A question on cartoons

[Kuchinawa212]

Ok so just last night I stayed up to watch Johnny Quest on Boomerang and I had to smile about the good old days of cartoons. But one thing caught me eye.

Race had a gun. Not a killer zap blaster pistol. Not a a knock out ray gun. A gun, gun. That shot bullets.
And I've noticed this in alot of old cartoons as well. Like Yosemite Sam and others.

But here's the question. Why did the ever get rid of guns in cartoons and replace them with weird ray weapons.
I'd be interested to see your responses

 

[BaronXS]

Parents getting all overbearing and complaining to the TV stations, most likely.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Because parents have gotten too paranoid about exposing their kids to violence.

Same reason they pulled that shit with ET. It's stupid. I grew up on Looney Toons, with it's ultra-violent hilarity, and I ended up fine! (And as tempting as it is to put a *twitch* or something like that here, I feel like being serious. So seriously, I'm fine.)

 

[vampirekid.13]

ray weapon = no blood.

 

[Ultress]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhereDidTheyGetLasers

^Pretty much this

Looking back we watched some violent shows.

 

[fix-the-spade]

But here's the question. Why did the ever get rid of guns in cartoons and replace them with weird ray weapons.
I'd be interested to see your responses

A little set-to in a place called Columbine might have had something to do with it.

At least for 90's series like Batman, X-men and co.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

Really!?!

I mean I think we all turned out fine after watching Looney Toons

And thanks for the link. That was exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Hutchy_Bear]

Well guns kill whereas ray guns tend to stun or knock you over. It makes it easy to do a fight scene without all the characters dying.

 

[Jumping_Over_Fences]

Someone in a cartoon had a gun!? *runs to store to buy a gun* Oh, its on now!

That is what people fear, for some strange reason.

 

[hungoverbear]

I know it was that way during the 80's but Batman The Animated Series brought guns back into cartoons. Bruce Timm actually argued with the TV company saying that it would be very lame and out of character for batman to be dodging lasers. So Fox (i think it was Fox) said that it would be ok to use guns BUT they couldnt be heavily detailed. However that changed in the later seasons. For example I remember an episode were Commisioner Gordon was in the hospital, and a man came in to finish him off. They had a close up of the the man squeezing the trigger, the chamber starting to spin and the hammer going back, just as batman enters and throws a batter-rang into the barrel causeing the gun to blow up in the guys hand. Come to think of it they got away with a lot of things in that show.

 

[Zersy]

Soceity is too paranoid we should stop for a second and just listen to our commen sense (somethign which ironicly is not that common) We have all watched someone get shot in a cartoon or atleast almost shot and we all turned out fine.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

I know it was that way during the 80's but Batman The Animated Series brought guns back into cartoons. Bruce Timm actually argued with the TV company saying that it would be very lame and out of character for batman to be dodging lasers. So Fox (i think it was Fox) said that it would be ok to use guns BUT they couldnt be heavily detailed. However that changed in the later seasons. For example I remember an episode were Commisioner Gordon was in the hospital, and a man came in to finish him off. They had a close up of the the man squeezing the trigger, the chamber starting to spin and the hammer going back, just as batman enters and throws a batter-rang into the barrel causeing the gun to blow up in the guys hand. Come to think of it they got away with a lot of things in that show.

Well Batman: TAS is arguably the best cartoon for that reason. I still loved the episode when poison ivy makes some cactus people and one threatens Bruce with "Move and I'll give you a new hole in your neck" or something like that.

I mean no guns and no decent death threats now a days. I feel I'm getting to be too old.
and I'm only 16

 

[slevin8989]

Overreacting parents thinking that if guns are in cartoons that kids will use them that's also the reason you don't see realistic guns in stores why they usually area little zap guns. it's extreme overacting all parents have to do is talk to their kids about the difference in cartoons in real life. If parents took more responsibilities in their kids in life the world would be a better place

 

[G1eet]

Because parents have gotten too paranoid about exposing their kids to violence.

Same reason they pulled that shit with ET. It's stupid. I grew up on Looney Toons, with it's ultra-violent hilarity, and I ended up fine! (And as tempting as it is to put a *twitch* or something like that here, I feel like being serious. So seriously, I'm fine.)

That's the irony of it- kids who woke up on Saturdays and watched Elmer Fudd, Bugs, and Foghorn turned out better than lots of kids nowadays that watch the newest crap about hyperactive kappa robots from beyond the third moon of Omicron Persei 8.

