Animators' proposal urges kids cartoon cleanup

Ten domestic cartoon production agencies and 10 broadcasters on Thursday issued a written proposal that calls for a ban on uncivilized, vulgar and violent cartoons. Major producers behind its drafting include CCTV Animation, Beijing Uyoung Media and Shenzhen Huaqiang Holdings Ltd, while major broadcasters include children's or cartoon channels of China Central Television (CCTV) and provincial TV stations in areas including Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hunan and Guangdong. "Cartoons should play a leading and healthy role in the growth of minors," it said, adding they should help youngsters form sound morality and codes of conduct. The proposal targets recent complaints by parents about cartoons including "Pleasant Goat" and "Boonie Bears," which have been held to contain improper content. Producers of the two popular Chinese animated series have started to rework them before rebroadcasting in order not to misguide minors. Under the proposal, cartoons should promote good and lash out at evil, and they should advocate social morality and family virtues, and resist "egoism, money worship, hedonism, superstition, pseudoscience and contents containing harmful thoughts and bad habits." The proposal insisted that cartoons should avoid violent, bloody, terrorizing, vulgar and erotic pictures, as well as depictions of attacks, injury, self-destruction and crimes that tend to be easily imitated by children. Daily necessities should not be used for dangerous purposes in cartoons, it added. Obscene, vulgar and insulting language should not occur in cartoons, according to the proposal, which also urged an end to broadcasts of mediocre or even poor-quality cartoons. Meanwhile, China's State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television will promulgate rules for cartoons before year end.