movies/tv Are cartoons going to far?

[Thrashy 2,800]

I dunno guys...as racy as that is, it still seems pretty tame compared to the cartoons I grew up with, which were rife with alcohol, drugs, almost unpleasantly violent slapstick humor, and a ton of blatant sexual innuendo that the censors must've been half-retarded to let slip through the cracks. And frankly, as an adult looking back on all of that, I enjoy every bit of that stuff. It's proof that writers once had a sense of  (arguably tasteless) humor and enough balls to take risks, which is more than can be said for the more "family friendly" shows out there that play it safe to such a degree that they almost become insulting to people's intelligence.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Lowline

[Mister G 101]

Some of the stuff that people get away with is crazy. I have a  history of being suicidal and attempting and today I was watching one of the newer episodes of Spongebob. In this episode Squidward was getting really depressed because he had no happiest memory. At one point he gets on top of a stool with a rope and says "since I'm so depressed I only have one thing left to do." Then he proceeds to tie the rope on top of the ceiling and instead of hanging himself he was putting up a bird cage. This really rustled my jimmies. I mean REALLY rustled my jimmies. Then again I'm just being a little over reactive. What do you guys think about the content allowed in modern kids shows?

That's not the first time they've implied suicide. On a previous episode of Spongebob,  "One Coarse Meal" it actually shows Plankton trying TO COMMIT SUICIDE BY ATTEMPTING TO GET RUNOVER BY A BUS.

[Avalionis 201]

I believe it. Cartoons these days suck and really have no plot or true jokes to them. It really is just simple "fart" jokes and really low level comedy. It's as though writers today are making cartoons only for those with an IQ of -1,000,000,000.

 

yeah, the new Spy Kids movie, is a prime example. I read somewhere, that every single sentence had the word "time" in it, the dog talked in fart jokes, and the cards you got from the theater, that you scratched and sniffed during pivotal moments in the film, smelled beyond horrible. (they were suppose to resemble fart smells, because apparently the producers of the film, were obsessed with fart jokes)

Edited April 21, 2013 by Avalionis

[Starlight Song 44]

If anyone's curious, the episode of SpongeBob is called "Are You Happy Yet?", and it has more than just the hanging rope thing. I watched it, and it shows Squidward saying "I just can't seem to get happy, sigh" and sticks his head in the oven. But it urns out he was just getting brownies out of the oven.....

[Circadian 1,273]

HAHA you think today's cartoons are bad? Cow and Chicken got canceled because they did an episode making fun of butch lesbians.

 

Animanics did a Finger Prints pun. As in, the pop star Prince.

 

Though Spongebob did give Mrs. Puff a "See you next Tuesday" during a boating school episode... and there was a joke about dropping the soap.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Circadian

[Cranium Tyranus 216]

Hey gang, in case there are those of you who still doubt the existence of the joke in question, here's a YouTube link.

 

 

That said, I'm not of fan of modern spongebob either, but was interested in the topic of the 'Suicidal Squidward' due to it being reminiscent to the squidward's suicide creepypasta. This is like how MLP constantly references fan made content and observations, and it makes me think that the spongebob writers might at least be trying to connect with their audience again. Or I could be breathing far too much into the joke and should just take it at face value.

[Vae Victis 742]

I'll admit that sponge bob went a little too far. But I must say, I think cartoons are actually going backwards. I mean, Ed Edd n eddy had a sex joke in it once. ( look it up ) cartoons are actually trying not to offend the people, namely the parents. The creators have become more strict in the type of humor and violence used. It's more downgraded than anything. Look at dbz kai for godsakes! The good parts are censored. I don't think cartoons are going to far. I think they're not going far enough.

[ShinySneasel 34]

I cannot speak to modern day cartoons as I really do not watch any of them. However, I do not believe them to be any more mature and / or violent than older cartoons. I grew up watching cartoons like Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, and Tom & Jerry, and I highly doubt that today's cartoons are as mature, perverse, and violent as cartoons from the 80's and 90's.

