History Main / TheKidsAreAmerican

*** Exceptions: The stereotypical Arab who sings the FramingDevice opening song, and Jafaar's sacrificial Mook, Gazim.

* Intentionally invoked in ''{{Gargoyles}}''. The elderly Hudson has a thick Scottish Accent while the rest of the clan range from American Accents to neutral. This was done to highlight the generational differences and acceptances each had of the modern world. As the series progressed, more Clans living in Modern Times would be discovered (Specifically the English, Japanese, and Guatemalan clans) spoke in region appropriate accents. An explanation of the Avalon Clan (who all grew up with Scottish or British accented characters yet still spoke with an American accent) was never given.

* Inverted with ''QueerAsFolk'': The American series was set in Pittsburgh, but filmed in Canada -- the kid has a Canadian accent.

A movie takes place in a foreign land. Just to prove it to you, all the adults have [[JustAStupidAccent an accent]]; one may go so far as to be the FunnyForeigner. Then a kid shows up speaking fluent American English, and unless the kid is a stellar actor, this can poke a hole in SuspensionOfDisbelief.

* ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}'', Geppetto (Christian Rub) has a foreign accent but Pinocchio (Dickie Jones) has a "neutral" American accent, that is, one like the Midwest.

* ''TheSoundOfMusic'': Everyone has a British accent, except the youngest kids in the von Trapp family.

* Inverted with ''QueerAsFolk'': The American series was set in Pittsburgh, but filmed in Canada — the kid has a Canadian accent.
* ''[[AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is a good example: None of the main, 12- to 16-year-old actors have non-American accents, but plenty of adults do: Iroh, played by {{Mako}}, has a Japanese accent, as does the warden from the episode "Imprisoned", played by [[StarTrek George Takei]]. James Hong plays the mayor of Chin in season two, which also introduces the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe, whose members sound as if they hail from the DeepSouth. This is probably a TranslationConvention, as they all write in traditional calligraphy.
* In the 1971 movie version of ''CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Charlie and his family are a few of the only ones with American accents — and in the 2005 version, they're a few of the only ones with ''British'' accents.
* Inverted in ''{{Aliens}}'': Everybody's American, but the one kid sounds British, and the film was made in Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom.
** Justified: She's unrelated to any of the adults that appear on-screen.
** Also, the actress was American but raised in the UK.
*** {{Lampshaded}}: The [[DVDBonusContent DVD interviews]] note that the actress's natural English accent is noticeable in some scenes (such as "There's a short-cut across the roof") but it was [[ThrowItIn kept in the finished film]].
*** We also don't know what the population make up of the colony was. There might have been lots of Britons there.

* In Disney's ''{{Pinocchio}}'' (1940), Geppetto (Christian Rub) has a foreign accent but Pinocchio (Dickie Jones) has a "neutral" American accent, that is, one like the Midwest.
* Intentionally invoked in {{Gargoyles}}. The elderly Hudson has a thick Scottish Accent while the rest of the clan range from American Accents to neutral. This was done to highlight the generational differences and acceptances each had of the modern world. As the series progressed, more Clans living in Modern Times would be discovered (Specifically the English, Japanese, and Guatemalan clans) spoke in region appropriate accents. An explanation of the Avalon Clan (who all grew up with Scottish or British accented characters yet still spoke with an American accent) was never given.
* JackieChanAdventures: Both Jackie and Uncle have been living in America for years, but retain noticeable Chinese accents. Jade is fresh out of Hong Kong, but sounds like she grew up in Los Angeles.

* In the 1971 movie version of ''CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Charlie and his family are a few of the only ones with American accents — and in the 2009 version, they're a few of the only ones with ''British'' accents.

* ''[[AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is a good example: None of the main, 12- to 16-year-old actors have non-American accents, but plenty of adults do: Iroh, played by Mako, has a Japanese accent, as does the warden from the episode "Imprisoned", played by [[StarTrek George Takei]]. James Hong plays the mayor of Chin in season two, which also introduces the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe, whose members all have Southern (U.S.) accents (no children among them; [[IncestIsRelative I'm pretty sure they're infertile]]).

