How Good is Protecto 5000?

 What is the best short made for Oh Yeah! Cartoons? The answer will always vary depending on who you ask. Some may gravitate toward shorts that would grow into their own television shows, like Fairly Odd Parents (why would you?) and ChalkZone, a lot may also lean toward Mina and the Count, or what would become My Life as a Teenage Robot. If you put it to a list, you're bound to find this short as one of the choices.

Me personally, my top picks would consist of the Mina and the Count shorts, Skippy Spankerton, Elise Mere Mortal and Herb, and this may land somewhere there for a complete top five. But I'm getting ahead of myself, is this as good as people make it out to be? Or is there another emotional spider web that needs to be tended to?

Protecto 5000 was released in 1998, during the fourth episode of Oh Yeah! Cartoons' first season. It was created and helmed by John Eng, who previously had involvement with Klasky-Csupo as a director on a few episodes of Duckman, and would also co-direct Rugrats Go Wild. He apparently also served as a production designer and visual effects artist on two B-movies from the 80s. But hey, that's freakin' awesome.

Visually

Protecto 5000 utilizes a fairly simple art direction, and to be fair traditional animation was the only process that could pull it off. It's not as action-oriented, thankfully, it has just enough for it. I'm thankful it didn't go for the ever-cliched anime aesthetic, it's as cliched as the action genre.

Story

Regarding a story that centers on the typical lonely child finds a friend in the least likely thing is admittedly not that original. Mina and the Count comes to mind as a comparison, as both feature young girls hanging out with inhuman creatures. Mina wasn't necessarily struggling to make friends, and we don't explore the emotional depths of the Count.

Protecto 5000 relies on the lonely girl aesthetic, though to be fair the relationship between them had actually developed, rather than the inhuman creature immediately latching onto the girl. This is admittedly a more commendable route to take, especially if this is a one-off. I would've written off a story as being generic, but I'm willing to give it a shot, can this get me to care about two characters within a few minutes?

One thing that works in this short's favor is that it successfully displays a feeling of helplessness. The girl gets bullied, no recourse, no attention from the teachers and trapped in a locker. It would be too easy to have Protecto, or Kenny, immediately come to her rescue because then there would be too easy of a resolve and undo any tension this would've had.

Adding to the favor is Kenny not immediately taking a liking to the girl, Nadia I think? And this isn't out of angst for losing his former protected, because that would be pointlessly dark, and sorta like dropping a bombshell in the third episode of your supposedly well-written series. Continuing, when they strike up a friendship, it isn't for saving the day, or Nadia doing it, or him saving her, again. It comes through genuine gestures, being there for someone even if they reject you.

It may not hit you in the feels, but there is a genuine attempt at portraying friendship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNDgXo5RNlQ

So, how good is Protecto 5000?

As a stark bulk of Oh Yeah! Cartoons' shorts were more comedic, this manages to stand out for the most part, well, stand out alongside shorts like Fathead. I had returned to this short more than I thought I would, it is as underrated as underrated gets, and for once I can use the term where it fits.

However, I doubt this would've worked as a longterm series. What direction could this have gone to help it last at least two seasons? What more development could the characters have? If anything, it feels like this was always intended to be a one and done deal, a self-contained story about a lonely girl who finds friendship where none would ever think to look, and restore purpose to an immortal being who spent years without whom he was built to protect.

You don't need thirteen other episodes, lest this would trail off into a sci-fi thriller where we learn of the darker plans Kenny's master had in store before he was nuked, or if Nadia's parents had something to do with the nuke leading to a falling out, or how about we go Terminator 2 up in this bitch?

Point is, sometimes all you need is one short. Other Oh Yeah! Cartoons shorts were open enough to be revisited, but shorts like this, Skippy Spankerton and the like are inherently close-ended, one goal was outlined, and it was accomplished.