Perhaps, like Kennedy, I’m overthinking Paw Patrol. Perhaps the characters will realize that they made a mistake, or come to the conclusion that some people are just a bit difficult, but worth befriending - think Oscar the Grouch, or Eeyore, the clinically depressed donkey.īut Paw Patrol doesn’t care to show its characters navigate the treacherous landscape of friendship it just wants to sell toys to your children, and has figured out a formula that will engage them, time and time again. I can certainly see the appeal in the fantasy, but there’s also something vaguely depressing about it in children’s media, the point of friends fighting is that they eventually make amends, and understand why the conflict arose. And in the playground, that’s just not true. To be fair, that also describes many superhero stories, but at least superheroes tend to have strongly defined personalities, and conflicts within the team Paw Patrol depicts a world where your friends will never let you down, or hurt you in any way, whatsoever. In the world of Paw Patrol, good characters are always nice and bad characters are always naughty, and the only source of conflict comes from interactions between the two. In fact, every single character in the titular team has the exact same personality the pups differ in appearance and theme, but I couldn’t name a single character trait that describes any of them, other than “helpful.” In contrast, Paw Patrol never shows Ryder and his team of pups disagreeing about anything, ever. Really, it’s a melodramatic soap opera starring sentient trains.Īnd to be honest, I really like that about Thomas, because it (presumably) teaches children that in the real world, people have a great deal of trouble getting along and reaching a common goal, because their personalities and values are constantly coming into conflict with one another, despite their best intentions. The most amusing thing about Thomas and Friends is the title, because the trains all kind of hate each other, and are constantly gossiping and arguing, their personal conflicts fueling the plot of most episodes. It’s the small-scale stuff that’s important, rather than the big picture.īut when it comes to character interactions, Paw Patrol presents a strange, distorted view of the world. There’s already been great articles written about the dystopian undercurrent of Thomas and Friends.īut then, I lightened up, and came to the conclusion that while overthinking children’s media is fun, children are (most likely) absorbing the interactions between characters, rather than the insidious implications of the plot, or setting.
Youtube videos paw patrol series#
The series Thomas and Friends goes out of its way to push the notion that every individual should dedicate themselves to their labor, to obey the demands of their corporate overlords, to a rather unhealthy degree. From our time racing on Paw Patrol: Grand Prix, even though it doesn't look or feel as smooth as say Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Team Sonic Racing or Crash Team Racing, it is more focused and less confusing than Chocobo GP, and given the aids and the target audience, it could well become a hit among parents and children both now that they're getting back to school and even up until Christmas.Before my eldest became enamored with Paw Patrol, he was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine, and I used to find Thomas’ fixation on being a “really useful engine” somewhat sinister. Would they let the children win, who knows?"īut we won't. And then you can have the parents playing without the assist on and it gives that nice little balance. You can let the game control the vehicle and they can just use the power-ups. Cause Paw Patrol is appealing to two and three years old as well, and maybe they've never played before but they can still have a game they can put on autodrive and they'll still have a great time. Similarly to Mario Kart on Switch, and as a very welcomed feature for both 3-4 year old kids and newcomers to video games, Paw Patrol: Grand Prix has some handling aids, but not gyro controls for steering on Switch or PlayStation. And that's what you unlock as go through the story.
You can wear different hats, you can get different boost trails, different skins for the vehicles. But then, on top of that, you have customisation options for your characters. "We wanted to make sure that the kids could play as their favourite character straight away so all the main characters are there from the beginning, and then as you play through the adventure that's when you start to unlock a few of the extra karts really fast.
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