After watching some shows like Energon, Headmasters, and RiD 2001, I have found myself wondering why people need to shove these incompetent, unlikeable idiots everywhere. Obviously these are just the worst examples, and there could be some examples of kid-appeal characters that are great (I just can’t think of one at the moment). But whether they are handled poorly or very well, are they really necessary? I can’t help but wonder if kids would have just as good a time in the movies/in front of the TV without these loud, in-your-face characters seeming to be always present.

 

Regarding "kid-appeal characters," I quite like Hot Shot from Armada, because part of his arc is how his cockiness and overconfidence led him to fuck up big time, resulting in the Star Saber falling into the Decepticons' hands, and this humbles him and - with some mentoring from Scavenger - he straightens himself out and starts to really grow and show his potential. It's a nice twist where the hot-dogging, turbo-revvin' young punk isn't rewarded for being reckless with victory through pure luck, but instead realizes his behavior can lead to major fuck-ups and changes for the better.

 

I've never found kids really necessary, so I'm with you on kid-appeal characters being unnecessary too.  

 

I remember as a kid Hot Shot definitely was my favourite throughout Unicron Trilogy and I'd say he was probably the main kid appeal character of those shows.I haven't rewatched unicron trilogy since then so i have no idea how well he holds up though.

But from an adult standpoint I hate what's happened to bumblebee since the 07 movie and the kid appeal character hes become and recent shows have been hard to watch for me because they are as you described but I assume he's still popular with kids otherwise Hasbro wouldnt keep putting him in every series with 40 toys a year otherwise.

I think the problem is more with how theyre done than with the existence of these characters though because i can still quite happily watch Beast Wars and not hate Cheetor even though hes really the same type of character.

 

Yes, simply because Transformers is a kids' franchise created from toys and cartoons.

But you know, focus changes over the years. There used to be more inspirational figures that kids could trust and follow, nowadays it's about young people trying to be rebellious and do their own thing.

Those were Japanese shows where the dubs make the kids act, let us say, strangely.

 

I never liked the idea of kid appeal characters. If a kid can relate to a mature, older character like Batman or Spider-Man, what's the point of a kid appeal character? I got nothing against chatacters who are young, but still. Anyone is relatable if their well-written.

 

The best kid appeal character I know (forgive my lack of knowledge) is G1 Hot Rod, because he undergoes character development that matters.

While a reckless, brash troublemaker at first, the death of Optimus Prime shook him up and made him realise the gravity of the war he took like a game. When the Matrix chose him to lead the Autobots onwards, he grew up and transformed (literally) into Rodimus Prime to lead the Autobots as Optimus Prime once did.

Many modern Bumblebees (Prime Bee, Cyberverse Bee, Bay Bee, etc.) I know copy Hot Rod’s youthful recklessness but NOT his development into a leader. This is where Hasbro gets it wrong. If you’re creating a character for the kids, you need to have that character LEARN and GROW. However Hot Rod’s transformation was also defined by the death of Optimus and like hell Hasbro’s gonna kill him off for real AGAIN.

 

I was mainly talking about Side Burn from RiD, and I watched the original version of Headmasters with subtitles, so it can’t really be Daniel and Wheelie’s dialogue that is the problem. It was the way they actually affected the plot.

 

That's pretty much where I stand as well. I think that the idea of a kid-appeal character as rooted in the concept of kids being unable to relate to more mature characters is flawed, but having a younger, more innocent viewpoint isn't a bad thing. It provides contrast to the older, wearier, jaded characters.

 

As a kid, I never liked the kid appeal character like G1 Bumblebee or the human sidekick.

In fact, I didn't like the non human sidekicks like Snarf, T-Bob, Scrappy Doo.

I did like Hound and Trailbreaker. Even as a kid I thought they were genuine, friendly guys.

I did and still do like Hot Rod, Blurr, Cheetor and Sideburn.

