Why are cartoons less likely to have serious themes nowadays?

[CmdrShep2154]

Nothing wrong with that but I remember when there was shows like this!




war, politics, romance, etc.!

I am curious why is there less cartoons that are as serious as those old shows.

Are today's parents more protective? Are today's animators and producers less interested in serious themes? Is it culture? Since the world is becoming scarier people want more escapist lighthearted entertainment? Or do people watch a lot less TV? Are young people who would be the target demographic of this type of show spending time playing video games instead of TV?

Should Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network make something to compete with Star Wars Rebels and Voltron?

[RobertoCarlos]

I suggest you check out



Darker than avatar/samurai jack/star wars thats for sure

[Doctor Amadeus]

Nothing wrong with that but I remember when there was shows like this!
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

war, politics, romance, etc.!

I am curious why is there less cartoons that are as serious as those old shows.

Are today's parents more protective? Are today's animators and producers less interested in serious themes? Is it culture? Since the world is becoming scarier people want more escapist lighthearted entertainment? Or do people watch a lot less TV? Are young people who would be the target demographic of this type of show spending time playing video games instead of TV?

Should Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network make something to compete with Star Wars Rebels and Voltron?

I think so, and I think that is a good thing, people are being more conscious about what their children are exposed, the problem though is what of that is something they are simply being aware of for good reason and what part of that is paranoia and stupidity.

If people are just reacting and don't know why then we aren't really better off.

[Deleted]

I guess because only young kids still watch TV and as soon as they reach early teens they just watch vloggers and streamers.

[Zigrifid]

Nothing can beat this

[LiiLoSNK]

Networks don't want to be sued for making anyone sad/triggered.

[WoWGoneBad]

Society itself and the need to feed the hate and drama people is what happened to cartoons. And not just cartoons, but TV and even movies.

If you joke about race you are racist.
If you do not include a minority or a black character you are racist
If you make a joke about gays you are a homophobe
If you do not include gays in your program you are a homophobe against the LGBTQ community
If you do not include a Gender neutral you are against the LGBTQ community
If you make a joke about allergies or how people react to them you are mean.
If you speak out against government you are an anarchist
IF you speak out against religion you are something to that(not sure what lol
If you make jokes about introverts you are targeting them
If you make jokes about disabled you are mean
If you make jokes about a persons bad experiences you are mean.

If you made it to this line in this post the TL;DR is this, today's directors and producers cannot make shows that are creative to their liking or style because there will ALWAYS be someone who will be OFFENDED by something or anything that you did or did not include........\

Can you imagine all that people of today and the horrors they would have to endure if they were adults in the Golden Age of the 70's 80's and early 90's where shows and actors could actually have FUN and crack jokes and the audience KNOWING that it was just that a joke and had NO real reference or impact on the people..........

Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Eddie Murphy, Red Foxx, man I miss these people and their I dont give a F**K what you think approach to comedy, movie and show design.


When you have to go through 100 different censors and make sure you include ALL the check marks of the SJW PC crowd......... is the show you are wanting to create still your original creation? When you have to completely redesign a show so that you can hit all the check marks, is it really worth the effort?

[The5thVegetable]

I personally reckon it's because of how cartoons have come to be associated so heavily with children, meaning not a lot of people take it all that seriously.

Meanwhile, if people do want animation with a more serious tone and subject matters, the japanese animation industry(which is fucking huge by the way) offers loads of that(if you can find it), so I reckon a lot of the potential audience for such shows is already occupied.

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I suggest you check out



Darker than avatar/samurai jack/star wars thats for sure

The Castlevania animated series was created to cash in on anime fans, I'm pretty sure. Companies in Europe and the US are slowly but surely easing themselves into the anime industry, and while yes, it's technically cartoons, I wouldn't really say they're in the same boat.

[McFuu]

I personally reckon it's because of how cartoons have come to be associated so heavily with children, meaning not a lot of people take it all that seriously.

Meanwhile, if people do want animation with a more serious tone and subject matters, the japanese animation industry(which is fucking huge by the way) offers loads of that(if you can find it), so I reckon a lot of the potential audience for such shows is already occupied.

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The Castlevania animated series was created to cash in on anime fans, I'm pretty sure. Companies in Europe and the US are slowly but surely easing themselves into the anime industry, and while yes, it's technically cartoons, I wouldn't really say they're in the same boat.

There is a whole slew of Disney movies that show the US has been in the "anime" industry for just as long as Japan.

[The5thVegetable]

There is a whole slew of Disney movies that show the US has been in the "anime" industry for just as long as Japan.

Disney has never really aimed to emulate anime as far as I know. That's its own thing entirely.

And I doubt you'd find any big anime fans that would ever refer to Disney as anime. The very idea of something not coming out of asia being considered anime is already controversial as hell in their communities, and it's a very recent occurence that western animators really try to push towards attracting that particular audience.