Maybe it's because those cartoons were actually good? Or is it because they were quasi-realistic... at least once you got past the concept of a smart ass talking rabbit.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Because parents have gotten too paranoid about exposing their kids to violence.

Same reason they pulled that shit with ET. It's stupid. I grew up on Looney Toons, with it's ultra-violent hilarity, and I ended up fine! (And as tempting as it is to put a *twitch* or something like that here, I feel like being serious. So seriously, I'm fine.)

That's the irony of it- kids who woke up on Saturdays and watched Elmer Fudd, Bugs, and Foghorn turned out better than lots of kids nowadays that watch the newest crap about hyperactive kappa robots from beyond the third moon of Omicron Persei 8.

Maybe it's because those cartoons were actually good? Or is it because they were quasi-realistic... at least once you got past the concept of a smart ass talking rabbit.

Exactly! It's why I'm going to eventually start stockpiling DVDs of Looney Toons and 90s cartoons like Hey Arnold and raise my kids on those instead of whatever bullshit they come up with in ten or so years.

 

[G1eet]

Because parents have gotten too paranoid about exposing their kids to violence.

Same reason they pulled that shit with ET. It's stupid. I grew up on Looney Toons, with it's ultra-violent hilarity, and I ended up fine! (And as tempting as it is to put a *twitch* or something like that here, I feel like being serious. So seriously, I'm fine.)

That's the irony of it- kids who woke up on Saturdays and watched Elmer Fudd, Bugs, and Foghorn turned out better than lots of kids nowadays that watch the newest crap about hyperactive kappa robots from beyond the third moon of Omicron Persei 8.

Maybe it's because those cartoons were actually good? Or is it because they were quasi-realistic... at least once you got past the concept of a smart ass talking rabbit.

Exactly! It's why I'm going to eventually start stockpiling DVDs of Looney Toons and 90s cartoons like Hey Arnold and raise my kids on those instead of whatever bullshit they come up with in ten or so years.

That's an excellent plan, but maybe this trend is cyclical; maybe in ten years, after cartoons have reached a whole new low of shittyness, then the industry might collapse into itself like a neutron star and finally become good again.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Because parents have gotten too paranoid about exposing their kids to violence.

Same reason they pulled that shit with ET. It's stupid. I grew up on Looney Toons, with it's ultra-violent hilarity, and I ended up fine! (And as tempting as it is to put a *twitch* or something like that here, I feel like being serious. So seriously, I'm fine.)

That's the irony of it- kids who woke up on Saturdays and watched Elmer Fudd, Bugs, and Foghorn turned out better than lots of kids nowadays that watch the newest crap about hyperactive kappa robots from beyond the third moon of Omicron Persei 8.

Maybe it's because those cartoons were actually good? Or is it because they were quasi-realistic... at least once you got past the concept of a smart ass talking rabbit.

Exactly! It's why I'm going to eventually start stockpiling DVDs of Looney Toons and 90s cartoons like Hey Arnold and raise my kids on those instead of whatever bullshit they come up with in ten or so years.

That's an excellent plan, but maybe this trend is cyclical; maybe in ten years, after cartoons have reached a whole new low of shittyness, then the industry might collapse into itself like a neutron star and finally become good again.

*fingers crossed*

 

[KaiRai]

Johnny quest was one of my favourite shows as a kid
I don't see what the problem is, yes kids are impressionable, but we all watched it (I'd assume) and none of us are psycho pistol wielding killers (to my knowledge) I think it's just overreaction.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

Agreed

*fingers crossed*

I think the cartoon networks need to step up they're game. It's getting pretty bad.

 

[XJ-0461]

I know it was that way during the 80's but Batman The Animated Series brought guns back into cartoons. Bruce Timm actually argued with the TV company saying that it would be very lame and out of character for batman to be dodging lasers. So Fox (i think it was Fox) said that it would be ok to use guns BUT they couldnt be heavily detailed. However that changed in the later seasons. For example I remember an episode were Commisioner Gordon was in the hospital, and a man came in to finish him off. They had a close up of the the man squeezing the trigger, the chamber starting to spin and the hammer going back, just as batman enters and throws a batter-rang into the barrel causeing the gun to blow up in the guys hand. Come to think of it they got away with a lot of things in that show.

I've started watching episodes of B:TAS online recently, and they really are better than the stuff you get now. And there's no nostalgia effect playing a part in my appreciation of that show, I was about 2 years old when the final season came off the air.