Quote:
Originally Posted by Voxxyn
CG's post was well-written and I respect her belief... I still found it upsetting, painful and downright heartbreaking to read.
You make Frankie seem as if she's a boring, ordinary adult character whose only purpose on the show is to clean, cook and be the 'secondary authority figure' next to Mr. Herriman. She is far more than just that; so much, much more. Frankie is completely unlike most other 'adult' characters on children's cartoons. To paraphrase and expand on what Ditchy McAbandonpants said on another thread: she can be a psycho cookie-eater, a love goddess, a rugged rebel, a stern authority figure, a put-upon object-of-sympathy, a devious schemer, a compassionate caregiver, a sarcastic wisecracker, a playful girl, etc--usually she'll be a combination of two or three of these things--and be 100% convincing at each and every single one of them. She's very dynamic and varied as a character, and I believe there's still lots of untapped potential for her.
I don't expect to see any episodes in which Frankie and her daily caregiving duties are the sole focus... just like I don't expect to see any episodes with nothing but Bloo pulling random pranks or Mac studying for school or Eduardo being scared of things or Coco laying eggs or Goo creating IFs or Mr. Herriman bossing everyone around or Madame Foster drinking tea(I'd add 'or Wilt doing good deeds for strangers' if it weren't for WTAWTAW). Foster's is very much an ensemble show, and it depends on all the characters to come together and mesh their idiosyncratic quirks to create the storylines and adventures for us to enjoy. That said(and I realize this could make me sound hypocritical), I do believe that Frankie adds a special touch that elevates Foster's from being a typical children's cartoon. She is so sincere and likable as a character, that she adds a great deal of depth and warmth merely by being there. I've tried to watch "Infernal Slumber" a few times, which is an amusing episode, don't get me wrong -- but it just felt so shallow and childish without Frankie. The same goes for "Make-Believe It or Not", which is even worse because it behaved as if Frankie didn't exist at all("Slumber" at least had a good premise for her absence). And I WILL be deeply disappointed if she's also absent in the upcoming "Cheese A Go-Go".
To me, Frankie is the true heart of Foster's. She should NOT be denied the spotlight just because it's a children's show.
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CG wasn't saying that she felt that way about Frankie, though, nor was she saying that that's the way it
should be. We all love Frankie, and we all know that she
shouldn't be cast aside just because kids like the ~*~wacky~*~ young characters or IFs, but we're talking from a factual business-type standpoint here, and CN is ever eager to cash in on any immensely popular character and drain them of their funniness, for example.
I don't doubt that the crew knows how loved she is and would never dream of making her a one-dimensional background character, but an episode or movie entirely about her would probably bore the younguns. Again, I don't think this is how it
should be or a good thing, but look what CN did with Cheese. Kids love him, so they keep using him in practically every episode like a thing that gets used a lot.
I would have to disagree with the thing about Infernal Slumber, though... while Frankie is always nice to have around, childishness (but not immaturity in the crude humor sense) is a crucial part of Foster's.
Also, I just thought MBION was terribly boring all around, and there was absolutely no explanation given for the mysterious absence of Frankie, Madame F., and Mr. Herriman. Even a simple throwaway line about where they were could have worked.