Why do most new cartoons suck so bad now?

[Sazama Ichida 2,366]

Why are cartoons only getting worse instead of better? Not to mention some cartoons started out great but have completely diminished over time and been downgraded and ruined by crappy reboots like The Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans and Ben 10 etc. What happened to all the good cartoons like Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Batman The Animated series, Superman The Animated series, Justice League Unlimited, Static Shock, and Jackie Chan Adventures etc? And other cartoons in general that seem to be compelling and have a solid plot and motivating story? Most cartoons these days seem to just be there to rot people's brains and turn kids into idiots. They have nothing to offer but stupidity, randomness, and toilet humor. Examples: Breadwinners, Pickle and Peanut, Sanjay and Craig, Fanboy & Chum Chum, and Teen Titans Go etc. Needless to say, these shows don't live up to such a great legacy.  Sure the 1990's and early 2000's had some bad brainrotting cartoons too. But back then most cartoons were awesome and it wasn't near as hard to sort out the gems from the excrement. Mostly we had awesome stuff like the aforementioned shows. And we didn't have many shitty cartoons except for stuff like 2 Stupid Dogs and Mega Babies etc.

[Brony Number 42 10,053]

They don't make money on good cartoons, they make money selling toys. And they can more easily sell toys and merchandise for young children. Thus you have things like Bluey. It's not a bad show, it's just for young kids.

Teenagers and adults who like good shows don't spend money on lots of toys. You might want to buy a few action figures, but that's nothing compared to moms who buy truck loads of diapers, bed sheets, or chicken nuggets shaped like whatever for their toddlers.

But there are more old cartoons than I can watch. So I'm satisfied with what I have.

[Cheerilee 26,566]

They prefer quantity over quality and infuse politics and modernity into it.

[Sazama Ichida 2,366]

3 hours ago, Spooky Brony 42 said:

They don't make money on good cartoons, they make money selling toys. And they can more easily sell toys and merchandise for young children. Thus you have things like Bluey. It's not a bad show, it's just for young kids.

Teenagers and adults who like good shows don't spend money on lots of toys. You might want to buy a few action figures, but that's nothing compared to moms who buy truck loads of diapers, bed sheets, or chicken nuggets shaped like whatever for their toddlers.

But there are more old cartoons than I can watch. So I'm satisfied with what I have.

I thought it was because kids like silly and stupid cartoons better than dark, gritty, serious, and edgy ones. This is true, but stuff like this is the reason why our generations keep getting dumber instead of smarter. Children would rather eat candy than vegetables too. But that doesn't mean it's good for them to do that instead. That's what this is like.

And well, that's not entirely true. There have been good shows that helped companies make money. I imagine Hasbro and Mattel made plenty of money off of My Little Pony and He-Man and The Masters of The Universe respectively. Companies made toys of the characters in the other shows I mentioned too. DragonBall Z and so on had plenty of action figures back in the day too.

[zerox 1,080]

I grew up watching cartoons like: the swat kats, pinky and the brain, the real adventures of Jonny Quest. They sure don't make good cartoons as they used to.

 

[Theautisticrebel 304]

I don't think cartoons have gotten worse per say I think the medium has just changed since the 90's and 2000's and that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you enjoy 90's and 2000's cartoons more, that's fine you don't have to like the new stuff but just because some are bad doesn't mean all of them are bad, you just have to find the ones you enjoy, and if you don't enjoy any of it that's fine as well.

[ZiggWheelsManning 8,818]

Retreat to the old days with Batman:  The Animated Series.  

@Sazama Ichida  Does that make CatDog a bad cartoon?  

2 hours ago, zerox said:

I grew up watching cartoons like: the swat kats, pinky and the brain, the real adventures of Jonny Quest. They sure don't make good cartoons as they used to.

 

You mean the 90s Johny Quest series?  

[Antiyonder 551]

Ehhh.  One just needs to be willing to look around better for the good stuff.  Amphibia and The Owl House from earlier in the decade to last year being some examples.

