Media Analysis:Disney’s Bilingual Preschool Television Series Handy Manny

As the Christmas approaches, we often look for good Christmas movies. Some of the films such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, Home Alone series, Miracles on 34^th Street, and indeed, Disney movies are classics per se. It may not be an exaggeration that many children in the United States grew up with Disney. The universal appeals of Disney programs have not ceased until today. The adult audiences still reconnect to Disney series and the growing children’s childhood is adjoined by Disney. Now, Disney particularly organized a programming called Playhouse, for the preschool audiences. How and why these Disney’s programs attract viewers intrigued me to select Handy Manny to examine for my media analysis. To me, Disney never fails to impress their viewers. Especially, Handy Manny’s engagingness with Latin culture and Latino/a characters posed interesting insights into the new generations of Disney characters. In this analysis, I will substantially assess the functions of Spanish accents in the episodes and the intended viewers of the show.

To briefly introduce Handy Manny show, Handy Manny is an animated preschool children's television series. The program is directed by Tom Bastein. It airs on weekday mornings at 7:30/6:30c. Handy Manny describes the adventures of Manny Garcia, a bilingual Hispanic handyman, presumably a Mexican American based on the presentations of Mexican cultures in the program, and his eight anthropomorphic tools. Manny and the tools primarily speak in English; nonetheless, they speak words or short sentences in Spanish. The motto of the Handy Manny’s repair shop is “You break it, We fix it!” The episode usually revolves around Manny and his tools assisting their neighbors. The episode not only educates Spanish language but also includes moral lessons for the children viewers.

             Employing the simple Spanish in the show was the one of the essential aspects that I have noticed. In this analysis, I will heavily focus on Manny’s accents and its possible functions in the show. Manny, the protagonist, speaks in accented English. Wilmer Valderrama plays the voice of Manny. Valderrama is best known for his act in That's 70s show. He plays a comical foreign exchange student, Fez, with a strong Spanish accent. On the other hand, in Handy Manny, Valderrama lowered the tone of his voice and softened his accents. He does not sound like a stereotypical Latino Buffon in Handy Manny; instead, his solid voice portrays him as a diligent and credible man in the town. Manny teaches his tools Spanish words on the shows. For instance, in the Flicker Saves Christmas episode, Manny particularly emphasized Christmas related Spanish vocabularies. Pat, the hammer, did not understand what Manny has said: "Let's decorate arbole de Navidad." Manny kindly translates his Spanish into English, “Christmas tree,” for Pat to comprehend. This markedly demonstrated that Manny has knowledge of Spanish and Pat is a non-Spanish speaking character. (Flicker Saves Christmas -18:20)

Besides Pat, the hammer, all the tools speak both in English and in Spanish; however, Felipe, a yellow screw driver, is the only character among the tools who carries the accents when speaking in English. Felipe is portrayed as a somewhat native Spanish speaker. The voices of Felipe and Abuelito were played by an Argentinean American actor, Carlos Alazraqui. Most of his past roles were Latino characters; nonetheless, he is often praised for his capability of adopting numerous accents. In fact, he is best known for his Scottish accents. In addition to Alazraqui, there was a Latina voice actress named Shelly Morrison who features Mrs. Portillo. Except for Alazraqui, Morrison and Valderrama other characters from Handy Manny are played by non-Latino/as, mainly White Americans.

Largely, three levels of accents are featured in Handy Manny. First, there are White Americans such as Kelly and Mr. Lopart who speak appropriate American English; they do not carry any conspicuous accents. Next, there are bilingual characters such as Manny, Felipe and Mrs. Portillo. Even though they are fluent in English, their English is accompanied by accents. Lastly, the tools exemplified English speaking characters who are learning Spanish. Manny and the other Latino/a figures as their instructors, the tools study Spanish language.

