Autism and cartoon characters

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I used to watch cartoons like that when I was a kid, Farmer Grey cartoons. I loved them so much!

I am 30 and love cartoon characters:

Homer Simpson
Mickey Mouse
Ariel from The Little Mermaid

Dear HFAgirl. Loving cartoons has nothing to do with autism and it is not immature. It is just an interest in a special branch of human artistic expression

I'm not the sort to criticise what other people like. I like South Park, the Simpsons, Tom and Jerry, Horrid Henry, and Arthur. I also like Disney films.

There's also things I watch that aren't cartoons.

Im 30 and I still watch cartoons your never too old to watch cartoons. I really really really love anime like Naruto Shippuden, and One Peice! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sH4N3t2mP4[/youtube] My favorite Opening theme from One peice!...Im gona be Pirate king!! !! Gumu gumu nooo.......bazoooka!! !! Gear second!! !

I still love the Looney tunes cartoons from when I was a kid ('90s). Right now, I really like My Little Pony. My favorite character is Fluttershy

One of my mid childhood obsessions that persisted until early adolescence was Marvin the Martian, thus making me a loyal fan of the Looney tunes cartoons (Wile E coyote, Sylvester etc.). I was rather fascinated with his idiosyncrasies, such as his geeky nasal voice, malevolence towards human nature (misanthropy), involute cognitive abilities, and the magnitude of his repleted Illudium Q-36 explosive space modulators (an implemented device intended to subvert earth's preponderant multi-civilizations). Several people have pointed that out as one of my conspicuous traits of AS, and Marvin has been my all-time symbolic model (Observational learning theory) of my childhood.

I absolutely loved the Tintin comics based on the Belgian comic book writer Herge, and was one of my formulated obsessions after watching an episode of the 90's animated series (The Adventures of Tintin). Characters included the following: Tintin, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, Thompson and Thomson, and Snowy.

I also loved classical disney movies like Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Snow White, The Aristocats, and Sleeping beauty. It was back in those retrospective years when disney and looney tunes cartoons were made in intricately hand drawn, artistic representations - some filmed with the colour motion picture Technicolor. My favourite disney villains are Maleficent, Jafar, and Judge Claude Frollo, although I admit I had an irrational fear of the pernicious cobra that Jafar transformed into, presumably as he acted as an unconditioned stimulus of something very unpleasant, thus provoking an unconditioned response of fear (John B Watson 1920, Ivan Pavlov 1902).

Classical conditioning

Netural stimulus (Jafar) ----- No response

Netural stimulus (Jafar) ----- Unconditioned stimulus (Cobra) ----- Unconditioned response (fear)

Conditioned stimulus (Jafar) ---- Conditioned response (Fear)

I was absolutely terrified of Jafar (until late childhood) as I associated him with the transformation of himself into that aggressive, omnipotent, and psychopathic cobra entity. Nowadays I certainly don't consider him a greater villain than the self-righteous Claude Frollo.

Non disney films that I liked were the environmental fantasy feature Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (liked the hot fairy chick), and the critically acclaimed Spirited Away. All of them are nothing equivalent to all of the cartoons today (except for most of the Pixar movies and "My Little Pony; Friendship is Magic") which are all substandard CGI nonsense that are advertently devised for the sole purpose of vulgarity, corporate greed, and not artistic creativity. The 21st century diversification of the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros has inevitably led to the partial demonization of animation and TV itself (let's face it, the disney channel for me has been a complete joke for over 10 years).
_________________
Diagnosed with "Classical" Asperger's syndrome in 1998 (Clinical psychologist).
Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R): 231/240
Aspie score: 186 out of 200
Neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 12 out of 200
AQ: 48/50 EQ: 9/80

Last edited by TheRedPedant93 on 19 May 2013, 10:29 am, edited 3 times in total.

I know quite a few people on the spectrum who like cartoons...they are a nice break from reality. I like edgy, adult cartoons like American Dad and Family Guy, as well as stuff like Regular Show and Adventure Time. The girl I mentor (age 22) loves classic cartoons, like the older Disney short cartoons, as well as kids shows like Arthur.

The reason why I felt insecure about my interests is because I read autism books that discourage interests like cartoon characters that seem " childlike" and to instead try to encourage more age appropriate substitutes. I never liked a lot of the stuff that peers my age were into. I think a lot of their interests is superficial. I hate it when experts think every quirk we have is related to us having autism instead of just being part of who we are.

Aside from various documentaries, Big Bang Theory/Eureka, etc. and Jon Stewart/The Colbert Report I purely watch cartoons. Current ones on TV that I enjoy are Phenias and Ferb, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Adventure Time. I also enjoy Anime shows and older cartoons from the 80's/90's, but that is primarily on DVD and Netflix/Hulu/Crunchyroll these days.

"Phenias and Ferb" bug me sometimes because they toss out mentions of string theory, etc. but screw up on some things like the difference between poisonous and venomous, and that the platypus is not the only mammal to lay eggs, there is also the echidna. I guess I expect too much accuracy for a cartoon, but they deal with quite a few scientific subjects where I would prefer they use proper terminology/facts.

Absolutely nothing wrong with liking cartoons! It's certainly better than watching some of the terrible 'reality TV' shows!

Manga are my special interest but I do watch anime as well, when I have time.

