movies/tv Are cartoons getting worse?

[Shanks 10,811]

now days they only do remakes cause no one can think of anything good anymore.....

I don't think things are crap because people are running out of ideas, I think things are crap because society in general has been so dumbed down that it is only natural that entertainment which is largely a reflection of culture would also be dragged down with it. There are plenty of creative and talented people with good ideas but are not getting the recognition they deserve because of just how commercialized the entertainment industry has become. The good news though is that the success of MLP proves that there is still a market out there for quality shows so there is some hope that this trend can be reversed.

[Wubsie 1,123]

Lately evey cartoon I watch is either boring, stupid or low quality. Or a combination of all three. There are only a handfull of cartoons I'll even watch anymore, its like modern cartoons get worse they go on. Shows like sanjay and craig, regular show, amazing world of gumball. Shows like these are nothing compared to shows like courage the cowardly dog, ed ed and eddy, and powerpuff girls. Does anyone else agree? And if you disagree, tell me why.

Maybe if you pull the nostalgia out of your ass, take the 90's glasses off and pay attention, you'll be able to find a good show. 

(jk) 

But still, people need to stop looking back so damn much, and actually give new cartoons a chance, they all won't be your cup of tea, but at least you know you watched the cartoon and can give fair criticism.

Gumball is highly creative. 

Adventure Time has an amazing story.

And Regular Show is hilarious and actually does remind me of "90's cartoons".

Watch this video and you will understand what I'm talkin' about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uWKkndwrCs

"Not every show you're gonna like, and a lot of shows you watched back then won't be as good as you remember it, because you were 9 years old and thought Mike, Lou, and Og was good...It's not. -Pan Pizza

"The kids now will grow up to complain their shows were better than the ones in the future, you know this to be true." -Pan Pizza

 

I actually liked Problem Solverz, it was just really ugly. Like a certain beloved 90's show.

 

Yep, Ren and Stimpy.

 

Edited July 28, 2013 by xXEpicXFaZeXx

[Misty Rose 3,215]

I do agree for the most part. Cartoons these days just aren't the same. I ENJOYED watching Cartoon Network back when Courage, Ed Edd and Eddy, and The Powerpuff Girls were a hit!! Then when Chowder and Flapjack came along, it started going downhill in my opinion. The Regular Show and Adventure Time are pretty good but they just don't live up to the classics! Gumball I do admit is pretty good at times.

The only show I still watch on Disney Channel is Phineas and Ferb mainly because the rest is just teenage high school drama crap that I don't give a damn about! IT SHOULDN'T BE CALLED DISNEY CHANNEL IF IT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE GREAT MASTERPIECES THE COMPANY HAS PRODUCED!!! After shows like Kim Possible left, I bailed.

I only watch Nick because of Spongebob and The Penguins of Madagascar!! OH YEAH!!

So to resume, some shows these days are still watchable, but for the most part they're just BLECH!!

 

 

As opposed to this shit:

 

WHEN I SAW CLIPS OF THAT SHOW ON TV I WANTED TO SMACK MY FACE AGAINST A WALL!!!! 

[Jon the VGNerd 850]

Nickelodeon's slowly but surely dying because of SpongeBob. SpongeBob was once a fan-favorite for me, but after newer episodes pop up, none of them have any plot whatsoever aside from annoying Squidward 24/7. Cartoon Network is already dead because of the generic, useless shows (aside from Adventure Time and Regular Show). Johnny Test became seriously repetitive with "newer" episodes that always has the word "Johnny" entitled to it, which seriously made no point to it, as well as the lackluster amount of plot, humor and quality. Level Up, along with the recent The Incredible Crew, are NOT categorized as cartoons because they are live-action series, not animated series.

 

Nowadays, if I want to watch cartoons, I would watch it on both channels, which is Boomerang and The Hub. In my honest opinion, The Hub offers the best, top-notch quality cartoons and they also brought back Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures! Boomerang gives out series of classic cartoons (even though they show Ben 10: Omniverse, which is from 2012, every Saturday and Sunday), from the 70's, 80's and 90's and early 00's. However, I also watch Adult Swim, especially on Saturdays for Toonami, which has been my total favorite since I was young. So in the end, in my opinion, only both cartoon channels such as Boomerang and The Hub are great while Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon are stale at its finest.

