Sonrisa de acero

Watching Braceface is about so much more than watching a girl deal with her braces. It's all about being teenaged (or pre-teen) and the issues that come with it. Boyfriends, rivals, parents, embarrassment, friendship, insecurities... it's all in there. Most young people who watch Braceface should be able to identify, if even just a little, with one of the show's characters. The braces are just a mechanism of mischief. All in all, Braceface can get pretty deep (for a cartoon) and can make you look at yourself differently. It's much needed positive entertainment, compared to other pre-teen and teen offerings. As a mother, I am proud that my daughter has chosen to watch a show that she can actually get something out of for a change.

The first time I saw this show I loved it right away. It deals with teenage problems that, let's face it probably any teenage girl would go through. Sometimes it can be a bit childish, but it only makes it more humorous. It has a great voice cast, especially Alicia Silverstone. I love Braceface and I hope it continues, it can be a great show for any teenager.

Braceface is the story of Sharon Spitz, a naive teenager who lives in your everyday town and experiences everylife teen experiences. The premise is to give insight on the most common situations younger people can soon find themselves in and have fun while doing it. It's an enjoyable show, and I like the vivid colors used for animation. All in all, I give it 3 licks of flame out of 4.

Come on, settle down...what's the problem? I haven't seen this allergic a reaction to a kids' series since "Scrappy Doo" debuted! So, Sharon Spitz is a tad self-absorbed in her own problems; so? What adolescent ISN'T self-absorbed to some degree? I think what Flaming Pig and co. forget is that just about all fictional young teens, from Holden Caulfield to our hero in "A Christmas Story"; from Luann DeGroot to Veronica Ganz ( a six-foot tall thirteen-year-old: try THAT on for size), from the young narrator in "April Morning" to the ever-so-sensitive Daria Morgendorffer, young teens are always going to impress their worldview with their own not-so original growing pains. The only time that youth grows up quickly is through forced change, such as "April Morning", or Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror". Should Sharon Spitz emulate Claire Danes' character in the darkly comic, all-too-brief show "My So-Called Life"? Hey, how about letting Sharon and her pals emulate the sociopathic little no-neck amateur vivisectionists of Yukio Mishima's "The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea"? Or even better: let's dispense with the intellectual approach and let Sharon and Maria shoot up the school a la Columbine? Okay, okay, maybe I'm reading too much into this. It couldn't be that it's too...Canadian? Naah, Flaming P. is a Canuck, so that can't be it. Because it's from Nelvana? I HAVE observed, many times, a negative reaction to any thing "Nelvana" among certain people. Or maybe it's the not-so-subtle "Afterschool Special" feel of many episodes. But, is this realy a bad thing? It's a show about teens, so why not teen problems?Besides, the title is, after all, "Braceface"! What happens once the braces come off for good? Think about it...

'Braceface' is an enjoyable half hour episode, animated series. The characters are built well and show some depiction of ordinary, real life teens. Although not sticking completly to the series title it does not matter too much, at least it's an original title! The introductory song is catchy and happy, sliding nicely into the episode's story without losing a viewer's attention. 'Braceface' covers a new medium of animated series for teens, the drawings are funky and the stories are orginal yet relatable; good fun.