Argosy code of honour

The Argosy code of honour is an internal policy at ArgosyMTM Group, written by the late Michael Shires in 1954. It originally applied only to animated productions, but expanded to the entire Argosy unit (excluding MTM) circa 1985, and since Ellen Peck took over the entire company in 2006, has applied to all units. This originally excluded ArgosyMTM Labs, but since 2021, Ellen has decreed that Labs “projects” fall under the code of honour as well, allegedly due to some projects doing things she disagreed with.

The original code of honour
All Argosy animation must follow this code of honour: These 3 simple rules tell you what you need to avoid to make an entertaining cartoon.
 * 1) No potty or toilet humour. It grosses people out, and makes them less likely to watch something again.
 * 2) No political humour. It just dates the cartoon in 5 or 10 years, because politics is always changing.
 * 3) No using cartoons as propaganda, unless World War 3 happens. Cartoons are made to entertain people, not to shove political opinions down people’s throats.

—Michael Shires

Current code of honour
Without Michael Shires and the Shires family, Argosy and MTM wouldn’t be where they are today. Michael made a “code of honour” for cartoons, with 3 simple points of what to avoid to make a good cartoon. When I came in, I got the executives to extend this code of honour to the entire Argosy unit, including live-action productions, and since I became owner and CEO, I extended it to the entire ArgosyMTM Group. These 3 simple points still work today:


 * 1) No potty or toilet humour. It grosses people out, and makes them less likely to watch something again.
 * 2) No political humour. It just dates something in 5 or 10 years, because politics is always changing.
 * 3) No making political propaganda, unless World War 3 happens. We make content to entertain people, not to shove political opinions down people’s throats.

But since then, some things have popped up that good ol’ Michael wouldn’t have expected. Two more points cover these things:


 * 1) Avoid crypto, blockchains, NFTs, “Web3”, and other convoluted technology. There is no good that comes from these things, only art theft and damage to the environment.
 * 2) Don’t try too hard to be “hip”. This means no “fellow kids”-type humour or meme references. Like political humour, it just dates something in 5 or 10 years, maybe even less.

With these 5 points, you have everything you need to make a good example for future generations. Cartoons, movies, and TV shows that will be enjoyed for generations, and aren’t tied to the latest fad that will die out in a few years.

—Ellen Peck, CEO and President of ArgosyMTM Group, President of Argosy Media, and Head of Argosy Animation Studios