Parents' Guide to

Atomic Betty

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Spunky space-travelling heroine is positive model for kids.

TV Discovery Family Channel Kids' Animation 2004
Atomic Betty Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Danny S.
Danny S. Adult
April 7, 2018
age 7+

This title has:

Great role models
Too much violence
Angelistic-101
Angelistic-101 Adult
August 28, 2013
age 8+

You go girl!

I've always loved this show as a kid! Atomic Betty was one of my favourite cartoons growing up. In this day and age, finding a show with a female protagonist that is a good role model, displays positive messages, and does not fit into stereotypes and leads to the destruction of young girls, is extremely hard! The common problem with today's society, is that women are viewed as mere sex objects and are inferior to men. Seldom do you ever see a cartoon starring a female character that breaks the stereotypes. That's why Atomic Betty rocks. It stems from the others, and shows that women can be just as tough (if not tougher) than men, and can hold their own with little to no help from men. Sure there are times when a girl needs a hand, but AB proves to be a very powerful, smart, and brave young girl that kicks major butt!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

When evil threatens galactic peace, self-declared "Defender of the Cosmos" Atomic Betty (voiced by Tajja Isen) is quick to defend the existence of residents of planets near and far. A mild-mannered junior high student by day, when duty calls, Atomic Betty jumps into action with her faithful partners, enthusiastic co-pilot Sparky (Rick Miller) and omniscient robot X-5 (Bruce Hunter). Together the team attempts to thwart the advances of villains like Maximus I.Q. (Colin Fox). The show originally aired from 2004-2008.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (3):

ATOMIC BETTY proves that equal opportunity exists even in the cartoon world. This spunky young space traveler can hold her own in a male-dominated field of action-adventure characters, and the show ups the ante on its TV peers by including some worthwhile messages as well. Far from being an accidental heroine, Betty thrives on the challenge of unraveling her adversaries' evil plans and restoring the galactic balance. But her best quality is her dissimilarity to many other tween girls -- cartoon or not -- on TV today. She's unaffected by peer pressure and popularity and relies on her teammates and her smarts to get the job done.

As for the show's content, there's nothing worrisome for its intended kid audience aside from some mild potty humor and a smattering of brief scuffles between Betty's team and the bad guys. In the end, though, none of these minor blemishes tarnish the show's greatest asset -- its respectable heroine.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about heroes. Who are some of your heroes? How would you define a hero? What qualities are most important to you in selecting a role model? How can their actions change how you feel about them?

  • Talk about responsibility. What are your responsibilities at home and in school? Who determines these responsibilities? Do you think they're fair? How are people responsible for each other?

  • How does this cartoon compare with some of your favorites? Did it strike you as funny? What did you think of the characters? Could you relate to Betty?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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