[McFuu]

Disney has never really aimed to emulate anime as far as I know. That's its own thing entirely.

And I doubt you'd find any big anime fans that would ever refer to Disney as anime. The very idea of something not coming out of asia being considered anime is already controversial as hell in their communities, and it's a very recent occurence that western animators really try to push towards attracting that particular audience.

Anime is literally just animation from Japan. If you want to talk about anime having adult themes, or a certain realistic style. Disney has had that covered since before we visited Japan in WWII, early Japanese animators from the pre-war era were highly influenced by Disney and European animations. It would be fairer to say that anime emulated Disney, especially in the early years.
The reason why you don't see much outside of Disney movies, some 70's and 80's cartoons, and basically those irl/cartoon movies going full blown into animation as a replacement for movies is it doesn't sell well in the US outside of children. And continues to not really sell well.

This isn't any kind of knock at Japanese animation, but to say that studios are cashing in isn't really the case. It was never properly popular outside of Japan, if a studio uses animation now it's going to be due to budget constraints and the vision directors can pull off within that budget. You aren't going to be making Castlevania on the budget Netflix provided without animation. Castlevania's titular basing is also playing a huge role in that. People who know of Castlevania and are going to be interested in it are likely already familiar with animated movies as a serious medium, Netflix was pinched between the sides with more budget/live action and a lesser known IP or smaller budget/animated and that fan base already knows Castlevania.

[The5thVegetable]

Anime is literally just animation from Japan. If you want to talk about anime having adult themes, or a certain realistic style. Disney has had that covered since before we visited Japan in WWII, early Japanese animators from the pre-war era were highly influenced by Disney and European animations. It would be fairer to say that anime emulated Disney, especially in the early years.
The reason why you don't see much outside of Disney movies, some 70's and 80's cartoons, and basically those irl/cartoon movies going full blown into animation as a replacement for movies is it doesn't sell well in the US outside of children. And continues to not really sell well.

This isn't any kind of knock at Japanese animation, but to say that studios are cashing in isn't really the case. It was never properly popular outside of Japan, if a studio uses animation now it's going to be due to budget constraints and the vision directors can pull off within that budget. You aren't going to be making Castlevania on the budget Netflix provided without animation. Castlevania's titular basing is also playing a huge role in that. People who know of Castlevania and are going to be interested in it are likely already familiar with animated movies as a serious medium, Netflix was pinched between the sides with more budget/live action and a lesser known IP or smaller budget/animated and that fan base already knows Castlevania.

Anime just being animation from japan hasn't been true for a fair while. A lot of anime also comes out of China and Korea, not just japan. And I'm very much aware that early anime was heavily influenced by Disney. But while there isn't any particular way to define anime, it still exists very much as its own, distinct movement, and saying Disney is no different from it doesn't really do it justice.
Anime has had a lot of fans outside of Japan for a long time, and in recent times its popularity across the world has seen massive growth with the rise of shows like Sword Art Online(which isn't really that good), Attack On Titan and others, which is why you see streaming services offering more and more anime now, and some that focus on anime entirely.
Don't be mistaken, the anime community very much exists, it is very much a large audience(even if it isn't mainstream), and it is very specific about what is and isn't anime.

Regarding Castlevania, who knows, maybe I'm wrong. But whatever the case, the anime industry is a pie that western entertainment providers definitely want want a slice of, and there are those who are trying to create shows aimed at the anime community. Regarding animation being used purely because it's cheap? I don't know if animation is cheap compared to live action, but oh boy is the idea of animation used purely because it's cheap so damn far from the truth. Animation has one huge strength over live action, and that's that it can do so much that other forms for entertainment can't. I can't get into anything overly specific because I haven't dabbled in animation(yet), but I daresay that in a lot of cases, animation is more-so an artistic choice than a financial one.

[McFuu]

Anime just being animation from japan hasn't been true for a fair while. A lot of anime also comes out of China and Korea, not just japan. And I'm very much aware that early anime was heavily influenced by Disney. But while there isn't any particular way to define anime, it still exists very much as its own, distinct movement, and saying Disney is no different from it doesn't really do it justice.
Anime has had a lot of fans outside of Japan for a long time, and in recent times its popularity across the world has seen massive growth with the rise of shows like Sword Art Online(which isn't really that good), Attack On Titan and others, which is why you see streaming services offering more and more anime now, and some that focus on anime entirely.
Don't be mistaken, the anime community very much exists, it is very much a large audience(even if it isn't mainstream), and it is very specific about what is and isn't anime.

Regarding Castlevania, who knows, maybe I'm wrong. But whatever the case, the anime industry is a pie that western entertainment providers definitely want want a slice of, and there are those who are trying to create shows aimed at the anime community. Regarding animation being used purely because it's cheap? I don't know if animation is cheap compared to live action, but oh boy is the idea of animation used purely because it's cheap so damn far from the truth. Animation has one huge strength over live action, and that's that it can do so much that other forms for entertainment can't. I can't get into anything overly specific because I haven't dabbled in animation(yet), but I daresay that in a lot of cases, animation is more-so an artistic choice than a financial one.

