I don’t know how big of a topic this is, but I’ve seen it often enough that I’d like to weigh in my two cents on this discussion. As of late, I’ve seen a lot of people complain about the direction these new cartoons and reboots seem to be heading. Many of the complaints range from the cartoon all having the same look and feel to them, to the cartoons themselves being dumb and inconsistent with it’s narrative. All of them coming from adults!
Alright, before I go on let me share with you the cartoons I grew up with. I’m 25 years old so that makes me a 90’s kid. I grew up with a wide selections of cartoons at my choosing. From Samurai Jack, Kids Next Door, Duck’s Tales, Dexter Laboratory to Batman: The Animated Series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hey Arnold and Recess. I’ve mostly seen them all. Some like Ed, Edd and Eddy were goofy and ridiculously to the point that you could miss an episode and not feel like you’ve missed anything while others like Hey Arnold and TMNT told very compelling stories that you couldn’t miss an episode.
At that time, I personally leaned toward the cartoon that had a narrative behind them. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Personally, I enjoyed the cartoons I’ve watched as a child and cherished them a lot. Some have taught some lessons that I still remember to this day.
Now, as a grown ass man watching grown ass TV (cough Anime cough), I’ve checked out a couple of some of these new cartoon in the past that the kids of this generation have been given. I will not lie, besides Regular Show, The Adventures of Gumball and maybe Adventure Time, I wasn’t too fond of most of the cartoons. Naturally, I just chucked it off as “I’m 25, this cartoons aren’t meant for me” and “maybe the kids these days find these cartoons just as compelling as I did with my cartoons”! I never thought much after that and just left it as it was. I mean, in my head I thought it’d be weird for a grown ass man to be concerned with what quality cartoons these networks are showing the kids.
However, as of late the discussion seems to have gotten more widespread, specifically around the reboots and the handling of them and after given it much thought, I can see why some people find the newer cartoons to be, for lack of better words, trash! When you compare the old cartoons with the newer cartoons, aside from the art style, as that is something that will change with time, it’s lacking in terms of quality. But I mean, cartoons are meant of be silly pastimes that you enjoy for 20-30 minutes and then go on about your day and talk about it with your friends. So, to some degree, it shouldn’t matter that much.
In terms of quality, yeah they don’t make ’em as they used to but that’s just how it’s always been. These reboots and newer cartoon aren’t meant for the kids who’ve already grown up, they’re meant for the kids who are still growing. You can complain to kingdom come, but as far as the little boys and girls are giggling their heads off while watching the reboots and newer cartoons that you despise with burning passion, then it’s all good and nothing’s going to change. That’s what cartoons are all about, to make you laugh and help you get through the boring days.
