Poll: Is it just me, or were cartoons better when I was a kid?

[Amund]

I think cartoons took far more risks when we were kids, as such, adults were able to relate with them as well.

I think that, now that we've grown, we're able to appreciate the subtle references to more adult-oriented themes that most shows (namely, the 90's) had used so wildly, to a much greater extent.
Case in point:
You could never show this today. The mixture of pedophilia/psychotic tendencies, as subtle as they may be, would make parents break out in a cold sweat.

I got the psychotic tendincies, but not the pedophilia, want to explain please?

That was interpretation on my part.

I felt they went out of their way to establish a petite innocence in Fred's 'lover,' to symbolize the purity of a child.

Or maybe I'm over analyzing.

I just thought she was dressed in the shows fashion sense. All the characters wore clothing similar to those of the 50s America. That would have been something that a woman would have worn, then again you could be right.

 

[Johnny Cain]

Now there's next to no imagination and since cartoons are often considered childrens viewing, there was a big panic over the sort of material being aired and the effect it (apparantly) had on the younger generation.
G.I Joe got hit really hard when somebody decided that it depicted war and violence and thus was never to be seen again.

 

[Irridium]

So true, I miss stuff like Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Lab, Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Megas XLR, Powerpuff Girls, My Life as a Teenaged Robot, Catdog, (old) Spongebob Squarepants, (old) Fairly Odd Parents, Rocket Power, and, although Nick has nothing to do with this, Cartoonnetwork's greatest sin: The destruction of Toonami.

It left me speechless. It also killed what was left of Cartoonnetwork.

And what do they replace Toonami with?
First that thing called Miguzi, then that piece of shit known as "CN Real".

Whoever thought of that should be beaten.

actually toonami was still on when maguzi came and dissapered they came up with CN real after toonami though *tch* CN real what a terrible idea you cant put reality in cartoons

Oh yeah. When Miguzi came they moved Toonami to Saturday late at night.

Fucking pricks...

 

[drisky]

western anime that was really successful was avatar. The current trend is to be as manic and sugar induced as possible. Now this can be good (like flapjack in my opinion) or very very bad (like FanBoy and Chum Chum).

Fail.

1-- There is no such thing as western anime. Transformers, generation 1 was more 'anime' than Avatar is... and even had the anime look from its asian animators on its human characters.

2-- The term you mean is 'merkanime' which is americans going for the look and feel of SD-influenced anime. Teen titans being the most successful and typical example.

Well it seems to me your arguing over semantics, I've never never heard of "merkanime" and a quick google search showed me that the only people I can see that used it was you and one person on deviant art. No there is no such thing as western anime and I was just referring to is the western shows that take from the anime style in an attempt to appeal to the anime crowd. These shows are not all that plentiful or successful. I did forget teen Titans, but I wouldn't include transformers because it was well before the time in question that the only way to be successful is to copy anime. My point was that coping anime does not equal success, not that Avatar should be considered anime.

Also when ever I talked about it with my friends I always called it "amri-me".

 

[Armored Prayer]

The older ones were always better IMO. I really don't like most modern cartoons. (I blame anime, and the internet)

Except Ugly Americans! That show is just brilliant while felling like an Acid trip. Though I'm afraid Comedy Central is going to cancel it like they always do.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

What I meant by adult cartoon is cartoons aimed for adults that didn't have to hide behind innuedos and injokes only adults would get, but out right swore and went on about adult themes and situations. Innuendos have been with animations forever, Looney Tunes even had a bunch, but in the 90's, the Simpsons showed one didn't have to hide behind innuendos and could out right do stuff for adults. The need for Hello Nurse and such disappeared when characters could beat each other with pipe wrench and have blood come out uncensored. Admittably a lot of "adult" cartoons are just as immature as their child aimed cousins, often even less so when compared to Batman: TAS, but that is simply how it is.

Ok, I didnt understand that! In that case you are rigth! Funny Family guy parodied the flinstones a few times of how it would be if they they would be explicit about some of the things. I actually think Family guy is inspired on both the flinstones and the simpsons. On one of the first episodes of family guy someone says peter most be the only dumb ugly fat guy ending up with a smart hot red haired woman, and the illustrating sketch shows Fred and wilma Flinstone. Also I see the 5 members like antagonists of the simpsons except for peter and homer who are quite similar in stereotype. The traditional and puritan Marge vs. the dirty minded agressive lois; the inteligent caring loved lisa against the hated meg; the smart troublemaker bart vs crying-baby well-behaved chris; and the adorable but almost irrelevant maggie vs the super genious malicious stewie.

 

[SirJewBagel]

Whoever posted that Courage the Cowardly Dog clip, ILY.

God, I used to stay up as late as possible JUST to watch that show.

Did this bastard give you the creeps?

"RETURN THE SLAAABBBB, OR SUFFER MY CUUURRRSEEEE!"​

Tell me I'm not the only one :l

YES! I hate watching that episode at night because of him

 

[SextusMaximus]

The new Scooby Doo made me want to throw up my intestines!

The animation and art-style is horrible!

Bring back the old stuff! Which Witch is Which?

 

[Koganesaga]

Eh, they're meant for a new generation, not us older folk, but I will say I was more pissed than a cat on bath day when they discontinued "Courage the Cowardly Dog", that was my reason to not commit suicide before friday, I still don't see why the canceled it, because everybody I know misses it. If you're comparing nowadays cartoons to Courage, of course they'll suck because nothing measures up to that show. I also miss "Ed, Edd, and Eddy", but that had a long healthy run and ended with a movie so I can't complain. But hey, times change, and unless we can get Courage back, we should just go with the flow before we become angry old people before our times.

