Disney vs. Nickelodeon

I have to admit – I’m a big Disney fan. I remember going to Disneyland for the first time when I was a kid and the initial memory of the entire experience forever stuck in my head. From then on, it was pretty much Disney here, Disney there, Disney everywhere. I don’t remember watching a bunch of Disney television though but I do recall watching Disney movies in the theaters. I even played with a few Disney dolls and probably still have them hidden somewhere in my parents house.

And then when I had my son, I got turned onto Nickelodeon. We used to watch Disney quite a lot and now there are only a few choice shows we watch specifically. But lately, our TV is turned to Nickelodeon all the time. Mind you, I don’t really let my son watch TV all that often and he’s not a big TV watcher as it is, but when he does watch television, it’s gotta be Nickelodeon. Or more specifically, Nick Jr. since the other Nickelodeon shows are geared  towards tweens and young adults. Except Sponge Bob and Squarepants – I really don’t know what age group or category that show falls under.

I think we grew tired of Disney after too many Hannah Montana reruns and whether she’s staying on the show, leaving the show, staying one more season, leaving altogether – it got to be a bit irritating. But we adore the Imagination Movers(and you’ve gotta check them out since they’re great for all ages), Phineas and Ferb, and the occassional Jonas Brothers (all right, I have to admit, it is I who makes my son watch that show).

As a mom, I think I’ve made many sacrafices when it comes to what my son wants to do. I no longer get to watch my soap operas or my crime shows and I’ve become best friends with the employees at the Disney stores. Now if only there’s a Nickelodeon store somewhere, then I’m all set. But honestly, there really isn’t much difference between the two companies. My husband even pointed out that some of the shows between the two looked familiar but you really can’t prevent that since both corporations target pre-K to teenagers. But then sometimes I wonder who had the idea first? Take for instance, The Imagination Movers – their episodes are geared towards problem solving and finding creative solutions in a funny and unique way. Then there’s The Fresh Beat Band on Nickelodeon who pretty much has the same concept, except where you have only 4 guys and an occasional “Nina” as the female counterpart with the Imaginatin Movers, with The Fresh Beat Band, you get the same 4 stars except there are 2 guys and 2 girls. And they pretty much problem solve in every episode and both shows use music as a guideline for problem solving. So to me, they’re both equally fun to watch, but my son seems to enjoy the differences between the two shows and can catch the difference and similarity without missing a beat.

Both shows have their qualities and their weaknesses. As previously mentioned, there were too many Hannah reruns and quite a lot of spin-offs as well. One great virtue of Disney is that almost all of their TV shows and movies will directly and indirecty teach the audience a lesson in the end. The movies are mostly tear-jerkers (in my opinion) and you’ll most likely cheer for the good guy but feel sympathetic towards the villain because the villain himself learned his lesson as well. Nickelodeon are known for their award shows and music shows such as the recently aired Mega Music Fest which featured John Leguizamo as the host and a mostly-annoying Sherri Shephard appearing frequently to “remind” John of his duties. It was a great “music fest” with their most popular animated cast members as guest stars and musical guest stars such as Colbie Caillat and Wyclef Jean as the highlights. Yet, it was still a bit disappointing to me in the way that it was only an hour long (probably to prevent the younger kids from getting bored) and that both John and Sherri were dressed way too casually for a musical extravaganza. Still, it was entertaining at its best for a first time music “fest” from Nickelodeon. And I have a feeling they’ll put on another one next year with even bigger names from the music industry.

So, as I was once a big fan of Disney, I think I’m really on the fence as to which syndicate I like the most. They both produce quality, fun, and family-bonding shows and they both have unique characters that children can relate to. But if Disney decides to take Jonas off the air, then there will definitely be a controversy!

So which company do you like and prefer?