Over the decades, animated shows have shown that they are for audiences far beyond their initial age demographic. Shows like “Teen Titans” and “Avatar The Last Airbender” captivated people of all ages with their fleshed out characters, thought-provoking messages, detailed and coherent stories and their unique animation, combining western and eastern art styles. Older shows such as “Rugrats” and “Hey Arnold” were filled with adventure and had tons of wonderful and memorable characters that still bring joy to those who grew up with each shows respectable ensemble. So, the “people in charge” know what attracts audiences! What could go wrong?
Many things can go wrong actually. Many modern shows have lost touch of what actually generates views. Now, not all modern cartoons suffer from this. Infact, some modern cartoons have become a critical part of our culture. But too many upcoming and new cartoons try to do the same with no true results. They’re missing the bigger picture: stories that intoxicate audiences, characters that are relatable and dynamic, humor and tone and overall message to name a few.
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A great story or plot is a must have if you plan on making any series memorable and wanted by all demographics. Sadly, most modern cartoons don’t believe this and dive in head first without any sense of direction. Granted, you can’t simply judge a series on their first episode, but if it looks like there is no real direction of where the series is going, then I will willingly avert my eyes and invest my time into another series. The premise doesn’t even need to be complex. A simple premise such as 2016’s “The Loud House” have wowed audiences with the simplistic story yet compelling and heartwarming takes to the episodes. Fan favorite “Adventure Time” has mystified audiences with gradual reveals to the complicated and diverse world of Ooo through each episode and it all happens so naturally. If these shows are proving how essential a story truly needs to be, then why are so many modern cartoons ignoring that? Personally, I feel as if it’s the need to entice younger audiences and to grab the most revenue from that young age group. Kids are smarter than many would believe and cartoons don’t solely appeal to these young kids. Brilliant colors and gross and forced humor don’t engage children, rather, they turn children and adult eyes away. That’s not to say colors don’t entice audiences. The 2013 gem “Steven Universe” (see what I did there “Steven Universe” fans) is visually pleasing in every way possible. The colors reflect the tone of the setting and the emotions of the characters flawlessly.
Speaking of characters, that’s another thing many modern cartoons lack. Well developed and relatable characters in modern cartoons are hard to find nowadays. The sensation “Gravity Falls” had so many memorable, relatable and lovable characters that you could make a whole new series based off each individual character and it would still draw in audiences from all over. The long running cartoon “Regular Show” has a brilliantly fleshed out ensemble cast voiced by tremendous actors who bring even more life into the characters. “Adventure Time” (you’ll being seeing a lot of praise from “Adventure Time” and “Steven Universe”) is another prime example of well fleshed out main characters as well as side characters and “Regular Show” does the same. What many of us viewers are subjected to nowadays are characters that are underdeveloped, unrelatable and are stupid for the sake of being stupid. If a character is to start out with so many flaws, then try to create characters who can help redeem those flaws and show a sense of development. Please don’t subject those stupid characters to even more stupid ones. Now I can understand having that one character who’s bizarre or majorly flawed for the sake of humor such was Grunkle Stan from “Gravity Falls”, but towards the end of the series I saw a new side to him that I thoroughly enjoyed and I feel many fans had the same reaction that I did. Modern shows like “Uncle Grandpa”, “Breadwinners” and “Teen Titans Go!” have stereotypical characters that are there to be there, especially “Teen Titans Go!”, the “spiritual successor” to the masterpiece “Teen Titans”. The five main characters have been dialed down to emotionally unstable, unintelligent chibis (animated characters with small bodies and sometimes big heads that are not proportional to their overall body). We as an audience deserve better, and thankfully shows like “Steven Universe”, “Adventure Time”, “Gravity Falls”, and “The Legend of Korra” got that covered.
One thing that I believe many modern cartoons lack is quality animation. Many modern cartoons suffer from the ideology of quantity over quality. In the end, the goal is to make the most revenue rather than make the most out of their cartoon’s style. Shows such as “Breadwinners”, “Sanjay and Craig” and “Pickle and Peanut” are some of the view examples of what happens when no love or effort is put into the style. Yes, shows need to be visually appealing in order to generate interest. These shows don’t have it! Mundane color schemes or color schemes that are simply too bright don’t entice me. “Steven Universe” is a colorful series with its fair share of dark and light colors that flow naturally with each new scene and it was mainly the color scheme that got me into “Steven Universe” in the first place. The animation meshed well with the color scheme and as a result we have a masterpiece that uses traditional animation style to the best of its ability. Just because something is bright doesn’t mean it’s full of life.
These to me are the major problems many modern cartoons are facing. As you can see, not every modern cartoon is bad and if there were some shows on here I ridiculed that you do like, by all means like them! I’m not here to sway your opinion. What I am here to do is to enlighten the public on what we should all take into account when watching a new cartoon. Cartoons are not solely for a child demographic like I mentioned earlier; just because it’s animated doesn’t mean it’s for kids (have you seen anime?! About 95% of that is not for kids and plus we have adult swim. Enough said). A lot of great modern cartoons, especially the ones I mentioned in this article, have a blend of child and adult themes which help entice all age groups. If you are considering making your own cartoon when you’re older, please take these into account. Don’t copy what these shows are doing, both good and bad, but rather build off on the good and improve the bad. When there’s rain, there’s shine, even in the cartoon world.
