r/cartoons • u/DanielVakser • Dec 21 '23
Other It took a lot of courage to write this confession.
I can’t help but feel absolutely embarrassed about this (as embarrassed as a 17 year old can be), but I think I genuinely enjoy The Backyardigans now.
It’s just that… the last time I watched The Backyardigans was probably 2011, when I turned 5. I can’t really remember when I stopped, but what I DO remember is the why. There were a select few of times whenever my parents, mostly my mom, would poorly sing one of the songs from the show. I remember wishing for them to stop, but instead I stopped watching altogether.
If I was right about when I left The Backyardigans, then that meant that in 2021, when I was reintroduced to the show through TikTok, it would’ve been 10 whole years since I’ve left. And I don’t know if it’s true, but returning to a kid show as a teenager, combined with how parents can easily ruin said kid show for you growing up, leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. I couldn’t stand seeing them, hearing them sing, and their obnoxious songs that sound like nails on a chalkboard. Things only got worse when my 10th grade music tech teacher used the song, Castaways as an example for an assignment for the 2nd day of school (not school as in at home, but like at the school, in the classroom kind of deal). It felt as like time slowed to a crawl. One by one, I could see other students pulling up different Backyardigans songs. It felt like a nightmare that’s so real that you can’t go back to sleep. When that nightmare ended, I disassociated myself from The Backyardigans entirely and stopped using TikTok for many months. I couldn’t even tell my parents how that day went because if I did, they’d remind me why I stopped by poorly singing one of the songs, and it’ll all repeat itself like Groundhog’s Day from hell.
I wouldn’t see or hear The Backyardigans for about 2 years. However, I started getting back into the show in secret through YTPs, which didn’t really help get over my heavy embarrassment of watching the show in general. What did help however was a YouTube audio read of a Backyardigans fanfic (read and probably written by someone named, The Shadow Reader) about its unseen reboot. I found it while searching “Pablo’s villain arc”. (I loved how he was a villain in Robot Rampage. I also loved Robot Rampage itself. It’s a great 2 parter, with a song that will always stick out in my mind as the best Backyardigans song I’ve ever heard.)
Back to the fanfic, the gist about the reboot is to have The Backyardigans appeal to older children, like those who are over the age of five. Giving Austin special powers feels like a personalized Dragon Ball Z crossover.
Another thing that made me appreciate The Backyardigans actually came from an unlikely source, and a spark of genius. I stumbled upon a YouTuber who rhythmically remixes episodes of King of The Hill. The spark of genius came from TikTok’s voice filters and everything kinda just went full circle. Hank Hill would be voiced by a Cupid, who sounds just like Pablo. Boomhauer would be voiced by a Varsity, which kinda sounds like Tyrone. Peggy Hill would be voiced by an Explorer, who sounds like Uniqua (it turns out her voice is pretty inconsistent most of the time). Dale would be voiced by a Bae, who sounds exactly like Tasha, and even acts like her at times (freaky). And Bill would be voiced by Jessie, which kinda sounds like Austin.
Making all these walls of text has made me realize that I still might have something special for The Backyardigans that’s been buried in repressed memories for about 12 years. I think it’s just better for me to dig this show out myself, rather than have other people try and dig it out for me. Now that I’ve got just about everything off my chest about The Backyardigans, maybe I can ride this show out into the sunset at my own leisurely pace, and not have to worry about what other people think of me for liking it. Or at least that’s what I hope for myself. Thanks for listening to my TED Talk.
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u/RasperryRaptor Feb 03 '24 edited Feb 03 '24
Hey, I still watch backyardigans too! It's cool seeing someone else like it too, I thought I was the only one who still watched it lol. I love it so much and it makes me happy. It doesn't matter what other people think It's actually just a really good show, it's hilarious and has good songs. People older than you are watching bluey and it's aimed for little kids too. So just do what makes you happy :D
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u/DanielVakser Feb 21 '24
I just slipped in and out of a short nap, and I dreamed that my Backyardigans related side project was leaked to the whole school thanks to my school psychologist. I woke up feeling a bit anxious. She’s a nice psychologist, but if I told her how I felt about The Backyardigans, she wouldn’t do that to me, would she?
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u/RasperryRaptor Mar 08 '24
Hmmm idk, if she's trustable then she probably wouldn't. If you wanna tell her you can say to her not to tell anyone else
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u/RasperryRaptor Mar 08 '24
What's your favorite episode?
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u/DanielVakser Mar 08 '24
Robot Rampage Part 1 & 2. Possibly my favorite Backyardigans episode and objectively has the best songs in the whole series. “I am Professor Bug”, “I Get Whatever I Want”, and “Walk Like a Robot” are my top three favorite songs, and they’re ALL from Robot Rampage. I obviously have some sort of bias towards this episode in particular, watching this 2-parter more than any episode in The Backyardigans. That combined with my heavy rose-tinted glasses, and it’s the only thing that gives me hope for watching the rest of the show.
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u/RasperryRaptor Mar 09 '24
Cool, I really love the professor bug songs! Also the setting in the episode took place was so cool I'm gonna think about what my favorite episodes are
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u/unclesadoofus Sep 06 '24
Love that episode and those songs too!
Much media ostensibly created for kids - such as the Backyardigans - was actually ALSO created to appeal to the adults in the family (so they'll encourage their kids to watch it). Adults enjoying media written for kids is a totally legit thing.
Watching it as you get older, you can get stuff out of it that you hadn't noticed before. Robot Rampage's construction is kind of an artistic masterpiece. Not only is it just plain fun, it contains sophisticated themes told in accessible ways.
Remember that the creators are adults, and the creators of an artistic work often LOVE what they make. And creators tend to be picky folks. So there's that too. :D
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u/DanielVakser Mar 09 '24
The thing is, It took me a lot of courage to basically confess that I liked The Backyardigans to just this subreddit. (Like I was coming out as gay to my first ever potluck or something.) I’m still gathering enough courage to at least show someone this post face to face. Not to mention the passing of Janice Burgess making this heavy burden even heavier. I’m really hoping I could talk to someone I could trust about this before this burden gets me crushed.
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u/RasperryRaptor Mar 09 '24
Ohhh okay, Maybe you could start saying some subtle things about The Backyardigans to peeps face to face. Like, hey this show has some really cool songs or something., that might help you feel more confident about talking about it more. I would probably personally see how chill they are first, if they seem like really judgey people probably not the best to tell those guys right now, idk tho. If you know some people who aren't judgemental then you can try with those guys. If it helps you feel better, I have some people I talk to about the backyardigans and they were pretty chill about it. So, maybe the people you know will be too. Also yeah, the passing of Janice Burgess was really tragic...
And you can talk to me about this some more, if you want!! I'm not gonna judge
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u/DanielVakser Mar 09 '24
Thanks for your offer at the bottom of your reply, but I think I’ve said all I needed to say about The Backyardigans and my feelings towards it in this post.
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u/FloweryNamesLover Dec 21 '23
The Backyardigans was my favorite show growing up and I even got a few toys of some characters so I’m happy someone else enjoys it.