POP JUNIOR: FANDOM FEATURE
Owlette, Catboy, and Gekko assemble to fight baddies in PJ Masks’ second season
INTO THE NIGHT TO SAVE THE DAY
How Three Non-Violent Superheroes Rocked Preschool TV by Madeleine Buckley, editorial assistant Take a look at the top box office hits from the past few years, and one thing is clear: We are in an era of superhero dominance. Comic book powerhouses DC and Marvel loom large on both the big and small screens, which makes breaking into the superhero genre seem daunting. Yet, one trio of young heroes did succeed, finding a superhero niche that had yet to be filled—preschoolers. PJ Masks premiered on Disney Junior in September 2015. It stars three children— Connor, Amaya, and Greg—who, during the night, transform into their alter egos: Gekko, Catboy, and Owlette. By that November, Forbes reported the animated 72 | Issue No. 2 | THE POP INSIDER
show gathered more than 1.5 million unique viewers and an audience share of 29 percent among 2- to 5-year-old viewers. Joan Grasso, senior vice president of licensing in North America for the family and brands team at Entertainment One (eOne), the show’s production company, says PJ Masks was the first superhero series specifically designed for preschoolers. This means that, while the heroes always save the day, they do so with no violence whatsoever. “Basically, our heroes outsmart the villains in every episode by using their special super powers, which get pulled out in every single episode,” Grasso says. “They use those super powers and the power of
teamwork to outsmart their opponents, so preschoolers love it. They don’t really realize that it’s not so violent, but it’s aspirational for them. And of course, moms love it because it’s safe for kids.” Grasso, who has been part of the PJ Masks development team for about four years, says the show took a few years to get off the ground because they wanted to get everything right—the storyline, the characters, and the animation all had to make sense for their target audience. When the show did premiere, Grasso says it “immediately exploded out of the gate,” and her team realized fans wanted PJ Masks products—and they wanted them