[Shawn Parks 1,798]

In some ways, cartoons today are more censored than older cartoons.  I remember seeing some old cartoon that ended with a cat shooting himself in the head just because he saw something disturbing.  I don't even recall what he saw.  

 

On the other hand, I recently watched this episode of "Adventure Time" and was a little bit shocked:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IsmteiruUY

[pegasister101 39]

That... That's terrible. Was that seriously in an actual SpongeBob episode? Because seriously, that's just not cool. I definantly do not like that being shown to little kids. I babysit some little girls all the time that like that show, and if they saw that episode, I have a feeling they would take it very literally. Just like little kids do with everything else they see. Did the producers not think about that when they made that episode?? That is just kinda disappointing honestly. :/

[Shawn Parks 1,798]

There's no way that's a real episode. Either you're trolling, or you watched some shit online that some other troll put together.

 

I found this clip on YouTube.  It sure looks real to me.  I doubt that it was made by a troll.  The voice and animation is too spot-on.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CzQSFcE6n8

[hawkflame 3,310]

Guys, none of this is new (and frankly I thought the Spongebob episode was kind of funny, at least the idea was)  Watch the ending of this Bugs Bunny short from *70 years ago*

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynOMCzYLgPI

[Stellafera 3,836]

Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend Of Korra feature genocide, terrorism, and child abuse, and yet they are some of the most fantastic television (not just children's) shows I have seen. It all depends on how it is handled. From my experiences, kids can understand much more mature subjects than people think. 

Edited April 23, 2013 by Stellafera

[Hawk Moth 390]

yeah, the new Spy Kids movie, is a prime example. I read somewhere, that every single sentence had the word "time" in it, the dog talked in fart jokes, and the cards you got from the theater, that you scratched and sniffed during pivotal moments in the film, smelled beyond horrible. (they were suppose to resemble fart smells, because apparently the producers of the film, were obsessed with fart jokes)

 

That reminds me of the awful 2000 Nickelodeon movie "Snow Day", that was pretty much one big fart humor obsessed little kid fantasy movie. I always despised "Spy Kids" for the same reason, in that it was made to sate little kid fantasies of using spy gadgets and fighting adults. Nickelodeon had some great shows in the 90's and Oughts, but their movies stunk. I blame live-action programs such as "All That", which more or less helped ignite the craze where elementary and middle school kids began wearing sagging jeans and trying to act like gangstas, ushering in a whole new fetid era of pretentious bullies obsessed with being "cool".

[Avalionis 201]

That reminds me of the awful 2000 Nickelodeon movie "Snow Day", that was pretty much one big fart humor obsessed little kid fantasy movie. I always despised "Spy Kids" for the same reason, in that it was made to sate little kid fantasies of using spy gadgets and fighting adults. Nickelodeon had some great shows in the 90's and Oughts, but their movies stunk. I blame live-action programs such as "All That", which more or less helped ignite the craze where elementary and middle school kids began wearing sagging jeans and trying to act like gangstas, ushering in a whole new fetid era of pretentious bullies obsessed with being "cool".

 

yeah, I remember Snow Day...showing how kids "fought" against the Plowtruck drivers, for trying to clear the roads, and make it safer for everyone else. they did have some pretty funny stuff back in the day, but now, everything seems to be "fart jokes, or nothing" with them. :|

 

someone mentioned earlier, about how cartoons are pretty tame, compared to what they had back then...this is true. I mean, look at Ren and Stimpy for example. they did quite a few things, that were questionable to say the least. though I don't think they were created by Nickelodeon...think it was Spumco. the same guys, that did Ripping Friends.

[thebobmaster 31]

Here's the thing. I'm all for some adult humor. Kids can handle a lot more than some people think. But suicide jokes? Really? What is wrong with executives? To be fair, Rugrats also had a suicide joke in it, but they did it a lot more low-key, and in terms a kid wouldn't get. The exact joke, by the way, was Stu showing the family home movies, and Didi's father picking up the phone and asking for Dr. Kevorkian.

