Decent Kids Cartoons, surfacing? (Chowder Flapjack)
polycounter lvl 18
While watching TV with my little bro--... ahh, who am I kidding, while I'm watching cartoons.
I'm sure a lot of people will agree that the programming on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, has gone from epic to hogwash, via canceling old generation shows and putting on "modern" cartoons.
(Not sure what cartoons are like across the pond)
I don't watch much TV, but when I do it's usually cartoons, or some kind of animation.
Cartoon Network: Long gone the days of Dexter, Johnny Bravo, Samurai Jack, and what have you. Recently CN Has started airing two new shows, Chowder, and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. These shows are pretty funny/creative/wacky(once in awhile clever) and up to par with the toons of old. Plus an odd series with some slick animation "The league of Super Evil". Haven't seen much of it but it looks promising.
Nickelodeon: No more Doug, Rocko, Legends of the Hidden Temple, or Kenan and Kel. Spongebob is it's for runner, and in the beginning I really didn't like it, but it has some episodes that really shine, like Mermaidman and Barnicle boy. Fairy Oddparents, also has good comedy moments and even some of those good ol' "little kids don't get it but the parents do" jokes. Avatar is really great but hey, you know Nicklodeon if its good air it for a couple months and cancel, via Invader Zim.
Let's not forget X-men, Spiderman, Batman and Ninja turtles. (Whatever network they were on.)
Could a new wave of cartoons slash through the cheap flash animations, and craptastic live action drama shows!? Or will I be forced to buy up a library of DVDs to force feed my children!?
Discuss.
I'm sure a lot of people will agree that the programming on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, has gone from epic to hogwash, via canceling old generation shows and putting on "modern" cartoons.
(Not sure what cartoons are like across the pond)
I don't watch much TV, but when I do it's usually cartoons, or some kind of animation.
Cartoon Network: Long gone the days of Dexter, Johnny Bravo, Samurai Jack, and what have you. Recently CN Has started airing two new shows, Chowder, and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. These shows are pretty funny/creative/wacky(once in awhile clever) and up to par with the toons of old. Plus an odd series with some slick animation "The league of Super Evil". Haven't seen much of it but it looks promising.
Nickelodeon: No more Doug, Rocko, Legends of the Hidden Temple, or Kenan and Kel. Spongebob is it's for runner, and in the beginning I really didn't like it, but it has some episodes that really shine, like Mermaidman and Barnicle boy. Fairy Oddparents, also has good comedy moments and even some of those good ol' "little kids don't get it but the parents do" jokes. Avatar is really great but hey, you know Nicklodeon if its good air it for a couple months and cancel, via Invader Zim.
Let's not forget X-men, Spiderman, Batman and Ninja turtles. (Whatever network they were on.)
Could a new wave of cartoons slash through the cheap flash animations, and craptastic live action drama shows!? Or will I be forced to buy up a library of DVDs to force feed my children!?
Discuss.
Replies
Not only is the acting and writing terrible, it gives kids this notion that they somehow are smarter and have a firmer grip on reality than Adults. The Adults are always bumbling idiots, while the kids are always solving problems and saving the day. LAME.
Anyhoo, there are some really good cartoons out there.
Here are approved cartoons in our house:
Flapjack,
Chowder,
Avatar,
Ben 10,
Secret Saturdays,
Batman Brave and the Bold,
League of Super Evil,
Anything I used to watch as a kid, Scooby Doo, ninja turtles etc.
ren and stimpy - has record breaking 2 seasons and sets animation styles for which almost all current gen cartoons will follow for a while after. Then they think that in order to keep it going they should bring in a fresh team of people, so they remove the creator since he wouldnt be able to come up with another great idea and get a new team going..... HUh? -- well that worked well...
dexter's lab (maybe spongebob? im not sure) - here the same, they feel that in order to stay fresh they need a fresh team or that they should outright cancel the show and start again to try and roll the dice on getting these timeless characters like bugs and daffy in a single random shot, it appears.
Its like they have no clue that the same team that created these cartoons could perhaps possibly come up with a new idea... and grow as cartoonists or better train others.
Which is really strange since there is so much precedence for that way of creating the cartoon greats.... Thats how all the WB and Disney characters were created, not by fluke, by decades of hard work, and not hard work from any upstarts, hard work by people who knew wtf they were doing.... these people had super long lasting carreers of like 60 yrs trained also by elders. You couldnt just walk in and start creating your own cartoon. If you were really great cartoonist, you were let into the building but then go from washing acetate in the back room, to apprentice to inbetweener to keyframer, ect ect work up. When a team is built like that you build a set of minds that will eventually start turning over pure genius, and so it was in the 30's 40's 50's ect.
but now, its like a company gets some small random success from a clever group of upstarts ...and then the company immediately hits reset to tries to get bigger success again randomly from a bunch of different upstarts. instead of creating a stable place where people can be filtered up and through, learn from the process of other successful people ect. It might be possible to randamly come up with a timeless character like daffy in a single year or something, but its never been done without extremely limited success, and most likely will just be a fad if anything or more likely a copy of something. Will Shrek really be understood or laughed at 20yrs from now? I dont believe it... its just an onslought of current pop culture reference. I understand the reference and I have a hard time laughing... Will WB cartoons be beloved? I believe so, they are so carefully crafted around the funniest, timeless parts of life, human behavior.