As for currently:

- The Ghost and Molly McGee

- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

- Hailey's On It

- Strawberry Shortcake Berry in the Big City

- My Adventures With Superman

- Gremlins Secret of the Mogwai

- Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

- Hilda

 

Just that looking at how the 80s (My decade so to speak) for example really had only a handful or two of gems or how the 70s really had very little in terms of quality, kind of hard to see what we had in 2020-2023 as the worst.

1 hour ago, Theautisticrebel said:

I don't think cartoons have gotten worse per say I think the medium has just changed since the 90's and 2000's and that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you enjoy 90's and 2000's cartoons more, that's fine you don't have to like the new stuff but just because some are bad doesn't mean all of them are bad, you just have to find the ones you enjoy, and if you don't enjoy any of it that's fine as well.

Perhaps in my case, my flexible tastes just work to my advantage.  I guess like with comics, I tend to see people just presuming that there is little to no good, cause they tend to stick within the most familiar types of shows.

Edited October 10, 2023 by Antiyonder

[StarHeart333 1,763]

4 hours ago, zerox said:

I grew up watching cartoons like: the swat kats, pinky and the brain, the real adventures of Jonny Quest. They sure don't make good cartoons as they used to.

 

Agreed, and in the case of Swat kats it's definitely due to political correctness. a couple of good classics might be on pluto or tubi but sadly Swatkats  and the older Johnny quest ones are not available anywhere (you can still see the younger "kid" johnny quest series though on tubi).

[Megas 27,450]

There's plenty of good modern day cartoons, and it's not even a matter of "your just not looking hard enough" they're pretty abundant

20 minutes ago, Antiyonder said:

Ehhh.  One just needs to be willing to look around better for the good stuff.  Amphibia and The Owl House from earlier in the decade to last year being some examples.

As for currently:

- The Ghost and Molly McGee

- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

- Hailey's On It

- Strawberry Shortcake Berry in the Big City

- My Adventures With Superman

- Gremlins Secret of the Mogwai

- Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

- Hilda

 

Just that looking at how the 80s (My decade so to speak) for example really had only a handful or two of gems or how the 70s really had very little in terms of quality, kind of hard to see what we had in 2020-2023 as the worst.

Perhaps in my case, my flexible tastes just work to my advantage.  I guess like with comics, I tend to see people just presuming that there is little to no good, cause they tend to stick within the most familiar types of shows.

This here is a pretty good list that's just scratching the surface, there's still plenty of good shows currently running like Disenchantment(though I think that recently ended) and Transformers Earthspark

11 hours ago, Sazama Ichida said:

Most cartoons these days seem to just be there to rot people's brains and turn kids into idiots. They have nothing to offer but stupidity, randomness, and toilet humor. Examples: Breadwinners, Pickle and Peanut, Sanjay and Craig, Fanboy & Chum Chum, and Teen Titans Go etc.

What year is it? Seriously, these are all late 00's-early 2010's cartoons that barely lasted a year. And Teen Titans Go I'm really sick of seeing always pop up as examples of why "cartoons are down the toilet", besides the fact that's it's not indicative of the state of the animation industry as people are still making their own shows their way, but it's lasted for almost 10 years so evidently people still like it. It's time to let it go

[Antiyonder 551]

22 minutes ago, Megas said:

This here is a pretty good list that's just scratching the surface, there's still plenty of good shows currently running like Disenchantment(though I think that recently ended) and Transformers Earthspark

No arguments there.  While a revival, there are the recent Beavis & Butthead stuff which still hits the mark despite concerns about how it would perform today.

Actually another favorite though I'm not sure what the overall opinion on it is, Polly Pocket (2018) is one I keep up with.  Also need to check out more of the recent Young Love.

[Fluttershutter 2,328]

I think good animation is expensive to make these days compared to what it was 20-30 years ago when you could just have a lot of people drawing for relatively little money so a show has to be extremely profitable right away if they're going to spend the money. That's why established shows like Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob's Burgers stick around forever. And Friendship is Magic had a good long run,

Newer shows have to use cheap 3d animation to have a chance to get made.

[Sazama Ichida 2,366]

2 hours ago, Antiyonder said:

Ehhh.  One just needs to be willing to look around better for the good stuff.  Amphibia and The Owl House from earlier in the decade to last year being some examples.

