Cartoons that you think are overrated

[Professor Lupin Madblood]

Except that rather than taking [from anime] what was good, such as interesting character dynamics or arcing storylines

Oh wait, you're serious. Allow me to laugh with thrice my previous might.

OT:

Adventure Time. I'm not one to piss all over other people's tastes, but goodness gracious me, Adventure Time. In the words of The Bard, it is a show full of sound and fury, written by an idiot, signifying nothing. What I mean by that is that Adventure Time isn't the be-all, end-all, Dark Tower, Gaiman-esque work of greatness that many of its fans seem to think it is.

The main thing that kills Adventure Time's potential is that, for some reason I will never be able to fathom, each "episode" is divided into two 11-minute stories. This would be less atrocious if it were a kids' show, and thus had lower expectations, but for a show aimed at adults, it's just ludicrous. Since each story is only eleven minutes, they can't really focus on anything important (character progression), and yet they have to focus on everything (minor details, or the story loses its context. The end result is eleven minutes of nonstop talking (which is weirdly loud), bright colours, and non sequitur after non sequitur with next to no weight or depth.

Also, the intro theme is garbage. A pre-teen with a stuffed up nose and a shitty guitar is not not cute or clever or witty or ironic or anything. It's garbage.

 

[Ljs1121]

I don't really know why Friendship is Magic is so popular.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the show. I just don't think it's good enough to warrant the massive amount of people who are obsessed with it.

 

[ShadowDude112]

There's also Ultimate Spiderman but I guessing the only reason why it is popular is that they are forcing it to be popular. There is no where in hell that people are actually demanded/ glad that it's getting a second season!

So, as a Spidey fan I went and watched the whole first season of Ultimate Spider-Man (by the way, keep in mind that Spider-Man is hyphenated. ) I hated it. I still do. The only reason it's getting a season 2 is because season 2 was greenlit before season 1 even aired. I have seen some people who actually like it, but, most people I talk to hate Ultimate Spider-Man. It's not as popular as, say, Man of Action says it is. They just want to make it look good.

I don't really know why Friendship is Magic is so popular.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the show. I just don't think it's good enough to warrant the massive amount of people who are obsessed with it.

That's pretty much how I feel. Yeah, it's above par for a kids show I'll say that, but it's not of the quality some people will claim it is.

 

[PunkRex]

I don't really know why Friendship is Magic is so popular.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the show. I just don't think it's good enough to warrant the massive amount of people who are obsessed with it.

That's pretty much how I feel. Yeah, it's above par for a kids show I'll say that, but it's not of the quality some people will claim it is.

Its not to hard to see why when your as mad about it as I am. One of the main reasons is to do with nuturing a fan base, Hasbro took a step back and let the fandom have abit of breathing space e.g. letting the community post the eps on youtube, allowing fansites to exsist, etc. Its one of the reasons im worried about Disney supposedly buying up Hasbro, they've had abit of class when it comes to Marvel, as far as I know having little creative imput but Hasbros cartoons/fanbase may not be so lucky.

 

[Ironbat92]

I find MLP very overrated. If I was forced to watch, I wouldn't mind, and I don't think its bad, I just don't think it's this show that so good, that 13-30 year olds have to make it a world wide web phenomenon. And NO, I am not judging anyone who likes it. If your a guy and love, that's fine. Just understand that I just don't think it's an amazing piece of art.

 

[Lunar Templar]

lol...

go read the comics by Invader Zims creator.

then i DARE YOU to figure why they gave him a kids show, till then, you don't know what 'fucked up' is.

anyway.

nothing readily comes to mind as 'overrated' in the truest sense for cartoons.

anime i can think of a few though.

like Eva, Bleach (and i like that one) as well as One Piece and Naruto, Akira is another one that people went on about though that seems to have settled down

 

[camerinian]

I detest King Of The Hill, and I'm honestly glad it got cancelled. Way back when it was an insurmountable wall on my local tv station that sat smack bang in between The Simpsons (old, good episodes) and Family Guy. I would normally watch it because I had nothing better to do, and I honestly don't recall laughing at it once. It always dragged on, trying to pull off a joke, but it never worked, and I just sat there, bored out of my mind. The characters were just tired southern stereotypes, and none of them were particularly memorable. I can appreciate a subtler sort of comedy just fine, but King Of The Hill just does it horribly, it's not subtle, it's just not there to begin with. How people can honestly think that it ranks up there alongside The Simpsons and South Park is quite frankly inconceivable to me.