[Megas 27,261]

I actually thought they've gotten a lot better

- The Hub brought in some great shows like Dan Vs, Transformers Prime, Littlest Pet Shop, and the very show this forum is based off of

- Cartoons are probably the only things keeping Disney Channel alive with Phineas and Ferb and Gravity Falls(unfortunately I can't say the same for XD, since it cancelled the awesomeness that is Motorcity and Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes)

- Nick has been surprisingly good with both Korra and the New TMNT. I'd even go as far as to say TUFF Puppy(yes I liked it, bite me) even gives me a few laughs

- Cartoon Network is probably doing the best, Regular Show and Adventure Time are probably some of the best cartoons to come out in a long time, and a few of their other stuff like Gumball's also pretty good. Just get rid of MAD and the Annoying Orange and bring back Symbionic Titan and Megas XLR(wishful thinking)

Edited July 28, 2013 by Godot

[Lightning Shade 783]

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FrxlJN-3pEU

I question who in their right mind would approve of putting that on TV.

 

I've given up on TV all together because of the stuff I seen that was coming out. Now no more cable fees, only Netflix fees

Edited July 28, 2013 by Alan

[Mr. Critical 433]

Not necessarily. Just because some duds exist today, grogband, doesn't mean the whole medium is done. From the shows I've seen I believe thyre getting better. That doesn't mean they are works of high art, much like the toons of the past. If you analyze the cartoons of the past in a analytical sense, you could see less of what you originally did as a child.

[Mr. Changeling 132]

Yes because almost all cartoons now of days are focused on kids. Developers fail to realize that it is no longer a taboo for adults and teenagers to watch cartoons. They expect us to watch comedy central and the news (shudder)

[Mr. Critical 433]

I question who in their right mind would approve of putting that on TV.

 

I've given up on TV all together because of the stuff I seen that was coming out. Now no more cable fees, only Netflix fees

This show was originally going to be on adult swim, but was regected because it was too colorful and cutesie. Try to wrap your head around that concept.

[Shanks 10,811]

Yes because almost all cartoons now of days are focused on kids. Developers fail to realize that it is no longer a taboo for adults and teenagers to watch cartoons. They expect us to watch comedy central and the news (shudder)

That is part of it, but it is also because they are not actually making any effort to make the "kids shows" not suck and I don't know maybe actually appeal to people out of their diapers but even the worst "kids shows" are way way better than most of the "adult shows" out there. So called reality shows make me want to gag, the news is a bunch of lies, fearmongering and propaganda. The newer episodes of the Simpsons are hit and miss and same with Family Guy though not quite to the extent of The Simpsons but Bob's Burgers is pretty good at least.

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

They were getting a bit too stupid about a couple years ago. A lot of them are still pretty stupid in some way shape or form. MLP, Regular Show, and Adventure Time seem to be not too affected

[Diamond* 531]

Cartoons ARE getting worse.

I don't watch any cartoon expect MLP anymore.

 

I used to like Adventure Time, but that cartoon gets weirder and weirder by each episode.

[SpadesOfDarkness 19]

I'd say that cartoons are getting worse, but that's probably just our generation's opinions. You could say that cartoons have always been getting worse. It's just that each generation finds different things entertaining. For example, we say that the cartoons today are just mindless crap with cheap humor (with a few minor exceptions). But then again, that's the same thing are parents said about the cartoons that we watched. Shows that we've enjoyed such as Ed, Edd, n' Eddy and Johny Bravo, our parents looked at as well...mindless crap with cheap humor. Our parents grew up with their own cartoons such as the Flintstones or Popeye the Sailor Man and are saying the same things about our cartoons. The consensus is we grew up with our own cartoons and we're pushing these same ideas on today's cartoons. I guess you could say we're turning into our parents.

 

At least that's the way I see things.

[Apocalyptic_Unicorn 240]

I'd thought cartoons had gotten pretty bad until a few years ago. I mean, there were some great shows from like the 90's up until the early to mid 2000's, but then it got kind of bad in my opinion. 
But since around 2010, I think its gotten a lot better, mainly due to Adventure Time, Regular Show, and My Little Pony of course. Adventure Time and Regular Show managed to breathe new life into an otherwise stale Cartoon Network, and both of those shows and My Little Pony have just exploded in popularity and have huge fandoms and tons of merch too. You can't really say the same thing about a lot of other shows that just came and went. 

[Inactive01 5,298]

Personally, I find that while the shows may be ok, they did decrease in quality over the past few years. The 70s-2000s can still be considered a golden generation for the TV. It was when all the creativity just spewed forth because the kids TV show hadn't really established itself until then. By the time we reach the late 2000s, the creativity started to sputter not only because of financial lust, but also because of the lack of show ideas people can think of. Personally, I watched a lot of Phineas and Ferb episodes and it never stuck out to me. The humour was very forced and redundant. I could predict what they'd probably do and it's a huge bore. Maybe the younger generation would have fun with it, but not me.

