Where have all the cartoons gone?
Apr 19 '01
The Bottom Line Watch programs with your kids and avoid most action cartoons and primetime stuff.
Even though I am not a child anymore, I am still fascinated by animation. I find it to be just as viable a medium of storytelling as live action. It is not merely "kids' stuff" as too many people seem to think. It should be the same with cartoons, especially great cartoons, but sadly, while many animated movies have kept me happy with the animation world, the cartoons, and this includes non-animated kids' shows, somehow seem tarnished to my eyes. Have I really grown beyond their appeal? Or have children's shows really gotten dumber over the years? I can't answer those questions, but it seems the days of Saturday morning cartoons are over. I'm still young compared to most adults. I know hardly anything, but I still remember the days when cartoons were a dime a dozen. They were everywhere, and there was a cartoon for each taste, whether it was Gummi Bears or G.I. Joe. I was a child of the 80s, as it were.
Okay. I realize I'm sitting here complaining about how kids' shows have become trash when many of the stuff I watched when I was a kid was also trash. But they were my trash, and they had characters you could identify with. Heroes were heroes, and they always said cool things like "and knowing is half the battle". I remember when some of the more family friendly cartoons really were family friendly. They didn't feel stupid or sugary, and they didn't pander. Nowadays, it seems heroes are getting younger and more immature, and the only requirement for being a hero is to act cool and carry big guns. Power Rangers, you know who you are. Where are today's Scooby Doo for the younger kids? Where are today's Mysterious Cities of Gold for the older kids? And where did all the superheroes go? Whatever happened to Garfield and Friends?!
Okay, maybe I should stop ranting for just a moment. Is television really a barren wasteland for kids? Hardly. There are a few pockets of good cartooning holding out. There are also a few "tolerable" cartoons out there. I'll list some I know here, the good, the bad, and the ugly. My list is short, so feel free to add. There may also be more bad than good. Yeah, I know. I'm a pessimist when it comes to cartoons. So sue me.
The Good
Any of my favorite game shows--I'm not sure how many kids would watch The Price is Right, but there's something about these things that is just too much fun. No sex. No violence. None of the garbage of "reality tv". It's just fun, money, prizes, and sometimes knowledge. You could do worse letting your kids watch the news. My favorite games shows include Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune.
Madeline--You're going to need the right channel to watch this charming cartoon. I don't have it, so I don't even know if it's still on. Yet there's something about this show, and the story as well, that exudes a certain timelessness. It has charming characters and zero stupid. Oh yeah. It also has something most cartoons don't have. Innocence.
Generation O!--I almost completely ignored this show, thinking it was just another dumb cartoon. Then, quite by accident, I read somewhere on the internet that it was critically acclaimed. Curious, I decided to check out an episode. Now I see why. This stuff is brilliant! This is what cartooning should be like. Seriously, this is the best thing to happen to kids' shows in quite a while. It combines a traditional cartoon approach with a hip modern approach. Basically being an animated sitcom for kids, Generation O is charming, smart, funny, witty, well written and well animated. Most of the humor is high brow and character-driven. You won't find too many of the lame jokes and cheap gags many kids shows like to gobble up. All of the fun comes from the things the characters say and do. It should come as no surprise that the important characters are alive and vibrant. This cartoon follows the adventures of Molly O, lead singer of the rock group Generation O! and the only eight-year-old with songs in the top ten. Despite her fame, Molly still has a normal life, loving parents, and still has to do her homework, go to bed on time, and try to get along with her annoying older brother Buzz. Along the way, she, her brother, and her four friends--Molly's ten-year-old guitar-playing cousin Eddie, Nub the bass player, Yo-yo the drummer kangaroo, and Molly's best friend Chadd--grow up together and learn some of life's important lessons. It proudly waves the banner of E/I but also seems to target the older kids, the same kids that are now becoming more interested in the action cartoons, making Generation O a worthy(and very welcome) alternative to both those action cartoons and the Rugrats/Recess crowd.
Pokemon--Yeah. I know what you're thinking. "Pokemon is cartoon cockfighting." Rubbish. Even if you didn't think that(bless you if you didn't), you probably thought, "Aren't we all just sick of Pokemon?" Trust me. Pokemon is hardly my thing, and I'm also getting a tad tired of its dominance in both the cartoon world and in marketing. I've also seen better cartoons. Yet, think about this. Kids identify with this stuff and the characters. Ash, the main character, is a good role model. He tries hard in everything he does, and he's also a good friend. The characters are lively and expressive. The episodes are terribly repetitive(discover a new Pokemon, here comes Team Rocket, there goes Team Rocket, another adventure completed), yet there's always that good-natured sense of fun that all the other copy cat monster cartoons don't have. Pokemon may be everywhere in the market and may have spawned three hideous movies, but Pokemon is probably the closest thing to the cartoons of old you'll ever see on network.
Anything Crocodile Hunter--Just like Pokemon, this guy is everywhere. He's most likely a household name by now. With his winning personality, this adventurous guy from the land down under should appeal to young and old alike as he goes on many wild adventures rescuing animals. But he's no wannabe. He is a skilled herpetologist. He also has a show designed specifically for kids, and it's called Crocodile Hunter's Croc Files. There are lots of good shows that educate a child's mind while still engaging it, but Steve Erwin the Crocodile Hunter seems to have the most charisma.