Micro's also right about cartoons standing the test of time, a lot of them won't be funny at all given some years. One company I really appreciate is Pixar, they really seem capable of making instant classics.
One of the things I don't get is this whole push for "teens in school" shows. I remember when Saved by the Bell came on as a kid I was kind of like "I just spent all day at school, why would I want to come home and watch school? Wheres the friggin cartoons?"
It seems like Hanna Montanan isn't that popular with kids but they make tons of cash printing her face on every pillow, backpack and toothbrush and selling it to stores.
Also there's these shows that have crap flash animation, the kind where the animators just slide heads and arms around and replace mouths. That's fine for a short web-toon, but I can't bear to watch it very long without it becoming an eyesore. Also it gives the characters very little.... character. A successful cartoon needs to have it's own animation flavor.
Someone with kids should do a test, have them watch some old cartoons and ask them which they like better.
Also WB cartoons where the Shiz-nit
@Josh and Bounch couldn't agree more.
That being said I'll most likely buy up all the awesome classic catoons on DVD/Blu-Ray or whatever is the new type of viewing device for my kid to watch. If they won't watch them...i'll just watch them myself.
B
oh yeah, my favorite part of Dic cartoons was the end logo with the little kid who said "Dic". I'd probably still chuckle like an idiot if I saw it today.
to quote Ferg from the Reading/Leeds Festival thread: "welcome to getting old everyone". :poly142:
there is also Yo Gabba Gabba......its sweet as hell for teaching kids good lessons
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I even liked scrappy doo!
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flintstones is still watchable
great stuff
Gi Joe
Transformers
Silver Hawks
Robotech
Thunder Cats
Darkwing Duck
Duck tales
Voltron
Chip & Dales Rescue Rangers
Charlie Brown
Dungeons & Dragons
Gargoyles
The list goes on and on. Thankfully many of these programs are available on DVD, I would just purchase a few and enjoy them with your brother.
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at least kr:dk is a guilty pleasure there but that's not a cartoon and doesn't count.
yeah, its amazing how much cleavage can go in a TV-Y7
I'd love to see some kid shows like Mr Wizard's World. Something that isn't a bunch of yelling and sliding backgrounds or filled full of stupid "try to be cool" jokes and prat falls.
I'll also add to the pile:
Danger Mouse
Tail Spin
Pirates of Dark Water
Apparently, Sunbow was bad ass but costly.
I read all this in some interview with a producer on the Hasbro animation stuff.
B
I also miss Top Cat, X-Men (the old fox kids one), Speed Racer and Johnny Quest.
I'll make sure to check Chowder out now that you guys mentioned it
Add Freakazoid, Animaniacs, Tale Spin and Tiny Toons to that list and you've got all my favs from when I was a kid.
Sir, as a fellow cartoon watcher I respectfully disagree. I recall being able to put Nick or CN on and at any given time there was something good on. Notice your avatar, Danny Phantom, a decent new show, canceled yes? I remember watching cruddy spin-offs on Ninja Turtles, like street sharks, hell, even "Extreme Dinosaurs"
I realize their pretty shitty but I can at least see the appeal.
Even live action shows didn't have the high level of over-acting. I seriously think Disney taught these kids, happy, sad, mad, pout and they graduated from acting school. Take Are You Afraid of The Dark or Alex Mac for example compare it to Suite life or Hanna Montana. Even Pete and Pete, and Kenan and Kel weren't constant displays of one extreme of the emotional spectrum.
(that was not all directed at you Asherr, I kinda trailed off somewhere)
I try not to be biased towards new cartoons, but damn, I can't help but maybe think it's all a pyramid scheme to raise old show DVD sales, I'm tempted to stockpile them like a squirrel.
Anyone try showing kids old cartoons and gauging their response?
Jayce and the wheel warriors.
&
Star Blazers.
I remember having to go over to a friends house to watch it, not sure if it was airing or if it was taped, but it was dubbed for English.
Star Blazers, Star Wars and the NASA Shuttle missions are probably responsible for my love of all things related to space. It probably got a bunch of kids turned on to science. There doesn't seem to be any driving forces like that today. Except maybe "you could be the next pop queen! And by 'you could be' we mean never but thanks for watching and buying our crap". looking at you Disney Channel and American Idol.
...Battle of the Planets...
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