The Demise of (Proper) Cartoons

What examples can we think of when 'cartoons' are mentioned?

The legendary Mickey Mouse.

Winnie-the-Pooh.

And... sorry my brains's out at the moment. Can't think of much else. (EDIT: I thought of something now: Bugs Bunny) In terms of Japanese animation, Pokemon, Digimon, blah blah blah. There was another one that starts with a D, too, but I can't remember what it was. All I know is it was big, blue and liked hats. With propellers.

But that's not the point.

What I wanted to do is make with a comparison with the cartoons of today, especially the ones for younger children. Yes, yes, I know that all cartoons are for children anyway, but I mean the younger ones. So no The Legend of Aang: the Last Airbender or Detective Konan(or was it Conan? Oh I'm terrible).

Let's start with the classics, now reformatted into modern versions.

Mickey Mouse
Now: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse


I'll say it straight off: (The current one is) a load of sh*t.

Why?

First, a look at the original. It's main purpose was to provide entertainment through animation. And as a pioneer, it was absolutely brilliant. The laughs were mostly from physical jokes, such as Donald chasing his three nephews and slamming into a wall of ice. All the shows were instant classics. Yes, sometimes they were unrealistic, but aren't cartoons supposed to be so?

Now? Someone at Disney must have sat down and said: "Who cares about thinking of more jokes... The children don't understand anyway. Let's make it educational."

Maybe he didn't mention the no jokes part, but one big difference, among many others, of the current MM or MMC as it is now known is that it's so... dull. There isn't even an effort to make them funny any more.

As for educational, I'm damn sure that they mentioned that, because it tries so hard to do so, because every few minutes-no, seconds- the characters, who sound so fake ask you to answer a question like "Can you see the vase? (When it's so obviously placed at the corner of the screen...Do they underestimate the children's intelligence??)" or "Count with me. Onnneee.... Twooooo.. Threeee...."

My point is that cartoons nowadays, especially ones by Disney, just aren't as fun or hilariously funny any more! They're probably under pressure by parents, because they focus so much on being educational. The ones under Nickelodeon are quite good, but most of them are aimed at slightly older children than their Disney counterparts. Ex: Spongebob Squarepants.

Okay, let's head on to another one.

Winnie-the-Pooh
Now: My Friends Tigger and Pooh


My childhood favourite. I don't think it's hard to see why.

There was something about their relationship that was just.. so sincere. They had many witty lines, like the following, one of my favourite from Pooh when Piglet was insisting there was a flood outside his house, but Pooh came in without seeing one: "Either your flood is a very dry flood, Piglet, or it is hiding somewhere," delivered in his cute drawl.

The thing is, the characters didn't only rely on being cute, unlike many cartoons/shows of today. The writers managed to create good plots and lines for them every time, the design was great. Yes, the music and dancing were rather cheesy, but that's an exchange for the goodness. And Disney continued delivering this greatness...

Until 2005.

What has it become now? Basically, the same has happened to it as Mickey Mouse, but it's just slightly more interesting. SLIGHTLY.

Cue the obviously fake greetings and socialising between characters, the 'missions' Darby, Tigger and Pooh perform as Super Sleuths- come on, the guys are supposed to be normal people animals, not some heroes who save the day! This shows that television companies nowadays think that children are all about crime-fighting superheroes. And more "Can you find the tree? Where is it?" You'll soon be shaking your television with frustration, yelling "STOP ASKING ME TO DO THINGS YOU DIMWIT, JUST GET ON WITH THE DAMN SHOW!"

Before I end, I have to say something about Cartoon Network shows.

 I said I won't comment anything about shows for older kids, but I  couldn't resist. the shows, save two or three good ones, are mediocre. They don't offend you and your intelligence the way Disney's shows do, but they are always relying on the same things for laughs. Same action scenes to make them cool. Same... everything. They're not really bad, just not outstanding.

So hats off to Nickelodeon for continuing to provide great entertainment to those slightly older kids. For animation movies, it would be Pixar, but that's for another day.

But wait.. someone has to cater for the younger ones too. Please, they're young, but they deserve great entertainment. So Disney, take a look at your history, and learn.

Until next time.

EDIT: Terence Wang finds it sad that no matter how bad the content Disney provides them, they are just going to suck it all up, without knowing what they've missed.