The Dark Episodes of cartoons deep dive volume one and two

 

Warning: Some topics in this post may be disturbing to some viewers 

This is the script I wrote for a video essay I posted to my YouTube channel back in December 2024. However, I used an A.I voice as I don’t feel too comfortable using my real voice in videos. With all the problems caused by A.I and the overload of it everywhere I was not too proud of being someone that shared A.I of any kind to YouTube. I have since privated that video. The script for the video was fully researched and written by me myself so that is why I will share it here for everyone to read. I will also be including a Script I made for another disturbing cartoon essay I had planned. I have altered them slightly to fit more as a normal essay instead of an essay intended for video. If anyone really wants to see the video essay, it has been archived on the internet archive along with my other YouTube videos.

The disturbing 80s cartoon episode that few have talked about....

Hello everyone, today I want to try something a bit different. Today I want to talk about a particular 80s cartoon episode that I always found quite disturbing. The odd thing however is so far, I have not seen this Episode mentioned in any other disturbing cartoon Episode essays. So, hey why don’t I talk about it!

The cartoon titled Bravestarr was a children's cartoon that aired 1987 to 1988 and had only one season consisting of 65 episodes. It aired in syndication and was produced by Filmation, the same company that produced cartoons like the 1983 “He-man and the Masters of the Universe”, the 1977 “New Adventures of Batman”, even The Ghostbusters...the Filmation one. I would also like to add an extra note, Brave Star I believe was Filmation’s last cartoon before they shut down in 1989.

Anyway, on with Bravestarr’s plot… Bravestarr takes place in a world that combines space with the wild west. Most episodes take place on New Texas which is a kind of planet…I guess… that has three suns and is far from earth. It is what you would expect in a Western like setting, prairies, deserts, things like that. The main character is a Native American Marshall named Bravestarr, and he is joined by his deputies Thirty Thirty who is also Brave Starr’s Horse and Fuzz who is one of the Prairie People. Basically, an Anthropomorphic Prairie dog, I guess.

There are a lot more details, but I would like to get to the main topic of this essay. The Disturbing episode that honestly surprised me. The Bravestarr Episode titled: The Price. This episode aired October 22, 1987. It starts with 3 kids who are in a fort they made. The three kids are Brad, Jay, and Daisy. They are in this fort when a Dingo appears. Jay goes to see what he wants. Daisy feels uneasy and is just like nope. Bye! Which honestly yeah, I don’t blame her this Dingo looks pretty shady. 

The scene then moves to Bravestarr and Thirty Thirty as they try to calm down a man who is a Spin Addict and is hallucinating and having an episode due to the drug. Spin is just an in-world drug. They probably didn't want to use words like Cocaine or Heroin in a cartoon for younger audiences. Which is understandable.

After this we are back to Brad and Jay talking to the Dingo who offers them the drug spin talking about how much “fun” it is. As many drug dealers do, the dingo gives them a free hit to get them hooked. Jay is on board, but Brad refuses. Jay does try the drug and of course enjoys it at first he tells Brad about the experience and Brad still feels it is wrong however hesitates to tell someone due to Jay seeing him as a “chicken”.

Later, Jay returns to the Dingo, who they call Dealer, but I’ve been calling him Dingo. It doesn't really matter. Jay asks for more spin, and the dingo of course says he must pay for it this time. Jay takes his moms money…or well he straight up takes her whole purse. He pays and gets more Spin this time he is even more out of in and high from the spin. Brad finds him in this state and is very concerned Jay tells him he must promise not to tell anyone. Brad struggles with the decision of either getting Jay help or keeping his secret. With guidance he chooses to go get help however Bravestarr is already heading out toward the Spin factory which they located thanks to one of Bravestarr’s powers “the eyes of the hawk”. Bravestarr is successful. Honestly the dingos did not really put up much of a fight. Brad tells Bravestarr about Jay's addiction and takes him to the fort he and his friends made. 

They find Jay in the fort …dead. Yes, this shocked me the first time I watched it. Many cartoons that give this message usually have happy endings but not this one. This is one of the first children cartoons I have seen that actually had the death of a child. I will play the scene now…

While yes, this Episode was disturbing it is rightfully so. Drugs were a big problem then and still are now. Bravestarr showed that there is not always a happy ending to these things. It doesn't matter how young or strong someone is, drugs can take hold of someone and not let go. While thanks to care and will power there are some that can overcome the addiction but as this Bravestarr episode showed, sadly, this is not always the case. Many unfortunately die due to the addiction. 

To everyone reading, stay safe out there, and say no to drugs….

Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids- Gang Wars

After my Bravestarr video a lot of viewers made comments then about the dark Fat Albert cartoon episode titled “Gang wars” so I wanted to talk about it. Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids was an educational American cartoon that was hosted and created by the comedian Bill Cosby and produced by Filmation in 1972 and aired until 1985. As I said in my last video Filmation is the company behind cartoons like He-Man and the masters of the universe and The new adventures of Batman and a lot more! Fat Albert was actually inspired by Bill Cosby’s childhood gang of friends.

The episode starts with Fat Albert and his friends cleaning up an old lot that they were asked to clean for a park that was planned on being made in that spot. A young boy named Fernando joins the group to help clean up. Soon his older brother Teto arrives, during their talk Teto mentions that he is in a street gang called the 33d Street Gang which is a rough bunch in the neighborhood and enemies to another gang called the Green Street gang. Tito asks them to join but Fat Albert is quick to refuse however Fernando is torn between staying out of it or joining his big brother's gang and being loyal to his brother. A war between the two gangs is planned for that night causing Fat Albert and his friends to be right in the middle. Tito pressures his little brother Fernando to join the gang even though Fernando wants nothing to do with the violence and fighting of the gang war. What's worse is that they soon learn the green street gang now have guns which only adds a whole other level of danger to the situation. Fernando, worried for his big brother Tito, goes to look for him; he is accompanied by his friend Fat Albert in his search. They run into the Green Street gang who chases them, but they luckily escape. They luckily run into a Policeman who takes them in his squad car for safety. When a commotion is heard the Policeman tells them to stay put while he investigates. Fernando however notices his big brother Tito in a nearby alley and runs to him. What proceeds is the scene that gives us the harsh reality of what gang violence and wars can lead to. I'll play the clip now…..

This episode shows us that violence is never a good answer when two sides are against each other. Violence only leads to pain and destruction for both sides. When two sides are against each other the best thing to do is to try to compromise and talk things out. If you don’t it will only lead to hurt or in this episode's situation even death….