In search for an Arab cartoon "hero"

About ten years ago, when one would ask himself about the Arab cartoons that he knew of, he would probably say: none. In the last couple of years, there were some attempts to create Arab cartoon characters that address Arab children in specific.

Today, we do have Arab cartoon characters. Cairo Cartoon Studio, supervised by late Dr. Mona Abou El Nasr, can be considered as a pioneer in the Arab cartoon industry. It created cartoons such as Kani & Mani, Sindbad and Bakkar. Other Egyptian studios created other cartoons such as Hanadi, M5, and several others. There were also few attempts on a regional scale, with some cartoon attempts in Saudi Arabia.



We do have Arab cartoon characters, but do we have Arab cartoon heroes? What's the difference, you may ask. I believe that a cartoon hero is very much different from a regular cartoon character. Your definition of a hero may be different, but I believe that a real cartoon hero is someone that a kid not only likes to watch, but likes to imitate, or model his/her behavior according to the actions of that cartoon character.

A true cartoon hero is also characterized by loyalty. If kids love that hero, they may stay following its cartoon show, and sometimes even buying any related product to that character. A true cartoon hero is widely popular, not only in a city, but on a wider scale. For example, Superman, Batman, Spiderman are international characters that are known everywhere.




Let's try to apply these 3 characters on our Arab cartoon characters. Let's take the relatively most popular Egyptian cartoon character, Bakkar. Bakkar is a Nubian boy, living in Aswan, with his mother and little goat Rashida. Bakkar has lots of friends and goes on many adventures. He is a sensitive and kind-hearted kid who is talented in drawing. Bakkar has been there for more than 7 years. It is aired every Ramdan. The show is usually a 30-epsiode, with each episode lasting for about 15 minutes. Today, Bakkar is probably the only Egyptian (and Arab) cartoon character that is being regarded as a cartoon hero.

Let's take the first characteristic of a cartoon hero: modeling behaviors according to the hero's actions. Let that be the first criteria. Do kids tend to imitate Bakkar? Do they see him as a role model to follow? The answer, I believe, is a big NO. Kids today tend to look up to actors, football players and singers but definitely not to Bakkar. Even if they imitate a cartoon character, they imitate a character that they feel challenging to them. Some of my friends told me that their young brothers laugh at Bakkar. Of course, Bakkar's show producers were not hoping for the show to be a comedy one, but I believe Bakkar as a cartoon character has a serious communication problem with kids. The show treats them as if they were the same kids of the 1950s or 1960s: kids who have to drink milk before they sleep, do their homework and obey what Mummy is saying otherwise there will be no sweets and they will be grounded. Come on, kids today are not kids anymore. We are in the internet age, and they know everything. They want a cartoon character that challenges them, not act as a third-grade teacher who tells them to do their homework on time. Bakkar has really good concepts, but it says it so directly, that it sometimes seems silly and naïve. Kids will never imitate someone they don't believe that he is with to look up to. For Bakkar, I believe they underestimate the character and not the opposite.

A hero also has loyalty. Are children loyal to Bakkar? Do they care to watch him every Ramadan? At this point, I believe that there is some loyalty for Bakkar. I know kids who care to watch it every Ramadan. But loyalty alone does not make a real hero to me, because you have to ask the kid: why do you care to see Bakkar? Is it because of a habit that you do every Ramadan? Or because you really like Bakkar and wait for his annual adventures? Or because it's the almost only Arab cartoon aired on Egyptian TV in Ramadan? Or do you care to watch it to laugh at the silly goat and the over-childish plots in the show?

Popularity is also an important feature of a real cartoon hero. Ask any child in any country about Captain Maged, Mazinger, Batman, Mickey Mouse and Donald duck, Tom and Jerry, they will very likely tell you a lot of them. Bakkar of course is not required (nor intended) to be an international character because it is an Arabic-speaking character. I heard that Chinese Television bought the episodes and aired the episodes, but let's take a narrower scope: the Arab world. Is Bakkar known all over the Arab world? I really don't know the answer, but what I am sure of, is that even if it is known all over the Arab world, it is not as popular as foreign cartoons.

What does Bakkar, or any other Arab cartoon character need to become a true cartoon hero. Well, that's a difficult question, but if you ask me I think there are three key requirements: excellent production, excellent technicalities (story writing and artwork), but the third element is the most important. The producers of the show have to research their children audiences and see who they are addressing. They need to respect children's intelligence and address them in a way that makes them feel challenged not underestimated. I think that it really hurts the child when he feels that he's being viewed as a kid who is not yet old enough to think and decide for himself. When a cartoon show gives him that feeling, he does the simplest authority he has: he switches the channel right way!