The Subversive Undercurrent to Foster *s Home
for Imaginary Friends: Blooregard Q. Kazoo
Decontextualizes American Popular Culture
The Cartoon Network’s Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
{Foster's Home) refuses to pander to a young audience. Although very young
children can view the cartoon without fear of objectionable material, the show
acknowledges that many of its viewers, including adults, deserve better than
inane plots, and gloss over substance. The show celebrates both the imaginative
powers and unique qualities of each child who creates an imaginary friend. The
episodes range from the deliriously insane, such as when a modified game of
Simon Says goes horribly wrong in “The Big Cheese,” to the savvy political
satire of “Emancipation Proclamation.” Since its debut in 2004, Foster's Home
has been nominated for multiple Emmy awards acknowledging its excellence as
an animated program, yet critical analysis of the show is at this time all but
nonexistent. Since recent years have seen cartoons emerge as an area of
scholarly concern, and “serious consideration of the cartoon seems to have
indeed come into its own” (Hastings 264), the show will likely enjoy increased
scholarly focus. The writers of Foster's Home craft episodes which contain an
undercurrent of social commentary aimed at adults, while refusing to treat
children as though they lack any intelligence at all. The show especially excels
at poking fun at the worst examples of American popular culture, rife with
strings of blockbuster movies which seem to be mimics of one another,
increasingly insipid movie sequels, superheroes rendered interchangeable with
one another when made palatable for a “mainstream” audience, or even the new
Star Wars movies, which glorified special effects above all else. An in-depth
analysis of the episodes “One False Movie” and “Challenge of the Superfriends”
reveals the show’s ability to lampoon t hese hallmarks of American popular
culture, from the big-budget summer blockbuster, to comic book superheroes, to
the Star Wars series.
Foster's Home boasts a deceptively simple premise, one which
celebrates the power of the imagination. When a child reaches the age where he
or she outgrows the need for an imaginary friend, that friend can take up
residence at Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, an obvious play on the term
“foster home.” This sanctuary, owned and operated by the elderly Madame
Foster (Candi Milo), her imaginary friend Mr. Herriman (Tom Kane), and her
granddaughter Frances “Frankie” Foster (Grey DeLisle), provides room and
board for imaginary friends while attempting to adopt them out to new homes.
Each resident of the home possesses unique characteristics bestowed upon them
by their original creators, features which make that friend a perfect match for his
or her child. A child who fears the dark, for example, might conjure up a friend