* Reversed in ''{{Aliens}}'': Everybody's American, but the one kid sounds British.

Examples:

* Intentionally evoked in {{Gargoyles}}. The elderly Hudson has a thick Scottish Accent while the rest of the clan range from American Accents to neutral. This was done to highlight the generational differences and acceptances each had of the modern world. As the series progressed, more Clans living in Modern Times would be discovered (Specifically the English, Japanese, and Guatemalan clans) spoke in region appropriate accents. An explanation of the Avalon Clan (who all grew up with Scottish or British accented characters yet still spoke with an American accent) was never given.

A movie takes place in a foreign land. Just to prove it to you, all the adults have an accent; one may go so far as to be the FunnyForeigner. Then a kid shows up speaking fluent American English, and unless the kid is a stellar actor, this can poke a hole in SuspensionOfDisbelief.

* In ''HowToTrainYourDragon'', ''every single member'' of the parents' generation speaks with an accent. ''Every single member'' of Hiccup's doesn't.

* ''Film/RobinHood'': Most of the adults have British accents, but all the kids have American ones.

This actually has a fairly logical explanation. The vast majority of {{Hollywood}}'s movies are filmed in [[CaptainObvious California]], and there are a number of laws involving child actors. Finding a kid who lives in or near Los Angeles just makes the situation a lot less complicated.

* Inverted with ''QueerAsFolk'': The American series was set in Pittsburgh, but filmed in Canada — the kid has a Canadian accent.

* In the 1971 movie version of ''CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Charlie and his family are a few of the only ones with American accents — and in the 2009 version, they're a few of the only ones with ''British'' accents.

* Inverted with ''QueerAsFolk'': The American series was set in Pittsburgh, but filmed in Canada — the kid has a Canadian accent.
* ''[[AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is a good example: None of the main, 12- to 16-year-old actors have accents, but plenty of adults do: Iroh, played by Mako, has a Japanese accent, as does the warden from the episode "Imprisoned", played by [[StarTrek George Takei]]. James Hong plays the mayor of Chin in season two, which also introduces the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe, whose members all have Southern (U.S.) accents (no children among them; [[IncestIsRelative I'm pretty sure they're infertile]]).
* In the 1971 movie version of ''CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Charlie and his family are a few of the only ones with American accents — and in the 2009 version, they're a few of the only ones with ''British'' accents.

A movie takes place in a foreign land. Just to prove it to you, all the adults have an accent, one may go so far as to be the FunnyForeigner. Then a kid shows up speaking fluent American-ese, and unless the kid is a stellar actor, this can poke a hole in SuspensionOfDisbelief.

This actually has a fairly logical explanation. The vast majority of {{Hollywood}}'s movies are filmed in [[CaptainObvious California]], and there are a number of laws involving child actors. Finding a kid who lives nearby just makes the situation a lot less complicated.

* TheSoundOfMusic: Everyone has British accents, except the youngest kids in the von Trapp family.
* Film/RobinHood: Most of the adults have British accents, but all the kids have American ones.
* In HowToTrainYourDragon, ''every single member'' of the parent's generation speaks with an accent. ''Every single member'' of Hiccup's doesn't.
* Inverted with ''QueerAsFolk'' - the American series was set in Pittsburgh, but filmed in Canada- the kid has a Canadian accent.
* ''[[AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is a good example: none of the main, 12-16 year-old cast have accents, but plenty of adults do: Iroh, played by Mako, has a Japanese accent, along with the warden from the episode "Imprisoned," played by George Takei. James Hong plays the mayor of Chin in season two, which also introduces the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe, who all have Southern (US) accents (no children among them; [[IncestIsRelative I'm pretty sure they're infertile]]).
* In the old movie version of CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory, Charlie and his family are a few of the only ones with American accents -- and in the new one, they're a few of the only ones with ''British'' accents.

* {{Aladdin}}, if the lead pair count as kids when they're young adults.
* ''AnAmericanTail'': the Mousekewitz family starts off in Russia, and while Mama and Papa have extremely thick Russian accents, Fievel and Tanya have American ones ''before'' they move to America.
* Averted by ''IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''. [[KidSidekick Short Round]] has an Asian accent.

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