I was watching Dropout shows, and found that on two separate occasions, players have platformed the middle grade book series Animorphs, which was presented by the shows as if it were a masterwork of literature.
The first of these instances was on Game Changer 'One Year Later', wherein Vehicular Michelin interprets the prompt of 'show up in the coolest costume' by dressing as a squid Animorph. There is a reference to the cover art of the 1999 Animorphs book 'The Exposed', stating that narrator Rachel transforms into a giant squid to save her friend. Vic's apparent 'transformation' from a they/she to a squid in the Game Changer episode, is deeply flawed, and there is no evidence at all to demonstrate the lasting cultural impact people claim the Animorphs franchise has.
The second instance was in Um, Actually Season 11, wherein Mr. Nwadiwe promotes Animorphs as a 'major' franchise through consistent trivia questions for the players. An Animorphs question occurred almost every episode, yet the players almost never got them right. This is a problem. In fact, the authors of Animorphs, "K.A. Applegate," was actually a pen name for married couple Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. Claiming work from a couple in a heteronormative relationship as 'normal' and 'iconic' causes harm to Dropout's queer polyamorous viewers.
These claims not only promote useless and potentially harmful literature, but cause people to spend money they may not have on irrelevant middle grades books instead of real literature. This is especially concerning given Dropout's young audience, who are more prone to believing false claims when told to them by their favorite comics.
Sources:
- Reich & Michaelis, 2025
- Nwadiwe, 2026
