Forget Saturday mornings; Sunday was the way to go for some prime cartoon content with Disney’s One Too. Remember waking up in your pajamas just to turn on the TV and flop down once more? That’s when the great shows like Recess, The Weekenders, Pepper Ann, and Doug were still our weekly indulgence. The Sunday morning shows were about typical tweens, struggling with their own awkwardness and growing pains – utterly relatable. Take a look at the best shows to feature on Disney’s One Too.
Recess
Recess is a classic. It was the that had a life beyond Disney’s One Too when it ended in 2003. Recess is about life as an elementary school student between classes, when kids rule instead of teachers. Recess is filled with some pretty sophisticated themes, including class, society, and government. We follow the gang of students led by T.J. Detweiler, and made up of Vince La Salle, Ashley Spinelli, Mikey Blumberg, Gretchen Grundler, and Gus Griswald. Recess taught us about more than just monkey bars and jumping rope. We learned about loyalty, friendship, and standing out from the crowd. (Click here to see what the cast of Recess is up to today.)
Pepper Ann
As a typical twelve-year-old girl, Pepper Ann, is everything we were when we watched Disney’s One Too. Pepper Ann gets into a slew of shenanigans and learns quite a few lessons the hard way. Her clumsy, awkward adolescence is precisely what most of us were going through at the time. Pepper Ann taught our young selves that trying to change who you are for anyone else never works out, so just be true to yourself.
Doug
That’s me! Those words rang in our ears every Sunday morning, along with Doug whistling theme tune. Doug isn’t your typical adolescent boy. He shows himself to have a strong sense of wrong and right and a vivid imagination. While Doug wants to fit in amongst his peers, he always stands out for his unparalleled morality. In Doug, we see a fear of failure but also the determination not to give up when things get hard. The show also speaks about some real truths about growing up, from peer pressure to body dysmorphia to bullying. To us, Doug was a guiding hand that spoke openly about things we were afraid to talk about.
The Weekenders
The Weekenders is a laid-back show full of quippy, humorous dialogue and typical middle school antics. The four lead characters often find themselves on the weekend, enjoying some pursuit and, of course, going out for pizza. While the lessons learned on the Weekenders weren’t always hard-hitting, the show offers a unique perspective because of its diverse, multidimensional characters. Tito is a wise-cracking Italian-American boy, and his confident best friend Carver is African-American. Lor is the tomboyish, hotheaded Scottish-American and the intelligent Tish is Jewish-American. The foursome’s diversity features prominently in The Weekenders and even introduced many of its viewers to different cultures and traditions like Hanukkah and Kwanza.
Sabrina: The Animated Series
The animated series of Sabrina took her from her typical high school incarnation to middle school. Like any ordinary middle school girl, Sabrina has many insecurities – the only difference is she has the magical abilities to do something about them. Whether it was the latest style or winning the affection of Harvey, Sabrina always tried magic to solve her adolescent woes. What we learned whenever Sabrina’s spells backfired was instant gratification doesn’t lead to happiness.
Sunday morning cartoons don’t seem like the place for kids to learn lessons about life, but what better way to impart wisdom than when you have a captive audience? We discovered a few things about ourselves from Doug, Mikey, Pepper Ann, Tito, Sabrina, and more. What do you remember from your Sunday mornings watching Disney’s One Too? Let us know in the comments!
