SeedSing Classic: Where the Hell are the Responsible Adults on "PJ Masks"?

Next season on PJ Masks, the police will lock up all the adults

SeedSing classic is a look back at our most influential articles. These pieces have been presented in their original form. No Star Warsesque special editions. Enjoy

Having children means having to watch shows you don't care for. I've watched stuff like "Doc McStuffins", "Team Umizoomi", "Handy Manny" and "The Octonauts". These shows I do not care for. They're boring and loud and dull. I've also seen stuff like "Wally Kazaam" and "Yo Gabba Gabba". I really like these shows. "Yo Gabba Gabba" has cool music and cool guests and there's always a good lesson. "Wally Kazaam" may be the most clever and best written children's show I've ever seen. There's been some jokes that have made me legitimately laugh out loud. "Wally Kazaam" is my favorite show that my son has watched.

Lately my son has been watching a show called "PJ Masks". This show is fine. It's not good, but it's not that bad. The show follows three young children that, at nighttime, become superheroes when they put their pajamas on. Sounds pretty cute, right? That's what I thought when I first saw this show, but then I actually sat down and paid attention to what was going on and I've got to say, the negligence of the parents on "PJ Masks" is downright criminal. I'd venture to say that they are worse parents than the parents from "Charlie Brown".

First things first, at least the parents in "Charlie Brown" are present. Sure, we can't understand what they are saying and the kids never take their advice, but we know that they are there. The parents in "PJ Masks" are non existent. And, when there is an adult around, they just leave when the situation turns sour. I'll tell you about a recent episode that had this happen. The kids were just regular kids and they were about to watch a puppet show. The puppet master, apparently one of their teachers, shows up and sees that the puppets are missing. All he says is, "My puppets are gone. I guess there will be no show today" and then he just leaves. Doesn't investigate the problem, doesn't tell the children he will be right back, in fact he doesn't tell the children anything except that the show is cancelled, and he just leaves, never to be seen or heard from again. That's insane! He's an adult and he just lets the kids deal with this problem on their own! WTF!

This leads me to my main problem with the parents of the three main kids. These children, maybe 7 or 8 years old, are allowed to leave their houses in the middle of the night and go fight crimes. The parents have no say and just let this happen. Where on Earth is this ever a good idea? Why would you let a child go out into the streets in the middle of the night. That is the whole point of the show. These kids turn into superheroes when they go to bed and put their PJ's on. I say again, this is insane! And the parents just let them go, I DON"T GET IT!

You are all probably asking the names of the three main kids, so I'll tell you. You have Owlette the girl, Gekko the shy one and Catboy the athlete. They fight villains, yes this show has children as super smart villains, Romeo, Luna Girl, Night Ninja and the Ninjalenos. It's so surreal. One saving grace, you never see actual fighting. They have races and they play party games and they use gadgets, but they never actually fight. I guess the parents at least gave them the proper rules that fighting is wrong. But, that doesn't excuse the fact that these kids are out in the middle of the night. Also, where are the police in this town and why aren't they doing anything about this? Now, I'm upset at not only the parents, but all the adults in the "PJ Masks" universe. Why do you all let children decide what to do? I'm all for letting kids figure things out for themselves, but there's a time and a place for that and it's not after midnight. I just don't get why there are no rules for these kids.

Also, what kind of parents do Romeo, Luna Girl, Night Ninja and the Ninjalenos have that these kids are super villains? Romeo is some kind of tech genius, but he hates the PJ Masks, and I mean hates the PJ Masks. He is some kind of tech wizard, going so far as stealing their voices in one episode. Are his parents some kind of tech wizards? If so, at least they taught him how to use technology, but he uses it for evil. How messed up is that?! Luna Girl just wants to stop the PJ Masks from having fun. That's straight up mean. She is the definition of a "mean girl", but she too is a child. Why does she have all this hate in her tiny soul? Night Ninja is a spoiled baby and he has the Ninjalenos answer his every beck and call. Why is he so spoiled and how did he train four little kids to be his helpers? What kind of family do these kids come from?

I guess, overall, I'm just disappointed in the adults in this world. I know, it's a children's show, it's a cartoon, it's fantasy, but my brain won't allow me to look at it that way. I want to know why the adults aren't involved at all. At least in "Charlie Brown" and "The Simpsons" the parents are there. They may not be the best people in the world, but they are there and that's more than I can say for the adults and parents in "PJ Masks". I'm sure this show will fade much like all the other shows my son watches, but I will still wonder, long after he stops watching, why weren't the grown ups more involved? What were they doing and why was that more important than making sure their kids were in their beds like they should be? I'm sure I'll never know, but I know that it will haunt me for the rest of my days. Shame on you adults in the "PJ Masks" universe. Take more interest in your children and maybe they won't go out in the middle of the night and argue about cake and toys and balloons. Get off your cell phones and take the time to get to know your kids.