Donghua and Aeni respectively.
Anime is simply animation from Japan, don't try to make it more or you'll water it down.

[Spriggs]

I feel like the reasoning is actually more financial; most shows with these darker themes/subject matter tend to be action shows, which are more expensive due to the animation. There's a reason why 90% of animated shows are comedies.

With that being said, I still feel like certain shows have their dark moments from time to time (Ex. Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Star vs The Forces of Evil, Trollhunters, etc.)

[The5thVegetable]

Donghua and Aeni respectively.
Anime is simply animation from Japan, don't try to make it more or you'll water it down.

I'd argue that simplt calling it "animation from japan" is the thing watering it down. It's far more complex than that, and much of it is tied to the very distinct subculture surrounding it. But, I'm too sleep-deprived to get into it.

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I feel like the reasoning is actually more financial; most shows with these darker themes/subject matter tend to be action shows, which are more expensive due to the animation. There's a reason why 90% of animated shows are comedies.

That's a pretty good point, actually.

[endersblade]

I suggest you check out



Darker than avatar/samurai jack/star wars thats for sure

YES. I'm chomping at the bit for more of this one.

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Nothing can beat this

What in the actual fuck.

[mvaliz]

Nothing wrong with that but I remember when there was shows like this!




war, politics, romance, etc.!

I am curious why is there less cartoons that are as serious as those old shows.

...you consider those "old"? Seriously!?

What are you? Did you just, like, turn 21? o_O

Secondly, most cartoons throught the ages have had not-serious themes. In my generation, the only "serious" cartoons with an actual story was imported anime in the 1980s (the orignal Voltron, Robotech, ect...) Everything else throughout the ages was Bugs Bunny, Flinstones (originally aired as an adult sitcom, to note!) He-Man, Dexter's lab, Transformers, Ninja Turtles, ect...

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Disney has never really aimed to emulate anime as far as I know. That's its own thing entirely.

Actually that line is starting to blur... quite deliberately actually and not quite in the anime-direction you might expect. :P

It really seems to me that John Lasseter n' co are really shifting the Disney design to a more Studio Ghibli sort of presentation. You can REALLY see it in Moana, particularly near the end. JL and such have also made it very clear how much they loved Ghibli films (he was instrumental in them aquiring/releasing them with VERY proper dialogue dubs in the USA), even to the point where Totoro is now a background character in the Toy Story franchise.

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I suggest you check out



Darker than avatar/samurai jack/star wars thats for sure

I wasn't a big fan of the Castlevania anime. It seemed more like they were trying for edgelord shock value instead of, you know, presenting a story first. Honestly I think most people just like it because it's an Anime involving Castlevania. =/

On a side note - the team that produced that show also produced the new Voltron series and the original two Avatar series - which, imo, goes a long way as to why they cranked up the edgelord drivel because it really felt forced in - as if they were like kids being able to say dirty words for the first time and so are just inserting low-level shock value bullshit in there simply "because they can". (The goat fucking comment particularly falls into this category)

[WoWGoneBad]

Your life must suck if you think all those things and think George Carlin is funny and you're older than like 15.

The SJW PC crowd has nothing to do with the lack of quality animation you're just getting old and detached. I bet you think South park is good.

My life is actually quite fun and enjoyable. What does not suit your taste does not mean it does not suit mine. I different strokes for different folks.


As far as southpark goes, I cannot get into that show. There is comedy at the sake of things, then there is downright making fun of people, ideologies and beliefs for the sake of meanness.

I have tried to understand the 'humor' of Southpark but it eludes me because I just cant find it funny. But that is just me. They have been on for like 13 years so people find it funny so kudos to them.

My faves were Bugs Bunny, Skoobie Do, Tom n Jerry, hong kong fooie, Cptn Caveman and others..... They can make you laugh at the stereotypes without being harsh about them.

[Deleted]

Nothing wrong with that but I remember when there was shows like this!




war, politics, romance, etc.!

I am curious why is there less cartoons that are as serious as those old shows.

Are today's parents more protective? Are today's animators and producers less interested in serious themes? Is it culture? Since the world is becoming scarier people want more escapist lighthearted entertainment? Or do people watch a lot less TV? Are young people who would be the target demographic of this type of show spending time playing video games instead of TV?

Should Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network make something to compete with Star Wars Rebels and Voltron?

Because corporate heads don't want to take risks and there's still a big stigma on animation in the West.
But there's quite a bunch of more serious western cartoons to be honest.

[Gorsameth]

'nowadays' and you list Clone Wars.
fuck me I feel old now...