On one of the few days I get off in a week I was mindlessly watching television flipping through channels not really knowing what I wanted to watch. As I channel surfed I realized that many of the shows on were kinda.....let us say dumb for a lack of a better word. For the purpose of this post I am keeping it to the cartoons to avoid an overly long analysis and getting people put off by my comments.
Let's begin with 'Adventure Time'. I really don't know a lot about the show only that it's about a boy (at least, I think it's a boy) and a . . . let's say a dog, going on adventures. I have seen a handful of episodes and each one makes less sense than the last; if there was a plot line in each of the episode I missed them entirely. The thing that really got me was the animation. After watching about ten minutes of the show I wanted to get the eye and brain bleach because it was so painful to watch. Just because it is a show aimed at children does not mean that the animation goes to the wayside. Children enjoy quality as much as adults!!
Let's begin with 'Adventure Time'. I really don't know a lot about the show only that it's about a boy (at least, I think it's a boy) and a . . . let's say a dog, going on adventures. I have seen a handful of episodes and each one makes less sense than the last; if there was a plot line in each of the episode I missed them entirely. The thing that really got me was the animation. After watching about ten minutes of the show I wanted to get the eye and brain bleach because it was so painful to watch. Just because it is a show aimed at children does not mean that the animation goes to the wayside. Children enjoy quality as much as adults!!
Another show with similar animation disaster is 'The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack'. As I understand, this show's animation was suppose to be akin to vintage adventure novels. I can see that a little in the design of the background, but the design of the characters and their expression invoked a gag reflex in me. (I'm laughing right now because you think I'm exaggerating -- I'm not) When I was able to watch the show without gagging, the stories were . . . shall we say blah? There was nothing really clever about the adventures the boy, pirate and whale (yes, I said whale) embark upon, just twenty or so minutes of uninspiring cartoon slapstick. The biggest crime of this cartoon is its insult to slapstick -- slapstick done right is unforgettable in the best sense (i.e. Abbot and Costello).
I'm not saying all the cartoons of today are awful. 'Phineas and Ferb' is a crowning achievement of Disney's in recent years where as most of their programing has been lacking. The animation is fun to the point that I am not distracted by the fact that one of the titular character's head is shaped like a triangle. Every child has the same problem Phineas and Ferb have -- to have as much fun as possible during summer vacation before school starts. The slapstick and running gags in this show has an actual point that plays out well in the episode and the series as a whole. Another thing that I found impressive about the show is it has jokes for the parents; it's not the 'if you know what I mean' humour, but the references to things that kids might not necessarily know or watch; two examples come to mind are CSI: Miami and the Shroud of Turin. The jokes for parents are still funny for the kids, and that's a big plus for me!
While I'm still on Disney let's talk about 'Kim Possible'; this is another one that is well done. This show, unlike 'Phineas and Ferb' is aim towards an older audience around 11 to 14ish years old about a teen girl, Kim Possible, saving the world between homework and cheer practice with her clumsy but lovable best friend, Ron Stoppable. It's a fun show with good plot that makes sense and keeps the viewer interested. It set during their high school years and include all the problems that happen during that time. Though the show also dealt with high school problems while saving the world it doesn't bog itself down with the tedious 'I like him - why doesn't he like me! Boohoo!' drama. It's a good mix of action, comedy, and a dash of romance to keep anyone entertained.
I'm not saying all the cartoons of today are awful. 'Phineas and Ferb' is a crowning achievement of Disney's in recent years where as most of their programing has been lacking. The animation is fun to the point that I am not distracted by the fact that one of the titular character's head is shaped like a triangle. Every child has the same problem Phineas and Ferb have -- to have as much fun as possible during summer vacation before school starts. The slapstick and running gags in this show has an actual point that plays out well in the episode and the series as a whole. Another thing that I found impressive about the show is it has jokes for the parents; it's not the 'if you know what I mean' humour, but the references to things that kids might not necessarily know or watch; two examples come to mind are CSI: Miami and the Shroud of Turin. The jokes for parents are still funny for the kids, and that's a big plus for me!