As for currently:

- The Ghost and Molly McGee

- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

- Hailey's On It

- Strawberry Shortcake Berry in the Big City

- My Adventures With Superman

- Gremlins Secret of the Mogwai

- Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

- Hilda

 

Just that looking at how the 80s (My decade so to speak) for example really had only a handful or two of gems or how the 70s really had very little in terms of quality, kind of hard to see what we had in 2020-2023 as the worst.

Perhaps in my case, my flexible tastes just work to my advantage.  I guess like with comics, I tend to see people just presuming that there is little to no good, cause they tend to stick within the most familiar types of shows.

I can't say anything about the other shows since I've not seen them, but I have to disagree about Adventure Time being an example of a good new generation cartoon. I thought it was pretty dumb.

4 hours ago, ZiggWheelsManning said:

Retreat to the old days with Batman:  The Animated Series.  

@Sazama Ichida  Does that make CatDog a bad cartoon?  

You mean the 90s Johny Quest series?  

Just because I like true quality the most doesn't mean I don't like other cartoons. Heck, Spongebob is one of my all time favorites.

[Antiyonder 551]

14 minutes ago, Sazama Ichida said:

I can't say anything about the other shows since I've not seen them, but I have to disagree about Adventure Time being an example of a good new generation cartoon. I thought it was pretty dumb.

Regardless of it's quality, I will say that I definitely have a lot of guilty pleasures.

That said, I am also skeptical of concerns of every modern thing (cartoon, comic, etc) being crap, cause well it's not just as you said about crap existing in the past, but everyone has their favorite stinkers and those often claiming to have grown up in the more perfect times try to hide their guilty pleasures or blind spots.

[Sazama Ichida 2,366]

3 hours ago, Megas said:

What year is it? Seriously, these are all late 00's-early 2010's cartoons that barely lasted a year. And Teen Titans Go I'm really sick of seeing always pop up as examples of why "cartoons are down the toilet", besides the fact that's it's not indicative of the state of the animation industry as people are still making their own shows their way, but it's lasted for almost 10 years so evidently people still like it. It's time to let it go

The question is WHY though? Why is it that shitty cartoons like that one last so many years but all the good ones barely last any time at all?

What's next? Are people gonna start saying Thundercats Roar is better than Thundercats 2011? I am so glad He-Man got a proper reboot eventually with Revelations and didn't suffer such an awful fate.

[zerox 1,080]

11 hours ago, ZiggWheelsManning said:

Retreat to the old days with Batman:  The Animated Series.  

@Sazama Ichida  Does that make CatDog a bad cartoon?  

You mean the 90s Johny Quest series?  

Yes I meant the 90s cartoon.

[Megas 27,450]

On 2023-10-10 at 9:55 PM, Sazama Ichida said:

The question is WHY though? Why is it that shitty cartoons like that one last so many years but all the good ones barely last any time at all?

What's next? Are people gonna start saying Thundercats Roar is better than Thundercats 2011? I am so glad He-Man got a proper reboot eventually with Revelations and didn't suffer such an awful fate.

All of those shows you listed didn't even last long, either being cancelled within the year or cancelled after a season or two or just went along its initial run. Thundercats Roar was cancelled in less than a year and had the second half of it's season dumped throughout November after a 5 month hiatus

As for TTG? I guess it resonates better with people than expected, heck I see a random out of context clip pop out every now and then and honestly I think it's a lot better than people give it credit for. I don't know what else to tell you

[Evil Pink One 13,502]

Because we old and most of them are woke.... so they broke.

[Player the FNFL Boi 117]

Because I believe that most creators now don't even try to put real effort into their shows, they only care about:

 

1. Selling toys

2. Letting people's kids watch without any clues about what's going on on the screen

 

Really the only TV shows I watch regularly now are already cancelled, while I'm starting to get more into modern internet shows than TV shows, because at least then they actually try.

 

[Sazama Ichida 2,366]

The bar for what passes for quality in cartoons sure has gotten low now...

[Evil Pink One 13,502]

21 minutes ago, Sazama Ichida said:

The bar for what passes for quality in cartoons sure has gotten low now...

