Captain Planet and the Planeteers

Captain Planet and the Planeteers, if it is referenced at all nowadays, is generally treated as a subject of mockery. Online reviewers such as the Nostalgia Critic have shredded it relentlessly, depicting it as a hopelessly ideological cartoon that nobody enjoyed. The show did sometimes bite off more than it could chew, but it also managed to be entertaining and, yes, educational.

The show's premise is familiar to most people. Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, gives five elemental power rings to an international group of teenagers in order to fight pollution. When they going gets tough, they can summon Captain Planet, an anti-pollution superhero. Each episode deals with a different environmental theme, ranging from smog to extinction to...gang violence.

The show worked best when it stuck to environmental themes. At times, the writers became overambitious and tried to deal with more fraught topics such as AIDS and gang warfare. These episodes almost inevitably fell flat, coming across as ham handed and even more preachy than the series usually was. One episode on gang violence was particularly awful, with the gangs depicted as something out of a bad 80s Mad Max rip off.

Nevertheless, the show served a purpose. It was often brutally honest in its treatment of environmental topics, within the limits of a show geared towards children. For instance, one show dealing with whaling featured a sequence of a mother whale being harpooned, complete with blood getting spilled in the water. This type of straight talk was a good thing and left viewers not only entertained, but informed. Perhaps even willing to take action.

For all its flaws, Captain Planet remains a well remembered series for me.

I don't understand you people. This show was meant for children to teach them to respect the environment. You christians who claim that it offends you, get over it. Be accepting of other peoples beliefs, even if they are different. There is already more than enough Christian shows out there.

This show taught me valuable lessons, and as a kid, I never saw any underlying themes, other than to help the planet. It may not have been the best cartoon, but it was one of the few that had a great message, and one of my favorites.

As for political aspects, do you people spend your every waking moment searching cartoons for secret agendas? Get a life! This show may have other agendas, I don't know and I doubt that if it did, anyone who watched it, being a young child, would even notice. This show tried to unite different beliefs, different backgrounds and to show us that we can work together and make a difference. I admit that as an adult, I now see the cliché-ness of the villains, but as a kid I never noticed and I doubt any child would. The message of saving the earth won't even reach every watcher (though it will reach some), let alone all this other junk you are reading into it.

All in all, this was a good show, and I think kids need more shows like it. I wish that all those who disliked it for whatever reason, could at least try to see the good it was trying to do.

"All things are connected...whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth." -Chief Seattle

I may be in the minority but I was first introduced to this show once it was on syndication and actually liked it. I never saw the reason to write such an extended response that dealt with the complete and utter negativity of a TV show or movie as I've seen here. It truly is amazing that there are individuals that would sit there and write such elongated responses. Is it political, absolutely. This show is somewhat ahead of its time, as I don't recall a strong effort being made to concern ourselves with the environment at that time. Regardless, I enjoyed it and whereas I have not seen this show in quite a while, I imagine that I'd enjoy it as much as I did in the past were I to see it again.

Captain Planet is a wacky disjointed mess that somehow works. Let's discuss what makes it special.

1. The villains are so freaking evil. Let's torture kids. Kill kids. Mutate kids. Chop up kids. Blend kids into smoothies. No other cartoon attempts more horrific child murder.

2. The ecodisasters will give you nightmares. Blind sheep covered with tumors... Thanks for animating that captain planet.

3. The animation errors are constant. Hilarity ensues.

And then there's the sixth season theme song. The most atrocious thing to occur in animation apart from maybe that Scooby-Doo show with Scrappy but no Fred or Velma.

This show was very good in my opinion. The lessons were valuable and there was also a lot of fun in the storylines. Especially the romantic tension between Wheeler and Linka was good, they liked each other but never acted on those feelings. Well... never? Wheeler often tried to approach her and, although she rejected him just as much, she cared for him a great deal. Whenever he was in danger, she freaked out.

This show was excellent in teaching kids and older people how to be an environmentally conscious consumer and they also provided lots of tips for other problems that occur in these days. Though some episodes were less than others, I have enjoyed the entire show very much. I am an adult (having known the show since I was a child) and I still like it.