While I'm still on Disney let's talk about 'Kim Possible'; this is another one that is well done. This show, unlike 'Phineas and Ferb' is aim towards an older audience around 11 to 14ish years old about a teen girl, Kim Possible, saving the world between homework and cheer practice with her clumsy but lovable best friend, Ron Stoppable. It's a fun show with good plot that makes sense and keeps the viewer interested. It set during their high school years and include all the problems that happen during that time. Though the show also dealt with high school problems while saving the world it doesn't bog itself down with the tedious 'I like him - why doesn't he like me! Boohoo!' drama. It's a good mix of action, comedy, and a dash of romance to keep anyone entertained.
A show I find perplexing is 'Chowder'; I know there's something about a bakery and the people (or what have you) who run it. Other than that I find it difficult to understand the plot of the episode (if there isn't suppose to be one, please do let me know). The animation, I find, to be one where the animators were trying to be whimsical but ultimately it is a display of disturbing characters. The interaction between characters appears to happen for the sole purpose of slapstick that it becomes unsettling and unwatchable.
I do like weird cartoon, but they have to be done really well. I really enjoyed 'Courage the Cowardly Dog', I really did. Set in the middle of nowhere (literally) about a dog, Courage, who always has to protect his owners from the extremely strange, and unusual things that happen to them. Every episode leave the viewer with a feeling and wondering of 'what just happened?' What I really enjoyed about the show was that no matter what happened to the characters in the show they were always alright by the beginning of the next episode ready for the next weird thing. I wouldn't recommend this show for younger viewers just because the show is so weird and may leave a disturbing feeling with the kiddes. Each episode is self contained which works great for the set up of the show.
I want to leave this post on an up note so I will lastly talk about the DCAU cartoons. DCAU stands for DC Animated Universe which are 'Batman: The Animated Series', 'Superman: The Animated Series', 'Batman Beyond', "Static Shock', 'The Zeta Prodject' and 'Justice League/Unlimited' to name a few. These cartoons had everything from complicated plots that bleed into really engaging story arch to really touching moments between characters, things that gave viewers nightmares to things that gave hope. They were all connected with each other via references; it was possible to watch them separately without needing to watch anything else, but it added to the enjoyment when you did. What really amazes me is how long this continuance lasted; it started in 1992 with 'Batman' (same year as the Tim Burton Batman) and ended in 2006 with 'Justice League Unlimited' -- that's about 14 years. 14 years!!! That's a long time for any show, cartoon or live action, on television. To me that's just a testament of what good story telling can accomplish, and these shows had good story telling overall.
So this is my two cents (or fifty with inflation) on several cartoons.
I do like weird cartoon, but they have to be done really well. I really enjoyed 'Courage the Cowardly Dog', I really did. Set in the middle of nowhere (literally) about a dog, Courage, who always has to protect his owners from the extremely strange, and unusual things that happen to them. Every episode leave the viewer with a feeling and wondering of 'what just happened?' What I really enjoyed about the show was that no matter what happened to the characters in the show they were always alright by the beginning of the next episode ready for the next weird thing. I wouldn't recommend this show for younger viewers just because the show is so weird and may leave a disturbing feeling with the kiddes. Each episode is self contained which works great for the set up of the show.
I want to leave this post on an up note so I will lastly talk about the DCAU cartoons. DCAU stands for DC Animated Universe which are 'Batman: The Animated Series', 'Superman: The Animated Series', 'Batman Beyond', "Static Shock', 'The Zeta Prodject' and 'Justice League/Unlimited' to name a few. These cartoons had everything from complicated plots that bleed into really engaging story arch to really touching moments between characters, things that gave viewers nightmares to things that gave hope. They were all connected with each other via references; it was possible to watch them separately without needing to watch anything else, but it added to the enjoyment when you did. What really amazes me is how long this continuance lasted; it started in 1992 with 'Batman' (same year as the Tim Burton Batman) and ended in 2006 with 'Justice League Unlimited' -- that's about 14 years. 14 years!!! That's a long time for any show, cartoon or live action, on television. To me that's just a testament of what good story telling can accomplish, and these shows had good story telling overall.
So this is my two cents (or fifty with inflation) on several cartoons.
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