Television Today's Cartoons

What do you think of todays (non anime) cartoons? I really dont care much for a lot of them. It seems like a lot of cartoons depend on stupidity anymore.
I remember the great cartoons during the 80's such as Popples, Rainbow Brite, Jem, etc. Those shows were so much better than Spongebob, Ed Edd and Eddy etc.

What do you think?

 

It depends on the cartoon. Of course, I'm hard-pressed to name a well-known cartoon that I think is decent... XD Overall, no, I don't find most cartoons to be either entertaining or very watchable. For the most part, the character design isn't tasteful and/or the animation is poor, the plots are shallow... basically, they don't appeal to an older audience very well, and they're not meant to.

Granted, I didn't watch a lot of older cartoons either. ^^;

 

Now adays I can't find any cartoon that really keeps me entertained anymore except for the Powerpuff Girls. Bubbles is just too adorable, really.

Though, anyways, moving on... I think the two best American cartoon shows, ever, easily have to be Invader Zim and Freakazoid, both of which I would pay to see on the air, in syndicated television, in a decent time-slot, on a channel for all to watch.

And, yeah, I'm a big fan of The Muppet Babies too.

stfu

 

I don't think that's true at all. There have been some truly fantastic American cartoons in the last few years, if you just know where to look. Cartoon Network has truly been a godsend in that regard - Not only are they giving us great anime (Albeit edited), they're also creating their own art. "Samurai Jack" is undoubtedly the best American action cartoon to show up in a long time, and their original Adult Swim lineup ("Aqua Teen Hunger Force", "Sealab 2021") gets every single person I know in stitches.

Even MTV has started making a strange habit of producing quality animation. "Undergrads" was definitely a breath of fresh air compared to all their reality drivel - Too bad it only lasted one season. The crown jewel of everything MTV has done, however, is easily "Daria", which regrettably ended its five-year run in 2002. It had a very unique look, fantastic actors and was/is more intelligent than any primetime live-action show in recent memory.

You can shift gears to kid's cartoons. While these aren't expected to be rocket science, shows like "Recess" and "Rugrats Growed Up" are proficient in creating likable characters and good (If sappy) storylines. There are certainly plenty of mindless action cartoons and flat-out bizarre cartoons with too much potty humor like the ones you speak of, Saiyan Chichi, but they've been around since long before the age of cartoons you referred to.

Whew, that went on quite a while, Anyway, so I don't think that animation today is sub-par to cartoons of the '80s. Many shows are smarter, are able to deal with more sophisticated topics, and almost all of them have been incredible leaps in the quality of picture and sound. It's all just a matter of wading through the rough to get to the diamonds.

P.S. I'd have mentioned "Gargoyles", but I think it ended too long ago to be considered "modern" animation (It ended in 1997). Still, I think it's just as good as the very best anime out there, and it's a fantastic reminder of just what American animation is capable of.

 

I think the cartoons recently are better than they've have been. I'm not saying our favorites of the past were bad, though (they were truly awesome of course :catgirl: ). I mean, for a while (from what I observed) cartoons have looked and were really sappy. For a time. Cartoon characters were hideously deformed (like the ones on Nickelodian), and I couldn't stand to watch them (with the exception of Rugrats, who didn't look that bad). There are still ugly characters right now, but they're actually entertaining.

I've grown quite fond of today's cartoons as I did with my favorites of the past. They're just too funny. I still, to this day, prefer cartoons over those stupid sitcoms I can't stand :anger2: . Just because they're not anime doesn't mean I should exclude the other animated shows. Instead, I happily look forward to them. :catgirl:

 

The Simpsons, Family Guy, Undergrads, Downtown, Daria, Samurai Jack, Clone High and South Park are all cartoons that enjoy and rarely get bored off. Especially the Simpsons, that show has been on for at least 10 years now and they have pretty good plotlines and have only run out of material once or twice. Also Family Guy delights millions of people, children and adults. I miss Daria a lot and so far the filling of the void for it has been decent with Undergrads, Downtown and Clone High. Also Samurai Jack is just plain great!

AND SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS HILARIOUS!!!

 

I'll agree that some of the more mature cartoon series are funny. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike non-anime on general principle or anything. XD

On the other hand, though, the stuff that's being mentioned - Invader Zim, Family Guy, The Simpsons, and so on - is all comedy of one form or another. I'll watch it sometimes, but it's not the kind of material that I find engaging over a long period of time. In most cases, it doesn't warrant the same sort of dedication that I find I can have with anime.

I guess my issue with cartoons - most, not all - is the way they're designed to be watchable on an individual episode basis. I prefer a solid series, something deep enough that you can't just see a bit here and there and get the full experience. Then again, there's the quality of animation and of character design. That, though, I'm more forgiving of. Some shows are meant to have a rough feel - and simplistic designs can be very appealing in some cases.

