"It's aimed at kids"

"They're aimed at kids" is an excuse often used to dismiss criticism of characters aimed for younger audiences.

This article will focus on the matter regarding characters, which is is similar to the "it's made for kids" excuse shown on the Crappy Games, Terrible Shows & Episodes, Dreadful Literature, and Awful Movies wikis.

Background
It is well known that kids are easier to entertain by simple things that grownups may find stupid or boring at first.

Even if a character is aimed at kids the adults may also be interested in them (for example, most characters made by Disney or their subsidiaries such as Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Blue Sky Studios, etc.; those characters are aimed at younger audiences, but also respect viewer intelligence and don't pander towards kids.

There is no excuse for making a poorly made character aimed at kids.

Why This Excuse Sucks

 * 1) This is just a way for critics and parents to dismiss criticism towards people who criticize terrible characters "that were aimed for kids". By dismissing criticism, the quality of these types of characters may never improve.
 * 2) By pointing out the flaws in kids' media characters, can leave improvement and ensure that more characters aimed at kids can be made to be enjoyed by grownups as well.
 * 3) This whole excuse makes kids look like idiots with no real taste who will like anything aimed at them, which isn't actually true. Kids are actually smarter than they're given credit for.
 * 4) * It should be noted that contrary to popular belief, actually even kids would very likely not enjoy these poorly-conceived kids' media characters, hence highlighting this fact further.
 * 5) The only thing this excuse encourages kids to do is to stoop to a low level, always ignore the parents and not listen.

How to make a good character aimed at kids
TBA.

Notable Offenders
NOTE: Please do not add the 2020 version of Hua Mulan to this list, as the movie she comes from is rated PG-13, and therefore she does not qualify as a character aimed at younger audiences.
 * Thomas the Tank Engine (Miller and AEG eras)
 * Percy the Small Engine (late Miller and AEG eras)
 * Nia the Helpful Engine
 * Kana
 * Sandy the Rail Speeder
 * Charlie the Cheerful Engine
 * The Machines (Bob the Builder, 2015)
 * Barney the Dinosaur (seasons 9-14, Barney's Great Adventure)
 * Caillou
 * Peppa Pig
 * George Pig
 * Wolfoo
 * Norman Price (seasons 6-present)
 * Thumbelina (Don Bluth)
 * Anastasia (Broadway Musical)

Good Examples of Characters Aimed at Kids
NOTE: Some good characters aimed at kids could also use the excuse.
 * Thomas the Tank Engine
 * Percy the Small Engine
 * Bob the Builder
 * The Machines (Bob the Builder, 1998)
 * Mickey Mouse
 * Disney Princesses
 * mh:greatcharacters:Snow White
 * mh:greatcharacters:Cinderella
 * mh:greatcharacters:Aurora
 * mh:greatcharacters:Ariel
 * mh:greatcharacters:Belle
 * mh:greatcharacters:Jasmine
 * mh:greatcharacters:Pocahontas
 * mh:greatcharacters:Anastasia
 * Mulan
 * mh:greatcharacters:Tiana
 * mh:greatcharacters:Rapunzel
 * mh:greatcharacters:Merida
 * mh:greatcharacters:Anna
 * mh:greatcharacters:Elsa
 * mh:greatcharacters:Moana
 * mh:greatcharacters:Raya
 * mh:greatcharacters:Mirabel
 * Bugs Bunny
 * Tweety
 * Tom and Jerry
 * SpongeBob SquarePants
 * Patrick Star
 * Norman Price (seasons 1-5)

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