 

[Coffeejack]

Family Guy. It's like television's answer to 9gag. Reference after reference after reference. It's not funny or clever, it just wastes screen time.

 

[Dead Seerius]

Is it just me or are some people using overrated as 'I didn't like the show but yet others do' instead of 'I think the show is of a lower quality then people claim it to be' I mena plenty of people love 'the room' but I am sure no one thinks its good so even if you don't like it and think its bad you can't call it overrated as people will agree its bad.

No, it's not just you. That's how threads like this about books/music/movies/games/comics/television always go around here.

OT: New Spongebob.

Now, to be fair, I haven't really seen anybody talk about Spongebob in a long while, but it's still going strong so somebody has to think it's good. To me, though, ever since the film was made the characters have progressively gotten more flat and the jokes have been increasingly simplified. The first few seasons of Spongebob are littered with subtext and small, subtle jokes, which is something that seems to have been completely thrown out the window now.

Forgot about this. Funny you should say the film was the final good part of the show. Apparently the original creator, Hillenburg I think is his name, wanted the movie to be the series finale but Nick was making too much cash off of the show to end it there. So Hillenburg sold them the rights and the new writers came in and twisted it into the generic Spongebob seen today.

Such a shame.

 

[Ishal]

I don't really know why Friendship is Magic is so popular.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the show. I just don't think it's good enough to warrant the massive amount of people who are obsessed with it.

That's pretty much how I feel. Yeah, it's above par for a kids show I'll say that, but it's not of the quality some people will claim it is.

Its not to hard to see why when your as mad about it as I am. One of the main reasons is to do with nuturing a fan base, Hasbro took a step back and let the fandom have abit of breathing space e.g. letting the community post the eps on youtube, allowing fansites to exsist, etc. Its one of the reasons im worried about Disney supposedly buying up Hasbro, they've had abit of class when it comes to Marvel, as far as I know having little creative imput but Hasbros cartoons/fanbase may not be so lucky.

I only just recently became a fan of MLP. It was inevitable, being all over the internet I'm one of those people that if something is shoved in my face enough I'll go check it out. What I found astounded me on quite a few levels. I enjoy the art and some music provided by the fanbase so i'd say its a cool thing. But as for the more obsessive part of the fandom, I probably land on the same side of the fence as you folks. Its a great show, it really is, but few things in cartoons warrant the amount of praise MLP gets.

I find that with cartoons, you either like them or you don't, and if you don't you go find one that you do enjoy. For me, MLP hit a bunch of buttons and really impressed me. In summary, the main reason I watch the show is its way of operating and sense of humor. It can be funny without being sarcastic, cynical, and snarky. Something other modern shows cannot (or more likely, will not) do. This is of course specific to me, but I hate put downs and constant sarcasm and making fun of people. The idea that the only way I can feel good is to make sure someone else isn't. Its probably got something to do with me being raised and only child and thus not having the brother/sister to indoctrinate me to accepting that behavior simply because it would have been a constant in my life. This is not to say I'm a delicate daffodil who can't take jokes or dish them back out. I get it, its just the way things are now, but I still don't like it, and when I'm out with friends it gets really old, really fast. That is why the dude-bro aspect of Regular Show and others turn me off. The fact that MLP barely has that sort of thing is refreshing and 90% of the reason I watch it. The other 10% being good characters, catchy songs, colorful animation, tons of D&D/Tolkein fantasy stuff thrown in, and story board staff that sneaks in random cool stuff all the time.

