Some cartoons that have come and gone have left their mark, and it would seem that Robot Jones left its mark upon those like Notshane from Retro Junk that remember the animated story fondly despite the fact that it had a very short run on the Cartoon Network. From 2002 to 2003 it was a quirky type of show that featured a young robot that was encouraged to go out in society and interact with the general populace in an effort to find acceptance. The trick to this however, as written by Michael Turnini of The Paisano, was that Robot Jones was kind of inept when it came to dealing with people and was awkward in the same way that many kids are while they’re growing up. The series was set in the 1980s despite being a product of the 21st century, and a lot of fans tended to like this quality since it was kind of throwback to childhood for some and just a nice and engaging look back in time for others.
One reason it might be time to bring back this cartoon is that it was ahead of its time when it was first presented and this could have been why it wasn’t so well-received in the first place. Cartoon Network has a long history of bringing on shows that might fail or succeed and never worrying too much about it either way. Quite honestly they have such a humongous stable of cartoons at their disposal that worrying over one that had a limited run in the past isn’t much of a priority. But bringing this cartoon back now would serve a great purpose since the awkwardness with which Robot Jones approached the human world he’d been created in would no doubt be seen as an important parallel for those kids from different backgrounds that are currently struggling to fit in.
Think about it this way, Robot Jones really had to find a way to blend in and still be himself, and in this day and age that problem is still something that plagues kids in a big way, even more so now that race and religion are not the only issues that one might have to deal with. One’s sexuality and very right to exist has become a massive subset of issues that many kids are going through. It’s also something that many people would likely agree is difficult for a child to deal with. The great thing is that this cartoon could be for more than just children since there’s enough content in it to appeal to adolescents, young adults, and adults as well. It’s one of those programs that could possibly affect a lot of people on a very personal level and allow them to find a way to relate in a way that, to them, would make a great deal of sense.
As you might see if you head on over to Reddit there was an episode that dealt with gender fluidity in a way, so it could be that the content described and shown in the cartoon could possibly be very relevant today and even invaluable to the CN. The fact that many people still don’t agree with gender fluidity is irrelevant since there are many upon many individuals in the modern era that are currently trying to figure who and what they are, and the mainstream media, including entertainment, doesn’t really cater to them as much since the consensus is that they will cater more to the overall majority, who are cis-gendered and don’t tend to think of gender as a fluid idea. The argument that would spark from this statement is something that is best left to another article and for those that have studied for years upon such a subject, but thinking that Robot Jones could possibly be utilized by the LGBTQ+ community as a means of helping kids and adolescents to understand themselves a little better does seem like a sound idea.
Now and again cartoons and TV shows will be brought back in an attempt to serve a nostalgic need that people seem to entertain and find amusing, but Robot Jones would likely serve another purpose. His story is fairly simple if you look at it from a certain viewpoint, but if you really want to dig into who and what he is and how he interacts with the people around him it might come to light that he’s far more indicative of the youth in the current era and how they are attempting to find themselves. The trials and tribulations they go through aren’t easy, but having something that is designed to be as complex as they feel that their lives are could help a great deal when it comes to guiding and helping them along as they make the choices that will affect their lives and how people see them.
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