The Dark Age of Cartoons

[avian-reader]

I wonder if any of this has to do with the fact cartoons are getting easier to make with computerization and all that. in other words, if they have to spent weeks animating one episode, they're going to make sure it's good?

To be honest though, the only cartoons I ever watch are flash movies on Newgrounds anyway, so I can't say anything about TV really.

[blingmobile]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartoonstitute

If this works out like The Cartoon Cartoon Show, this will mean a blast of brand new creator-driven cartoons thriving on Cartoon Network. Everyone will realize the reality shows are shit, CN Real will be dropped like two hot rocks, and the day will be saved...

Thanks to...

CRAIG MCCRACKEN

So, all in all, by the end of this year, cartoons will (hopefully) be back on track.

[Afrohawkman]

Hell yes! This has made my day

[WorkSucksComics]

Pokemon, (sometimes) Hey Arnold, and the Sonic cartoon (the one with the "lessons") were/are crap. We just didn't realize because we were kids.

There are still some good cartoons we just have to look and be open-minded.

In my opinion Cartoon Network went down hill when they made Camp Lazlo/My Gym Partner... but Johnny Test killed it. Batman: TAS was the peak of cartoons and once you've reached the top, there's no place to go but down.

[blingmobile]

Hey Arnold

crap

[Afrohawkman]

Pokemon, (sometimes) Hey Arnold, and the Sonic cartoon (the one with the "lessons") were/are crap. We just didn't realize because we were kids.

Okay the Sonic was crap, but Hey Arnold?! Why?!

[tezzle]

"The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" was crap. "Sonic the Hedgehog" was AWESOME. And in BOTH cartoons Sonic was voiced by Urkel.

"Way past cool!"

[Vitotamito]

This "Cartoonstitute" will fail.

Want to know why? Because Craig McCracken has turned his back on us. He has... sold out, really.

If you want to know what I'm talking about look at the new Powerpuff Girls Episode that came out for the anniversary.

And as for the Hey Arnold debate:

It was a good show, maybe not humor wise or anything, but because of the awesome amount of good content in the show. The promotion of diversity, the morals, the references to 1950s New York City. It was a solid show, no doubt about it.

[gun21]

Batman: TAS was the peak of cartoons and once you've reached the top, there's no place to go but down.

Watch the Venture Bros.

Seriously...

[Guest]

I'm quite surprised no one mentioned how horrible Totally Spies is.

I hate that show. It has no steady plot, the characters are slutty and every episode is almost the same. And to the fans of TS: THAT SHOW IS NOT AN ANIME, AND IT WILL NEVER EVER BE ONE. EVER. Comparing Totally Spies to Anime is like comparing Edward Cullen to Count Dracula.

What makes TS more annoying is that, it's always the show I see everytime I flip the channel to Disney (at least, in the Philippines it's like that). Day or night it's always Totally spies!! WTF.

[tezzle]

I'm quite surprised no one mentioned how horrible Totally Spies is.

I hate that show. It has no steady plot, the characters are slutty and every episode is almost the same. And to the fans of TS: THAT SHOW IS NOT AN ANIME, AND IT WILL NEVER EVER BE ONE. EVER. Comparing Totally Spies to Anime is like comparing Edward Cullen to Count Dracula.

What makes TS more annoying is that, it's always the show I see everytime I flip the channel to Disney (at least, in the Philippines it's like that). Day or night it's always Totally spies!! WTF.

UGH. that crap went off the air over here in the states a couple years ago, thank GOD.

[Afrohawkman]

I'm quite surprised no one mentioned how horrible Totally Spies is.

I hate that show. It has no steady plot, the characters are slutty and every episode is almost the same. And to the fans of TS: THAT SHOW IS NOT AN ANIME, AND IT WILL NEVER EVER BE ONE. EVER. Comparing Totally Spies to Anime is like comparing Edward Cullen to Count Dracula.

What makes TS more annoying is that, it's always the show I see everytime I flip the channel to Disney (at least, in the Philippines it's like that). Day or night it's always Totally spies!! WTF.

Yeah, that show was pretty bad. It kind of reminded me of Kim Possible, only without the plot, jokes, and charm.

[AyaneSensei]

I'm quite surprised no one mentioned how horrible Totally Spies is.

I hate that show. It has no steady plot, the characters are slutty and every episode is almost the same. And to the fans of TS: THAT SHOW IS NOT AN ANIME, AND IT WILL NEVER EVER BE ONE. EVER. Comparing Totally Spies to Anime is like comparing Edward Cullen to Count Dracula.

What makes TS more annoying is that, it's always the show I see everytime I flip the channel to Disney (at least, in the Philippines it's like that). Day or night it's always Totally spies!! WTF.

