Poll: Is it just me, or were cartoons better when I was a kid?

[Blindswordmaster]

I've been an avid cartoon watcher for years and I've noticed the crap that has passed for entertainment lately. The Misadventures of Flapjack is totally fucked up and Chowder makes me want to murder children. When I was growing up we had Transformers, Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Lab, Cow and Chicken, Invader Zim, Batman, Spider-man, Samurai Jack, Darkwing Duck, Rocko's Modern Life, Swat Kats, and everything by Steven Spielberg, just to name a few. Cartoons today are passable to pretty good,and those are far and few between. Is it just the nostalgia bug, or am I actually right for once? Escapists, give me your opinions!
-Note: I watch so many cartoons because I have younger siblings. I do!

 

[zohmbee]

Oh I love you for mentioning Johnny Bravo.

You're not mistaken. Cartoons are worse nowadays. Much much worse.

 

[Hazy]

I think cartoons took far more risks when we were kids, as such, adults were able to relate with them as well.

I think that, now that we've grown, we're able to appreciate the subtle references to more adult-oriented themes that most shows (namely, the 90's) had used so wildly, to a much greater extent.
Case in point:
You could never show this today. The mixture of pedophilia/psychotic tendencies, as subtle as they may be, would make parents break out in a cold sweat.

 

[SilverUchiha]

I've seen some of the current shows that are on Television right now. Spongebob (imo) is what is started the trend of shitty cartoons hitting the airwaves.

I remember most of those shows you listed. I have DVDs of some of those too. To me, they're still as good as I remember them. In some cases, better than I remember them. haha. Sure, the animation isn't nearly as good as some current shows, but the show itself was more bearable to watch.

 

[RathWolf]

Eh. Depends. Some cartoons are legitimately good shows, others you just like because you were a kid. I don't watch cartoons that much these days so I can't really judge today's shows.

Also, some cartoons back in the day allowed themselves to be more mature, which allows us to appreciate them more now. Batman: The Animated series, and Samurai Jack are particular examples of this.

There's also shows that actually had some more adult humor,not necessarily explicit, but not just the "kids like anything" style to writing. I mean, I've gone back and watched some old shows and been amazed by some of the things kids wouldn't pick up on. Hell, Earthworm Jim had a Dune reference in it.

 

[Jfswift]

This is a tough question because some newer cartoons are okay, like the Batman series, Wolfs Rain, etc. I kind of miss some of the shows that used to be on tv though. They seemed more hardcore and imaginative. If there was one thing I could count on every sat-sun morning were the epic battles being fought against crazy space creatures or discovering old ruins, etc etc. A few shows like Macross/Robotech were top-notch. (I forgot about Invader Zim, that was pretty funny and decent for a newer show.)

 

[Chancie]

I totally agree with you, TC. Cartoons now are awful. >.<

 

[Fenreil]

Even though we have some really good stuff nowadays(Chowder, Flapjack, Spongebob), we're really lacking more serious stuff. By this I mean, of course, we don't have a Batman: The Animated Series equivalent. Nothing seems to try to be serious. Sure some try(Avatar, Ben 10), but half the show is humor. Bleh.

 

[Rathy]

Personally, I think earlier. But I don't necessarily believe its a quality thing, as opposed to just the cartoon ideas taking a 180 in more recent years. Its just different ideas and different humor from what we used to watch, and it doesn't necessarily click in the same way old cartoons did.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

They were indeed better when we were younger.

 

[Blindswordmaster]

Oh I love you for mentioning Johnny Bravo.

You're not mistaken. Cartoons are worse nowadays. Much much worse.

Oh you'll love this then!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raHMWetjzr8&playnext_from=TL&videos=QIokS27-rFI

By the way, love your avatar.

 

[SlowShootinPete]

I like some modern cartoons.

I'm still trying to decide whether Adventure Time is good or not.

 

[RatRace123]

It's not just you, toons were better.

And then Disney found it's sickening teen idol niche, Nick then became a ripoff disney, and then Cartoon Network tried to become a ripoff Nick, before Nick became a ripoff disney.

It used to go like this back in my day: Nick and Cartoon Network were host to some of the zaniest but still insanely well written shows, they not only appealed to kids but adults as well (Despite how much it gets ripped on now, Spongebob was not the bastion of the current animation ghetto, early Spongebob still stands among the Nicktoons elite)

And then... something happened, our animation became stupider and our kids became stupider, not quite sure which came first. Man I miss the 90s, and now I'll get back to watching that Courage episode someone thoughtfully posted.

 

[Blindswordmaster]

Even though we have some really good stuff nowadays(Chowder, Flapjack, Spongebob), we're really lacking more serious stuff. By this I mean, of course, we don't have a Batman: The Animated Series equivalent. Nothing seems to try to be serious. Sure some try(Avatar, Ben 10), but half the show is humor. Bleh.

Flabjack and Chowder? .....moving on. I've watched Ben 10 and every episode of Avatar, those are two are rarities in today's cartoon market. Almost makes me want to get into animation just so I'll have something decent to watch on Saturday mornings. If I got up that early. That's another thing! Back in the day, I would get up at like 8 on a Saturday and watch cartoons until noon. Then the quality slipped and I said fuck it. That's how good these cartoons were! I would actually got up to watch them!

 

[Krion_Vark]

There are very few good cartoons on now. The Era of our good cartoons ended with Spongebob. If you watch older episodes of some current Nickelodeon cartoons you'll see where the there are the subtle hints at adult humor while now there are not as many seeing as how people get offended over every little thing. IE episodes 200 and 201 of South Park.

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

Whoever posted that Courage the Cowardly Dog clip, ILY.

God, I used to stay up as late as possible JUST to watch that show.

 

[RathWolf]

It used to go like this back in my day: Nick and Cartoon Network were host to some of the zaniest but still insanely well written shows, they not only appealed to kids but adults as well

If you're thinking what I'm thinking, those shows tended to be from Warner Bros. animation though. Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain...

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

In the 90's after the success of Roger Rabbit, for a short time, cartoons were respected and people became nostalgic of the 40 and 50's cartoons. Animation became something that can be for both children and adults, and doesn't have to look down on children like the last 30 years had been moving towards. However, that age quickly died with three things. Anime started to come over to America in large amounts, Pokemon, Digemon, what-ever-emon. They were getting as high, or higher ratings then locally made cartoons and were far cheaper to redub. Cartoons for adults also came about with the success of the Simspons, meaning that having sexual innuednos or other adult entertainment hidden in cartoons like Animaniacs was unneeded. Finally, the big boy of television animation, Warner Brothers, shut down most of the animation studio since their finical flop of the 90 animated films (4 out of the 5 animated Warner brothers films didn't even make money, and I think the filth was Space Jam). With all adult audiences going to other shows, and all the kids going to anime, Western animation did the only thing it could do to survive, cut-back budgets, copy anime, and lose all quality.

 

[Composer]

older cartoons are way better then *shudder* this

Spoiler