Most of you are far too old to know that, for a hot moment, kids played with dolls as recently as 2019. Back in 2010, there was a very popular doll line called "Monster High", that had clearly black-coded character Clawdeen Wolf (and her family) in lead roles.
Though, with the reboot, they did give her a potential love interest to make up for the fact that, for about 7 years, the black-coded girl was the only one who had no boyfriend or romantic prospects because she just didn't care. Which is a fine quality, as I'm like that myself, but it still didn't look great.
This series went through like 800 art styles so this composite video is what you're getting.
There was also a character later, a girl called Honey Swamp, with a bonafied afro, and that was cool.
Doll lines still make little webisodes today. Well, at least DC Comics and DC Super-hero girls:
Selina Kyle is usually pale (Though in some comics I believe she may be Cuban, which is also neat), but the second iteration of DCSHGs (Because there is a Generation 1, with terribly unappealing art) made her black, akin to Eartha Kitt's Catwoman way back when.
And yep, that's Cree Summer. Isn't it always? Except with Bumblebee, where it's Kimberly Brooks!
What else is happening for black people in animation recently? Or, even as far as nearly 20 years ago?
Disney's animated black protagonists are few and far between.
And by that, I mean, television wise, there are only 2 shows I can name immediately that starred black people: Fillmore! and The Proud Family.
Fillmore! Was an amazing show that parodied 70's cop shows in an extensive, extremely well funded middle school. Cornelius Fillmore was the best Safety Patroller on the squad, alongside his new partner, Ingrid Third.
Not remembering the show? Let me show you this -
🚨🚨 Ohhhhhh snap!🚨🚨
Yeah. That show.
It was cut after 26 episodes. With the advances in technology, I think it would be ripe to have a revival set in the modern day. Make one subject be "People crap-talking in a private Discord an the logs were sent to the entire school!"
You're probably more familiar with The Proud Family.
While it did much for representation of a black nuclear family, it came at the expensive of other groups. The East Asian representation was questionable, and it didn't hesitate in having the darker-skinned characters be 'ghetto' - which, in itself, was not a bad thing, as there are all sorts of black people out there - but they also got the short end of the stick in how often they were right or wrong in the show.
They were, possibly, the only cartoon to my knowledge that acknowledged Ramadan with an entire episode about it.
It ended after 2 seasons...except it's coming back on Disney+!
Somehow, I thought Matthew A. Cherry had been involved with it way back when and was prepared to use that to segway into this next segment. But Wikipedia says no, so let's continue anyway.
His short, "Hair Love", is the front runner for Best Animated Short winner at this year's (2020) academy awards, showing an adorable little black girl trying to do her natural hair with her father's help. It original showed in front of Sony Pictures Animations "The Angry Birds 2" and "Jumanji: The Next Level".
It is really just the cutest thing in the world and I cry every time. It's also a good reminder on why I cut most of my hair off because I simply cannot be bothered.
It remains the most well-funded Kickstarter for a short film in the site's history, and was executive produced by Peter Ramsey, the first black man to direct a big budget animated feature.
Ramsey also directed something else for Sony Pictures Animation - "Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse", featuring the first non-Peter Parker Spider-Man on the big screen in Miles Morales.
It won every single Annie Award it was nominated for, including Best Feature.
You want to know how Disney has done on it's black animated protagonist front?
Don't get me started on how she was a frog for most of this movie. What a slap in the face.
And they essentially used Tiana twice - and they messed her up the second time initially! Are you the 'greatest animation house in the world' or not?
Either animals or side characters. But what's next for them? Why, in June, we will see Pixar's first black protagonist - meet Joe in "Soul".
I know what you're thinking "Does he turn into something that obscures his blackness? Is there jazz?" and so far, the answer to both of those....is yes.
At least he visibly looks black, and there is a great variety in the characters we have seen so far. I just hope we can see Joe as a human being more than as a little blue-and-green soul.
It is still very cute!
Let me move onto Dreamworks. It's hard to be an animation fan as a black person just looking at Disney Animation, and it's also simply 2 movies. Or, 1 and a half, depending on your point of view.
"Home" stars Rihanna in Dreamworks' first and only movie with a black protagonist ("Shark Tale" does not count). There's also, just like about 5 of their other movies, a show on Netflix.
I remember her song for this but honestly, nothing else. Her career into film has been a lot less impressive than Janelle Monae's, I can tell you that, though I did really like "Valerian".
If you were a child in the 90s, you at least heard of, if not downright read, "Captain Underpants", 'Created by George Beard and Harold Hutchins'.
George is the one with the tie. Harold is the one with the bad haircut.
Remember that now.
There's also Allura, in "Voltron: Legendary Defender". I have not seen much of it, and knowing the fandom, I do not want to.
And that really wraps it up for Dreamworks. On the modern television side, there are are good amount of black characters on "Steven Universe" (or black coded, despite what the fandom would have you think), and "Craig of the Creek".
Netflix has released "Neo-Yokio", (and under-advertised) "Kipo and The Age of Wonderbeasts". Which has a first for a children's cartoon, but I won't spoil it.
Who picked this art style? Why? I genuinely want to know.
There are far more other shows I could pick - Mostly anime - but anime is not something I watch a ton of. So, as to not end this on a completely US-Centric note, here's a trailer for "Kirikou And The Sorceress":
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