Animation
Thomas & Friends
Over 24 seasons, Thomas & Friends has taught young viewers important lessons about being helpful, teamwork and admitting your mistakes.
Jenny Hart is a single, pretty-as-a-peach Southern mom serving tables at a local restaurant called The Last Supper. She lives with her mom, Betty, boyfriend, Wayne, and her teenage daughter, Violet. When she’s not riffing off that good ol’ Southern charm for extra tips, she and Wayne brainstorm get-rich-quick schemes in an attempt to better their living situation and pay for Violet’s art school—a task that isn’t made any easier by Betty’s gambling habits.
Unfortunately, Jenny’s plans often go to Hades in a handbasket. So, whenever she needs moral guidance, she pictures Jesus coming out of the giant “Last Supper” painting on the restaurant wall to act as her laid-back and somewhat sardonic conscience.
You would think with Fox’s lineup of The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers that the network wouldn’t need another adult cartoon show for their “Animation Domination” block on Sundays. But in Fox’s estimation, you’d be as wrong as all get out.
Bless the Harts would likely make a bishop mad enough to kick in stained glass windows. Jenny does seem to have some sort of religious background (probably courtesy of the Bible Belt where she grew up), but the Jesus she pictures sips the water he turned to wine as he doles out spiritual guidance. And although the show steers away from any wildly overt sexual content (unlike some of the shows mentioned above), it does use sexual situations for laughs. In addition, the language is just crass, and many characters are played up to fulfill crude archetypes (such as Jenny’s chain-smoking mother and slower-than-molasses boyfriend).
Jenny’s town is split after several concerned citizens request the removal of a historical statue depicting a man smoking. Though anti-tobacco herself, Jenny realizes that she can get more tips if she plays both sides. Meanwhile, Betty and Violet visit an old beauty queen in the hopes of encountering a Grey Gardens-esque recluse.
Those in favor of tobacco fill the air with cigarette smoke. An “exotic dancer” (wearing a crop top and short skirt) proclaims the benefits of secondhand smoke, and in what is meant to be comical farce, a man with a hole in his neck uses an electrolarynx to promote smoking. A mother arguing with an anti-smoker accidentally blows smoke into her daughter’s face and the girl starts coughing.
Young women (including at least one 17-year-old) compete in a “Miss Teen Tobacco Leaf” beauty pageant. In a photograph depicting the “Smoking Olympics,” people attempt to smoke while swimming competitively. The caption accompanying the picture says although the athletes didn’t drown, they did all die of cancer. A tongue-in-cheek joke is made about cartoon characters smoking on TV.
A very old man is naked in bed (his bottom half covered), waiting for his teenage girlfriend. She flees in disgust after seeing him. He later marries a similarly young woman. A woman implies that she wants to have a sexual relationship with another woman. A man created a sperm bank with only his sperm. A woman spoons a skeleton. Jenny and Wayne cuddle on the couch. A man and woman in hospital gowns show off their hip-replacement scars.
A riot breaks out after a town meeting and we later see people beating each other up and the town destroyed. There is a picture of a baby holding a knife with its teeth. Betty and Jenny drink lots of boxed wine. A man drinks directly from a whiskey bottle before blowing fire. A teenage boy with an effeminate voice is mistaken as a woman’s granddaughter. A woman talks about getting turned on. Another woman mentions the age of her brassiere. A couple steals the complimentary bread from a restaurant after deciding not to eat there. We hear “d–n,” “h—,” “b–ch,” “d—it,” “a–” and “crap” as well as three misuses of the Lord’s name.
There is a picture of Jesus standing beneath a rainbow in the background of Jenny’s house. The owner of The Last Supper wears a cross necklace. Jenny imagines Jesus offering her advice about her moral dilemma when she feels conflicted about compromising her values for money.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
Over 24 seasons, Thomas & Friends has taught young viewers important lessons about being helpful, teamwork and admitting your mistakes.
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