The majority of the discourse exchanges among these individuals are in English. One of the Latino/a will usually initiate the Spanish or Latin culture related conversations. The characters communicate between different accent groups or even within their own groups. Manny to the Rescue episode, predominantly presented Latino/as: Manny, Señor Sanchez, the Chief Eduardo, and Adrienta. I observed that the principal performance of Latino/as in this particular episode led to the increased conversations in Spanish. For example, Señor Sanchez seemed like a stable elder in the town; he probably owned a house that he resides in. He spoke with heavy accents. Next, the Chief Eduardo was described as a respected fire department chief in the community. Unlike the stereotypical depictions of Latinos, he held an authority in the community. In terms of his accents, he carried accents when speaking in English. Julieta, a young girl, indubitably the granddaughter of Señor Sanchez, did not have accents when she spoke in English. It insinuated that Julieta was capable of comprehending Spanish since she was able to participate in the conversations. The episode exhibited the spectrum of different levels of language acculturation among Latino/a generations in the U.S. (Manny to the Rescue:-06:08)

Based on the observations on accents of the characters’ dialogues, I easily assumed that Handy Manny primarily target U.S. born Latino/a viewers; however, after I have explored the number of episodes and the official website, I realized that Handy Manny accommodated broader range of audiences. First, considering that the show is broadcasted via the U.S. based television medium, Playhouse Disney, I supposed that its main audiences encompass the U.S. born Latino/a children. The frequent highlights on Spanish language within Handy Manny may have encouraged Latino/a parents to allow their children to watch the show. Handy Manny can provide cultural role models for the U.S. born Latino/a children who are exposed to both American and Latin culture. For example, in the Light Work episode, Mrs. Portillo decorated her bakery with the Mexican paper flowers. She learned how to make the Mexican paper flowers from her aunt who lived in Oaxaca, Mexico. Mexican paper flowers scene delivered a sense of welcoming of the Mexican traditions; the tools admired the beauty of the Mexican paper flowers. Mrs. Portillo, a grandmother-like figure, sharing her culture with the tools, in this case, her grandchildren, functioned as the visual culture guide for Latino/as children in the U.S. For parents, the program supposedly substitutes a role of parents as heritage teachers by providing the cultural narratives.  (Light Work:-07:07)

Besides the U.S. born Latino/as, I believe that Handy Manny also appeals to any preschoolers in English speaking countries. According to my research on the official website, the program suddenly becomes less ethnic so to speak. It is culturally ambiguous; a lack of association with Spanish language in the contents of the website was prominent. Among four tabs on the website: Game, Stories, Music and Activities, I chiefly examined Stories and Music. I have specifically chosen these two parts because I believe that these two sections had greater relations to language and culture compare to other two sections of the website. First, the story, “A Day at the Park” had the subtitles in English; there were no Spanish included in the narration. The story was organized with the small activities such as counting and matching objects. This story especially highlighted the lesson of how to behave in a situation where you're lost. The narrators, Stretcher and Dusty, repeated instructions reinforcing how to act when you're lost. Despite my expectations, the story solely consisted of behavioral guidelines.

Next, I have listened to “Clang” under the Music tab. The music section on the website considerably seemed to focus on stimulating children's musicality. Clicking on each tools made different sounds. I could play rhythms along the songs or simply just clicked the tools to generate sounds. The background song reminded of Spanish/ Latin songs, yet I could not clearly classify the songs into certain genres. I anticipated hearing guitars, drumbeats and trumpets etc., instruments that invoke “Latiness.” Explicit reminder of Latiness was not found as I have supposed. This might be due to the extension of the stereotypes engraved in my mind. According to my findings in Handy Manny episodes, I presumed to see more Spanish and culture related contents on the website. Nevertheless, the website heavily focuses on stimulating children’s learning ability in various aspects such as organizational skills, musicality, moral conducts, and basic math skills. In other words, the website seeks out for the universal audiences. The implemented activities invite all children to readily engage with Manny and the tools. Official Website

