As a child, I always looked forward to Saturday morning cartoons. My family had the most basic cable package, which consisted of less than twenty channels. These did not include popular children's channels such as Nickelodeon or Disney Channel. One morning a week, cartoons would appear on my television screen and I would wake up early, excited and engrossed in the plot. As times have changed and more research has been conducted, opinions on the effects of cartoons have changed. Several medical organizations came together in 2000 to submit a joint statement to Congress stating that “viewing violence in entertainment can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behaviors, particularly in children” (Wilson, 2008, p .100). Today there are correlations between aggressive cartoons and aggressive behavior in children. There have also been findings in support of educational television programs, but we must discern what qualifies as educational. I chose to review two cartoons that I grew up with; PBS's Arthur and Cartoon Network's Pokémon. I watched the first two episodes of each program and drew my own conclusions from these observations. In this article I offer a basic synopsis of each television program and evaluate some of their key characteristics, such as the target age range, the promotion of pro- or anti-social behavior, as well as cultural and gender themes and aspects. I then analyze these aspects in their effect on early childhood development, both positive and negative. Arthur is a cartoon based on the Arthur books by Marc Brown about an 8-year-old aardvark in third grade and the lessons he learns by virtue of his family. , friends and community. According to Common Sense Media, Arthur is recommended for ages 5 and up, and portrays po...... middle of paper ......okémon - television review. (n.d.). Common sense media. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/pokemonRathus, S. (2011). Childhood and adolescence: Developmental journeys (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.Thakkar, R.R., Garrison, M.M., & Christakis, D.A. (2006). A systematic review of the effects of television viewing by infants and preschoolers. Pediatrics, 118(5), 2025-2031. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-1307 Vasquez, V. (2003). What Pokémon can teach us about learning and literacy. Language Arts, 18(2), 118-125. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/files/Nov29Pokemon.pdfWilson, B. (2008). Media and children's aggression, fear and altruism. The Future of Children, 18(1), 87-118. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/foc.0.0005