Like pastel ponies...

[ZiggWheelsManning 8,818]

17 hours ago, Sazama Ichida said:

The bar for what passes for quality in cartoons sure has gotten low now...

This ^  

[Dreambiscuit 9,183]

With IQs plummeting throughout the industry, and a public that seems to accept anything you throw at them, it’s no wonder cartoons are turning into little more than butt jokes, fart jokes and toilet humor. They can get away with it so they do. Bad writing comes cheap and it’s easy, hence the reason you won’t be seeing the level of cartoons we enjoyed as recently as the ‘90s. It’s really unfortunate because writing costs nothing. It’s writers that cost the big bucks. They don’t need to be paid a fortune for their scripts as though every word is solid gold. But that’s the industry that sets its own debilitating standards, and the unions that don’t seek fairness but every nickel they can get their hooks into. There are amateur writers everywhere that would kill for a chance to have their scripts produced for free because they’re true artists who care more about entertaining others than lining their pockets to excess. But Hollywood isn’t about seeking new talent when they can churn out shit and still squeak out ahead. That’s the sad state of things.

[Fluttershutter 2,328]

2 hours ago, Dreambiscuit said:

With IQs plummeting throughout the industry, and a public that seems to accept anything you throw at them, it’s no wonder cartoons are turning into little more than butt jokes, fart jokes and toilet humor. They can get away with it so they do. Bad writing comes cheap and it’s easy, hence the reason you won’t be seeing the level of cartoons we enjoyed as recently as the ‘90s. It’s really unfortunate because writing costs nothing. It’s writers that cost the big bucks. They don’t need to be paid a fortune for their scripts as though every word is solid gold. But that’s the industry that sets its own debilitating standards, and the unions that don’t seek fairness but every nickel they can get their hooks into. There are amateur writers everywhere that would kill for a chance to have their scripts produced for free because they’re true artists who care more about entertaining others than lining their pockets to excess. But Hollywood isn’t about seeking new talent when they can churn out shit and still squeak out ahead. That’s the sad state of things.

I don't have a problem with intelligent toilet humor(Yes, believe it or not that's a thing) like South Park. Much better than so much of what we have today.

[Antiyonder 551]

If anyone truly feels like there is no good, I at least ask for an assessment of the shows I listed and besides Steven Universe which was addressed.

Still skeptical cause looking at say 2000 to 2010, we had:

- Jackie Chan Adventures

- Static Shock

- X-Men Evolution

- Samurai Jack

- House of Mouse

- Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

- Kim Possible

- American Dragon Jake Long

- Justice League

- Justice League Unlimited

- Avatar The Last Airbender

- Fairly Oddparents (Early years)

- Danny Phantom for the most part

And as the decade was close to an end:

- Phineas and Ferb

- Chowder

- The Spectacular Spider-Man

- Batman The Brave and the Bold

- Secret Saturdays

- Adventure Time

- My Little Pony Friendship is Magic

 

Now today people seem to agree with that assessment, but in the then here and even as the 2010s were upon us, people used shortcomings like the change from Toon Disney to Disney XD and CN embracing live action with barely new cartoons as a reason to believe the 2000s as a whole were crazy.

And for all claims that networks and studios should try out new things?  Cartoon or comics, those echoing that sentiment seem hesitant to try new stuff when they do come out.

Whether She-Ra is a good or bad reboot, people less hopeful talk more of how bad it is without acknowledgement or awareness of say Amphibia, The Owl House, The Ghost and Molly McGee or Hailey's On It which are all original properties and even if not perfect still attempt quality.  Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur I left out cause it is based on a comic, but still recommended.

Heck whether a decade is favored or considered the worst, even without say politics, there always seems to be a tendency for people to focus more on ranting about crap and avoiding something that is good.

Like with comics.  Spider-Man upon going One More Day should have seen more sales for Spider-Girl (Decent writing and isn't tied down to status quo as ASM has been since), but it slowed down to being bonus content in other mags, a mini series and a one shot finale.

Instead of picking up Mega Man from Archie Comics, Love & Capes from IDW (Best comics of the 2010s) people just focused on the grim and grit of the New 52.