Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this animated series includes good and bad monsters of all shapes and sizes, including some who -- by choice -- have crossed over from humanity and joined the evil side. Young viewers may be frightened by monstrous villains or scenes showing humans briefly morphing into monsters. Cartoon violence (explosions, laser blasts from eyes) is commonplace throughout the show and never results in lasting injury. This series offers very little in the way of constructive content for kids, existing mostly as TV fluff.
Families can talk about allergies and other afflictions. What does it mean to be allergic to something? Does anyone you know have allergies? What kinds of things can cause allergies? Families can also discuss being a good friend. How can you show a friend that you care? Do you have a friend you share secrets with? Why is it important to share your feelings with someone?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Emily Ashby
In MONSTER ALLERGY, allergy-afflicted Zick (voiced by Holly Prankel) discovers another sensitivity to add to his list: monsters. He notices monsters all around him that are roaming the world unseen by other people (a la the dead folk in The Sixth Sense), and it's not just the resulting sneezing that has him worried. He's also concerned about the monsters' intent to -- you guessed it -- take over the world.
To combat their efforts, Zick teams up with his talking cat, Timothy, who runs a pseudo detention center in Zick's house (unbeknownst to his mom) for monsters with rap sheets. Timothy's job is twofold: to rehabilitate these first-time offenders and to keep them safely out of the grip of the villainous Magna Cat (Al Goulem), a former student of Timothy's who's gathering an army of lackeys to do his bidding (shades of Star Wars, anyone?).
Timothy begins training Zick in Jedi -- er, monster -- abilities so that he can help battle the villains and hopefully become a Monster Tamer someday. The cat also gives the boy a hand-held device that allows him to suck monsters into a small container, which Timothy then adds to his collection of bottled-up bad guys in Zick's basement (yes, it does sound like Ghostbusters).
Rounding out the well-intentioned team is Zick's friend Elena (Annie Bovair); together, the protagonists do their best to stay one step ahead of Magna Cat and his subordinates.
Frequent cartoon violence and scary villains rule out Monster Allergy for the youngest viewers -- and although little of the remaining content is likely to cause parental concern for older kids, it's fair to say that this derivative cartoon (which is based on an Italian comic book series of the same name) doesn't offer much in the way of strikingly positive content. All in all, there are better choices than this one.
Try Monsters, Inc. or What's New Scooby Doo? instead.
Rate It!
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ViolenceCartoon violence includes laser blasts, electrocution, explosions, and falls from great heights, none of which results in injury. Lots of scenes featuring monsters, some of which can be scary. |
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Social BehaviorThe lone adult character is a slightly spacey, hippified mom whose presence in her son's life is minimal. Instead, he gets most of his guidance from a talking cat. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoThe main character occasionally uses an asthma inhaler for medicinal purposes. |
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