The Bad
Action cartoons--Part of the reason many cartoons are so bad these days is because many producers have somehow gotten into their heads that action cartoons are where it's at. Although action cartoons have been around since forever, this new breed doesn't seem particularly palatable. Cool and thoughtful heroes seem to have been replaced by some rather dumb ones. If anybody makes a cartoon based on The Matrix, I will scream. Here are some of the really bad ones.
Power Rangers--Not a cartoon, but it easily deserves a place here under bad. Let's just get one thing out of the way. I. . . hate. . . The Power Rangers! They are already older than dirt, and yet they are still going strong, spawning incarnation after hideous incarnation. A testament to the popularity of dumb plots with mindless violence.
Los Luchadores--Power Rangers stupid to the third power. Los Luchadores attempts to become popular by drawing on the popularity of wrestling, featuring a group of wrestlers that fight evil on the side. Unfortunately, because it's a kids' show, everything is watered down. The wrestlers look like washed up rejects, and you couldn't find a story even if you sifted for it with a two micron grain mesh.
Digimon/Monster Rancher--Some people will tell you that Digimon is Pokemon for older kids. The rest of us know better. While Pokemon focuses on a small group of friends and simplifies its stories to place more emphasis on fun, Digimon has way too many characters and likes to muddle things up until we're all confused. The character designs are fast becoming boring, and the general motto is "bigger is better". This cartoon also has an unhealthy fascination with large scale battles. Another dumb copy cat monster cartoon is the even more boring(if that were possible) Monster Rancher.
Static Shock--Is this the face of the new generation of heroes? I sure hope not! Static Shock tells the story of a young teen who suddenly finds himself with the power to control electricity. And that's about it. Generic characters and generic villains. This show could've had characters that came from anywhere, and it would still be the same. Just another boring action cartoon, and it's even worse because it has no personality. While all the other action cartoons seem to have made names for themselves, it is doubtful this one will.
Jackie Chan Adventures--Jackie Chan is popular with the adults. Now he's popular with the kids? Jackie's slick moves are here, but that's the only draw to it. Like most action cartoons, this one just has no thought put into it. And its lousy comic book style animation is completely unforgivable. Remember the old Double Dragon cartoon? You've got a carbon copy right here.
Max Steel/Action Man--The latest in an attempt to emphasize cool heroes that like to do extreme things. Whoopie. Remember the days when heroes were sensible and survived with their wits? You won't find that with these two cartoons. The only good thing to say about them is their eye candy and computer graphics. I doubt you'll forgive their boring characters, though.
Batman Beyond--Batman went from being a cool, slick guy who battled with his brain as well as his fists to being a young college boy with a smart mouth who let technology do the fighting for him. I didn't even bother with its spinoff.
X-Men: Evolution--Remember the original cartoon? Remember how edgy it was? Remember loving it and its theme song? Good. You'll hate this. Remember what I said above. Younger and more immature.
The Ugly
Here you'll find stuff that's not good for kids at all and should be avoided like the plague.
Primetime--Most primetime stuff is purely for adults. I'm not saying they're bad, but with more emphasis on sex and violence these days, and with the invasion of reality tv, you'll be hard pressed to find something on the adult's time that kids can watch.
Jerry Springer and company--Seen too much. Hated it then. Hate it now. This stuff is nothing but garbage. And its not just Jerry Springer. Trash tv seems to be everywhere.
Wrestling--Wrestling has changed so much. So much hardcore violence. So much sex. So much mistreatment of fellow people and especially women. I'd rather have my eyeballs plucked out than watch any of this stuff. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wrestling used to be stupid in a fun way. Now it's just. . . Well. I don't want to upset the wrestling fans, now.
The Weakest Link--A surprise entry, but Holy Cow! Whoever created this awful game show needs to be slapped! This is the complete opposite of all the game shows I mentioned above. In The Weakest Link, contestants are given a limited amount of time to answer a set amount of questions. Each round, the host goes to one person and asks one question. The person can get it right or wrong, but the next question goes to the next person. Every right answer moves the amount of money to be won up a notch. During the question, a contestant can shout "bank", and the current earnings go into the bank, forever staying there to be carried over into the next round. The money meter is then reset back to its lowest point. At the end of each round of questions, the contestants then vote upon who they feel is the weakest link, the player that was the least helpful. What sets this apart from all the other shows is its totally mean spirit. The host is cool and calm. She never smiles, and I'm sorry, but she doesn't have a winning personality at all. She says things like "Who is the dimmest bulb here?" and "Out of a possible such amount of money, the team banked a miserable, pathetic such amount of money." The contestants are encouraged to be as uncivilized as possible. Fair play goes out the window as contestants explain with little tact while they feel the weakest link is whoever. I once heard a person picking on a college student, saying "He needs to go back to school." Losers are really considered losers, as only one person gets the money, and everybody else gets zilch. There are no consolation prizes. Honestly, we try to teach our kids about humility and fair play in contests. Is this really our idea of entertainment?
Television may have changed much over the years, and it may be ugly for children. Many of the good cartoons may have disappeared, but despite this, there's still hope. I'm not a parent, so I know very little, and you may have heard this dozens of times before, but there's just no substitute for watching with your kids. Not only does it let the parents know what their kids are into, it lets the kids know what the parents feel about these things. Kids should also be told that there are things that the parents just don't want the kids watching. And that goes for all media.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but if you ever wanted to know anything about anything involving kids, media, and products, familywonder.com is a wonderful site. Thanks, and goodbye. I think I'll go back to reviewing animation.
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Epinions.com ID:
FHfan
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Member: Mario Rodgers
Location: Newport News, Virginia
Reviews written: 55
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
Animation lover and animated movie reviewer
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