I didn't know about Disney possibly acquiring Hasbro. Interesting.

Oh yeah, I did see the Yes dude yes episode and I too have been there, tho perhaps not on both sides of it. I'd say my favorite regular show was the one with the Blonde cult and Blondecai. Just so much ridiculousness in that one.

 

[xplosive59]

Adventure Time (at least the first 2 seasons) and Regular Show - Both rely on random humour too much for my taste, also having 10 minute episodes instead of half an hour really limit what you can do with a plot.

MLP:FiM - Yes it's a good show but it is also really hit or miss, at it's best it is awesome, at it's worst it is "Kill me now please!" bad. The fandom has spiraled out of control also.

Dragonball Z (although an anime): So many pacing issues, I prefer my fight scenes to be over in one episode thank you!

All the Seth MacFarlane cartoons (post-Dexter's Lab): All the shows are the same with slight differences and are trying way too hard to be sitcoms rather than y'know FUCKING CARTOONS.

 

[PunkRex]

I don't really know why Friendship is Magic is so popular.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the show. I just don't think it's good enough to warrant the massive amount of people who are obsessed with it.

That's pretty much how I feel. Yeah, it's above par for a kids show I'll say that, but it's not of the quality some people will claim it is.

Its not to hard to see why when your as mad about it as I am. One of the main reasons is to do with nuturing a fan base, Hasbro took a step back and let the fandom have abit of breathing space e.g. letting the community post the eps on youtube, allowing fansites to exsist, etc. Its one of the reasons im worried about Disney supposedly buying up Hasbro, they've had abit of class when it comes to Marvel, as far as I know having little creative imput but Hasbros cartoons/fanbase may not be so lucky.

I only just recently became a fan of MLP. It was inevitable, being all over the internet I'm one of those people that if something is shoved in my face enough I'll go check it out. What I found astounded me on quite a few levels. I enjoy the art and some music provided by the fanbase so i'd say its a cool thing. But as for the more obsessive part of the fandom, I probably land on the same side of the fence as you folks. Its a great show, it really is, but few things in cartoons warrant the amount of praise MLP gets.

I find that with cartoons, you either like them or you don't, and if you don't you go find one that you do enjoy. For me, MLP hit a bunch of buttons and really impressed me. In summary, the main reason I watch the show is its way of operating and sense of humor. It can be funny without being sarcastic, cynical, and snarky. Something other modern shows cannot (or more likely, will not) do. This is of course specific to me, but I hate put downs and constant sarcasm and making fun of people. The idea that the only way I can feel good is to make sure someone else isn't. Its probably got something to do with me being raised and only child and thus not having the brother/sister to indoctrinate me to accepting that behavior simply because it would have been a constant in my life. This is not to say I'm a delicate daffodil who can't take jokes or dish them back out. I get it, its just the way things are now, but I still don't like it, and when I'm out with friends it gets really old, really fast. That is why the dude-bro aspect of Regular Show and others turn me off. The fact that MLP barely has that sort of thing is refreshing and 90% of the reason I watch it. The other 10% being good characters, catchy songs, colorful animation, tons of D&D/Tolkein fantasy stuff thrown in, and story board staff that sneaks in random cool stuff all the time.

I didn't know about Disney possibly acquiring Hasbro. Interesting.

Oh yeah, I did see the Yes dude yes episode and I too have been there, tho perhaps not on both sides of it. I'd say my favorite regular show was the one with the Blonde cult and Blondecai. Just so much ridiculousness in that one.

It is refreshing to see a cartoon with such a happy out look NOT come across as patronising. I actually like Ruby Gloom for much the same reasons, its like MLP in more then just the animation aspect. Give it a look if you hav'nt already and you get a chance:

 

[PunkRex]

All the Seth MacFarlane cartoons (post-Dexter's Lab): All the shows are the same with slight differences and are trying way too hard to be sitcoms rather than y'know FUCKING CARTOONS.