As we have discussed in the lecture, Latino/a populations surpassed 15% of the U.S. population; Latino/a children composed 20% of the population. Latino/as in the U.S. have risen as the dominant non-white groups. Their rising status has definitely shifted some of the perspectives in the media. One of the examples is the politicians’ use of bilingual television networks to execute campaign strategies. In the recent election, politicians made appearances on Telemundo and Univision.(Article on Latino/as political influence) In addition, Handy Manny further reflects these occurring changes in America. Spanish almost becoming the second-language in the U.S., the bilingual television series suggested interesting insights. As if it is claiming that English still is the predominant language in America, the show mainly is in English with modest Spanish. Some characters have accents when speaking in English. The degree of accents varies among generations; the younger the Latino/a character is the lighter the accents are. The voices of Latino/a characters are played by the U.S. born Latino/a actors. Their career heavily depended on portraying Latino/a roles. In addition to Spanish, the program illustrates the celebrations of Latin cultures. Despite of its bilingual features on the show, the website does not reflect bilingual perspectives as much as I have contemplated. Instead, the emphasis is on the moral lessons for children. This allows the show to expand its range of audience to general English speaking children rather than focusing on a specific group.

Overall, I believe that the positive representations of both Spanish language and the Latin cultures in Handy Manny promote interests in sharing Latin cultures in the U.S. It describes Latin cultures to be attractive and desirable to be connected with. Manny and the tools are the “good” characters helping out their neighbors; the community is filled with bliss. In the beginning I have inquired the reason for Disney’s wide appeals. Can Handy Manny become modern day classics? Manny and the tools plausibly deliver the common elements such as morality that Latino/as share with the U.S. viewers. Handy Manny reiterates the universal values in other Disney’s classics to extend its legacy.

Visiting Handy Manny's Website

Game: Manny's Big Crane Game
The game allows a child to develop structural capability or organizational skills by moving blocks to create a whole picture. It does not involve any Spanish speaking. Only Manny narrates the instruction with his accents.

Stories: A Day at the Park
The narration was accompanied by the subtitles in English; there are no Spanish included in the narration. The stories invovled small activities: countings and matching. This specific story highlighted the lesson of how to behave in a situation where you're lost. Stretcher and Dusty, the narrators repeats sentences reinforcing how to act when you're lost. Despite my expectations to see stories involving Spanish, the story was solely narrated in English.

Music: Clang
The music tab on the webiste considerably focuses on stimulating children's musicality. Clicking on each tools make different sounds. The child may play rhythms along the songs or simply just click tools to generate sounds. The background song reminded of Spanish/ Latin songs yet I could not clearly classify the songs into certain genres. 

Activities: Manny's Mini Garden
Activities mainly involves color paintings. This particular activity is to create/ draw a garden for Manny.

Overall, the website seemed to be designed for any preschool children. It did not invovle extensive language skills to participate. The contents of the websites essentially focused on developing children's basic knowledge such as coutings, colorings, principles and musicality. The webiste may appeal to any children in the developing stage.

Handy Manny Official Website

Flicker Saves Christmas

     Focusing on characters' accents, this episode particularly emphasizes Spanish vocabulaies. At the very beginning of the episode, Pat, the hammer, does not understand what Manny had said. Manny said: "Let's decorate arbole de Navidad." The phrase translates into a Christmas Tree. Manny kindly translate his Spanish into English to help Pat comprehend.  Later, Pat does not recognize Feliz Navidad which means Merry Christmas in English. Once again, this evidently demonstrated that Pat is a non-Spanish speaking character. This allowed the English speaking audiecne to place Pat with themselves. He is depicted as a non-Spanish speaker learning Spanish from Manny and the other tools. He becomes one of many Americans who are learning Spanish due to its increasing demands in public.
     Unlike Pat, Flicker is identified as a fluent Spanish speaker. He recognizes Tamales, a Latin American dish that Abuelito brought. In general, when Flicker responds to either Manny or the other tools, he replies to them in Spanish such as Si.
    
     Another outstanding element in this episode is during the portrayals of Christmases in different families. There are a multi-racial couple of African American and Asian American, a couple of Anglo Americans, a family of African Americans and a boy celebrating Christmas in his wheelchair. This exemplified Disney's representations of diversity in their programmings. Handy Manny is part of Disney's strategy to incorporate diverse audiences into their programs. It seems like the purpose of Handy Manny is to correspond to the growing populations of Latinos in the U.S. Even though Manny and the tools extensively concentrate on delivering the Latin cultures, it does not fail to illustrate the mainstream White American cultures via Kelly and other non-Spanish speaking characters. It does not offend English dominat speaking audience since the show is mainly in English; however, it also embraces Spanish dominant audiences by introducing Spanish language via the protagonists, Manny and the tools.

