LeBron James loves the children.
At least, I think that's the motivation behind "The LeBrons," the basketball superstar's new venture, an animated series that will air 10 episodes on youtube.com/thelebrons.
Just about six minutes long, the show is meant as family entertainment 'designed to provide positive messages to today's youth and young adults.'
Shaped by the multiple characters LeBron played in his Nike commercials, after the obligatory rap theme song, we meet Kid (voiced by Jonathan Wesley), his pal Condor (Jason Weaver), old man Wise, basketball playing Athlete, and cooler-than-cool Business (voiced by LeBron). Apparently, Niecy Nash will voice Gloria, the mother figure on the show.
According to the press release, "The LeBrons" will have plenty of humor, fun and wit, and is also designed to relay a series of positive messages in every episode that stem from a problem faced by modern families, or a current social event."
With that in mind, the first episode is about Kid and Condor being terrorized by a mean neighborhood dog (pitbull, of course). How mean? He and his canine pals take over his owner's home, apparently throwing card games and ordering pizza. Business steps in to solve the problem, bringing in a lion, (you know, the King of the jungle); the lion and Business get along famously, sharing a love for designer clothing. Apparently, Gucci trumps Armani.
OK, so it's silly, and not particularly, funny (definitely not as funny as the Nike commercials), and the morale, two wrongs don't make a right, is relayed with a lot less grace than LeBron handles a basketball.
But there's a sweetness to the venture; for me, it's partly because of the nostalgia for the days when one of the hallmarks of fame was getting a cartoon (I still wish the 'The Jackson 5' cartoon would be released on DVD). And I have to applaud James for creating a world like the one he grew up in, a complex place where there were dangers, where Business could be kind of slick and plenty kind, where old men passed on wisdom from the porch and made younger men do the right thing.
So don't hate. His heart is in the right place.
Assistant Features Editor Adrienne Johnson Martin would like to have her life turned into an animated cartoon. 