I ALWAYS forget he was involved with Dexter. My word *looking up wiki* Tartakovsky, McCracken, Renzetti and Hartman! Damn, Dexters lab was really a cesspool of talent.

 

[Signa]

Adventure Time. Obviously to each their own, and the show doesnt bother me or anything, but I cannot see why people love it as much as they do. Aside from the nostalgic animation style, I don't see it.
The humor just seems random and spazzy - no real depth. The plots are just as sporadic, usually. A fine show, I suppose. But not great.

Don't know if I like the term "overrated" though. It's just a minority opinion.

You might want to watch more of it then. On the surface, the show is exactly as you describe. However, if you pay attention to the details, the show really caters to adults and nerds. Some straight-up D&D and M:TG references are thrown in, and the character depth is pretty much unseen in similar kids shows. They only let you catch glimpses of it at a time, but up to the 4th season, they only hinted with background images or single lines of dialogue (brief mentioning of The Great Mushroom Wars) at the extent of how bad Earth had been destroyed between modern society and when the show takes place. It's great for the kids because they see a show about a kid and his adventures with his magical dog. For us older folk, it's a show about survival after the apocalypse, and the life of the last human on Earth, and possibly the last purely good person that isn't brain-dead.

OT: I'm going with the Seth McFarlane shows. I used to love Family Guy and American Dad, but FG devolved into pure shit and air-time wasting gags, and AD started borrowing pages from FG's book. I'd also like to throw MLP under the bus, but I've never watched the show. I just know that there's no shows that I've ever seen that deserve the fandom that MLP gets.

 

[Brainwreck]

All of them.
Fuck cartoons.
Fuck media.
Fuck everything humans created.
We should've stopped at fire and just made more of that forever.

(see, my opinions are stupid too but at least I'm a pyromaniac!)

 

[guidance]

I wont say it's overrated because I can't say why it wasn't good. What makes people like deathnote so much? That is all I want to know. I watched it and I don't get it. I didn't enjoy it but thought I would give it a chance so I watched all of it and I got nothing. I just didn't care what happened to any of the characters, or what the out come was. I wasn't interested in the chase, half the time I was trying to piece together their plans after they explained them just so I could keep track (I didn't).

 

[xplosive59]

All the Seth MacFarlane cartoons (post-Dexter's Lab): All the shows are the same with slight differences and are trying way too hard to be sitcoms rather than y'know FUCKING CARTOONS.

I ALWAYS forget he was involved with Dexter, along side Tartakovsky, McCracken and Hartman! Damn, Dexters lab was really a cesspool of talent.

Yeah McFarlane is the most successful but the other three are way more talented in my opinion, especially Tartakovsky and McCracken/Faust. The former was able to make shit into gold with The Clone Wars while the latter made girls shows enjoyable.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Invader Zim pushed the boundaries of what's allowed in cartoons. Also, it turned a lot of people on to indipendant comics. So that's why I like that show... Also, it's funny. Why are you watching a cartoon about an alien undercover with a robot sidekick if you're not looking for "zany thingzzzzzz"?

Teen Titans was interesting and well written with character development you rarely see in cartoons at all.

I totally respect your opinions and I don't fault you for not liking these cartoons but I think your reasons are terrible.

So, I've been trying to find a way to make this thread for a while, but I'll just make it a direct statement thread. The point of the thread is just as the title suggests. My contribution, I guess I have two. Feel free to also give criticism to my thoughts and why you disagree if you do.

First up, Invader Zim. Okay, for real, guys, I don't get what's so great about this show. I've watched a few episodes here and there, and maybe because I didn't watch it when it first aired so I don't have the nostalgia goggles to really enjoy, but, really, it just seems more "LOL GUYS, ZANY THINGZ WITH SOME DARK ELEMENTS!!!! BUT MOSTLY ZANY THINGZZZZZZZ!!!!!" Which, I mean, I'm okay with that in Adventure Time and Regular Show, because those show's are great in their own right and I haven't had them shoved down my throat as one of the "best cartoons in a long time". I mean, really, I don't like Invader Zim. It feels off to me. Maybe it's not just the zany elements maybe that's not it at all. Maybe the show just doesn't appeal to me, but I still think that it's entirely overrated and it's really not all that dark.

