BEN 10 CRAZE



Although it is giving parents a cause for concern, Ben 10, a cartoon series with which Nigerian children have become obsessed, has created a boom for merchants of children’s ware.




By Portia Onwuyalim



Mary Anthony no longer watches television, TV, for current information like she used to do, no thanks to her three-year-old child. Anytime he comes back from school, the boy seizes the remote control of the television and tunes to the Cartoon Network channel to watch his favourite series, Ben 10. “Everything I have in my house that belongs to my son must be a Ben 10 product. He wants to be Ben 10! Starting from his head to toe,” she said.


Anthony, who owns a kiddies outlet in a suburb of Lagos, soon discovered that her son was not alone; many children in the country are obsessed with the cartoon figure. So, she started to import Ben 10 toys and has since been enjoying huge patronage from parents who are often put under pressure by their children.


Nigerians now massively produce Ben 10 toys, which are cheaper than the imported ones. Bryan Adams, a design printer, makes money from the production of Ben 10 accessories. “I go to Lagos market, Idumota, to buy kiddies’ items like schoolbags, wristwatches, slippers, handbands, caps, pencils, erasers, and many other items. Afterwards, I print Ben 10 pictures on them and send into the market. I have been into printing for some years now. My printing is based on cartoon images, but the one which has made more waves in the market is the Ben 10 series. Kids are so much in love with anything that has a Ben 10 picture. Most proprietors of primary schools in Lagos come to my shop to place orders for school bags with Ben 10 pictures to be presented as gifts to their pupils during their end of the year parties,” he added.


Abimbola Damola, who is also into the sale of kiddies’ items, is excited about the profit he makes from the sale of Ben 10 branded items. He prays and hopes that more exciting cartoons like the Ben 10 series are introduced into the country to boost their sales. “Boys seem to love Ben 10, especially the idea of being able to change into something bigger, faster or stronger is a powerful fantasy for a child. That is why it has a strong appeal in the market. Kids feel that owning anything that has Ben 10 picture on it automatically turns them into a hero. Buying an ordinary pencil could cost N20 but a Ben 10 pencil costs N100. The prices vary, depending on what you are buying,” he said.


Following the success of the Ben 10 animated TV series and films, a range of Ben 10 merchandise was released for general sales in America and they include Ben 10 comic books, card games such as top trumps, toys, video games, bedding, colouring books, footwear, schoolbags, kiddies plates and cups, temporary tattoos, water flasks, head-bands, and many other products. Bandai, makers of Ben 10 toy line, has manufactured a massive amount of Ben 10 toys from each of the series. These toys cost between $2 and $40, that is from N300 to N7,000, depending on the kind of toy.


Ben 10 is an American media franchise produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The franchise is about a boy named Ben Tennyson, an average 10-year-old who discovers a watch-like mysterious device in a crashed meteorite. He soon discovers that by using the strange watch he can transform into endless alien superheroes, each with its own unique powers, while keeping his 10-year-old personality. With flashing red and green lights and transformation sound effects taken directly from the TV series, the Omnitrix provides the ultimate role-play experience. With this toy one can be Ben! Like Ben’s real alien watch, the Omnitrix will signal activation and deactivation with cool lights and sound effects, taking the wearer right into the action. When Ben 10 gets the power to turn into aliens, he finds super-heroing trickier than he thought. Yet, no matter what bizarre form he takes, Ben 10 is still the same good-hearted, yet mischievous 10-year-old boy. The action-packed series provide a great stimulus for children’s imagination of endless adventures.


Reruns of previously aired episodes are currently being aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Children, particularly the males, are hooked on the cartoon, but some parents are worried about their children’s addiction to Ben 10.


Adeola Toye, a parent, expresses worry over the cartoon. “I feel Ben 10 is very violent and dark. The solution to all problems seems to be through violence and destroying things. My son, who just turned five, has been into Ben 10 for a while.


He has some Ben 10 toys, including the watch. And he spends a lot of time with a friend at pre-school pretending they are Ben 10. As a mother, I have to admit that I haven’t really paid much attention to the show. But I wasn’t thrilled by some of the things he was telling me about the show and the various characters; it just sounded kind of low-class and thoughtless. I didn’t get really worried about it until last night. As he got ready for bed, my son told me that he had seen something on the show that bothered him and made him feel very bad. He told me that there was a scene in which a cook was preparing some food removed earwax from her ear and added it to the food. I couldn’t believe that this kind of entertainment would be set before our young children by a major network and I thought my son must have been mistaken about what was happening in the scene,” she said.


Oyinlola Kikelomo, another parent, agrees with Toye, “My four-year-old son loves Ben 10 and used to watch it all day. I did not think there was a problem until he started to talk back at me, using Ben 10 phrases. Now when I say something he does not like, he will put his arm up and pretend to change into an alien and thinks he does not need to listen. Needless to say there is no more Ben 10 in my house,” she said.


But some parents are not averse to the cartoon series. Stella Anderson, for instance, does not see any problem with her child watching Ben 10. “If you have ever watched the Ben 10, you will know it is actually a fantastic programme. My four and five-year-old kids love it, love the figures, play with them, create stories around them and I have also found out that it has developed my children’s ability to play in a creative way. The actual cartoons are well written and funny and if you actually sit down and watch an episode you will realise the relationship between Ben 10, his cousin and his grandpa. I have seen all 24 episodes along with my children,” she said.


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