Why are cartoons less likely to have serious themes nowadays?

[Micronetic]

Oh man I remember the good ol' times when I was a kid watching this shows, they are still awesome and there is even He-Man and She-Ra on Netflix now!

[Daedius]

If we're talking about kid shows there are plenty around still, not including anime;

The occasional episode of Spongebob
Steven Universe
Adventure Time
Occasional episode of Amazing World of Gumball
Regular Show
etc.

Animaniacs is getting a reboot as well with Steven Speilberg at the helm again, so there's THAT.

[Yunru]

Well one i can think of being a bit political and recent could be Voltron Legendary Defender.
Its still comedy tho.

But cartoons dont need to be totaly serius this days....rabbits invasion kinda works.

[Golden Yak]

I dunno. Shows like Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Korra, etc. seemed pretty serious. Some of those have ended, but only recently. Apparently Star and the Forces of Evil tackles a few more serious themes. Frankly, now more than ever I think cartoons have better chances of dealing with serious issues.

[Shadowferal]

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.

Charlie Chan and the Chan Clan...you're in my timeframe.
Some of those older Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes though...*shakes head* Funny but damn.

[Tico]

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?

Yes, I also think political correctness (which is not a bad thing in general) has gone beyond a point.

[Kaleredar]

They just rebooted samurai jack

Legend of korra was way darker than the last airbender

I'm sure they have more Star Wars shows in the works


I'd say cartons are more "serious and mature" than ever.

[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?

Tbh I just think my generation is less creative and original. Most of the artists I met in uni were that stereotypical talentless kind that just stroked each outher's agos and never accepted criticism and came from privileged back grounds laking the pain and suffering of real life required to make good art any way.

Alot of my generation are vapid sycophants of a sort

[unbound]

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?

The first 2 are anime, and there are still plenty of those around. However, I think they have mostly moved to streaming...tons of them on Hulu and Netflix, and Crunchyroll has a huge selection themselves.

As for US based animation, there has never been a solid period where non-comedic cartoons ruled. Way back when, the serious stuff was still anime, with US based cartoons being mostly comedic intermixed with brief periods of more serious animation every few years.

[shaunika123]

adult themes as in: show primarily for kids but with adult themes such as avatar
or cartoon specifically for adults?

because there's plenty from both.

from the first type: Adventure time, Gravity falls, Steven Universe come to mind right away, perhaps even star vs the forces of evil.

for the second type: bojack horseman and rick and morty are among the best shows running atm period, not even just animation.




plus the plethora of amazing animes out there.

animation is better than ever now, but I'M not sure why you cite rebels as some great show, it's pretty much just "oK" with the occasional gem episode here and there.

[WoWGoneBad]

Why are you being so ridiculously hostile?

Because he has no real argument to bring to the conversation.....

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Because we finally can have a gay character in a TV show without being the butt of a joke and insuating it is because of "pc gone mad" is incredibly insulting. Among the other garbage they spouted.

I could care less about having them in today's show's so long as it is not FORCED just to fit a political narrative. One of my Fave shows from back in the day was Wil n Grace. I could care less that they were both gay, the show was about them and it fit with the current times. Same with Ellen.

In today's political climate and Social Media, i you do not hit all the check marks, even if it does not fit the shows direction, then the producers will be called out and well..... hell lets fit EVERY SJW PC check mark in a show. There are other shows that I like that have most of those check marks and they fit in that shows narrative. I am ok with that.

Secondly, you do know that it is OK to crack a joke about ANYTHING and it not be a hidden hate towards something right?

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Well reasoned arguments don't work against people like that and they're not worth the emotional investment.

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Which is just made up bullshit.

Someone calls you out for name calling and you deflect rather than provide meaningful debate or opinion.....

Nice deflection you have there. You have weak arguments to my post but claim that I am the one not worth investment. I will gladly debate with you. IF you can provide actionable content worth peoples time....

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Well i am the person I hate the most in the world so that is at least consistent. I want to make people like them feel as bad as they make me feel.

WoW...... you REALLY are some special kind of snowflake........ perhaps you are not worth my time afterall.

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Yes, I also think political correctness (which is not a bad thing in general) has gone beyond a point.

Agreed. Personally, I dont care if shows want to hit the PC marks, there are several that I like. Personally or me Teen Titans seemed to have some of them, but perhaps I was just not thinking clearly. The original I mean not those huge eyed big headed Teen Titans Go.

SouthPark at the start did a good job taking jabs at PC but they started to go too far. From joking about the PC crowd to downright bashing them

Political Correctness used properly and in proper context is a great thing and has made great strides in both cartoon and live television.

[Shadowferal]

Could a show like "All in the Family" get made today?

[Aevari]

When you want an Adult cartoon that will make you feel and is Serious, so serious you can't take it. And also contains one of the most hated and brilliant antagonists of all time.



Although I recommend reading the manga. Still. You want Serious Themes

[BuckSparkles]

Why are you being so ridiculously hostile?

Because he is one of the SJW's animators have to think about or else.

And yes, it extends to movies as well.

A movie like Mrs Doubtfire or Ace Venture would never be made today. SJW would scream and threaten as hard as they could.

[Orange Joe]

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

Everything he listed came out while I have been an "adult"

[Pony Soldier]

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

When it comes down to it I think this is the reason here.

We live in a very sensitive society today where everything and anything can be offensive in some way. So these stations take the safe route and stay away from the dark and more serious stuff. I mean look what happened when Samurai Jack came back. It couldn't survive one season without there being some kind of controversy (I think it was something about something being sexist or whatever, I forget).

[Selastan]

I'm sorry...im just laughing my ass off at that Berserk trailer. They picked the WORST narrator for that job...he sounds like he's trying to announce a direct to VHS Disney sequel.

[Kikazz]

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?

Think you need to progress to Anime, not Cartoons.

[Selastan]

Or the Rob Schneider guy from South Park:

"Guts was just an ordinary mercenary. But he's going to find out that saving his friends isn't so easy. Coming soon, Guts is: The Black Swordsman! Rated PG-13!"

[Queen of Hamsters]

I don't see the issue, I watch Anime for my adult themes. Outside of Watership Down and War Dogs, I don't think I've seen many cartoons with an adult theme from the West.

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Because he is one of the SJW's animators have to think about or else.

And yes, it extends to movies as well.

A movie like Mrs Doubtfire or Ace Venture would never be made today. SJW would scream and threaten as hard as they could.

Um... Deadpool? Or any Seth McFarlane movie?

I think the online crowd's mind ghosts of SJW's is slowly turning them into the biggest SJW's...