#widget the world watcher

[milquetoast-zeitgeist]

Age yourself with a cartoon you watched as a kid

[arconinternet]

Twinkle the Dream Being (Video, 1992-1993)

Ant obscure American-South Korean cartoon, co-created by the company behind Denver the Last Dinosaur and Widget the World Watcher, was mostly lost media until two months before I first discovered it. You can watch a clip of it here, or watch the entire series on YouTube here.

[scruffyplayssonic]

Are the ArchieSonic comics actually an 80's/90's syndicated cartoon? Episode 58: We have to save the environment, and so do you!

Welcome back to my look at the ArchieSonic comic series, and how it shared a lot of the same story tropes as a typical ‘80s or ‘90s syndicated cartoon! Hey kids, did you know that saving the environment is a totally radical thing to do?

Episode 58: We have to save the environment, and so do you! 

Environmentalism was a big part of cartoons in the 80’s and 90’s, which often would have episodes dedicated to telling kids about the dangers of pollution or the importance of recycling. There were some cartoons whose entire premise even revolved around this, such as Captain Planet and the Planeteers, and Widget the World Watcher. 

Many ArchieSonic stories used environmentalism as a plot device, especially in the early issues. But that’s to be expected when the main villain of the series likes polluting just for the sake of polluting. Honestly, Dr. Robotnik would have fit in quite well with the Captain Planet villains. 

Let’s start by looking at issue #3’s story, “The Bomb Bugs Me!” where Sonic overheard Robotnik planning to wipe out his enemies with a bomb. The Freedom Fighters decided to set up a fake protest to keep Robotnik and his forces occupied while they stole the bomb. 

This led to a pretty funny sequence where Rotor attempted to sneak into Robotnik’s office in disguise. 

But when they got the bomb back to Knothole and attempted to disarm it, it turned out to be not what they were expecting:

Whoopsie doopsie.

Then there was issue #7’s story, “Uncle Chuck’s Treasure.” After coming across a treasure map belonging to Sonic’s Uncle Chuck, the Freedom Fighters headed out to the Natural Park to track the treasure down. Things didn’t exactly go to plan though.

To make matters worse, a pair of patrolling Swatbots overheard the Freedom Fighters were on a treasure hunt and informed Dr Robotnik, who came roaring in with a bunch of badniks to ruin the day. 

Sonic cleverly turned the toxic environment against the robots, but Robotnik managed to get away with the treasure. 

For all the good it did him. 😛

Issue #11’s story, “The Good, the Bad and the Hedgehog,” started out with Robotnik trashing the environment again, but took an unexpected turn when Sonic tried to take a shortcut to get there quicker and accidentally wound up on Anti-Mobius, encountering his evil twin for the first time. 

But of course Sonic managed to defeat him and get home in time to save the day.

Issue #12’s story switched gears a little bit with Robotnik being savvy enough to use his anti-environmentalism to lure Sonic into a trap. When Robotnik started cutting down the Great Forest with his new mobile monster chainsaw, Sonic of course raced to stop him. 

But the chainsaw secretly housed a time teleporter that was able to zap Sonic when he got close enough and send him back to dinosaur times. …and then this happened.

Bleh.

There are probably other issues from those early days that I could cite, but you get the idea. After the comics had been around a couple of years there was less focus on stories about pollution, but they still popped up every now and then. One of the most significant stories to focus on saving the environment was in issue #110. In a prior issue, Princess Sally had turned over all intelligence they had on Dr. Eggman to their allies in Station Square. Unfortunately Station Square’s defense systems were run by an AI, and after that AI had analysed all the data it had decided that Dr. Eggman was a threat that had to be taken care of immediately. Thus it decided to go full Skynet and launch nuclear missiles at Robotropolis. That was great news in that Eggman would be wiped out, but not so great news for the residents of Knothole, who would get poisoned by the nuclear radiation.

Sonic and Tails raced to Robotropolis to warn Eggman of the incoming peril so that he would shoot down the missiles before they got too close, but Eggman smugly reminded them that he didn’t need to do that - his impenetrable forcefield would keep his city safe while the surrounding environment got wasted. Luckily Sonic and Tails were able to interfere and made sure that Eggman only activated the forcefield after the missiles were already within its radius. 

Eggman and Snively were robots and so they were eventually able to download themselves into new bodies, but they had to set up a new base of operations because from this moment onwards Robotropolis was a nuclear wasteland contained within a radiation-proof bubble. 

You would think that after getting nuked that that would be the last we’d hear of Robotropolis, right? Well actually no - that radioactive wasteland actually came back as an ongoing plot point. When Sonic returned home from space in issue #130, Eggman decided to give him a homecoming present. And what does one get the hedgehog who has everything? 

