Captain Planet and the Planeteers, if it is referenced at all nowadays, is generally treated as a subject of mockery. Online reviewers such as the Nostalgia Critic have shredded it relentlessly, depicting it as a hopelessly ideological cartoon that nobody enjoyed. The show did sometimes bite off more than it could chew, but it also managed to be entertaining and, yes, educational.The show's premise is familiar to most people. Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, gives five elemental power rings to an international group of teenagers in order to fight pollution. When they going gets tough, they can summon Captain Planet, an anti-pollution superhero. Each episode deals with a different environmental theme, ranging from smog to extinction to...gang violence.The show worked best when it stuck to environmental themes. At times, the writers became overambitious and tried to deal with more fraught topics such as AIDS and gang warfare. These episodes almost inevitably fell flat, coming across as ham handed and even more preachy than the series usually was. One episode on gang violence was particularly awful, with the gangs depicted as something out of a bad 80s Mad Max rip off.Nevertheless, the show served a purpose. It was often brutally honest in its treatment of environmental topics, within the limits of a show geared towards children. For instance, one show dealing with whaling featured a sequence of a mother whale being harpooned, complete with blood getting spilled in the water. This type of straight talk was a good thing and left viewers not only entertained, but informed. Perhaps even willing to take action.For all its flaws, Captain Planet remains a well remembered series for me.

Some might call it child propaganda. I call it child genius. How is recycling and helping our environment not at all a good thing? Even if one doesn't believe in climate change, then they should still care about other animals (besides humans) sharing this Earth with us. It just seems to be inherently humane.I remember as a little kid I had ALL of the Captain Planet action figures: Kwane, from Africa, possesses the power of Earth; Wheeler, from North America, controls the power of fire; Linka, from the Soviet Union, has the power of wind; Gi, hailing from China, controls the power of water; and Ma-Ti, from the Amazon in Brazil, utilizes the power of Heart to create a sense of passion and care for the planet. I also had actually rings for each character. And, obviously.. "Let our powers combine," I had the Captain Planet action figure. "Go Planet!"Network: TBSOriginal Air Years: 1990-1996As cheesy as this show was, it had a great underlying message of peace and happiness for our planet. It gave kids hope for the future. Not only did it encourage them to recycle and maintain a healthy planet, but it showed that individuals from all over the world could come together and conquer evil doers. Perhaps a superficial superhero would appear too.The story is quite simple. Gaia, the spirit of Earth, has awakened from a long slumber by human activity threatening the ecosystems. She realizes the planet needs help and sends five magic rings, each with a specific elemental power (described above after each characters' name). They will encounter foes like that of Sly Sludge, Looten Plunder, and Hoggish Greedly.It's equally worthy to duly note that the Captain Planet Foundation still exists to this day (what Captain Planet would tell kids to visit at the end of each show). Check it out at CaptainPlanetFoundation.org.Also, note that in late 2007, Ted Turner was in talks of a movie. In early 2008 Warner Bros. denied said movie. On July 19, 2011, the announcement was made that Cartoon Network and producers of the Transformers films are developing a live-action film based on the series. Should be interesting. And, not a bad idea given the success of Transformers and the new Smurf film. Also, those pitiful Alvin and the Chipmunks movies made some cash.Say what you will about Captain Planet, it will still always be a favorite show of mine; if not for the cheesy animation, sounds, and story-lines, then just purely from the message itself.

Caring for the environment is not a bad thing. We need the environment - practically and aesthetically. However the cartoon is biased and tends to exaggerate things for simplicity. I understand that it's a children's show and you can't expect it to be rational but still it could have been better. I think the idea behind it is great - a superhero who cares for the earth. But I also think the show should be remade to introduce more rational approaches towards environmental issues or maybe show kids actually cleaning trash with their powers. They should also teach kids to try and find out ways to reduce pollution through science, etc. and not just go kill industrialists. Otherwise this is just an average action cartoon with the extremely good guys vs extremely the bad guys, nothing in between. I enjoyed this cartoon as a kid but this is what I feel now.

The precursor to The Power Rangers it could almost be said, this was a well-veiled attack on Environmental Damage. This was what taught most young children about the Environment, most kids remember this show, the use of a superhero and tackling obvious real problems was always a good shout to TV Execs, but this was one of the starters. Every vehicle and machines used by The Planeteers was either solar powered or other in order to not destroy Earth's economy, Captain Planet had no distinct look in terms of fashions in other countries, and the main 5 characters was well spread, helping it to become world wide popular, and delivered a great message. As Captain Planet used to say "The Power Is Yours!"