Kids TV Shows: The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy
“Happy-go-lucky Billy and cynical Mandy become best friends with the Grim Reaper after winning and otherworldly limbo contest against the Messenger of Death”. A cartoon ensues.
Main Characters:
Billy is basically a fool. As cartoon network puts it, he “can be happy no matter where he is”. In other words, he is completely oblivious.
Mandy is mean, or as Cartoon Network puts it, “She is not afraid to share her opinion and usually gets what she wants through the sheer force of her will.” Yes, she is a bully.
The Grim Reaper, well, just is. Described as “A distinguished skeletal fellow with a Caribbean lilt to his voice, (whose) previous job was to collect and deliver spirits to the underworld”.
Nergal, is Satan fixed up for kids. “A sinister creature who was banished to the center of the Earth long ago.” Sounds like anyone you know.
Other characters include Irwin, Billy’s best friend and Hoss Delgado, who cleans up the messes of this motley crew.
My observations:
I find this cartoon disturbing, but like a train wreck, I also find myself unable to look away. Why cartoon network chose to have the messenger of death and Satan as integral characters in a cartoon, I have no idea, but this cartoon is the type of stuff nightmares are made of.
Worst episodes:
Episodes include playing a game for the soul of a sick hamster, a headless prankster named Jack steals Grim’s scythe to take over the world with his demons, and an especially disturbing episode where Billy decides to sell mail order chocolate, eats it all, turns into chocolate, and eats himself.
Recommendations:
Not recommended for kids under 10, unless of course, you like sharing your bed with wriggly short people. Children over should be aware of what they are watching and what the characters represent. Parents who let their kids of any age watch this show needs to discuss the absurdities and underlying meanings in the show. However, I do would not recommend this cartoon to anyone for entertainment value
