movies/tv A change in the animated wind?

[Fluffy Pinkie 417]

Since watching MLP:FIM I have been stunned by the quality of work that seems to go into the show! the character's development, the great fan service, Pop culture references,ETC... and i'm wondering if future studios will take these lessons in hand or if they'll continue to go their own ways?

 

So what do you think do you believe that MLP is the start in a new age of animation and cartoons or am i maybe just hoping for too much from a cartoon?

Edited December 2, 2012 by Rainbowswag4

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

It seems the animation style is being used more now.  I don't know if it's because of this or its just because it's slightly easier.  Out of all of them though I continue to be stunned by MLP's animation.  Now about the other things;  I don't think they will, because most cartoon channels have dug themselves into a rut, in which their audiences won't continue to watch unless they keep on with their cruddy shows.  

[khaine21x3 789]

The MLP style is easier and cheaper to animate so I can see it inspiring future cartoons as it allows for profit maximization, they will probably have bad writing as it cost a lot to get good writers.

 

I would personally prefer oldschool style with at least 40 frame per second but that will cost way too much to be profitable.

[Shanks 10,816]

I sure hope that that is the case the quality of entertainment in general has really gone down the toilet these last 10 years. The MLP phenomenon proves that there are still plenty of people out there that are interested in quality cartoons. All you need to do is put some effort into something and even a cartoon about ponies can appeal to diverse and often surprising audiences.

Edited December 2, 2012 by EarthbendingProdigy

[SrFrog 927]

I wouldn't say MLP is the forefront of a new animation age, but it's right there with some of today's best. Now it's all up to the networks to see the potential that this style of animation has to offer.

[Modphase 1,271]

Although the quality of the animation, and the cleverness of the story is outstanding, MLP is not the first, nor is it setting the bar for anything. Most cartoons, such as Spongebob, The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, you name it, they all started out the same way, with high production value. However, time and money can be the devil in the situation. Unless you have some brilliant storyboard artists, Finding new ideas for episodes is not a walk in the park. And even if you do have these brilliant chaps (which MLP has and many cartoons had), as time goes by, they retire or move on to a different show. As the need for money goes up, normally the production value goes down, as the creators need to pump out new episodes all the time. This is sadly the case with Spongebob.

 

MLP is not bad in any way, shape, or form, I only believe that it is getting too much credit for things that have been done too many times to count. I'm sure that by the sixth season the quality of MLP will go down (If the creators ever decide to go that far).

 

But, if by chance a miracle happens, and the storyboard artists are always fresh with ideas, it would be awesome to see much more seasons which preserve quality. This is the case with South Park, in my opinion.

[AegisReflector 886]

I'm a big fan of traditional animation, but I liked the cheap Flash style that FiM uses and it is certainly pleasant to the eyes. However, like CGI or computer animation where you can just take drawings and make them stiff and stale (FAMILY GUY), I believe that this medium will be milked to death by other major animation studios. It will most likely be a fad that will quickly come and go in maybe 6-10 years. It's unfortunate, but it's also reality. You can compare various animation styles certainty by decade (such as distinguishing "sketchy/pencil" 80's with the more "realistic/sharper" 90's) and it's all because of the coming and going of such fads.

[khaine21x3 789]

MLP is not bad in any way, shape, or form, I only believe that it is getting too much credit for things that have been done too many times to count. I'm sure that by the sixth season the quality of MLP will go down (If the creators ever decide to go that far).

 

But, if by chance a miracle happens, and the storyboard artists are always fresh with ideas, it would be awesome to see much more seasons which preserve quality. This is the case with South Park, in my opinion.

Even the writers eventually ran out of ideas and it goes downhill from there, I think that replacing writers as soon as a season starts sucking would be a good idea.

[moved ♥ 142]

Maybe it's just because I'm paying more attention now, but in the orginal derpy hooves scene in the first episode, she had like a wrinkled snout, and I think that animation has been being used a lot in S3, but then again, maybe I just noticed because I love the wrinkled snouts!

[Fluffy Pinkie 417]

 Honestly myself I hope that A new age of Animation is coming but even if it doe's it will come to an end I'm just curious what people have to say. I really do hope writers try to take some lesson's and add more character development to their characters at least! I'm tired of never changing cartoon characters.

[Jammo 986]

I know this sounds crazy but The Clone Wars on CN to me recharged cartoons batteries.

With so much "okay" animation these days I felt that that show felt very much like a 90s action cartoon akin to Beast Wars and Reboot. Shows like Transformers Prime owe a lot to the technical leap as well as the much higher standard of writing. Clone Wars renewed my faith and got me back into watching cartoons because it proves to me that the medium could still be taken seriously.

 

 

I felt that (again a lot of people will disagree with me here) what caused the lapse in quality between the 90s and much more recently is that advent of highly marketable but mediocrely written shows, largely serialized kids anime like Pokemon and Yugioh, which I liked back then, but can not be compared from a writing standpoint.

 

 

These shows drew in kids much more effectively than the more well written stuff, and was cheaper to produce because all you needed to do was buy the rights and dub. The problem is over time the audience grew up, forgot how intelligent their cartoons could be, and stopped watching. Then here comes much better written fair like The Clone Wars, MLP, Adventure Time, Transformers Prime, coupled with the nostalgic appeal of the better 90s cartoons on the Hub, word of mouth spreads and suddenly all these people who forgot why they loved cartoons are reminded again.

 

 

That's my theory at least.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Jammo

[Spring Storm 276]

I sure hope MLP brings in a new era of good animated shows - I'd LOVE more cartoons to get into. But if it doesn't, oh well, we'll always have ponies.

 

And I sure as heck hope FiM never starts getting bad. I want a lot of seasons, but I want them to all at least be decent. With season 3 being as astonishing as it is, though, I'd say we're in for at least a few more great seasons in the future, so I'm hopeful