I liked Totally Spies...D':
As for the people who think it's an anime, they obviously don't know that show's from France. xD

[granmastern]

Oh did Danny Phantom stop? Damn.
I'm a fan of the obvious stuff:
Fairly odd parents, Spongebob, Imaginary Friends, Avatar, etc.

But Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network in my mind has always had a set share of 'good' cartoons, and then a torrent of bad ones. I think there's a level of you guys rose-tinting the past. Sure there were a lot of great cartoons, as you have all mentioned, but there were also a lot of terrible ones that nobody remembers for the exact reason that they are terrible. I don't know if you get something similar in America, but we have a channel over here called 'Boomerang' which screens all the old shows we've come to love. Essentially, they screen about 10 shows that are any good. That's 10 shows out of the hundreds that were made decades ago, but these are the ones that have stood the test of time. The Scooby Doo's,The Flintstones', Tom and Jerry's and so on.

Also, there is the factor that presumably everyone in this thread is a teenager. Whether late or early, you're all not the target demographic for these shows, and although shows like FoP and Spongebob are funny to us, I think that is more because they intend to be funny for parents. With the exception of a few shows, like Avatar, Teenagers are not the audience that animators are aiming for, so you have to resort to Adult cartoons like the amazing Harvey Birdman. I remember having a discussion a while ago in which I described it as 'the parent layer.' Which is to say, a layer of jokes that will either mean nothing to children, or will only be seen as randomly funny, whereas adults (or indeed teenagers) will understand it and find it enjoyable. Spongebob is classic at doing this, and pretty much any episode you choose will have loads of jokes that on the surface are just silly, but if you get the reference are far too specific for kids. For example, in the Western-themed episode "Pest from the West;" many, many westerns from the past are mentioned or alluded to--and no child would get them.
I think there is a large factor here of you guys growing out of cartoons that you would have otherwise still enjoyed. Whos to say that you wouldn't have enjoyed half of these shows when you were a kid? I have several cousins who range from approx 13 to a 5 or 6 year old, and it's easy to see how their tastes change. The little boy is into anything exploding, whether that be Dragonball, Danny Phantom, Zoids or whatever, whilst ask him a few years ago and he would have said 'The Wiggles,' and various other young children's shows. The two Girls who are slightly older, however, love all of the live action shows like Neds Declassified and Drake and Josh--not to mention all of the teen girl comedies that star hollow shells that the girls can project their fantasies onto.

Although yes, I wholeheartedly agree that there are some terrible, terrible cartoons out there, you have to remember that for one, you are not the demographic these cartoons aim to please (in which they have pretty much perfected what kids want), two there were really bad cartoons in the past, and three your opinions change with age. In the past I would watch anything that was a cartoon no matter what it was about, but as I have grown older I have a natural aversion to stupid cartoons. In addition, as an artist I look at the bad animation, and it ruins it for me.

/thread.

Theres always bad cartoons, like Pyro said its harder to remember them, because.. well we don't watch them, even the classic toons had bad episodes, Johnny bravo had a few odd ones.

*tries to think of bad cartoons*... well there was the New Tom and Jerry adventures (or something like that, in the 90s), I remember Fat dog mendoza was weird, code lyoko (ok thats a bit recent), the Men in Black cartoon, Dumb and Dumber cartoon, a weird 3d animated robot/pokemon type show... can't think of any more.

But to be honest, even if Cartoon Network/Nickelodeon only released one good show each year, they couldn't care less if you don't like their shows or not, you know why? because new babies are born everyday, they get new audience every year, by the time you've seen all the repeats of your favourite shows and grow tired of it, new kids will watch these shows and it would be the first time for them.

I find it odd no-one mentioned Jimmy two shoes..... its a good show D:

[gun21]

the Men in Black cartoon:

Okay, you're obviously grasping for straws here, because that was one of the better cartoons back then, and it was directed by Darwyn Cooke who's one the the most celebrated cartoonists of today.


The reason why new shows suck so much is animations greatest flaw. THE BUDGET. Barely anybody watches Johnny Test, but it keeps getting renewed because it's able to make a profit. It's a cheap ass show that's using crappy imported flash animation, and writers who obviously aren't really good. It keeps well within it's budget, and gets just enough viewers to keep advertisers happy.

NOBODY WANTS TO TAKE RISKS ANYMORE. Nobody wants to spend money to produce QUALITY animation. They want to use the cheap route and import crappy flash animation from cheap Korean studios rather than the more expensive American frame studios, who are losing money because of this. Why would they? If you can get the same amount of viewers with a smaller budget, then they'll choose the cheaper option. This is the reason why Invader Zim was cancelled. Zim had a large budget, a VERY large budget, but they couldn't get enough viewers to make advertisers happy so Nick pulled the plug on it. They don't care about animation, they care about turning a profit. That's all anybody cares about anymore.