Ben 10
We first discovered this series when we went to a hotel while our house was being fumigated (in case you haven't heard me cry about it before -we don't have anything beyond basic TV at my house). This cartoon became an instant hit for my son and I; we picked up some of the DVD's, catch an occasional episode online and have gotten Jeremy several related books and toys.
Ben 10 is an American animated television series created by "Man of Action" (a group consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle), and produced by Cartoon Network Studios.
The show revolves around Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and their grandfather Max. During the start of their summer camping trip, Ben goes stomping off into the woods after another fight with Gwen, whom he is not happy to have along on the trip, and finds an alien pod on the ground. When he examines it, he finds a mysterious, watch-like device, called the Omnitrix, stored inside. The device attaches permanently to his wrist and gives him the ability to transform into a variety of alien lifeforms, each with their own unique powers. Ben uses the device to fight evil aliens, capture criminals and to play occasional pranks.
In April 2008, Ben 10 was succeeded by Ben 10: Alien Force which is set five years after the original series. Ben, now 15, must use the Omnitrix to rescue Grandpa Max from a new foe: the Highbreed and their DNAlien servants. Unable to complete this task by himself, he is joined by his cousin Gwen and a reformed Kevin. Along the way, they meet the children of other Plumbers -a secret society dedicated to fighting evil aliens. Many of the Plumbers have powers similar to Ben's previous alien forms as a result of an alien parent. With their help, Ben, Gwen, and Kevin must fight to protect the planet.
The show is pretty effective at capturing my son's attention and he has taken to sleeping with his own Omnitrix strapped to his wrist - this one has a bulb that projects various alien silhouettes on the wall. Some of the season 3 episodes were a little scary for him when he was 9 -the theme was a little darker with Ben and crew battling various aliens based on traditional horror monsters; a bunch of cute high school girls turned into ghoulish zombies comes to mind.
I haven't found large redemptive themes like those we enjoyed in Avatar (some of us old guys like weaving character building messages into everything!) but the show does work for me. The artwork, layouts, animation and character design are all great.
As of the time of this article's posting you can view a different Ben 10 episode every week or so on the Cartoon Network website. They also have a page with Ben 10 themed downloads and Flash games.
Ben 10 Videos: Hulu.com
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Copyright Humberto Abreu 2004-2012 - All Rights Reserved