 

Most of the shows earlier on also targeted audiences of all ages. Take Arthur for example. They were able to help kids learn about life and at the same time make tons of references that adults would enjoy, from Art Garfunkel as a moose to Manny Ramirez and the Elwood City Greebs. They even developed through the social changes that ensued today with the kids having cellphones, blogs, and social sites in later seasons. Most of the shows these days don't do that anymore, so that's why the quality of the shows took a plummet in my opinion. 

[Foreigner And Lover 207]

I don't really watch many cartoons anymore. The only exceptions besides MLP are Adventure Time and Regular Show. Adventure Time is pretty good, but Regular Show is absolutely amazing. MLP's got great characters but Regular Show has great plot.

 

I couldn't really judge anything else, but from what I see from commercials on Cartoon Network, a lot of them look really stupid. But really, cartoons from the Ninety's were pretty stupid, too. Ren and Stimpy was really retarded (not bad, but retarded). When you cite cartoons from then like Invader Zim or Courage, those are the exceptions in the same way MLP is today.

[Fire_Fly 499]

It seems like cartoons are struggling to keep up with the times, and are trying to appeal to an older audience. Many of my favorite old cartoons like Courage the Cowardly Dog, or Dexter's Laboratory were tailor-made for kids of just about any age, and were easy to catch onto. Today, it seems like cartoons are geared toward an older teenage audience, and have become more popular in an ironic way. Cartoons like Total Drama Island and Adventure Time are a lot bolder than anything you'd find on classic Cartoon Network. That boldness is refreshing for cartoons, but it seems as though there isn't as much effort put into the entertainment aspect as older cartoons. It's as if animators and writers are trying to create the weirdest show imaginable and hope for the best. I don't have TOO much of a problem with today's cartoons, but you just can't beat the classics. 

[Scrumpy 159]

(mom mode)
Agree, (I can only judge CN here because I don't care enough about Disney or Nickelodeon anymore to pay the fee to add them to my subscription.) while some aren't the worst out there like Amazing World of Gumball, AWoG falls into the same flaws as Regular Show in that it almost promotes idiocy, and I don't mean in the loony tunes kinda way but I will get onto that in a bit... Regular Show takes two slackers with little common sense and basically glorifies them... AWoG isn't as bad in that Anais is incredibly smart and is put in to actively try and balance out the stupidity but she really is outnumbered...

anally retentive PC moment coming up, feel free to skip to the next paragraph.... Nicole is also awesome from the perspective that she's strong and smart and tbh we need that to counteract the new Lola bunny (wait for it) but it terms of promoting the idea of equality in kids I really hate that male characters have been dumbed down waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy too much, we don't need dumb or weak male characters to make the female characters look smart or strong, both genders within cartoons can be just as smart and just as strong, obligatory derogatory role reversal is not the solution, equality isn't a seesaw to take turns at being the boss, it's meant to be a scales to blance out IMO... and yes you can do that without making a cartoon character a 2D personality... no pun intended.
In MLP there is a reason why the obvious matriarchy doesn't bother me, no stallions are presented as "dumb men hurr" or  actively made out to be disposable, Blueblood is a bad "thinks he's brad pitt" stereotype but Shining armour dispells this as being untrue of all stallions and actually performs a significant role and compliments the strong female charcters as opposed to tries to outdo them or make them feel inadequate.

Loonytunes. It's a gimmick, has been from the start but with SpaceJam it looked like it was improving and had started to take a few things more seriously and Lola was kick ass, sassy, and independent. Now the new Loonytunes is like WTF happened to Lola?! She's been turned into a psychotic, boyfriend obsessed idiot with less IQ than Sylvesters foot. Adventure time... beleh it's not really bad, it IS good infact but it's not the greatest.
Channel Boomerang has little in the way of new shows, and what it does have that is new is not very well written and terribly animated (ie Garfield).

I lost all interest in Nickelodeon and Disney's multiple channels a long time ago after they replaced Wild Thornberrys, Recess and Pepper Ann, with crud like That's so Raven. Phineas and Ferb, Mickeymouse clubhouse *pukes* and both took over and butchered the Pokemon series.

There is some good news though CN may have decided that Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog and Samurai Jack (BEST CARTOON EVER!) were too rude, scary or violent for daytime telly, BUT you can still catch reruns of them in the evening.
 

