Top 10 Reasons Why Cartoons Suck These Days

They are almost always the same especially in Nick Jr and Disney Junior show. They follow a lot of the same formats, like every character with the same skin tone/ethnicity has to be the same way, and everyone has to be one-dimensional and pointless. Everything seems fast-paced, rushed, and like there is literally no point to it. Whatever happened to truly imaginative stuff like Noggin and Playhouse Disney? I could literally get lost for hours thinking of all the unique and cool designs on the Noggin interstitials, and being a young kid, I really wanted to see more of the world and have it open up in front of my eyes. Nowadays, that childhood dream is a disappointment. The new Nick Jr feels all open, but also it feels boring, like when you imagine something, you just see it and that's it. With the old stuff (from the early 2000s and older), being a little kid and thinking of stuff always felt really interesting, and it was so curiosity invoking and felt so cozy yet so adventurous to ...more

A problem with a lot of modern fiction. This probably shouldn't be number 1, but it's interesting that it is. I think the problem here is that these days show writers try and put themselves into the characters too much rather than creating characters for their target audience. It's become an outlet for the writers to express their own personality and opinion rather than a product produced for an audience. Doesn't make it bad, indeed it could be argued it gives it more artistic viability, but it also is clearly going to reduce it's broader appeal especially in this day and age where everyone is so aggressive about their own opinions. Cartoons should be fun, they shouldn't be a deep introspective view of the psyche of the creator.

I'll be using Gumball, Steven Universe, and gravity Falls as examples to disprove this.

TAWOG:

Gumball: Although Gumball can be a bit annoying, he's funny and has enough good characteristics to make him likable. He's your average cartoon kid, and that formula works well.

Darwin: Darwin is naive, super-kind, and is honestly better than gumball in my opinion. He can still be sarcastic, and honestly TAWOG's brand of humor seems like it would only work with a pair like Gumball and darwin, which it luckily got.

And an honorable mention for best character..

Nicole: Nicole is playing off the "strict mom" type of character, but she really goes beyond that. she is overworked, her voice is perfect, and in episodes like the Limit her mother qualities make her funny OR scary, depending on the situation.

GRAVITY FALLS:

Dipper: Dipper is my favorite character in the show (Besides waddles) and he's just kind of the one kid who just reads on the ...more

Unlikable Characters are the cause of dislikes in most shows and films.
All Unlikable Characters are very stupid and boring characters.
1. They ruin the good things in cartoons
2. They make people hate the show
3. They make people think differently about the show

People have difference senses of humour, this seems a tricky one to judge especially with so much content out there these days. I don't find a lot of them funny, but I'm pretty sure those ones weren't targeted at me so I'm going to have to disagree on this one. That this is rated number 2 though is interesting. Has humour changed that much?

If you want unfunny look at Jhonny Test, Sanjay and Craig, Fish Hooks, Fanboy and ChumChum, and Breadwinners. If you like any of these shows You have a bad sense of humor, and you see no quality in nothing whatsoever.

Repetitive, boring and just unfunny jokes are one of the many problems cartoons have nowadays.

Toilet humors are probably the worat type of jokes exist in cartoon history.
It still exist today.

Kind of.

Professionals always want to get paid. It's literally what makes them professionals. So I disagree in some respects, however I feel these days the ease of pumping out a cartoon thanks to being able to do it all cheaply on computers has created a problem where there is a far larger amount of rubbish around compared to the quality stuff (which is still there if you look).

I don't think it's fair to say financial motivations are the cause of the problem though. In many cases the writers are not doing it for money but to make some kind of political statement, but because they do have to do it on a budget and the art quality isn't their top concern they end up with low quality, overly political, rubbish. For me the issue is more that you can make these so cheaply they are basically letting anyone do it.

Before, people actually put effort into making cartoons. Past cartoons were actually entertaining and funny. They suck these days because people make them for profit instead of for the entertainment of their viewers.

As a young student of this game, if I'm gonna make a cartoon for money I wanna at least make sure people are at least gonna enjoy the series and not milk the cash flow like most companies do with certain shows. I've lost a lot of respect for certain creators/companies doing these kinds of things.

So true... It's like these companies no longer care for quality and only care for using the stupid and overused tropes all over again for the sake of money.

Look at pictures of the old retro Noggin interstitials, and compare them with the newest modern Nick Jr stuff, and see a very big difference in creativity and imaginativeness. Noggin was a literal wonderland with all the strange designs, high-contrast colors, easygoing yet weird music, some old-fashioned stuff to make kids think, and at the same time felt so cozy and safe. Nowadays, Nick Jr is very boring, minimalist, and one-dimensional. Simple isn't bad, but the way Nick Jr is now uncreative and it's so sad that kids nowadays will never be able see the world as it should be, imaginative, different, and looking for new opportunities and adventures with actual purpose, unlike stupid TikTok dances and "influencers" with no point.

Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network & so many channels with cartoons have nothing to watch. The only cartoon left is SpongeBob SquarePants. Also, Rabbids Invasion is what nobody will watch anymore. That show has lost its charm, and the only thing better than the Rabbids' T.V. show is their video games.

Seriously? Even Uncle Grandpa is original. Everyone's uncle and grandpa, a pizza slice, a dinosaur, a talking fanny pack, and a real

Both Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network have officially run out of ideas.

They rely on these gags over and over again as if they are catering to 4 year olds! There is nothing wrong with Mature humor!

I know, right? I'm sick of bathroom humor!

Lack of effort definitely. Except for shows like korra and gravity falls. Those shows really try their best, dispite their parent network constantly screwing with them

MOST have a lack of effort. Shows like Gumball are "exceptions".

Ugh! I hate things which are done without passion.

This unfortunately is true of most modern cartoons. There are a few exceptions where there's actually a lot of effort put into them. But in most cases, cartoons are made with SO LITTLE EFFORT OR CARE at all.

If you were a kid in the early 2000s, you'd remember Noggin and all the strange yet comfy designs and music, and how every show was so different from another. Everything had a point to it no matter how simple it was. Nowadays Nick Jr is pointless and boring, with some exceptions like Blues Clues and You, and Bubble Guppies (except the same jokes over and over again)

I mean, most cartoons have a "One episode story" but animes have the whole series to finish a story more than just a bunch of random things and fights each day, I know, Gravity falls had somewhat a story, but still we got all this ones that don't, anime in the other hand, not for everyone, but... More original than nowadays cartoons

Family guy. The Simpsons. Futurama. All cartoons as well yet no one calls them that. Anime is a huge variety of genres, and if you think its crap that doesn't make sense because its all different.

Also every single anime

The only three shows with decent plots are Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, and Steven Universe. All three really started out strong. Adventure Time and Steven Universe kind of faltered after a while. They seemed to try to invest in characters who are already firmly likeable, waisting entire episodes on meaningless subplots. Gravity Falls was able to keep my attention until the end. The only thing I didn't like about it was that there didn't seem to be any real consequences at the end. Aside from those three, new cartoons really don't have any meaningful or interesting plots. There aren't any that are just supposed to be fun without plot, trying to create some silly plot that just takes away from any humor or fun. Older cartoons at least either had a plot or were just meant to be watched without needing to follow what happened before.

Sorry, but shows like Attack on Titan and Sword Art Online may not have the strongest plot lines in anime, but they have way stronger plot lines than modern cartoons these days. Even SpongeBob is declining in its plot lines, which is why I decided to get back into anime.

The plot is useless and meaningless and has nothing to do with making a good show.
Shows with Weak-Plot Lines have short episodes, undeveloped seasons, more stupid characters, and they are very uninfluential and stupid.
Weak Plot-Lines= Low IQ from animators.

Teen Titans Go and The Powerpuff Girls 2016 say everything about spin offs of great cartoons.

Too many animated T.V. shows these days keep shoving leftist nonsense with no opposing side or counter argument without painting the opposing side as evil.

Plus I just love how some of the idiots here mock conservatives, talk about intolerance and double standards right?

Maybe you hypocrites should stop watching liberal fake news, just a thought

I kinda see this as kinda a reason why cartoons decline over time, like seriously, environmental messages are worn out, especially after E/I Saturday Mornings declined. Also, recasting white voice actors... boy oh boy... I mean, this mostly applies to adult cartoons, but still.

I do agree that there are some new cartoons that do include liberal propaganda, but I personally doubt that all new cartoons have this. Again, just saying.

Along with most people, they sacrifice their morals for popularity for promoting the wrong messages. People now think it is okay to have gay/sjw stuff in cartoons just because it is now the new fad.

They're been doing this the wrong way since the days of Cow and Chicken. That show really sucked.

Fart jokes are not funny to anyone except for very immature people.

Adventure time's OK, I guess, with just the right amount of maturity and childish jokes.

Sanjay and Craig is basically this.

If it's only fiction, then it shouldn't hurt anyone. I support the idea of everyone having the right to bear arms and I cannot stand political correctness. I wish more people could do something to stop this ban.

Wow, no guns? No violence? That totally sucks and stinks, I want guns and action. It is just an animated show, not a real life incident. They should bring this back, I don't want cartoons to be completely boring.

Looking at you, Looney Tunes Cartoons on HBO Max, the only notable appearance without his gun before 2020 was What's Opera Doc? and that was set BEFORE gunpowder was affordable.