Second, Teen Titans. Okay, so I watched this show when it did first air. I thought it was pretty good. Now, having gone back to it after having watched other super hero shows that came after it like the Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice, and Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Even shows that pre-dated TT and watching them with more understanding like Batman: the Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and JLU. Compared to all those shows, and just regular comics in general, Teen Titans just falls flat. Slade has no motive in Season 1, and when he comes back and does it's "Trigon stole my soul," which is just really dumb. It's decent at it's best but kinda bad at it's worst. Yet I hear some people say it's their favorite super hero show. One of my best friends says he still thinks it's the best super hero show ever because "it's my childhood" which pisses me off to no end. Maybe it's because I know so much more about comics and just better super hero shows that has kinda turned me off from Teen Titans, and I've heard a lot of people say they love Teen Titans so that's why I feel it's overrated.

So, Escapists, what are some of your cartoons that you feel are overrated.

inb4: A bunch of people say MLP:FiM. Which, I agree. It's overstayed it's welcome.

Invader Zim pushed the boundaries of what's allowed in cartoons. Also, it turned a lot of people on to indipendant comics. So that's why I like that show... Also, it's funny. Why are you watching a cartoon about an alien undercover with a robot sidekick if you're not looking for "zany thingzzzzzz"?

Teen Titans was interesting and well written with character development you rarely see in cartoons at all.

I totally respect your opinions and I don't fault you for not liking these cartoons but I think your reasons are terrible.

The only cartoon I think is overrated (that I can think of) is Tom And Jerry. I just don't think it has earned the cult status it has right now.

 

[PunkRex]

All the Seth MacFarlane cartoons (post-Dexter's Lab): All the shows are the same with slight differences and are trying way too hard to be sitcoms rather than y'know FUCKING CARTOONS.

I ALWAYS forget he was involved with Dexter, along side Tartakovsky, McCracken and Hartman! Damn, Dexters lab was really a cesspool of talent.

Yeah McFarlane is the most successful but the other three are way more talented in my opinion, especially Tartakovsky and McCracken/Faust. The former was able to make shit into gold with The Clone Wars while the latter made girls shows enjoyable.

One of my main gripes with cartoon/anime/animation fans is their lack of enthusiasm for Tartakovsky's Clone Wars series. SERIES. WAS. EPIC!!! The ep were Grievous takes down that group of Jedi is one of the most badass things in animation... AND NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT!

'Oh, everything besides the first 3 movies and Old Republic sucks.'
'Okay then *brings up Youtube* now say that.'
Poor Shaggy...

 

[xplosive59]

All the Seth MacFarlane cartoons (post-Dexter's Lab): All the shows are the same with slight differences and are trying way too hard to be sitcoms rather than y'know FUCKING CARTOONS.

I ALWAYS forget he was involved with Dexter, along side Tartakovsky, McCracken and Hartman! Damn, Dexters lab was really a cesspool of talent.

Yeah McFarlane is the most successful but the other three are way more talented in my opinion, especially Tartakovsky and McCracken/Faust. The former was able to make shit into gold with The Clone Wars while the latter made girls shows enjoyable.

One of my main gripes with cartoon/anime/animation fans is their lack of enthusiasm for Tartakovsky's Clone Wars series. SERIES. WAS. EPIC!!! The ep were Grievous takes down that group of Jedi is one of the most badass things in animation... AND NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT!

'Oh, everything besides the first 3 movies and Old Republic sucks.'
'Okay then *brings up Youtube* now say that.'
Poor Shaggy...

...And then they butchered Grievous's character in the third film.