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Was Captain Planet the original Al Gore?

Captain Planet, he's our hero

Gonna take pollution down to zero!

Today, Fall Down The Rabbit Hole honors our old friend Captain Planet. It's safe to assume that you all remember the beginning to the theme song, and the basic premise of Captain Planet as a force to save the world from destruction. But, in my research, I realized a few things about this cartoon that weren't readily apparent to me as a tot. Mainly, that Captain Planet's appearance was designed so that he did not identify with any one culture or ethnicity: his hair is forest green, his skin is sky blue, and he is summoned by a melting pot of do-gooder teens.

There is no modern day equivalent to an entertaining and educational cartoon in this domain; there are certainly many educational cartoons, but none that refuse to pander to its child-based audience quite like the Captain did. For instance, in the episode where Captain Planet meets The Fuhrer, a villain referencing Hitler, Captain Planet compares prejudice and hatred to a pollutant. There are two things that stand out about this episode to me: firstly, that a villian would be named The Führer is disturbing, yet it assumes a level of responsibility on the children's part to either know who Hitler was, or posses an inquisitive nature that urges them to find out. Secondly, the creators knew the impact Captain Planet had on kids, and used that popularity to impart life lessons, as well as a fun-filled half-hour - instead of just the latter.

The goodness continues with the establishment of The Captain Planet Foundation in 1991 by the cartoon's creator, Ted Turner. The mission of the Captain Planet Foundation is to fund and support hands-on, environmental projects for children and youths. They wish to encourage innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities. Because:

"EARTH!"
"FIRE!"
"WIND!"
"WATER!"
"HEART!"

"Go Planet!"

"By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!"