Actors lending voices in Handy Manny

Carlos Alazraqui

Based on professor Beltran's suggestion, I have researched the voice actors from Handy Manny on IMDb website.  Besides, Manny only three characters were played by Latina/o actors: Felipe, Abuelito, and Mrs. Portillo. As I have imagined, the voice of Felipe (the screwdriver) and abuelito was played by a Latino actor, Carlos Alazraqui. He was born in New York to Argentinian family in 1962 and  moved to Sacremento, CA. One of his most recent works is Ernesto/Todd in Scooby Doo- Mystery Incorporated television series. Going through his filmography,  he mostly played Latino roles. For example, he played Nestor in Happy Feet (2006).  In another Disney's show, Disney's House of Mouse, he played Panchito. Besides his voice works for Latino characters, he is often praised for his capability of using numerous accents. He is best known for his Scottish accent. He played a voice of Rocko, an Australian character in Rocko's Modern Life.

Shelly Morrison

 Shelly Morrison played the voice of Mrs. Portillo. At first, I didn't recognize her as a Latina due to her non-Latina like last name; yet, it turns out Shelly Morrison is her acting name. Her birth name is Rachel Mitrani. She was born in 1936 in New York. Spanish being her native language, Morrison mainly represented ethnic roles or Latina characters. Morrison's career seemed to be heavily limited, even more so than Alazraqui. For example, in Shark's Tale, she played Mrs. Sanchez. Her most recent work besides Handy Manny was My name is Earl as Maria in 2006.

Except for Alazraqui, Morrison and Valderrama other characters from Handy Manny are played by non-Latino/as, mainly White Americans. For instance, the voice of Kelly is played by Nancy Truman. Tom Kenny lent his voice for Mr. Lopart. He is eminent for his role, the Sponge Bob Squarepants.

Manny to the Rescue/Handy Hut

     First part of the episode described an episode of Manny and the tools helping the firehouse chief Eduardo. The chief called in Handy Manny shop to repair his broken lights on the fire trucks. When Manny and the tool were fixing his lights, the dispatcher called for the chief to help Senor Sanchez to rescue his cat. The cat could not come down from the tree. When the chief, Manny and the tools arrived at the site, Senor Sanchez and Adrienta greeted them. Using the ladder, the chief rescued the cat. In order to prevent this incident to happen, Manny and the tools came up with an idea. They have built a set of steps along the tree trunk for the cat to step up and down from the tree.
     In this particular episode, the episode portrayed mainly Latino characters: Manny, the tools, Senor Sanchez, the Chief Eduardo, and Adrienta. The brief appearance of Kelly and Mr. Lopart were the only portrayals of non- Latino characters in this episode. Within the episode, the show illuminated positive images of Latino characters. The chief Eduardo was described as a respected fire chief in the community. Unlike the stereotypical depiction of Latinos, he was a competent authority in the community. In terms of his accent, he carried an accent when speaking in English. Senor Sanchez seemed like a well off elder in the town. He owned a house and was appreciative of Manny and the chief's services. He also had an accent. However, Adrienta, a young girl, did not have an accent when she spoke in English. This might have represented younger generations of Latino Americans and their adaptation or bilingual characteristics in the U.S.
     Following this episode, the Handy Hut episode followed. Worrying that Manny might be working too hard, Mrs. Portillo and the neighbors planned a scheme to let Manny and the tools have a day off. They all cancelled their appointments with Manny. Manny and the tools came to believe they were losing their business to the new repair shop. Yet when they arrived at the shop, they were welcomed by their neighbors. The neighbors threw a party for Manny and the tools to show their appreciations for their work.
     During this episode, I did not notice anything significant besides its representations of Latinos' celebratory characteristics. The episode described the party/ fiesta Mrs. Portillo hosted for Manny and the tools. This could be a stereotypical depiction of Latino/as for being festive; however, I did not necessarily think this was a stereotypical representation of Latino/as. The emphasis was on the neighbors' appreciations of Manny and the tools' hard work not the party itself. The party was shown for a brief segment at the end; the story mainly described Manny and the tools coming back to the shop because all of their works have been cancelled.
Manny to the Rescue/ Handy Hut

