Artist's Depiction Of Popular Cartoon Characters As Black Is Stirring Controversy

It's no secret that we don't have enough representation of people of color in our modern arts, including in cartoons.

Most characters on TV are white or are drawn/played as if the character is culturally white.

So when Tyron Handy grew dissatisfied with the lack of people like himself on TV, he took matters into his own hands.

Handy said:

"There weren't a lot of cartoons that I felt represented me much growing up—most black characters in cartoons and tv shows were stereotypical side characters and the best friend of the white main character."

"Black kids need to be able to see more representations of themselves in media."

For the past two years he's been posting his reimaginings on Instagram.

Check them out below.

Handy did his version of The Powerpuff Girls...

...and Hey Arnold, which he renamed Hey Andre...

...and the Griffith family from Family Guy...

Handy says what sets him apart from other artists is that he recreates characters that "look like they could be parallel versions of themselves," rather than just slapping some designer clothing and jewelry onto the models that already exist.

At times, he also changes the characters names, like when The Simpsons became The Blacksons.

Rick and Morty retained their names, but got a brand new look.

Handy also tackled The Goofy Movie.

Handy says he wants to pave the way for the next generation of black artists and illustrators.

He said:

"I hope that one day I can run my own animation studio. I want to create more cartoons with black lead characters that will better represent the black experience."

Many of his reimaginings involve the icons of many people's childhoods.

Like Rugrats...

...and Ed, Edd, 'n Eddy.

Handy also has a weekly comic entitled "Apple Dapple Tactics" which follows a guy named Ty and delves into his various relationships and crazy love life.

Handy's Instagram has over 24,000 followers.

But people's reactions to his reimaginings have been mixed.

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But Handy's work is important to many who do not feel represented, and as such, he continues to draw.

We hope he achieves his goal and a whole new generation of POC artists get the chance to shape kids' futures.

H/T: BoredPanda, Buzzfeed