Zoinks! Today’s Family Heirloom isn’t Grandma’s Diamond Ring or Grandad’s Watch, it’s the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Scooby Doo

Netflix Finds 85% of Dads Around the World Plan to Pass Down The Cartoons They Grew Up With to Their Kids

Do you ever geek out with your children over which superhero has the best super powers? Or are you counting down the days (or years) until they’re old enough to understand ‘With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility’?

I know I do, I'm not a Father but I have fond memories of the Cartoons that I watched as a kid, and to this day I still find myself watching the Cartoons of Today as well as the Cartoons that I grew up with, and when I am a Father these gems of my Childhood will be the things that I'll pass on.

Going all the way back to the 80's I was a huge fan of classics such as Danger Mouse, voiced by the incredible Sir David Jason, Scooby Doo, Inspector Gadget, Transformers, ThunderCats, Denver the Last Dinosaur, He-Man  and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (it had its name altered in England because 'Ninja' was deemed too violent at the time) to name but a few.

Many of our favourites from the 80's have undergone reboots and reimaginings, for better or worst, some in film form whilst some still live on on TV most notably the various incarnations of the Transformers (the latest being Transformers: Prime with another in the works) and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, the title was reinstated so Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lives on TV with various incarnations, the latest being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon as well as He-Man and ThunderCats which had short lived reimaging a few years ago of the same name.

Even Cartoons of yesteryear including Tom & Jerry, Hong Kong Fuey and Looney Tunes (from Warner Bros.) are some of my favourites and Saturday Morning Cartoons were always something to look forward to.

Moving into the 90's I gained new favourites, including Bucky O'Hare which I remember fondly from seeing it on Saturday mornings on BBC 1, a green rabbit battling a Skynet type Artificial Intelligence (KOMPLEX) with an army of Toads and the catchy theme tune.

Whatever Cartoons you remember, they are special to all of us; going back to Transformers, when the film version was released in 2007, it prompted me to watch every episode on YouTube.

There’s a powerful connection that comes from bonding with your kids over the stories you loved growing up. According to new research* from Netflix, 85% of dads around the world have already or plan to introduce their kids to the cartoons they grew up watching. Not only does it let them feel like a child again (75%) and help them teach life lessons (76%), but dads take seriously the role of keeping alive the pop culture references from their childhood. And two-thirds of them (66%) are turning to internet TV services like Netflix for this new family tradition.

“The Saturday morning cartoon tradition we grew up with lives on with Netflix, but now families can choose when they want to watch those nostalgic shows together,” said Erik Barmack, Vice President of global content acquisition. “From Transformers and The Smurfs to My Little Pony and Pokémon, dads are passing down some of the greats already and we’ll keep adding more classics like new versions of Danger Mouse and Care Bears.”

The survey asked dads what shows they’re most looking forward to passing down. Superheroes ranked high around the world with shows like Spider-man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel’s Avengers. The survey also revealed a few key cultural differences between countries:

• Dads in the U.S. ‘Go, Go Gadget Go’ for Inspector Gadget
• Tom and Jerry earned the top spot among dads in Brazil
• British dads are loyal to Danger Mouse
• Canadians find the Smurfs...well, Smurfy
• Asterix is king with French dads
• Dads in Germany have a soft spot for Pippi Longstocking
• Mexican dads favour the Pink Panther

Families can find these and other shows on Netflix.

And while this rite of passage creates inside jokes and even a secret code between families, the time spent watching together is also one of the reasons 90% of dads love this tradition. But not all dads are created equal...or so they say about themselves:

• Dads in the U.S. are most likely to let the kids stay up late
• Brazilian dads take pride in making the best snacks
• British dads let the fun of watching together extend even after the show is over
• Canadian dads give themselves the most credit for liking the same shows as their kids
• French dads think they choose the coolest shows
• German dads rank themselves among the top snugglers and silliest viewing partners
• Mexican dads say they let their kids be king of the remote

Dad isn’t the only one creating these new family traditions. Mums use TV shows to teach life lessons, but they’re also driven by the fond memories (84%) and the familiarity the shows bring (78%). Care Bears tops mum’s list of cartoons she grew up with she’s planning to pass down. But mums also end up watching shows their kids introduce them to (77%). And in the end, 87% of mums say they find it heartwarming and it makes them happy watching their kids snuggle up to the other parent for TV time.

About the Netflix Kids Offering
Netflix has a dedicated section for kids under 12 years old featuring dozens of original series for kids as well as TV programmes and films from great partners such as PBS, Disney Channel, DreamWorks Animation, Mattel, Hasbro, Lego and Scholastic, all in a advert-free environment. The dedicated section for kids is available across a broad range of devices including PCs and Macs, iPads, game consoles, streaming devices and smart TVs. Members are provided with a kids profile upon sign-up and can customise additional profiles for their kids. The kids experience features a character bar where you can find a deep selection of great TV programmes and films featuring that character. Kids, parents and caregivers will also be able to scan through row after row of films and TV programmes organised by easy-to-understand genres such as superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs and girl power, featuring clear and simple descriptions of the plot of each title.

About Netflix
Netflix is the world’s leading internet television network with over 62 million members in over 50 countries enjoying more than 100 million hours of TV programmes and films per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without adverts or commitments.

About the Research
*The external survey was conducted online by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Netflix from 8th April 8 – 8th May 2015 among a sample of 7,009 parents age 18 and over, including respondents who stream TV programmes/films with their children, from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France and the US. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all parents.