Monthly Megapixel: Voltron teaches us all about the real meaning of Christmas

6:00 PM on 12.23.2009   |   blahblahface

[For his Monthly Megapixel entry, blahblahface brings us this heartwarming tale. He shows us how toys, 80's cartoons, and nostaliga can be a powerful force  in family bonding. -ed.]

I hate cartoonnetwork.com and their wide assortment of craptastic flash games. My son Cole, who is a 5 year old in a half day kindergarten LOVES cartoonnetwork.com. When he gets home from school around noon, we have a decently mapped out routine: I needle him to find out what happened in class, we eat some lunch together, we look at any homework, and then Cole sneaks off to his room to play some Batman: The Brave and the Bold Game Creator levels.

When you have chores to do around the house, his gaming obsession can be a real boon but when you want to hang out with your kid and he's holed up in his room being an antisocial goon, it'll bum you out a little bit.

I was in that "hang out with your boy" mode a while back, but the kid was hunkered down in his room pretty good. The episode of Monty Python I had been watching from my Netlix streaming queue during lunch had just ended, and since the kid had bolted, I started browsing through the 1000's of available titles I could instantly enjoy while being ignored by my child. And then I saw it...

[Hit the jump for more.]

Right towards the end of a row of titles "recommended" to me was something I hadn't actually watched since I was a young kid. VOLTRON. DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE.

I'm not sure why 5 robot lions that combine to make one even larger super robot speaks to a boy's heart, but it sure as hell does. A quick check and sure enough, I've got the entire 1st sesaon of the series right there waiting to go on my XBOX. I never watched them from front to back when I was a kid, so this really speaks to the geek in me that I get to watch it in continuity.

But getting Cole off the computer is a chore. First I said "Cole, come here. I wanna show you something.", but he blew me off by telling me he was in the middle of a level. Then I tried to assure him that it was pretty cool and would really be worth his time, but he persisted with trying to blow me off. I finally ended up going into Dad-mode and yelling at him to get off the computer. He comes out in the living room, pouting and angry. Then I hit play.

By the time the opening credits were over, his little jaw was on the floor. I actually think the credit sequence caused a sensory overload: The synthesizer voice crooning "Defender of the Universe" as Voltron stands with sword poised for battle all combining to be so much awesome Cole just stood silent for a brief moment. And then he was on the couch and we were off on a journey with the 5 brave space explorers.

So, he learned that he should listen when his old man tells him something is "pretty cool", and I learned that robot lions are still pretty kickass. I told one of Santa's elves (you know who you are... Thanks again, man!) the above story of turning the kid onto Voltron and he liked it enough he saw fit to donate an old Voltron toy to the cause. I've been shot by the lion head launching fist attack more times than I can count now.

It was a great early Christmas present for the kid this year. And with the Christmas season upon us, it's one that makes me pause to contemplate all manner of things: the joyful exuberance a toy can give a child (or grown-up for that matter), the bonds you make with your children, the memories you cherish from childhood. Oh, and just which stuffed animal we can best turn into a new Ro-Beast for battle.

Merry Christmas, all!