Going to art school, I've made a particularly large friend group of animation majors, and we talk frequently about nostalgic cartoons, what's currently airing, and what's coming out. Currently, our group is all in a belief that American cartoon's are going downhill, many (if not all) not even animated in America any more. However, there are some golden gems in the American animation industry that are still alive, or attempt to keep it alive, with unique themes and styles. Here's a quick run-down of three TV currently airing (and to say the least not canceled) animations of three different networks.
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"Star VS the Forces of Evil" (Disney XD) is about magic wielding princess, Star Butterfly, who is sent to earth for both magical training and safety from villains that are after her powerful heirlooms. She lives Marco Diaz's house as a foreign exchange student on Earth, and the two get into many cross-demensional adventures with other magical beings and sometimes humans.
I haven't watched too much of this show, but what I have seen is well written and nicely animated. A battle of the day show, it focuses on trivial lessons of growing up, such as doing work the right way the first time and conquering one's self-conscious hesitations. The messages are not too heavy, which is great for kids entertainment, but is sometimes hard on the comedy which fails to capture the attention of adults. The show rides on it's interactive and creative environment, animation's appealing color palette, and character development and relationships. A big downside for me would be Star's "Mary Sue" qualities. Her design is a bit outlandish and echoes those who try too hard to make something original, and her abilities are slightly unfair because they come from magical weapons. She also follows the typical happy and stupid character, which isn't ideal for interesting protagonists, at least for adults. However, the witty dialogue and series plot progression fixes many of these errors. A last problem I have is that the animation is not very original. It follows the appealing trend of big eyes, large heads/mouths, and almost hipster visuals or references. Daron Nefcy is the second female to develop an animated show for Disney, and first for Disney XD. She really captures pure tween-teen era of the modern person, and I would recommend trying to get into the show despite it's garnished appeal for a young audience.
"Steven Universe" (Cartoon Network) is about a half-human, half-gem-species-alien Steven who must balance his feelings as a human with his duty to protect the Earth. He has shenanigans and adventures with his Crystal Gem guardians, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, along with relaxed encounters with the citizens of Beach City.
Despite being an adventure, battle of the day, show, it has a heavy focus about identity. Steven is often conflicted with what species he is a part of more (gem or human) and who he is to everyone around him (like his mom, former leader of the Crystal Gems or something else entirely.) These themes are emphasized by the very binary and gender-neutral qualities of the gem species and the idea of fusion, which is two gems making a whole new gem. However, the show has become stagnant with the lack of character development in anyone and the recent underwhelming over-arching plot in the recent season compared to the previous ones. The animation has also been annoyingly and extremely inconsistent; it's understandable a different keyframe artist works on every episode, but it's simply ridiculous how Steven's head goes from a fourth of his body size to over half of his body. Lastly, in my opinion, her themes of gender and sexuality have been very throat shoving; they do not add to the plot, in fact, they are distracting. Steven is already emotionally compromised in every episode (which they recognized in one partially self-aware episode) and so adding to the extremely in-your-face love or romantic sequences between gender-neutral but female looking but not female gender associated character makes the show unnecessarily confusing and overwhelming. It's a very brave topic on Rebecca Sugar's part, the creator of "Steven Universe," because of the sensitivity people have and the objections of multi-gender possibilities within the populous. It's a good topic to explore and take inspiration from, but if the planning and careful incorporation doesn't improve, the show could have a not-so-bright future.
"The Loud House" (Nickelodeon) follows the misadventures the middle child, and only boy, of a large family of 11 children. With ten sisters of all very unique personalities, Lincoln gets into a lot of chaotic fun with each of them, and sometimes with his best friend Clyde.
This is another show I haven't seen a lot of but am impressed by. It follows the daily adventure formula and has messages closely relating to family and relationships with others. It goes along the same value of "Star VS the Forces of Evil" and mainly appeals to children. However, I was drawn in by the animation style. "The Loud House" has a very nostalgic feel towards Sunday comics. The color palette is extremely simple, and not particularly bright; each character wears their distinctive personality, not relying on colors; there is a good balance of organic (wavy) and geometric shapes; and most obviously contains illustrative comic references, such as half-tones and dramatic lines. It's very refreshing from purely pastel or extremely vibrant colors, and the comic qualities put a twist on the formulaic modern cartoon style. The nature of the show is very directed towards children, but it's a very new show, and I'm looking forward to exploring it more. Chris Savino, the creator, draws from his own childhood and hometown; it's always nice to see artists channeling in their experiences into their art because it shows they really care and have put an effort into their show.