Why, more nuclear missiles of course! One was aimed at Knothole, and the other at Station Square. And deciding that overkill was just enough kill, Eggman decided to throw in a bonus gift by sending his robotic armies to destroy the forcefield keeping Robotropolis’ nuclear radiation safely contained. While Sonic and Tails led a team to Old Megapolis Harbour to stop the missile launch, King Acorn’s forces, led by Antoine’s father General D’Coolette, defended Robotropolis from the incoming horde of Swatbots. 

Knuckles, Julie-Su and Mighty came to lend a hand too, and they were also joined by Rouge and the forces of GUN. But play of the day goes to Vector and Amy Rose, who single-handedly took down the first waves of invaders.

The ruins of Robotropolis wouldn’t come up again for awhile, until after the AI ADAM attempted to take over the planet with self-replicating nanites. After that plot was thwarted Nicole took control of the nanites and used them to create the city of New Mobotropolis, which was incredibly convenient when Eggman bombed Knothole and everyone needed a new place to live. 

New Mobotropolis got its energy from a power plant that siphoned radiation from the ruins of Robotropolis and converted it into safe, clean energy. So in issue #207 the Iron King attacked Robotropolis with the intention of taking away the Freedom Fighters’ power source. 

King Acorn’s armies tried to fight him off unsuccessfully, and Sonic and Monkey Khan also struggled to slow him down when they showed up to join the fight. Sonic managed to outsmart the Iron King though, talking him into sparing the shield protecting the environment if Sonic and Monkey Khan allowed him to smash the power siphon that powered New Mobotropolis. 

The forces of evil were not happy when they later found out they’d been played.

After Eggman returned to power he also tried to strike at New Mobotropolis’ power source, this time by sending in an undercover agent to strike from within: Operation: Deadly Cuddles.

I will never for the life of me be able to figure out why Evan Stanley decided to design the Tails Doll’s monster form to look like a… that, but I guess I get the genital… er, general idea of what she was going for. 😛

In the post-reboot era of the comic, one could argue that the entire series became about saving the environment. With the entire planet shattered in the Sonic Unleashed adaptation, the main goal of the heroes became to save the planet and put the pieces back together. But there are two environmentally-focused stories that immediately spring to my mind, both of them taking place from issues in issues #260 - 263: Waves of Change and Light in the Dark (and its immediate follow up, Consequences). 

Sonic, Rotor and Amy were sent on a mission to locate a possible Gaia Temple on the coast, presumably somewhere in Soumerica. What they found instead was an underwater shrine that was being used as a chao garden, under the care of the priestess Coral, along with her apprentice Pearly and friend Razor. 

Coral’s job was to care for the chao, in particular Aquarius, who helped to maintain the shield that protected the nearby city of Meropis. Coral was still somewhat new to her position and under a lot of pressure, facing prejudice from the royal family and armies of Meropis who were blaming her for everything that was going wrong and thought that Princess Udina should have gotten the job instead. One of the problems Coral was being blamed for was pollution being washed into the city that was only being kept at bay by the shield. When Aquarius the Chao failed to be reborn from her cocoon on schedule, the King and Queen threw a temper-tantrum and stripped Coral of her title as priestess. Things got pretty bad as the devastated Coral was unable to keep the shield up, letting the dark gaia monsters into the city. 

It took the intervention of the Freedom Fighters, Chaos, Tikal, and the newly reborn and now-immortal Aquarius to save the day.

Thankfully with the God of Destruction Water vouching for Coral, the King and Queen saw reason and restored her title. The cause of the pollution plaguing their city was also discovered:

While Sonic, Amy and Rotor were busy in Meropis, Sally was leading Tails, Bunnie and Antoine on a mission to recover a Chaos Emerald. Sally had managed to hack Dr. Eggman’s files, and she and Nicole discovered a mine where Eggman had his forces digging for one of the mystical gems. The plan was to disable the security sensors, get in, find the emerald, and get back out without Eggman ever knowing they were there, so that he would waste his time and resources drilling for something that wasn’t even there any more. However that plan changed when they got inside the mine and saw it for themselves. 

Deciding to do their bit to save this environmental wonder, the heroes let the security sensors detect them and fought off badniks and an E-1000 robot to escape the mine with their prize, giving Eggman no more reasons to continue drilling there. 

The Freedom Fighters knew that there would be consequences for letting Eggman know that they'd stolen something he'd already called dibs on, but they decided they could live with that.

Are there any other environmentally-focused stories in ArchieSonic that I missed? Let me know in the comments! Next week I’ll be covering episode 59: “stranded in the ocean.” Sonic’s favourite episode, clearly. :P

[holographic-zettelkasten]

Hi 👋 I’m Desiree (ngl my proposed, yet unused birth name), and this is my Tumblr blog for exploring my fictionhearted-ness towards the Brain Units from Widget The World Watcher.

I’m currently pushing 40 [DNI if my physical age legit puts you off], and I have Autism and GAD. I’m on disability because of my mental health issues (ie. I don’t work).