 

The real question is why hasbro was trying to make the franchise a toddler franchise mainly, until recently and didnt take steps to divide the media equally to cater to its variant demographics...I suppose there is a hint of an effort with siege and the new show, so it remains to be seen.

What I am trying to say is: Kids appeal chars are needed only for kids shows. But I suppose even with all that grit the netflix show is supposed to have, we are going to see Bee busting our balls again....

 

If they're done right. It depends on how they're written. A non-example of a good kid-appeal character is Hot Rod in G1. I really have the urge to rewrite G1 Hot Rod.

From what we've seen of the Netflix show, Bumblebee is less of a kids character, as he points out Optimus' single goal of winning the war, and how it'll get everyone killed.

 

If you're referring to the likes of Wheelie than all I have to say is HEEELLLLL NOOOOOO!!!!!

 

Do cartoons need kid appeal characters? Of course they do. This is a kids toy franchise, first and foremost. And don't think it's not "focus grouped" to hell and back by Hasbro. We can arm-chair quarterback marketing from an adult collector standpoint all day but Hasbro is going to do what's best for Hasbro.

 

Yeah, a nother interesting example would be Beast Wars Cheetor. Where he actually matures over the time of the series. Same would apply to Armada Hot Shot, but considering Cybertron resets his character for some reason would make it sorta debatable.

It's kinda a oddly fitting contrast from how he was handled in past series with Bumblebee in it.

 

A lot of what people call "kid appeal characters" just seem like they're supposed to be 'the young guy' or 'the rookie' on the team. Since that's a pretty common character archetype, you're going to end up with a fair amount of them in the brand. I mean, almost any brand with an ensemble cast is going to have a character that amounts to a kid appeal character. Someone has to be "the rookie" or "the funny one" or "the cutesy one" or "the one with a lot of gadgets that can be made into toys". Especially in a brand aimed at kids.

Occasionally there's a 'kid appeal character' that seems to be a bit much. I remember rolling my eyes when I first saw Fixit and Sqweeks. I grew to really like Fixit....and I would say I like Sqweeks too...but he seems like he's trying too hard to be a cutesy BB-8 or something. I'm especially wary of things that try to be overly cutesy. Different franchise, but to me the Porgs in Last Jedi have nothing to offer outside of being kid appeal characters. They serve no plot function, and any scene or shot that focuses on them is completely unnecessary. They're basically walking stuffed animals. But I'd argue someone like Bumblebee isn't just a kid appeal character. He certainly serves that role, but he also serves the plot and has a role in the story. I'm fine with characters like that existing.

 

What kids appeal does is guarantee the franchise's continuance. If there was only expense adult figures, as well as shows or movies that were just for a adults, it would guarantee the franchise's demise. Plus, I have absolutely no problem with my favorite franchises being kid friendly. I only have a problem when the products/media that they put out aren't very good.

 

I wouldn't discredit Armada Hot Shot's character development just because Galaxy Force being written as a completely new series by Studio Gonzo and later retconned into Armada's continuity for the english dub led to him being "reset."

Actually, speaking of Cybertron, does Landmine count as a kid-appeal character? He's yellow and friendly, and he's the first Transformer the humans meet, and makes a close bond with the main human, but he's not young and doesn't try to be cool. He's kind of an uncle to Coby, rather than a "bro." As a kid, I gathered pretty quickly that "kid-appeal characters" were a thing, just without an exact term for them, and classified Cybertron Landmine as one, but not Cybertron Hot Shot even though the Armada version was. I think I'll stick with that. I like Landmine.

 

I think they’re necessary to get kids involved in the story and characters. But, that doesn’t mean they have to be written like shallow one-dimensional token funtime characters either. Thinking back to G1, I think you could make the claim that most of the Autobots were decently written kid appeal characters. Most of them had qualities kids would be attracted to and interested in without coming off as cheap characters designed to simply draw a kid’s attention. Most of them also engaged kids’ emotions and even served as role models (or in some cases, served as examples of what NOT to do).

 

No because they get overrated.