Ben 10: 10 Times the Fun & 10 Times the Action

Ben 10 is a stand out animated series on Cartoon Network. If you're an animation fan, and especially a lover of great action, you need to discover this excellently produced, terrific animated series.

Ben 10 tells the continuing adventures of ten-year-old Ben Tennyson, his resourceful grandfather Max and his brilliant cousin Gwen. While camping, a mysterious asteroid nearly collides with Ben. Upon examination, he finds a device - the Omnitrix - which literally leaps up, attaching itself to Ben's wrist. Soon, Ben discovers the device transforms him into various alien forms with awesome super powers, such as a fire wielding humanoid; a miniature technical expert and a crystal encrusted being whose skin shines brilliantly and is diamond hard.

Ben's Forms

Four Arms
Diamond Head
Ghost Freak
Grey Matter
Heat Blast
Rip Jaw
Stink Fly
Upgrade
Wildmutt
X-CLR8

The show thrills as a generous mix of high octane action, family drama and effective comedy. While it doesn't have the complexity of sayBatman: The Animated Series or even Samurai Jack, the producers do a wonderful job of telling good stories, developing likeable characters and delivering top notch visuals.

Animation gives us stylized version of reality, especially when conveying movement and fast paced action. Animators relish the challenge of designing characters to be something other than what we experience in the real world. Anime, the Japanese hyper action packed cartoon style is perhaps the best example of this notion. Anime characters don't just walk, run, fly, fight or swim; they do it in a hyper realistic entertaining way.

Unfortunately for me and many traditional animation fans, this hyper kinetic manner of depicting stories can become somewhat tiresome. I'd compare it to some of the more fanciful kung-fu movies or "wire fu" as some call it. The traditional, realistic action movies from stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung or Jet Li seem easy when compared films where actors dance around on wires, ala Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I enjoy both types of action, but it's refreshing when there's a balance, a creative compromise if you will. Ben Ten effectively illustrates the balance of the two styles.

Ben Ten draws inspiration from such sources, as DC Comic's Dial H For Hero and The Green Lantern, but it's still an original series in its own right. If you're looking for something action packed, well animated with interesting characters, look no further than Ben 10. The shows' retro style action is highlighted by just the right amount of anime to please most any animation fan.