You sicken me.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He thinks judging others is easy, and fun too. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

You and Your Kids Should watch "Wally Kazaam"

No invaders, no dragons, no trolls. No I'm serious, those things terrify me

I've noticed recently that my blog I did on the children's show "PJ Masks" has been getting read a lot and there has even been some comments. There's one good one, but for the most part, people seem to think that I don't have an imagination. While that may be true when it comes to "PJ Masks", I mean, why are there no parents involved anywhere, It's insane, but, I do like a couple of shows that my four year old watches. I loved "Yo Gabba Gabba". I thought that show was super weird and really cool. I loved the lessons it taught and I thoroughly enjoyed all the musicians and bands that would make guest appearances. I also like older kids shows like "Sesame Street". Basically, I like shows that teach children some kind of practical skill that they will need when they start school. All "PJ Masks" teaches is to not go against your friends wishes. It's a veiled, and very poor attempt at lesson learning if you ask me. That show is lazy.

There is one children's show that I want to point out, that my four year old still watches and loves, that I too love, "Wally Kazaam". "Wally Kazaam" has about one thousand times more imagination than any episode of "PJ Masks", and they teach your children how to sound out letters and, eventually, how to spell. From watching "Wally Kazaam", my son knows the sound to every letter in the alphabet and he is even in the very early stages of spelling. He can spell his name, and with a little help, he can spell easy words like cat and dog. Some of that has come from my wife and I helping him and some has come from school, but a lot of it has come from "Wally Kazaam". My son gets amped when he hears the theme song for the show, and I do to. I know that both him and I are going to enjoy ourselves for the next 25 minutes, much more so than an episode of "PJ Masks". Where my son likes the colors and the animation and the goofy way the characters talk, I enjoy the joke writing and the story telling on the show.

First of all, we know we are in a fantasy world the moment the show opens on a troll finding a magical stick that helps him spell. "Wally Kazaam" doesn't try to hide that it's a possible real world situation, the kids are supposed to be real kids on "PJ Masks", they are openly letting you know that this is a cartoon. The main character is Wally Trollman, the troll with the magic stick that helps them spell and get out of sticky situations. But, we also get some great tertiary characters. Characters like Norvel, Wally's pet dinosaur. There's also Gina Giant, Wally's friend that is literally a giant, and she is the nicest person in the fake universe they've created. There's Ogre Doug, a big, but very friendly ogre that helps out the crew. There's a little singing fairy named Libby Lightsprite that is adorable. There's Stan, the old swamp creature that dislikes anything that's clean. He will only take mud baths to give you some perspective.

There are a lot of great characters on "Wally Kazaam, but the best character not named Wally is the wonderful Bob Goblin. Bob Goblin is the troublemaker, but he is also a good guy. He will get the crew in trouble, or try to get things from them, but in the end, he just wants to be part of the group, and like the good trolls and ogres and fairies and giants that they are, they always find a place for Bob Goblin. Bob Goblin is also always the best character in the episodes that feature him. There's been one when he wants to be in a rock band, but Libby Lightsprite loses her singing voice, due to something Bob goblin did, so they have to go through all these loopholes that Bob Goblin has setup, to get her voice back. They get through everything, with the help of Bob Goblin, and at the end of the episode, Bob Goblin gets a great drum solo. I love it. My favorite Bob Goblin episode is when he takes over the castle that Wally made out of magic for Norvel. He kind of walks in, plays with everything, then claims the castle as his own. It's so funny and so well animated and so well written. The episode centers around sharing and the way they talk about it, it's magnificent. The lessons learned and the spelling that goes along with the episode is great. But, the highlight is the song that Bob Goblin and Wally sing about the castle. It's so catchy, so imaginative and so well sung by the voice actors. To this day, I still walk around the house singing the song. My wife does too. So does my son. We all adore the song. I believe it's called "My Friend the King", and it's supposed to be about Norvel, but Bob Goblin turns it into his song. Wally sings about building the castle, loading it with pillows and toys for Norvel and letting Norvel stay there. But, after Bob Goblin takes over, he turns every chorus into his song. Wally will sing, then Bob Goblin will come in with the best line in a children's song, "no invaders, no dragons, no trolls". He doesn't want Gina Giant, the invader, Norvel, the dragon and Wally, the troll to get in. The end of the song even has Bob Goblin saying "and no cakes", because Wally thought he could trick him by giving him sweets, but Bob Goblin does not fall for it. As with most kids shows, they resolve the conflict and everyone gets to play and live in the castle.

Basically, "Wally Kazaam" is, by far, the best, most innovative and most imaginative children's show since "Yo Gabba Gabba". It's also the best written. It's so much better than "Paw Patrol", "Blaze and the Monster Machines" and, of course, "PJ Masks". So no, I'm not some curmudgeon with no sense of imagination or whimsy or wonder, I have all of that ten fold. I just prefer kids shows that don't talk down to the adults watching with their children and "Wally Kazaam" does not do that. The creators and writers of that show speak to both children and adults alike. I will take "Wally Kazaam" any day before I watch another episode of "PJ Masks".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Does Ty lack imagination, you ask? Find out for yourself by following him on twitter @tykulik.

