Invader Zim is one of my favorite cartoons ever created. It was dark, twisted, and provided hillarious social satire. However, it was bogged down by the network it aired on, Nickelodeon. Nick was aimed at kids aged 2 to 14, Invader Zim was more made for the 15+ crowd. And when Nick began marketing the show at the usual Nicktoons demographic (children ages 6-11), Invader Zim was doomed from the start. The show wasn't really for kids, but Nickelodeon got Jhonen to make it anyway dispite not reading Jhonen's previous work.
However, we may be seeing a simmilar event happening, Disney's Gravity Falls. I like this show, it's dark, twisted, smart, and hillarious. But I'm starting to question whether it's really a kids show or not. The show gets away with death, murder, teen partying, hallucinogens, and money related crime that I'm supprised it's even on Disney Channel. Plus, if you haven't noticed, Disney barely even airs the show if at all, its time slot is sparatic, and there's very little advertising for it. So how is Disney Channel the wrong place for Gravity Falls. Simple, Disney Channel targets (and panders to) little girls (5 to 10) with its laugh track filled pre-teen sitcoms filled with unrealistic teenage life and horrible jokes. These are simplistic shows that pander to 9 year old girls. Gravity Falls isn't one of them, It's dark, sophisticated, has real continuity, and has smart, and often edgy humor. So this means that a show that feels more suted for teenagers is on a channel whos target audience won't really get half the jokes. Did Disney realize what they were getting into when they picked up a show from one of the writers of Flapjack?
Gravity Falls would feel more at home if it was on Cartoon Network, or MTV, or hell maybe even The Hub. And with season two promissing to be darker, and have more development on the secondary characters, it may just be enough for Disney to cancel the show. And I would be pissed if that happened. I think Disney should just move the show to Disney XD if it's going to get too mature for the ANT Farm crowd. So, do you feel GF is the Invader Zim of Disney Channel?
However, we may be seeing a simmilar event happening, Disney's Gravity Falls. I like this show, it's dark, twisted, smart, and hillarious. But I'm starting to question whether it's really a kids show or not. The show gets away with death, murder, teen partying, hallucinogens, and money related crime that I'm supprised it's even on Disney Channel. Plus, if you haven't noticed, Disney barely even airs the show if at all, its time slot is sparatic, and there's very little advertising for it. So how is Disney Channel the wrong place for Gravity Falls. Simple, Disney Channel targets (and panders to) little girls (5 to 10) with its laugh track filled pre-teen sitcoms filled with unrealistic teenage life and horrible jokes. These are simplistic shows that pander to 9 year old girls. Gravity Falls isn't one of them, It's dark, sophisticated, has real continuity, and has smart, and often edgy humor. So this means that a show that feels more suted for teenagers is on a channel whos target audience won't really get half the jokes. Did Disney realize what they were getting into when they picked up a show from one of the writers of Flapjack?
Gravity Falls would feel more at home if it was on Cartoon Network, or MTV, or hell maybe even The Hub. And with season two promissing to be darker, and have more development on the secondary characters, it may just be enough for Disney to cancel the show. And I would be pissed if that happened. I think Disney should just move the show to Disney XD if it's going to get too mature for the ANT Farm crowd. So, do you feel GF is the Invader Zim of Disney Channel?