I think the majority of entertainment is always going to be pretty shallow. There are some real gems in every genre, whether animated or not... but the lowest-common-denominator fare isn't ever going to be incredible. Your average cartoon just doesn't NEED to have an incredible story or great animation, because most of them are pitched at kids who are watching something after school or on weekends, just for a little distraction. They just want something that'll entertain them while they have an after-school snack. *shrug*

 

Isn't that a tad obvious?

As a whole, TV sucks, no matter what you watch. So it's no surprise that there are so many stupid cartoons. The only one on that I can even tolerate seems to be the remake of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which seems like a fun blend of the old cartoon, the comic books and the movies. And I love the way they made Casey Jones actually somewhat cool. And nevermind the warehouse on the corner of Eastman and Laird.

 

Well, some animated movies are better than some anime. The storylines may not be as good but the animation is better. I don't know where Disney is headed now.. Michael Eisner may be kicked out of there because 43% of the shareholders voted against him. Check out the article - http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/03/national/main603797.shtml.

Eisner also set up a studio in Toronto for animation for a 4 year tax break and then a year before the place closed Eisner hired a downsizing expert to run the place and mess up with people's minds so they either quit or got so angry that they quit or bursted out at the management to get fired.. All so they wouldn't have to get severence pay. He also had traditional animators work on Brother Bear but then right when Brother Bear was done he fired them all and sold all of the animation desks because everyone supposedly wants to see 3d animation movies now.. It's cool that most of those animators set up their own company. http://www.cinemaeye.com/more/462_0_10_0_C/

I always thought Eisner was a good guy, I remember him appearing on the Disney channel when I was younger.

 

Well I figured this would be an appropriate place for this question.. so here goes:

Earlier this afternoon I flipped on Cartoon Network as (as an example to what someone stated earlier ) a distraction as I ate a little afternoon snack, and I came upon this cartoon which (in my opinion) had the most idiotic name: Totally Spies.

Apparently it's about three girls who frequently go on spy missions (wearing high heeled bright as heck spandex suits no less), and it looked like your average save-the-day-by-the-end-of-each-episode cartoon. But what struck me as weird was the animation.

Not only did the animation appear very alike to the animation of a few animes, but I picked up a few familiar hints during the episode (ex. at least two people sweatdropped).

So is America now producing (or attempting to produce) replicas of an anime series? Or was it just mere coincidence?

 

I think I've seen that cartoon. Is one of them named like, Alexis or Alex or something? And they're obsessed with dates ? I'm not sure where that cartoon is made, but it really does have a lot of anime elements in it. Like you said they sweatdrop, they get that little 'blush under the eyes', and their mouths do that EXTRA BIG flappy thing. Also their body designs are akin to those in anime i.e. perfect :anime:

 

i remember that show. I thought it was an anime to tell ya the truth, but really, i didn't put much thought into it because i switched the channel after five minutes and went out and played in the sun.

I've notice that after i really got into anime....or more like the day when i actually said "i like anime" i couldn't care less for the regular cartoons on TV. Before watching anime, i remember watching so many cartoons like PowerPuff Girls *yes, i watched that, but only because of Bubbles* but now i don't care for most. i'll still watch the regular Simpsons and South Park though and I HATE SPONGE BOB SQAURE PANTS!! *sits and waits for the crazy fans of a sponge to attack her*BRING IT ON!

 

I agree that Invader Zim must be one of the better ones. There are good and bad cartoons on television. Most of them aren't meant to be deep or witty; sometimes you just need to see Wile E. Coyote get dropped into some big canyon or something, I guess. Personally, I already don't watch very much TV. I watch more movies and anime series that don't get aired as often on television.

I guess it would help if I had more than basic cable. (Help me get addicted to TV, that is .)

Oh and...I watch The Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama and a few others.

 

I loved watching Cybersix, Gargoyles, and Nighthood.

I like watching Family Guy,Futurama, Reboot, Rocket Robin Hood, Rupert, and The Little Lulu Show.I don't watch much reality tv other than commercials- I need shiny color still :sweat:. Those old Garfield series before 'Garfield and Friends' began were fun too.

I also watch Codename: Kids Next Door, Fairly Oddparents, Jackie Chan, Martin Mystery, Lilo and Stitch; the series; Samurai Jack,Southpark,Totally Spies[that's the animeish one you guys posted about, huh? :catgirl: ], and Tim Sieger's Wildlife mini series..I love how it's animated.

I love the animation of the new Spiderman, but watch the 1950-ish one more, along with older 'The Hulk'. I used to watch a Superman before.


Before episodes went on as reruns: Dilbert, and For Better or For Worse.

I used to watch Clone High, Daria, Dexter's Laboratory, Felix the Cat, Megababies, Ozzy and Drix, Popeye the Sailor Man, Powerpuff Girls, Princess Sissi, The Ripping Friends, and Undergrads. Also a Sonic series airing around 1994..

I like watching a good Family Circus movie when it airs on TV :anime: Or Betty Boop if I'm lucky.

I like Disney's shows -Tarzan's real different from the book though. I usually watch Kim Possible and 'Lilo and Stitch'; and used to watch Pepperann, and really loved Buzz Lightyear. Seems several series are pointing out everyday lessons now..