My fav video games at the moment are Disney Dreamlight Valley, Hello Kitty Island Adventure, and NekoAtsume+.

[a-cup-of-joe-blow]

As I’m a player of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, I immediately felt that TOPHAT was a spitting image to one of my other FOs: Mega-Brain (Widget The World Watcher).

A floating holographic head with hands whom is besties with a reptilian? That sounds pretty familiar…

Kablamus’ Sanrio equivalent? idk much about it rn; all of the characters within the game loves balloons apparently ;p

Which Sanrio character reminds you of you F/O(s) or that you think they'd like the most based off of aesthetics/personality?

[joematar]

I recorded myself performing a cover of a classic folk song about the environment to help save said environment thank you

[outtagum]

90′s childhood tv shows + OPENING TITLES (part 2)

[tinyirnfistforever]

Inktober Day 12: Widget the World Watcher

Widget the World Watcher was the Eco-themed series that was not Captain Planet. Widget was a purple alien who also had shapeshifting powers.

[spotter81]

Off to the zoo today, so reppin’ Widget the World Watcher *theme song is now stuck in my head!* https://www.instagram.com/p/CnNaiGkhScF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[talenlee]

Story Pile: Widget The World Watcher

Story Pile: Widget The World Watcher

Well, you see, danger and evil are everywhere. Nature thought that we didn’t care. Who can help the world survive? Who can keep a dream alive? Alive? Alive? (more…)

[xennialrants]

Xennials for whom cartoons like these were mainstream viewing:

and of course our favourite:

looks the bad guys won 🤨

NYT MAGAZINE | On August 1, 2018, our entire magazine will be dedicated to one single story: Humankind’s inability to address the climate change catastrophe. 

“Thirty years ago, we had a chance to save the planet”

[paulagnewart]

Valley of the Dead!

It's World Environment Day. A time to acknowledge the fragile ecosystem we humans cohabitate with the vast, diverse variety of flora & fauna. Every triumph in finding new species, every tribulation in rehabilitating pastures broken & with them, every tragedy. And no tragedy within living memory reaches close to what has now become colloquially known as the Black Summer bushfires.

Far better journalists & websites have dedicated extensive analysis on these fires, what caused them, plus the subsequent fallouts. They all make for depressing reading. Be it fires, the resulting smoke or both, no state was spared. Records broken, families left homeless, loss of native wildlife incalculable. And in dead centre stood the towering monstrosity that mercilessly ravaged Gospers Mountain. 

Eighteen months have passed since Australia's largest recorded forest fire. A drive through sights along Bells Line of Road, Chifley Road or the Darling Causeway today reveal how rain may have washed away the ash, but a scarred land remains. A land that will remain inhospitable to wildlife for many generations to come. 

A biting air greets any visitor daring enough to stop for more than a few moments. Low shrubs & climbing weeds have regenerated, but many if not all the trees will never bloom again. No foraging animals left, having either long perished or moved on. The only signs of life being one or two birds passing fleetingly to find any greener pastures.

If they were real, any environmentally-conscious cartoon hero of the 90's (believe me, they were plentiful; be them Captain Planet, Toxic Crusaders, G.I. Joe/Action Man, Widget the World Watcher, Phantom 2040, Ace Ventura, Swamp Thing & Sonic the Hedgehog himself) would weep. But they're not, so instead, we're left with the grim outlook on a future already shifting forward today.

[self-ship-love]

Hi there! 👋 One of my F/Os is Mega-Brain (Widget The World Watcher), but I have an AU about us which is similar to irl, although he’s the advanced AI voice assistant inside my smartwatch [much in the vain of how Raj became in love with Siri in TBBT].

Hey 😃👋

Dang! That is so cool. You get actually talk to him? I have never had a watch like that so I don't know how they work but that's amazing if you can interact with him on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing 💛

[twsted-princess]

I’m not new to the self-ship community, but my f/o is... Scatter Brain is a version of Mr. Fantastic from Earth-135263.717 (my Marvel AU). I’ve “created” him as a compromise fusion of both his original 2006 cartoon self and of Mega-Brain (Widget The World Watcher). Anyway, I’m curious if there’s other self-shippers whom have AU versions [both canon and fanon] of known characters as their f/o; I feel so alone here.

That sounds super cool!!!! I’ve never done something like that but I’m sure others have!!

[joematar]

this theme tune slaps

[hermes-is-my-homeboy]

I was recently thinking about how my taste in fictional men would reflect my ideal patron deity... For some time, I am COMPLETELY obsessed over Mega-Brain (“Widget The World Watcher”) and also recently Nyorori (“Eto Ranger”) whom shares oddly similar qualities. Could they be archetypal energies of Mercury/Hermes in disguise?

I’m not familiar with that fandom but yes, you can absolutely be drawn to fictional characters that embody traits of your patron deities ♥️