Do Tea Cartoons Attract New Tea Drinkers?
The World Tea Expo once scheduled a speaker that discussed how the popularity of tea drinking in Japanese anime encouraged more people – especially young adults – to try specialty tea and whole leaf tea practices. But there are other examples of popular animated media – tea cartoons – that have woven tea drinking into their story lines. T Ching has collected a few for you here, inculding one from 1948. Several are not only contemporary but also multi-generational.
But aren’t they fun!
Tea drinking and tea lovers sometimes suffer a reputation for stuffiness and snobbery. Tea cartoons like these remind us that there’s actually potential for lighthearted silliness in a ‘cuppa.
A Gallery of Tea Cartoons
Uncle Iron in the animated series Avatar, the Last Airbender
One of the most popular characters in the animated series, “The Last Airbender” is the tea-loving Uncle Iroh. Tea is his thing; a huge part of his character. One of quotes is, “Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life’s true delights.” Another favorite is, “Sick of tea? That’s like being sick of breathing.” It could be argued that there has never been a more serious tea lover than Uncle Iron in this modern tea cartoon. Read more about Nickelodeon’s series, Avatar, The Last Airbender on Wikipedia.
Not Your Grandmother’s Tea Party
This french tea cartoon, produced by Ecole Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques and written by Chockys is a modern fable for all ages. It is both old-fashioned and futureistic.
A older woman who owns a barely functioning robot who struggles even to serve a proper cup of tea struggles with some difficult choices about the technology in her life. Read more about this animated short, Tea Time.
A Tea Cartoon from a Bug’s Eye View
Larva is a South Korean produced cartoon series that features many unusual tiny creatures – bugs and such. In this one episode there are some interesting moments when they discover some of the powers of tea. This is a tea cartoon designed for a much younger audience. More about the Larvae series.
Sofia The First – Tea for Too Many
For this Disney animated series about princesses, a tea party episode is a MUST. But Disney did use the opportunity to make tea parties for children about more than just party dresses, tiaras and eating way too many calories. Princess Sofia struggles to keep the real meaning of friendship and sharing teatime in the midst of peer presure from other princesses. More about the series, Sofia The First.
A Fancy Nancy Tea Cartoon
The Fancy Nancy world is filled with books, videos and merch. But Fancy Nancy is known for celebrating her delightful excesses with a tea party. This tea cartoon is one of her basic how-to episodes that continue to entertain several generations of Nancy fans and tea lovers.
Tea For Two Hundred
Don’t you love the idea of Donald Duck having an outdoor tea party! Some might have titled cartoon as a picnic, but happily, Walt Disney gives the nod for his classic cartoon to tea. In 1948 it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1949.
Tea in the Galaxy – Tea and Dr. Who. Posted by T Ching | Jul 3, 2020
