Codename: Kids Next Door - Operation: P.O.A.C.H.E.R.

Perspective
Of
Adult
Changes
How
Everyone
Retrospects 

Most of my childhood was deprived of cable/satellite TV, so I missed out on a lot of good programs at the time. To make it even worse, I got just enough exposure to the shows on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon to know just how much I was missing out on. In recent years, I've made up for some of that lost experience by watching all full seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Powerpuff Girls, and just recently, Codename: Kids Next Door.

I must say, when this cartoon first came out, I thought the premise really cool-- five kids star as an elite team from an organization made solely of kids, dedicated to fighting adult and teen tyranny. It's a really simple twist on the world, well-aimed to target children audience (as if cartoons don't generally imply that, right?) while being action packed and themed with all sorts of toys and sugary treats. It's pretty much taking a child, playing in a bedsheet fort/tree house, extracting his/her imagination, and putting it in animated form. It's fun, it's cool, and while the whole setting of a global organization trained to do battle and tactical espionage is serious business, the show doesn't completely lose sight of that fact that these are youth, and thus will act as such.

...But that's not what astonishes me about the show. Perhaps I would have had a different reaction if I'd watched the whole series as a kid, THEN re-watched it as the adult I am now...but the KND universe is PREEEETTY fucked up in retrospect. I'm gonna try my best to lay out what I mean (spoilers, beware).

First off, to reiterate, the KND is an organization operating on a global scale to FIGHT evil adults and teenagers. Now, not all adults are evil, considering the operatives of the KND have nice enough adult parents themselves, but there are a couple of things that make this fucked up in general, and it's not that the adults have access to more/better resources (they, in fact, seem outgunned on that front by the KND's "Two-by-Four Technology").

KND Operatives Age Over Time

Well, duh. Even cartoon characters can age, within context, but this is a very key point in regards to what the KND is doing. Essentially, they're fighting against the very beings they will eventually become. As a matter of fact, some of the team's most frequent adversaries are actually teenagers who were once KND operatives (their circumstances make them exempt from what I'm about to convey next, btw). What's really troubling about the matter, is that when operatives reach the age of thirteen, they are decommissioned-- forced from duty and have their memories of any knowledge and experiences they've had within the KND. As disturbing as this was, I put this thought to the side when it was first brought to attention, since I just accepted it as part of the show. It wasn't until the episode, Operation M.A.U.R.I.C.E., when the situation really started to hurt, as it took one of the most brave, skilled, cool-headed operatives with the most common sense (Numbuh 5, Abigail "Abby" Lincoln) and put her in a momentary, depressive state as she realized this truth herself, despite how hard she's worked and fought this entire time.

So there are kids dedicated to a just cause against a common enemy, only to eventually become that enemy, with no memory of the times, both fun and dire, they've spent with fellow friends and peers.

... :(

The History of Kids & Adults, Accodring to KND

The information given in the episode, Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E., is implied to be true. If that's the case, then once again, this universe is fucked up. Seriously.

Candy & Broccoli

Part of the theme and appeal to KND is how takes the common likes and dislike of human youth, and makes them relevant factors in the universe. For example, their "Two-by-Four Technology" weapons often consist of cannons or guns that shoot nacho cheese, soda, ice cream, gumballs, or teddy bears. Some of the kids, dressed in Native American fashion, have tomahawks with a pizza slice as the head. One episode opens up with a bazaar of merchants showcasing what appear to be valuable jewels, but are actually assorted flavors of candy. All of this makes for a pretty fun concept for what it is. On the flip side, you have the disgusting vegetables that adults try and make children consume...and it's even less pretty than what you may remember from your old dinner table. Not even the adults in this show like asparagus or broccoli, so there's literally a sea made of thrown-out asparagus where a Great White Asparagus lurks and eats people, and broccoli is shown to have a similar effect to Kryptonite on Superman towards some individuals. Of course this aspect is more humorous than anything (I mean, they did a Monty Python episode with a "Spinach Inquisition" line, for Pete's sake), but when the team has to undergo a priority mission to extract a mistakenly eaten brussels sprout from a comrade before he digests it and (dies? I assumed he just changed to "responsible" child, but I'm using the assistance of the KND wiki, which implies he could lose his life), I start to think of just how dangerous lima beans could potentially be.

Nurse Claiborne

She makes a treat, called Apple Crumble. Numbuh 2, Hoagie Gilligan, is often shown eating them before and after it's revealed the the crust of the desert is made from the crusted skin of kids she's infected with pink-eye and the filling is made of (implied, not confirmed) kid mucus. She also makes everyone's (including adults) favorite cereal, Rainbow Munchies, by shredding beloved Rainbow Monkey plush toys.

Biological Warfare

Once, the teenagers tried to infect all of the KND with Chicken Pox (where the little bumps are actually tiny chicken head, squawking about). The KND responded in kind by developing an illness for an unpoppable zit, which has one teenaged character (Cree Lincoln, Numbuh 5's sister) running around, ballistic, trying to find her sister for the antidote before her prom that evening. Another case of, "it's supposed to be funny (which it is, in a way)," but still a bit fucked up.

Heinrich Von Marzipan

This guy...he and Numbuh 5 have some history revolving around candy/candy hunting, thus episodes with this villain are geared towards it. I don't really know where to start with this guy, but read his wiki page and tell me his story isn't generally disturbing. I want to elaborate on his appearance in Operation: R.A.B.B.I.T., where he fully intends to turn a live bunny and two kids into chocolate and eat them.


I'm sure there are more instances that disturbed more than humored me (though the show in its entirety is all-around entertaining), but the aforementioned are the ones that stuck with me. Has anyone else viewed the show and thought anything about this? Did you read this much into it when you were younger?