Also This:

Whoever posted that Courage the Cowardly Dog clip, ILY.

God, I used to stay up as late as possible JUST to watch that show.

Did this bastard give you the creeps?

"RETURN THE SLAAABBBB, OR SUFFER MY CUUURRRSEEEE!"​

Tell me I'm not the only one :l

YES! I hate watching that episode at night because of him

We need to start a petition to get this stuff back on the air, the world needs more Courage!

P.S. Whenever that episode was on at night, something about it creeped me the hell out and made it hard to sleep.

 

[Jamieson 90]

I remember Pokemon, Hey Arnold, Dexter's lab, Cow and Chicken, Samurai Jack which was awsome, Gundam Wing, Batman, Simpsons in its prime.

Cartoons were deffinately better back then compared to today.

 

[cam 209]

Cartoon were deffanatle better back in the day, stuff like the maxx, earthworm jim, ren and stimpy etc etc you just dont get these days. Its all kids with huge eyes flying about for no real reason shouting

 

[Steven McDriverson]

To talk about a current show, I watched Phenius (sp) and Ferb, and I didn't like it. Then I wondered WHY I didn't like it, it fits the older '90s cartoon formula to a T. Kids doing insane things, getting away with it, making the older sis look like an idiot, a secret spy animal, and return to the status quo by the end of the episode. So what is it about P&F that holds it back?

 

[Blindswordmaster]

Sigh.

There was a thread like this a while back. And here was my answer:

They aren't all bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23oH1Gie11I

Star Wars:The Clone Wars is an exception, it's actually pretty good.
-Am I the only one that senses a strange vibe between Anakin and Ahsoka? Like maybe he broke some other Jedi laws before becoming Vader? Like maybe he fucked his padawan?! If he did, I can't say that I blame him. After all http://bug-off.deviantart.com/art/Ahsoka-Bait-132917942

 

[KitsunetheFox]

Well, on one hand, I could say that cartoons were better back then, but I can't tell if that's nostalgia or not. There are cartoons today that I do actually like (Phineas and Ferb and even Ben 10 for example), but they are few and far between compared to the older cartoons.
Basically, I don't know where my preferences lie, but I'll just keep going with what I watch (cartoon-wise) and see where it leaves me.

 

[Dendio]

Aww man guys, Toonami R.I.P

Gotta link this for the Memories!

...So long ago, but ill never forget it

 

[Blindswordmaster]

Am I the only one here who loves Flapjack? I mean come on, its just so...crazy!

I quite like it, it is basicly as close as we are going to get to the wackyness of 90's cartoons. I still really miss Megas XLR, the into got me pumped, shame it only ran for 2 seasons. Oh and Bruce Campbell did the voice of Magnanimous

These always got me exited.

Megas XLR Intro [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNu6_dxWbNo]
New Adventures Of Johnny Quest [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_uYJySWlco&feature=related]
Dragon Ball Z Goes Without Saying [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqEYuzD5RcE&feature=related]

3 of the most metal openings ever! We need cartoons like those today! Ben 10 isn't bad, but he doesn't hold a candle to Goku, T-Bone and Razor, Coop, and Johnny FUCKING Quest. Those were the days when cartoons weren't afraid to be metal.

 

[Casual Shinji]

90% of today's cartoons look like (and probably are) cheap and crappy flash animations.

 

[mokes310]

Wow, you kids are young! I came in thinking that you were going to be talking about shows like Wacky Races/Johnn Quest and the like, yet you're talking about all of those. In any case, they were far better when I was growing up. Your cartoons smack of political correctness

Wacky Races was pretty awesome.

This is how you'll know those cartoons are WAY too outdated: They move from Boomerang to TV Land

 

[Songbird-O]

One huge reason that there were so many more good cartoons in the early nineties is because there were so many more cartoons in the nineties.

Nostalgia is one thing. I don't watch TV anymore, but I've caught glimpses of cartoons. Sure, Flapjack is unpleasant and disgusting, but so was Cow and Chicken. I hated that show.
Chowder has moments of brilliance, though I haven't seen much of it, and the animation style is a bit of a turnoff to some.
And I really like Phineas and Ferb. Even though it is very formulaic, it uses that to it's advantage. Each episode I've seen uses the episode formula in a clever, fun way.

However, in my world, none compare to Megas XLR. I wish I could find full episodes of it...

Why does CN Real Exist? Why does the Disney Channel show mostly sitcoms? Because kids are into different things now. If there are less cartoons around, there are less good cartoons around. Remember that there were tons of cartoons in the eighties and nineties. But also remember that not all of them were winners.

 

[imaloony]

So true, I miss stuff like Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Lab, Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Megas XLR, Powerpuff Girls, My Life as a Teenaged Robot, Catdog, (old) Spongebob Squarepants, (old) Fairly Odd Parents, Rocket Power, and, although Nick has nothing to do with this, Cartoonnetwork's greatest sin: The destruction of Toonami.

It left me speechless. It also killed what was left of Cartoonnetwork.

And what do they replace Toonami with?
First that thing called Miguzi, then that piece of shit known as "CN Real".

Whoever thought of that should be beaten.

Meguzi never really "replaced" Toonami. Toonami moved to Saturday, and eventually Meguzi filled the weekday block it left. I never really had much of a problem with Meguzi, especially since Code Lyoko was actually pretty good, but Toonami never should have ended. Moving it to Saturday was fine, but once TOM 4 showed up, it was all downhill from there. They could have easily fixed this by just putting on the old anime that they still have the rights to. But nooooooooooooooooooo, they just cancled it. Idiots.