Admittedly, I don’t watch a lot of kiddie TV. Which, you know, makes sense what with me being a childless lesbian and all. The only time I catch any are when I’m with my niece and nephews and brandishing my cool lesbian aunt cred. And from them I know about two characters in particular: Thomas the Tank Engine and Doc McStuffins. I know them because they’re on endlessly and I can’t tell you how much merchandise for both I’ve bought as presents over the course of their young lives.
Anyway, now that you’re thoroughly up-to-date on my knowledge of children’s programming, I’d like to commend one of those shows: “Doc McStuffins.” Over the weekend the Disney Junior series aimed at preschoolers broke ground by portraying a family with two moms. The women were voiced by out actors Wanda Sykes and Portia de Rossi. This is great on a number of levels but mostly on the level that children’s shows – despite their fantastical worlds of talking trains and toy doctor children – should still reflect the basic realities of the world we all live in. And families with two moms and two dads are a definite part of the world we live in.
It should also be noted that “Doc McStuffins” creator Chris Nee is an out lesbian and her wife are parents. She tweeted about her historic episode Sunday:
I'm so proud of today's episode of Doc McStuffins with @iamwandasykes and @portiaderossi - Love is Love in McStuffinsville! #DocMcstuffins pic.twitter.com/lXL7fixuMf
— Chris Nee (@chrisdocnee) August 5, 2017
I guess us adults have a lot left to learn from kids’ stuff, after all. Though, can someone explain why Doc’s head is like 10-times bigger than the adults here? The sentient, talking toys I totally get, but disproportionate head sizes and I’m like, “Whooa, realism, please.”
I think heads (and sometimes hands, but not in this case) are enlarged in cartoons to better amplify/broadcast the expressions of the face (also why cartoon eyes tend to be extra big). There is art historical basis for this (for example, check out the Rottgen Pieta, or Rodin's Burghers of Calais). That said, Doc's head IS a bit extreme.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that is a mighty big head.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of McStuffing before. I've heard of Stevens universe but not of this.
But then again I am also a childfree lesbian (woooo)
I think those are dolls and that is why Doc is larger. But overall, she is quite head-heavy, as is Sofia. I worry about their necks breaking under the weight.
ReplyDeleteDoc's head is large because she has a big brain. Duh!
ReplyDelete