Light Work Episode (November 22nd, 2010)

     Based on Professor Beltran's comment from last entry, I decided to observe carefully at Manny's accent and its function in the show. Before, I start anaylze the Light Work episode, here's the brief plot summary.
Manny and the tools were finishing up the day at work. Suddenly, the phone rings at the Manny's repair shop. It's from Mrs. Portillo. Her chandelier was broken and needed to be fixed right away. When Manny and the tools arrived at Mrs. Protillo, there is no light to brighten up the room to fix the chandelier. Mrs. Portillo wants to decorate her bakery with the Mexican paper flowers on the first day of Spring. Luckily, Manny and the tools figured out the way to brighten up the room. 
   First of all, I thought it was interesting how Mrs. Portillo, specifically mentions Oxaca, Mexico in this episode. She said that she learned how to make the Mexican paper from her aunt who lives in Oxaca, Mexico. I've never heard Oxaca, Mexico specifically mentioned in the television show before, therefore, this was pretty interesting. I guess given that Handy Manny is an educational program, naming the particular region may be to educate preschool viewers on geography. Also, by depicting tools embracing the Mexican paper flowers delivered a sense that Meixcan traditions are not alien or foreign, rather it was seen as a form of beauty.
     Focusing on Manny's accent within this episode, I have noticed an interesting portrayals of the characters. Mrs. Portillo strongly identifies herself with the Mexican culture, so I was not surprised to see her in strong accent in the show. Manny also carries an accent, yet it is not too strong to be ridiculed or mocked if it were in primetime shows. As I have posted previously, Wilmer Valderrama plays the voice of Manny. In That's 70s show, Wilmer plays Fez with strong Latino accent, yet in Handy Manny, he lowered his tone of voice and softened his accents. He does not sound like a stereotypical Latino Buffon in Handy Manny; instead, his solid voice portrays him as a deligent and credible man in the town. Also, another thing I have noticed is that although all the tools are bilingual in the show, only Felipe (yellow screwdriver) has the accent. All the tools speak both in English and in Spanish; however, Felipe is the only character within the tool who carries the accent when speaking in English. I thought it was interesting that the writers or producers chose only one character to carry accent. It did not separate from Felipe from the rest of the tools because they convey the strong imag of tools being a family; however, it certainly delivers his personality in different ways. He is often portrayed as a trouble maker and sometimes as an arrogant tool.
     It seemed like there are three levels of accents represented in the show. There are Kelly and Mr. Lopart who speak standard American English; they do not have accents. Next, there are Manny, Felipe and Mrs. Portillo. These characters are bilingual. Although they speak good English and fluent in Spanish, thse characters have accents when speaking in English. Hence, they are described as non native English speakers. Lastly, there are tools. They are the perfect example of bilingual characters so to speak. They are fluent in English with no accent; they speak standard English like Kelly. However, they still embrace Spanish and the Latino culture.

Link: Light Work Episode

Characters

Kelly: an owner of the hardware store. She supplies all the hardware that Manny needs.

Mr. Lopart: an owner of the candy store. He owns a cat named “Fluffy.” He usually does not like being helped by Manny; as a result, he ends up being in the trouble.

Tools

Dusty: a hand saw. She is a big sister figure of the tools.

Felipe: a screwdriver. He considers himself as a very important tool; he is always the first one to try to fix the broken things.

Flicker: a flashlight. He speaks Spanish and he is still learning English.

Pat: a hammer. He is a very chatty tool yet a clumsy tool as well.

Rusty: a monkey/pipe wrench. He is very timid; he usually asks Manny or other tools for approvals. 

Stretch: a tape measure. He has a good memory for numbers.

Squeeze: a pair or pliers. She loves lending helps to others, yet can be impatient sometimes.

Turner: a flathead screwdriver. He is sarcastic; he has a rivalry relationship with Felipe.