The Creative Chaos of Codename: Kids Next Door

getting older sucks but it's not so bad when you've got a treehouse in an armory full of two-by-four technology that is essentially the elevator pitch for codename kids next door animated shows especially during the 2000s had a tendency to glorify adulthood growing up timmy turner doesn't want to do Vicky anymore and eventually becomes this and the Rugrats after spending years as babies eventually turn into this a kids next door and its creator new one all important thing there's something very special about being a kid when Tom Warburton sat down to create Kenny and the chimp for Cartoon Network he gave it to a set of unruly neighbors with no parental supervision and Kenny in the chimp failed to be picked up by Cartoon Network Warburton pitched a different idea he turned those unruly neighbors into something else around the same time Cartoon Network held a competition ten pilots would air and viewers would vote on the one they wanted to see turn into a show the winner would be granted a series order this is actually a campaign poster Warburton made for the pilot he had come up with in an effort to get the name of the show out there a show about a group of kids a team of spies that live in a giant tree house whose only goal was to fight the realities of adulthood that pilot would win an operation code name kids next door was a go I think what's most incredible about kids next door is the very thing that carries its message it is a giant beautiful mess of ideas inspiration and risks that somehow works perfectly that chaos starts with the show's creation Warburton fell in love with anime as he entered the animation industry particularly Miyazaki's castle in the sky in the MEK series Gundam those influences are the last thing you'd expect to inspire an American show about spies but they're also incredibly clear literally anthem Attica Lee in his work instead of a castle in the sky K&D has a treehouse that stretches to those very Heights and the mech battles of Gundam are painted well everywhere but this looks a tad different than this doesn't it kids next door dips into these Japanese influences influences that shouldn't work together and reimagines them in the strangest most chaotic ways imaginable almost like a kid would [Music] [Laughter] this anime-style moment is from the season 2 episode operation report designed to look like a Dragonball Z episode confused the creative chaos of kids next door is just as evident in the episodes that Warburton referred to as art shows aberration report is one of those art shows it's an entire episode done in 5 totally distinct in unique art styles 5 art styles in 11 minutes our chose came once per season they were the animation teams chance to try something and do something dramatically different each year a chance to forget the rules and make anything this is operation food fight [Music] in our show episode in which 111 minute song underscores the whole episode everything happens on beat every hint door slam explosion and the villain only speaks if she's rapping it's a remarkable feat of animation given that creating something of this nature and stretching it over 11 minutes without it losing its appeal is borderline impossible especially because Warburton had a heavy metal band that specializes in live shock art create the music for the episode but it works and the muscular healthy thumbs you've always wanted operation science here is the final art show of the series jamming five ideas again into one episode the episode made up of fake commercials for two-by-four technology the wood gear K&D uses the episode is exactly what you'd expect of a middle school science show six of these episodes were made others like operation fly tell the story of a phase journey to the treehouse operation love is a musical in the style of West Side Story and then there's operation Arkham [Music] now accessing historical databases you have selected historical file number 723 68 the creative stew of ideas that drives code name keys next door finds its route more often than you'd expect in parity warburton decay and the animation team took influences from so many juxtaposing places that if they were written on a restaurant napkin you'd think it was a TV Guide operation archive is a parody of the second Renaissance a piece of the anime continuation of the Matrix the Animatrix conan kids next door knew exactly who its audience was and how varied that audience was instead of talking above or below its viewers heads it met them halfway an operation Maurice number five bites a clan of teenagers upset that she's turning 12 because it means soon she'll be old too old to be a candy operative no longer a kid you think a show so rooted in celebrating childhood with episodes like those would pander to that crowd candy does not the Animatrix isn't the only parody that would fly right over most kids heads operation moon is a full-fledged Truman Show parody with number fours family as the participants operation naughty the Christmas special is a parody of the x-men animated series from the 90s that had been off the air for well over a decade by the time this episode premiered the Santa playing the role of Professor X even the kids next door logo is a reference to Charlie's Angels and those parodies and references are smashed in between episodes like these [Music] this is the kids next door version of the chess game and Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets an episode that concludes at the end of the chamber and a body of water where a monster needs fighting things every kid that would pick up on candy knew how to be a show for kids and a show for everyone all it was it knew how to take original ideas in decades-old IPs and mash them together into wholly new bits of animation and that's because that creative chaos as I keep calling it doesn't represent a show for kids it represents something much more Universal it represents the chaos of change the kids next door are the Peter Pan's of suburbia their fight is against adulthood they don't want to grow up they hate teenagers in what adulthood represents the big villain of the show is named father their main nemesis are the proper and put together doppelgangers of themselves the polar opposite of the anarchy of everything happening in their own treehouse episodes like the fountain show a kid trying to remain a kid forever and then a few episodes later number four would be trying to pull off being an adult to sneak into an r-rated movie confusing nature of wanting two things you can't have at once this is brought to life nowhere better than an operation grow up number one is turned into an adult's that very driving fear of the entire show and he fights the father to return to being a kid and he does so is the adult version of himself right alongside the rest of the kids next door perfectly embodying the confusion of growing up all wrapped up in one episode the clashing of inspiration of styles of subject matter of cultures that the show represented carried out across one episode and stretched into six seasons [Music] when you turn 13 you're decommissioned you are no longer a kids next door your mind is wiped of all memories of the KND it's a big moment in the show operatives come from all over it's sad growing up in real life is less ceremonious it does kind of suck you do start to forget you lose track of those memories of those feelings but code-named kids next door was a confusingly mature look at maturity the show maintains its childlike chaos creatively narrative leap throughout every episode it is exactly what it means to be young it's easy to brush off the intent of the creators of animated shows but I think it's clear that throughout the chaos Warburton wanted people to remember one thing the one thing to show embodied better than anything else and something I think the show was a great conduit for the best parts of life are the craziest strangest most chaotic most confusing parts and if you remember that you won't ever have to grow up it's not your age that's changed it's you so maybe just don't even if we never see each other again just promise me one thing that you'll never grow up even if you're a hundred years old and don't remember a thing about our times together still be a kid at heart okay so who's with me kids next our goodbye that is a wrap on today's episode of nerd Stahl Jake if you enjoyed this video and more importantly want to see more stuff like kids next door on this channel press the like button and if you want to see those things when they come out press subscribe pressing a little bell next to the subscribe button also helps a lot it'll make sure that you're notified when I actually upload a video to this channel and make sure you know when something new comes out so press the bonuses subscribe button as well and on screen right now are two more episodes of Bertha stall jaqui if you want to check those out click in either box and I'll see you guys in the next episode

Channel: Nerdstalgic

Views: 681,254

Rating: 4.9559932 out of 5

Keywords: codename kids next door, knd, kids next door, kids next door episodes, codename kids next door episodes, codename kids next door ending, codename knd, cartoon, cartoon network, nerdstalgic

Id: rhT7k2U-LdM

Length: 10min 24sec (624 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 31 2019