6Teen

This show kinda reminds me of Corn & Peg, because it has beautiful animation, voice actors (Stacey Depass as Nikki), great plots, and uses the same software Toon Boom Harmony. half of the animators and crewwho worked on this show also worked on Corn & Peg, like Kerry Sargent, Dinah Wilson, Mike Csunyoscka, Jamie Galloro, the late Mike Northcott and many more. it also reminded me as a teenager growing up. one of my favorite characters is Jonesy because he always gets fired from a new job every episode. and Caitlin because she works at The Big Squeeze or the lemon. some of my favorites moments include, Jude playing SImu-Mall. Jonesy working as Pokey The Panda. and THe man-off challenge.

I find that I have little patience for most teen programming. The writing and performances on Disney Channel 'sit-coms' are so excruciating that without the laugh track one might forget that they are supposed to be funny. Yet, 6teen is consistently funny without resorting to cheap sight gags and pratfalls all of the time by being cleverly observant of teen life with its insecurities and hangups. The characters are well individualized, if oddly mismatched, and the dynamic between each of them is explored and evolves as the show goes on and the characters pass through the usual teen rites of passage, such as dating and breaking up, getting a job and getting fired etc... Shallow, fashion-obsessed Caitlin wants to fit in, and clicks quickly with athletic and driven Jen, but dark non-conformist Nikki isn't looking for an 'insta-friend'. And sensitive Wyatt finds himself an odd man out among chauvinistic Jonesy and slacker Jude. Yet, the six teens are closer to one another than to anybody else in their lives and they wind up supporting and lending strength to each other as they dust themselves off after every new misadventure.

The character animation and action direction are very simplistic. Heads rarely move in a shot, just mouths, and if one figure is moving the rest are static. Fortunately the show is driven primarily by its character interactions anyway and it thrives on its writing rather than action.

I like the fact that this cartoon goes places other cartoons usually don't. Multiple story lines, a little "mature" humor. It's a refreshing break from the rather dull cartoons you'll see on American television. Also, the appealing character designs and personalities make me actually "care" about what happens to the characters. I don't really care what happens to somebody like "Johnny Test" for example. Another thing I like is that this show pushes the limits. Too many cartoons these days are afraid to show anything remotely offensive, but 6teen has implied cursing, pixelated nudity, and, well--you just have to watch. I've noticed Canadian television programs always seem to go farther than their American counterparts in that sense. You can also notice a slight Canadian accent in the characters when they pronounce words like "out".

My kids started watching this show a year ago and they really liked it. I happened to be nearby one day and started watching it with them. It is a really great show for kids. It is funny and entertaining but it also has a lot of life lessons in it. How to treat your friends, how to stand up for your friends and how to stand up against them if you think they need it. How to decide what you should do in future situations (my kids are younger than the kids on the show). I think it is terrific and am glad it is a Canadian show. We need more shows for kids that aren't all noise and screaming and flash. I would recommend this show to just about anyone. My friends have kids that watch this show as well and they all really like it including the mothers.

This show also turned out better than I thought. At first, I questioned the time the six friends (Jonesy, Nikki, Jude, Wyatt, Jen, & Caitlin) spent at the mall. A little too much, if you ask me. In every single episode, 98% of the setting is at the mall.

But then again, this show still displays good humour without too many clichés, even surprising me, and I tend to look for clichés in new cartoons. The show is surprisingly funny.

However, some parts of the show can be inappropriate for younger children. I think that the G rating the show was given on Teletoon was too low.

In all, a very good show with plenty of humour, some romance, and surprise.