One of the biggest concerns I had when I started watching Littlest Pet Shop involved the character of Sunil.

Sunil, for those who forget, is a mongoose. And mongooses, specifically the Indian gray mongoose, which might come in a blue variety, are well-known for their ability to kill snakes, particularly cobras. This is because of their immunity to most snake venoms, their agility, and their thick coats.

However, in the wild, they don’t generally go after cobras. Snakes are a part of their diet, but not specifically cobras. It is a common misconception however, so the fact that Sunil hates cobras is fine by me in that respect.

That being said, this plot point always bothered me because it kinda feels a bit racist in this context. In a world where all animals are sentient, having one animal hate an entire species is problematic. Would they ever portray this on-screen?

Would they ever feature an episode where a friendly cobra ends up in the day camp, and everyone likes him, but Sunil is a racist jackass?

Well this week, they did have the opportunity to bring it up, but danced around it a bit, and seemed to have avoided this issue without anyone acknowledging it as an issue. Continue reading →