Edited July 30, 2013 by Scrumpy

[Dog man 48]

Most of the cartoons Around Today are Bad, The ones I grew up with were great! But there are a few cartoons Which stand out from the rest of them:

 

MLP:FiM (Obviously)

 

Regular Show (though it can be a bit too stupid sometimes)

 

Adventure Time (well this one is in the middle)

 

These are the ones I can think of right now

[The Cynical Lone Wolf 614]

I do think cartooons have gone donwhill in terms of creativity.I mean back in the 90s there was alot of creativity,but today its very rare and some cartoon channels went to..*pukes* reality TV. I mean serisously who ever is running Disney Channel is making Walt roll around in his grave,but with few expection like Gravity Falls and somewhat Ulitimate Spider-man.Recently Phineas and Ferb has gone downhill in terms of quality(see the recent Musical Coutdown is see what I'm talking about). Nick is also reality TV by 85-95% I mean it keeps on getting worse and worse.Cartoon Network is slowly working back to where it was with  Adventure Time. In my opinion  has great story telling,but the they still have Cartoon Nework Reality,Real,or whatever it's called and they should  cancel it.

[Sylentmana 271]

There are times when recent cartoons blow me away with how good they are.  At other times it feels like companies who make cartoons just throwing random junk at us and then looking to see what stuck.

[Forlong 1,725]

Sounds to me like...

 

There were always more lame cartoons than great ones.  You remember the great shows from when you were a kid because those were the ones that stayed with you and grew with you.  I mean, do any of you remember The Samuri Pizza Cats or Pro All Stars?  There was probably a lot more crap than that way back when.  I don't even think I got the title to that second one right.  I just remember that the show was terrible.

[AnonyPoni 564]

I'm not totally sure. It's a matter of taste, I think. I'm sure the biggest issue with us thinking that old shows were better is nostalgia. I used to really love Dragon Ball Z, but when I started to watch them again they felt pretty slow paced :/

 

Which is just a personal thing, really. As a kid, I was pretty easily impressed. Maybe we're just getting pickier with what we watch.

 

That said, there are a lot of shows out there that are pretty stupid, but we have some gems. Dan Vs, Gravity Falls,  and MLP! It's not totally hopeless.

[Jeniac 5]

I don't think they're getting worse in general, just... different? That's why I think it's all about getting used to something, like 90's and early 2000 cartoons in my case. When I was little, I usually watched something like Sherlock Hound and Maple Town Monogatari - these may be bad examples since they're both anime, but there were also many Western cartoons like those back then. What I want to say is that to me, there was also some epic action and adventures to watch, and usually they took place either in some certain period of time or in some totally fictional universe where the life resembled ours but was more, you know, adventurous? Sorry, I just can't think of the right word right now, but I hope you'll get the point.

 

What I've noticed that many cartoons today lack these things, or carry them out differently. Many new cartoons have began to "break the rules" and, for example, aren't so faithful to the historical scene, meaning that despite the period of time the story takes place, the show's often given lots of modern themes to make it easier to kids to understand. I mean, it's more of a rule than an exception that a show with a historical aspect has a society of our time, right? This is just one of many examples out there, but it's one of those things that makes the shows appear less convincing to us, which does, at least to me, flatten the nostalgic feeling you should get while watching an awesome cartoon. But I dare to be quite sure that kids that watch it daily don't worry about those kind of things. Because that's what they're used to watch.

 

But I do agree that there are some really bad shows out there. Or, maybe they're not actually that bad, but I think there's too much shows dealing with teenage problems intended to little kids. You know, Disney Channel nowadays... Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I think it's sad that those kinds of things (crushes, high school drama, etc) are forced upon children at such a young age. That's far more worse than a lame plot in my opinion.

[Xievie 498]

Not to sound weeaboo or anything, not nowadays, I'll only accept anime. (and MLP:FiM)

 

Mostly because stuff like Adventure Time and Regular Show are... pretty annoying. 

Sorry to be that guy who says Adventure Time and Regular Show aren't good, but really, I don't see the appeal in them.

 

Though I can see why many kids like these shows, my tastes have changed since all of my life I've watched complex cartoons and anime as well as played games for lore that you actually have to connect together yourself to understand.

 

I'll give Adventure Time another chance when I feel like it, though. A lot of videos I've seen such as the TF2/Bronies in a nutshell have actually been somewhat funny. There might be hope for it, especially since I have yet to see the fandom. Honestly though, the show didn't fit my tastes one bit. I felt it was too simple minded.

 

----

 

God, I sound so mean in this post. I'm sorry for having a rather mean opinion on today's cartoons.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Suskel