I love cartoons still, luckily my friends also do so I have people to watch them with! Older series like Tom and Jerry or Wile E. Coyote and new series like Regular Show and Avatar. Cartoon Network was my favourite channel as a kid. My mum is a fan of Marvin the Martian too.

I can understand a little about being seen as immature in a negative light. Several years ago my cousin said to me, "Don't laugh, but I've recently gotten into this new cartoon show. It's called Ben 10..." He was surprised that I loved it too! Many of my friends are children's illustrators so they like cartoons for that reason as well. My cousin works at a toy shop so it's to his benefit that he enjoys cartoons, as he can advise parents on what to buy!

I think part of the reason I love them so much is that they communicate so much better then everyday people. It's easy to see how a cartoon character is feeling! I don't 'get' shows like Family Guy or American Dad though.

while i agree with you about my little pony being garbage, i don't agree with you that all animation is going to hell. just because Pixar is insanely successful, and almost everyone is aping them, doesn't mean that there aren't brilliant and innovative animators and storytellers out there. what about Silvain Chomet? what about Don Hertzfeldt? have you ever watched some of the Cartoon Hangover shows? there is plenty of good animation out there, and you seem to be holding new animation to a narrow standard to which you cannot judge all animation upon.

i actually just had a conversation about the "Pixarification" of animation yesterday with a colleague... i've liked a few Pixar films, but i don't regard them as innovative or anything... they have a formula that they stick with and it makes them money. there is nothing wrong with that. that others see this, and believe that if they make lookalike product, then they will become successful as well, this just is not the case and is a great error on their part.

i suppose that i am speaking with a bias, though, because i have never been a fan of the stereotypical "Disney" films or their animation. that doesn't mean that i can't recognize their excellence in that form, though. to judge all new animation against classic Disney animation is simply error.

I'm also a cartoon-lover with AS. I've watched a variety of cartoons during the 1990's and 2000's on Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network; some of my favorites feature superheroes or are influenced by animé. I think my problem was that I spent too much time watching cartoons.

I was never very serious when it came to my studies. I rarely sought help outside of my family, because I thought that a student was supposed to learn how to do things by himself/herself, meaning asking for tutoring would defeat somehow defeat the point of getting an education. Even when I did ask for help, the teachers wouldn't always be useful, and those who did help me only did so in the short run. I don't think I ever had a teacher who made learning really fun or helped me set up a plan for my career. So, I ended up watching cartoons almost every waking moment of my life, first simply because there was something on television, then as a way to cope with boredom, and later to help me with my depression and anxiety.

Even though I don't see watching cartoons as an inherently bad thing, I sometimes think that my love of animation might be unhealthy. When I wasn't watching cartoons, I was usually daydreaming about what cartoons I saw and thinking about how the characters would act in certain situations. I never made any friends because I was too shy to talk to other people about anything, including cartoons; my parents deemed cartoons childish, so I didn't want to embarrass myself by talking to a stranger who also disliked cartoons.

I can't even say that I gained anything from cartoons. If the characters learned or taught an important lesson, I might have been able to identify it but not apply it to my life. There were a few education cartoons that really captured my attention, but the topics discussed would fade from my memory, and the shows did not encourage me to take my education seriously. My fascination with animation hasn't even convinced me to seek a job involving cartoons; I never once thought of becoming a writer, artist, voice actor, animation historian, or anything like that during my educational career. Of course, even if I did think about pursuing such a profession, my parents would likely frown upon my choice of career, and since I was terrible at making friends in real life, I would have even worse self-esteem issues than I do now.

So, even though watching cartoons is a fun hobby, I think one should not let it consume one's life unless one knows how to make a living out of it.

I just spent the weekend watching DC movies, Fullmetal Alchemist: Shamballa movie, Fairy Tail, Xiaolin Chronicles and Black Butler episodes

my parents think it's weird because they think all the stuff I watch is for kids despite the mature content and the stories having depth just because it's animated.

I'm 21 too, and I LOVE cartoon characters. Some of my favorites are Susie the Little Blue Coupe, Mater from Cars, Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz, Randall Boggs, Fluttershy, Sideshow Bob, Cheburashka, Stitch, Calvin and Hobbes, Wilt from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Wander from Wander Over Yonder, Dory from Finding Nemo, Toothless, Tack from The Thief and the Cobbler, the Planes from Disney's Planes movie, Bert from The Raccoons, The Chief Blue Meanie from Yellow Submarine, Rebound from Pound Puppies, Olaf from Frozen, Lambie from Doc McStuffins, and Carol and Judith from Where the Wild Things Are (technically, the Wild Things were live-action suit performers, but the faces were CGI, so that counts, right? ). That's a lot, isn't it.

I haven't just spent my life being into cartoon characters, I've created my own as well, and I've even made handmade dolls of them.

I've been a lifelong fan of the classics like Disney, Looney Tunes, Popeye, Betty Boop, Felix the Cat, and Oswald the Rabbit. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of my all time favorite movies. I was even able to create Jessica Rabbit and Roger (who's really a guy wearing a rabbit hood, red overalls with a white shirt and yellow gloves) on The Sims 3. I'm also a fan of the newspaper comics such as Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, Garfield, and For Better or For Worse. I'm also kind of into Hello Kitty partly because she was created the same year I was born.