Can and should adult Western animation move past comedy?

[Shoggoth2588]

Absolutely on both. There is a problem though and, its the perception animation has in the US. I would like to see animated sci-fi, slice-of-life, dramas but I just don't see anything like that happening unless it's wrapped up in a show that focuses more on comedy than anything else. I don't think it's impossible of course it's just gonna take a while. At least we're not stuck in the old days of DIC or early Hanna-Barbera.

 

[PapaGreg096]

Absolutely on both. There is a problem though and, its the perception animation has in the US. I would like to see animated sci-fi, slice-of-life, dramas but I just don't see anything like that happening unless it's wrapped up in a show that focuses more on comedy than anything else. I don't think it's impossible of course it's just gonna take a while. At least we're not stuck in the old days of DIC or early Hanna-Barbera.

If you want a Slice of life drama check out Bojack Horseman

 

[CrazyGirl17]

I believe so... problem is that most people are stuck in the "Cartoons are for kids" mindset that is holding the medium back. Not to say that kid's cartoons can't be surprisngly deep (examples include Avatar: The Last Airbender, Samurai Jack, Steve Universe, and even Gravity Falls), it's just sad when cartoons "meant for kids" can be better written and more meaningful than shows "meant for adults".

 

[crimsonspear4D]

I believe so... problem is that most people are stuck in the "Cartoons are for kids" mindset that is holding the medium back. Not to say that kid's cartoons can't be surprisngly deep (examples include Avatar: The Last Airbender, Samurai Jack, Steve Universe, and even Gravity Falls), it's just sad when cartoons "meant for kids" can be better written and more meaningful than shows "meant for adults".

That's the entirely sad thing about all of this, the fact that if you want to watch an animated show with interesting, complex characters, deep emotional and philosophical stories, and explosive, tense action or drama you have to go to Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or Disney and watch cartoons made for children and tweens. Look at My Little Pony:FiM, there was no reason for that dumb girl's show to that smart, funny, and engaging; and yet there it was, attracting an entirely alien demographic of males 10 to freaking 30's. I couldn't even believe it had me pulled in for like five seasons, though the fandom had a large influence in that, and then I just grew out of it.

I'd give anything to have a "mature" action/adventure, horror, or sci-fi cartoon, if nothing more than to get rid of all this lgbt subterfuges and metaphors and just allow gay and trans characters to exist and have a life. I honestly believe that if western animation studios got off their asses and played ball they could actually be a threat to anime since, barring some merchandising, they wouldn't be beholden to bullshit trends and writing tropes and actually TRY to make shows that either all could enjoy or at least be pleasantly entertained and hyped for more.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Yes to both, and I actually think it already has started to. Bojack Horseman is just as much a drama as it is a comedy. The world the show presents may look completely bonkers, but it's juxtaposed with complex issues that are tackled in a realistic fashion. The underwater episode has almost no comedic elements at all. Instead, it's a beautiful take on someone being stranded in a country that they barely know how to interact with.

 

[Nazulu]

It will since the newer generations have made anime more popular in the west. Animation is not seen by any of us as the lesser art.

 

[Kyrian007]

Yes, but I've encountered this weird situation concerning a few people I know.

My mother really liked The Last Airbender[footnote]you know that piece of crap M Night Shyamalan made?[/footnote], she was upset that there probably wouldn't be a sequel. I told her there was a TV show that was much better and would complete the story for her, but she refused to watch it, because it was animated.

I had something similar happen, with slightly more success. I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with my mother... and she wasn't expecting a "to be continued" and wanted to know what was going to happen next. I told her to read the book... that didn't pan out. So I bought her the Rankin and Bass version... and she watched it. After having seen the rest of the Hobbit trilogy, she told me that she prefers the Rankin and Bass version.

And as far as western animation is concerned... its happening. More so online or streaming than on TV. Actually, animated or live action I'd just like for writers to remember that comedy and drama CAN coexist. A live action show CAN be funny and have meaningful and deep storylines. An animated show CAN be dramatic and dark, and still decide to crack a joke or 2. There seems to be an odd tendency these days for shows to gravitate to one extreme or the other. Whatever happened to shows like "The X Files" where they jumped from episodes where a main character is kidnapped and nearly murdered and raped to another where the agents are chasing a mermaid through a freak show or blowing up a feces warehouse.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Might be because I remember the 90s so well... but I was fond of Aeon Flux, The Maxx, etc. In the 80s you had Heavy Metal... and When the Wind Blows... which was fucking DARK. So goddamn bleak. The English can make anything bleak. Seriously, the prologue was supposed to be this peaceful montage of a grandparent visiting the library, the market, and travelling on a rural busline home all before the tragedy of war... but even the prologue makes you feel depressed. And then it only gets worse.

Maybe I'm a naturally sunny personality. But I doubt it.

I still remember the Watership Down animated movie.

I remember crying reading the book as a kid. Blubbering. For hours. The artwork was beautiful and surreal, though, in my illustrated copy. The transmigration of the soul at the end to the place of the primroses was ... beautiful.

So yeah... I mean Watership Down is a children's novel but it was deep, terrible and left you crying. Perfect book for kids to read and realize that war isn't a state, it's a constant companion. Life and its maintenance is a struggle of violence and despair. That death is inevitable and sometimes it's simply better to believe in something afterwards because everything else is fucking tragic.

Perfect lessons for kids. Go watch the movie. It's great!

Go watch When The Wind Blows if you want a reason to hate life and kill yourself. And I don't mean that in that it's bad. A Scanner Darkly is also a brilliant western animated movie that is fairly recent. Also the French animated film Renaissance.

So I don't see the stigma of animated movies/shows being for kids, personally.

(Edit) Animation and comics used to cover a whole lot of topics nobody really wanted to go into details about. Mainly because it was cheaper and more personable to show other imagery than just using stock images of nuclear weapons tests they used to use in all the films.

 

[Bobular]

I was complaining the other day about how almost all animated movies these days are CG like Toy Story or Shrek, but I miss the old style cartoon movies. I was hoping after the popularity of cartoon shows like Avatar and My Little Pony with adult audiences that we may see a return to cartoons on the big screen, aimed at the older generations that grew up with it but it doesn't seem to have happened.

 

[Droopie]

Yes to both. People have already mentioned BoJack Horseman, which has some great story arcs and character development (I've seen complaints from people who disliked it because they were upset to find that a cartoon wasn't all lighthearted). Rick & Morty, while primarily a comedy, has some great dramatic moments that I'm sure will only get more frequent as the seasons continue. The second season of Gravity Falls also ends up focusing a bit more on mystery and development than comedy, but being a kids' show it still had a pretty even balance.

 

[twistedmic]

to find that a cartoon wasn't all lighthearted). Rick & Morty, while primarily a comedy, has some great dramatic moments that I'm sure will only get more frequent as the seasons continue.

I feel that I have to throw Archer in as a show that is mainly comedy, but also contains some dramatic and emotional moments as well (Placebo Effect for example).
Also, Venture Bros. has a good mix of comedy and drama/tragedy (particularly in the later seasons).