Recently I've been in the habit of watching seasons of cartoons when I am bored, with this past weekend's choice being Young Justice. For those unfamiliar with the show, essentially it is about the sidekicks of the Justice League, teaming up to fight crime on their own terms. Pretty normal for the idea of a kid's show.
But thinking of it as such can be misleading.
As I watched through the series, I grew attached to the characters and their arcs. There is heartbreak, betrayal, mistrust, and even death. By the end of the second and last season, I was feeling pretty emotional and realized I had grown attached to the show over just one short weekend. The story had pulled me in so much that I felt I grew with the characters. I saw their friendships build, relationships form, fall apart, then reform. In some cases I even watched them die.
This then got me thinking: I haven't been as interested with many live action shows on TV, so why am I being drawn towards these things meant for "kids" instead of the ones meant for adults? After all, cartoons started with silly slap stick shorts like Loony Toons and Tom and Jerry. Clever with some of their jokes, but overall pretty mindless. Then you had the cartoons in the 80s that were mostly just gimmicks to get people to buy the toys.
So what happened with cartoons that changed things?
Simply put, cartoons began to display that they were able to do things with concepts that real life shows couldn't.
Take for instance, the Simpsons, the longest running animated show to date. Many dismissed it at first as a sideshow that could never really gain traction, but now (for better or worse) it is still running and has become a household name.
With its success, many began to see animated television as a truly viable means of storytelling with the media. Unlike live action, you didn't need huge sets, massive crews, and many actors. Heck, the Simpsons proved you probably would only need six good voice actors. Not to mention that because your show isn't happening in real life, you are not held back by its constraints. If you want a boy to turn into every animal imaginable, you can do that.
Now we have shows that aren't just trying to entertain but also to teach and make people feel for the characters. Shows like Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, and Avatar: The Last Airbender have gained massive followings in my generation to the point that I would encourage some adults to watch them for their own enjoyment as well.
With these many shows as proof for the successes of cartoons, I feel we will see many more of these in the future.