Yanks please leave the Western World. Please get in the present times like other countries who are not shooting each other every day of the week.

Honestly, the animators are too lazy to create unique characters designs. Instead, they depend too much on computers. Just compare the simple laziness of Adventure Time to the well-animated Batman: the Animated Series.

What happened to good character designs like the ones back then? Why do nowadays cartoons have only lazy designs? This ticks me off, especially since I am an artist.

Different people do have different ways of designing characters, so there is really no problem with that.

Inappropriate cartoons are made by idiots and loved by idiots! Real, real idiots!
Any inappropriate action in a show is already disliked by good people.
They think that it is humor but they are ruining people's lives with their stupidity and lack of creativity and knowledge.

Yeah, because shows like Ren & Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life were SO far from being weird and taught kids great morals.

Take the Yogi Bear movie for example. Utter trash and a complete abomination to the old cartoon.

Shows like the Powerpuff Girls and SpongeBob are real 'victims' of Getting Crap Past the Radar.

This is pretty much the problem with Television in general nowadays.

I know that they can be mean-spirited, but how are they sadistic?

Teen Titans Go is the worst one yet because they always pick on Robin

The music is almost all the same and is all fast-paced and mostly unoriginal. Early 2000s kids' shows had a lot of old-fashioned music that sounded a bit slow and easygoing and was sung quietly, but at the same time sounded upbeat and fun. There was more creativity in shows before the mid 2000s than nowadays.

Phineas & Ferb is the best explanation.

Shame that artists no longer have the freedom of drawing whatever they want due to stupid political correctness and executive meddling.

I don't think cartoons like these has something to do with politics.

ONE Kids is turning weird for instance Daniel tiger of you have to go potty stop and go right away! We know that already make cool things like Daniels house gets destroyed during a hurricane something cool like that! That new show coming out lets go Luna it is so dumb no one is going to watch that "wah my plant Bob died I am so sad I can't get it to come back alive nothing will help"! Well it's a plant kid that's what happens no 3year old is going to watch that it is making kids dumb, crybabys and imuture!

Remember how great SpongeBob was but then after the movie we got terrible episodes like a pal for Gary pet sitter pat one course meal and many more. And it doesn't just apply with SpongeBob there are plenty of used to great but now suck these days.

Yes, let the "classics" stay as classics, there is no reason to bring said show back especially knowing how it might turn out in the end. (I am looking at you, Sonic SatAM fans)

Nowadays, half of the Nickelodeon shows try to re-create Ren and Stimpy.

I agree! cartoons with hand drawn animation look better and flash animation looks bad. For example one of the reasons why wabit aka new Looney tunes is bad because of it has bad animation and the animation of the original Looney tunes is a masterpiece compared to this trash!

Beginners can use Flash Animation, but people who know how to animate? NO!
by the way I don't mind fluid flash animation.

Flash is absolute trash

In anime, every scene can be drawn out very carefully. In the old days of cartoons, the physics and the backgrounds look pretty magical. Only a few shows today have these qualities like Steven Universe or possibly Gravity falls, maybe more. But, some are just basic sprites made in CGI, are literal pictures in a low resolution, or have a high noise value.

Yes and they so focused on action rather then surrounding or details. The realism is gone. For instance the new turtles are all straight lines with crude angles and corners. And people applaud them for having such great animation. GREAT ANIMATION? REALLY? The action pacing is incredibly fast to fast to even take in any details. Yeah if I flash you with a construction lamp you could say the drawings were great. But please look at them closely there lazy.

I have more ideas of cartoons than 1,000 animators combined.
They make such useless and uncreative shows with no meaning and no creativity but rather add crap and garbage to form a kids show.
Lack of ideas is a bad cartoon.

Instead of actually letting us see the new episodes they up and flash the 3 year old episode we saw 100 times yesterday. It's as if they don't even want to see the newest ones.

Steven Universe is a perfect example of this.

Older cartoon had any moral values? Well, if you have seen the animated shorts from the 1910's through the 1950's you will see most of them had shown more moral values much more than what the recent cartoons of the 1990's to today ever had. Characters get punished, spanked, etc in some of those cartoons, something you don't see today. At least back in those old days before we were all born, artists had more freedom and did not have to worry about political correctness at the time.

What made the older cartoons likable is that they often show morals and consequences in the story. You rarely see characters that are bullies get spanked or punished for all the bad acts they do in today's shows as you'd expect in the older shows. Also, being political correct doesn't help, either.

Spongebob in a nutshell

To be honest, I like the anime-style found in most new animated series these days, so there shouldn't be a problem with it at all. Anime is very popular around the world, so why limit the style to just Japan? Let western artists draw anime if they want to, god dang it.

Any show can have an anime style like Wakfu is a French cartoon, but it is similar to the anime style.