Where the Hell are the Responsible Adults on "PJ Masks"?

Next season on PJ Masks, the police will lock up all the adults

Having children means having to watch shows you don't care for. I've watched stuff like "Doc McStuffins", "Team Umizoomi", "Handy Manny" and "The Octonauts". These shows I do not care for. They're boring and loud and dull. I've also seen stuff like "Wally Kazaam" and "Yo Gabba Gabba". I really like these shows. "Yo Gabba Gabba" has cool music and cool guests and there's always a good lesson. "Wally Kazaam" may be the most clever and best written children's show I've ever seen. There's been some jokes that have made me legitimately laugh out loud. "Wally Kazaam" is my favorite show that my son has watched.

Lately my son has been watching a show called "PJ Masks". This show is fine. It's not good, but it's not that bad. The show follows three young children that, at nighttime, become superheroes when they put their pajamas on. Sounds pretty cute, right? That's what I thought when I first saw this show, but then I actually sat down and paid attention to what was going on and I've got to say, the negligence of the parents on "PJ Masks" is downright criminal. I'd venture to say that they are worse parents than the parents from "Charlie Brown".

First things first, at least the parents in "Charlie Brown" are present. Sure, we can't understand what they are saying and the kids never take their advice, but we know that they are there. The parents in "PJ Masks" are non existent. And, when there is an adult around, they just leave when the situation turns sour. I'll tell you about a recent episode that had this happen. The kids were just regular kids and they were about to watch a puppet show. The puppet master, apparently one of their teachers, shows up and sees that the puppets are missing. All he says is, "My puppets are gone. I guess there will be no show today" and then he just leaves. Doesn't investigate the problem, doesn't tell the children he will be right back, in fact he doesn't tell the children anything except that the show is cancelled, and he just leaves, never to be seen or heard from again. That's insane! He's an adult and he just lets the kids deal with this problem on their own! WTF!

This leads me to my main problem with the parents of the three main kids. These children, maybe 7 or 8 years old, are allowed to leave their houses in the middle of the night and go fight crimes. The parents have no say and just let this happen. Where on Earth is this ever a good idea? Why would you let a child go out into the streets in the middle of the night. That is the whole point of the show. These kids turn into superheroes when they go to bed and put their PJ's on. I say again, this is insane! And the parents just let them go, I DON"T GET IT!

You are all probably asking the names of the three main kids, so I'll tell you. You have Owlette the girl, Gekko the shy one and Catboy the athlete. They fight villains, yes this show has children as super smart villains, Romeo, Luna Girl, Night Ninja and the Ninjalenos. It's so surreal. One saving grace, you never see actual fighting. They have races and they play party games and they use gadgets, but they never actually fight. I guess the parents at least gave them the proper rules that fighting is wrong. But, that doesn't excuse the fact that these kids are out in the middle of the night. Also, where are the police in this town and why aren't they doing anything about this? Now, I'm upset at not only the parents, but all the adults in the "PJ Masks" universe. Why do you all let children decide what to do? I'm all for letting kids figure things out for themselves, but there's a time and a place for that and it's not after midnight. I just don't get why there are no rules for these kids.

Also, what kind of parents do Romeo, Luna Girl, Night Ninja and the Ninjalenos have that these kids are super villains? Romeo is some kind of tech genius, but he hates the PJ Masks, and I mean hates the PJ Masks. He is some kind of tech wizard, going so far as stealing their voices in one episode. Are his parents some kind of tech wizards? If so, at least they taught him how to use technology, but he uses it for evil. How messed up is that?! Luna Girl just wants to stop the PJ Masks from having fun. That's straight up mean. She is the definition of a "mean girl", but she too is a child. Why does she have all this hate in her tiny soul? Night Ninja is a spoiled baby and he has the Ninjalenos answer his every beck and call. Why is he so spoiled and how did he train four little kids to be his helpers? What kind of family do these kids come from?

I guess, overall, I'm just disappointed in the adults in this world. I know, it's a children's show, it's a cartoon, it's fantasy, but my brain won't allow me to look at it that way. I want to know why the adults aren't involved at all. At least in "Charlie Brown" and "The Simpsons" the parents are there. They may not be the best people in the world, but they are there and that's more than I can say for the adults and parents in "PJ Masks". I'm sure this show will fade much like all the other shows my son watches, but I will still wonder, long after he stops watching, why weren't the grown ups more involved? What were they doing and why was that more important than making sure their kids were in their beds like they should be? I'm sure I'll never know, but I know that it will haunt me for the rest of my days. Shame on you adults in the "PJ Masks" universe. Take more interest in your children and maybe they won't go out in the middle of the night and argue about cake and toys and balloons. Get off your cell phones and take the time to get to know your kids.

You sicken me.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He thinks judging others is easy, and fun too. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.