 

This, though? Yeah, that just seems a bit different. I don't know what it is exactly, but it just seems a lot more crude.

Edited April 23, 2013 by thebobmaster

[Crispy 5,563]

Honestly?  I don't think they go far enough.

 

But then again, the shit we got away with when I was a kid wouldn't ever pass the sensors now.  Take this for example.

 

 

That ain't happening.

[termenchecks 146]

dude, i've been to a mental hospital because of suicidal stuff too. i'm still very depressed, i've been for about 4 years now,constantly.

but that shit is just hilarious! you just have to appreciate dark humor, meng.

[Fhaolan 4,484]

Heh. This stuff's tame. Cartoons from the 60's and 70's were a lot darker on *average* than that one SpongeBob episode. Racism, war crimes, murder, suicide, drugs, sex, the lot.

[GrimCW 658]

Some of the stuff that people get away with is crazy. I have a  history of being suicidal and attempting and today I was watching one of the newer episodes of Spongebob. In this episode Squidward was getting really depressed because he had no happiest memory. At one point he gets on top of a stool with a rope and says "since I'm so depressed I only have one thing left to do." Then he proceeds to tie the rope on top of the ceiling and instead of hanging himself he was putting up a bird cage. This really rustled my jimmies. I mean REALLY rustled my jimmies. Then again I'm just being a little over reactive. What do you guys think about the content allowed in modern kids shows?

 

While i understand the concern here, have you ever seen older "kids" shows?  Such as the original Looney Tunes? Now those were ridden with worse than this, in some cases with the characters doing it to one another!

 

TBH the whole concept of "Cartoons are meant for children" is as bad as that "all video games are meant for kids".

Literally they were meant for the entertainment of ADULTS, and kids merely took too them better and faster.

Many jokes are actually thrown in that kids just won't understand (such as your example) but I've definitely seen far worse.

But the morbid humor, and crazy little sexual references thrown about (and spongebob is LOADED with those) are actually for the adults watching the show with their kids.

While the wacky,colorful, inane, and weird appeal to the kids. They usually don't get the actual story or purpose behind most, and ignore or forget it.

 

Even MLP is guilty of this to some degree and plays with it.

The Comics even tend to load themselves with easter eggs of 80's-90's pop culture, shows, and games....

[MyLittlePonyTales 273]

Cartoons have forever been trying to push the envelope for what is and isn't allowed. I mean, if you watch Animaniacs...

 

 

I rest my case. Not to mention, all the violence in older cartoons like Tom and Jerry and Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner. It's a forever going thing in cartoons, some creators trying to see how much they can get away with.

[Avalionis 201]

this is something I came across, and it's actually quite true.

 

 

the only programs that say this, that I'm aware of is Mythbusters and pro wrestling. probably because there are some people who love playing the "monkey see, monkey do" game on a 24 hour basis.

 

[Stormwind 53]

i stopped paying attention to most of the industry when fosters ended. I feel like the majority of the animation industry no longer cares about clever writing, original stories, good characters, or actually funny jokes and focuses on putting out a large quantity of material. All but one of my favorite animated series (you can probably guess which one) are relatively old or are no longer running. I love shows like Dexter's lab, MLP, Fosters, Avatar the last airbender, Powerpuff girls, and rugrats because they are original and well made. The creators put a lot of effort into the show and made the best product they could. These shows had great concepts, good characters, good writing, and many other great aspects.

[PonyRocker95 106]

There's no way that's a real episode. Either you're trolling, or you watched some shit online that some other troll put together.

No he's not here it is, I found it on You Tube it's not in the best quality but this is as good as it's gonna get for this video since it's the only one I could find of the scene...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CzQSFcE6n8

[Ano170 162]

Animanics did a Finger Prints pun. As in, the pop star Prince.

 

"No no no, I said "finger prints"!"

 

"I don't think so."

 

That actually cracked me up pretty hard, Animaniacs got away with so much....

 

Goodnight everybody!