For those of you unaware of him, Jonathan Rozanski— aka The Mysterious Mr. Enter— is a semi-famous YouTuber known mainly for his reviews of animated TV shows and movies, as well as for making inflammatory statements seemingly at the drop of a hat. He also, however, claims that he wishes to become an animator himself, but if Growing Around, his prospective animated TV series, is any indication, he has quite a ways to go before that can be accomplished.
We are told that Growing Around is intended as a comedy cartoon for children ages 7-12; in other words, the sort of thing that would air on Cartoon Network, the Disney Channel, or Nickelodeon. Yet the setting and the tone imply something altogether different. The premise tells us of a world where children and adults fill the opposite roles of what they do in real life, while still aging as they normally do. There is, to be sure, some good comedy to be had from this scenario, but Growing Around seems afraid to engage in it. Most of the episode scripts, which were available to read on Mr. Enter's DeviantArt account before he deleted it, are little more than rehashes of stories that have been done before and better by other cartoons. The same is true of the character designs. Sally, the protagonist, bears an uncanny resemblance to Mabel from Gravity Falls, for example.
Speaking of the characters, none of them are relatable to a child audience. While I do believe that the concept of animated series needing a "child entry point" is flawed, I also struggle to see what any child would find appealing about Growing Around. The setting presents a world where one's rights as an independent person are lost as one grows older, such that adults are treated as children by their own children.
The way the child characters themselves behave suggests to me that Mr. Enter's only knowledge of children comes from watching them on cartoons. They indulge in every imaginable stereotype one might have of kids. While this can work (Codename: Kids Next Door, for example) it's usually done with a hint of irony or self-awareness, especially since the shows are being made for children. In Growing Around, all of it is taken at face value, so once again, a potential source of comedy is nipped in the bud.
If Growing Around were merely inept, it would be one thing. But between the constant on-screen degradation of the parent characters, the idea of adults who are treated like children and do not have to work, and the existence of a "prison camp" for adults who misbehave, I get the impression that it is really no more than a revenge fantasy for Mr. Enter with regards to his own parents, who he claims abused him. In this respect, it is perhaps not so different from Christine Weston Chandler's Sonichu, and has approximately the same chances of becoming a success.
WebOriginal A Dark and Terrifying Look at Mr. Enter's Ego
For those of you unaware of him, Jonathan Rozanski— aka The Mysterious Mr. Enter— is a semi-famous YouTuber known mainly for his reviews of animated TV shows and movies, as well as for making inflammatory statements seemingly at the drop of a hat. He also, however, claims that he wishes to become an animator himself, but if Growing Around, his prospective animated TV series, is any indication, he has quite a ways to go before that can be accomplished.
We are told that Growing Around is intended as a comedy cartoon for children ages 7-12; in other words, the sort of thing that would air on Cartoon Network, the Disney Channel, or Nickelodeon. Yet the setting and the tone imply something altogether different. The premise tells us of a world where children and adults fill the opposite roles of what they do in real life, while still aging as they normally do. There is, to be sure, some good comedy to be had from this scenario, but Growing Around seems afraid to engage in it. Most of the episode scripts, which were available to read on Mr. Enter's DeviantArt account before he deleted it, are little more than rehashes of stories that have been done before and better by other cartoons. The same is true of the character designs. Sally, the protagonist, bears an uncanny resemblance to Mabel from Gravity Falls, for example.
Speaking of the characters, none of them are relatable to a child audience. While I do believe that the concept of animated series needing a "child entry point" is flawed, I also struggle to see what any child would find appealing about Growing Around. The setting presents a world where one's rights as an independent person are lost as one grows older, such that adults are treated as children by their own children.
The way the child characters themselves behave suggests to me that Mr. Enter's only knowledge of children comes from watching them on cartoons. They indulge in every imaginable stereotype one might have of kids. While this can work (Codename: Kids Next Door, for example) it's usually done with a hint of irony or self-awareness, especially since the shows are being made for children. In Growing Around, all of it is taken at face value, so once again, a potential source of comedy is nipped in the bud.
If Growing Around were merely inept, it would be one thing. But between the constant on-screen degradation of the parent characters, the idea of adults who are treated like children and do not have to work, and the existence of a "prison camp" for adults who misbehave, I get the impression that it is really no more than a revenge fantasy for Mr. Enter with regards to his own parents, who he claims abused him. In this respect, it is perhaps not so different from Christine Weston Chandler's Sonichu, and has approximately the same chances of becoming a success.