina ballerina is a good kids' show. It's not obnoxious like the stuff of Cartoon Network right now. The characters are forgettable, but so are thousands of others in even adult and teenage-oriented works. Angelina is a little bit well-articulated for a girl her age, but a little kid not freezing up when asked a question is not an element of reality I want recreated. The animation is well done and the characters are visually appealing; who knew that rats could look clean and well-dressed? The dancing movements are beautiful; kudos to the people who plan out routines for the characters, as well as the CGI artists who have their human body proportions down spot-on.
But there is one thing that makes me feel sad about this show. Angelina will never achieve her dreams. She will forever remains a little kid, never to grow up. I know the reasons why the suits like it that way, but the lack of continuity (and thus the chance of Angelina growing up to be a real, adult ballerina) has always been a troubling thing to me.
I consider lack of continuity to be a monster to fictional characters. It robs them of their achievements and robs me of emotion. To name one example, when the Simpsons save their entire town (and everyone knows it) in their own movie, it's meaningless when the continuation of the television show shows they're not being hailed as heroes all time the time. And by extension, if saving thousands of lives doesn't have any meaning, why should I care or invest my time in the show?
Killing off their friends and destroying their homes is tragic for any fictional character, but the worst thing any creator can do is imprison their creations in the purgatory of "Groundhog Day" Loop just so you can keep the show going. I understand that averting Continuity Lockout (or if the writers just like writing short stories rather than a huge Myth Arc) is a positive, but there are few greater tragedies other than the poor man who wins the lottery remaining poor even if he saved his money, the fact that the enemy that was finally killed or captured will be alive and free, the skill that was learned will be forgotten, and the lesson that was taught will slip away from the mind as well, all for no reason.
The choice to have it take place in a realm of cosmic meaninglessness is troubling, but it's still a good show.