I think every generation tends to like what they grew up with best. I liked pretty much everything (most of what was out there was the Hanna-Barbera TV stuff, anyway). But my favorite was always the Looney Tunes stuff. I didn't know it then, but those things were of such a high quality because they were originally theatrical shorts for Warner Bros.' feature films from the 30s up to around 1960. They had a lot of money to work with and they used it. The people making them were the absolute best at what they did, and the key factor is that they weren't "kids" fare -- they were created to entertain adults but still be visually and comedically accessible to children. They still hold up beautifully, too IMO. Ren and Stimpy comes in a close second, though -- wicked, subversive, hilarious stuff.  

Cartoons nowadays are all seizure inducing barforamamas, IMO.  My kids prefer to watch Thundarr, Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry or Thundercats.  Fairly Oddparents, Spongebob and other cartoons don't hold a candle or my kid's attention.

Blogging While Brown Convention Atlanta, GA July 25-27, 2008

Just about anything is better than Farmer Brown! {g}  My grandchildren like Veggie Tales, Sponge Bob and others.  Where I've really seen an improvement over the years is not so much in cartoons, but in comic strips.  There are some very good strips that are politically progressive like Doonesbury, Candorville & Non Sequitur.  Others are just plain fun to read.  

One way or the other, this darkness has to give....

I suppose we mean serial cartoons, not animation in general like Shrek.  I'd also exclude adult fare shows like South Park and and The Simpsons

I think the best of today ranks with the best of yesteryear, and I think there is more quality stuff today.  My qualifications? I was glued to television as a kid in the 1960s, and today I'm highly selective of what my children watch (thanks to Tivo!).

Examples of yesteryear's good stuff: Bullwinkle was an excellent cartoon that probably has no peer today.  Universal Studios put out good stuff in the form of Woody Woodpecker, Bugs Bunny, et al.  One memory of watching Woody Woodpecker stays in my mind: My mother stopped by the TV to watch for a moment and commented how the cartoon did a good job of subtly introducing sophisticated music. (It was a hilarious chase scene where Woody was forced to play a piano.) Not to forget Road Runner and the Coyote, of course!

I suppose those cartoon sets were intended to span young and adult audiences both.  There isn't so much of that today and Spongebob  may be the only show in that genre.   Backyardigans does a good job spanning age groups though--great creativity, musical scores, and scripts.  I could watch some of those shows repeatedly---and I know children who know every script and score by heart!

For younger crowds, there are far better shows recommendations today than yesteryear, especially for showing cooperative role-modeling: Dora, Bob Builder, Peep, Wonder Pets, and similar fare.   This is the kind of stuff that an adult can endure without fidgeting too much--can't say that for some of the shows I used to watch as a kid!

Have to close with an honorable mention of the claymation, Shaun the Sheep.  Created by the same folks who created Wallace and Grommit. Shaun is a weekly 5-minute short.  Quality of the plots can be a bit variable but on the whole the show is very good and appeals to broad age spans too.

Heh - you kidding?

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." Dorothy Thompson, Journalist

Nothing out today is better than 'The Far Side', and 'Calvin and Hobbes'.

'The Far Side' was the BEST.

nalbar

Nothing from when I was kid is as good as Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

I've been inspired by a diary by BooMan in February on a future cabinet. A little while ago I've started polling the cabinet over at DKos. I've already done the first four (State, Treasury, Defense, AG). Today's poll is on the next Sec. of the Interior. Here are the candidates:

Neil Abercrombie
Les AuCoin
Maria Cantwell
Peter DeFazio
Raul Grijalva
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Bob Miller
Carl Pope
Ken Salazar
Ed Schafer
Rodger Schlickeisen
Olympia Snowe
Jon Tester
Ron Wyden

You can vote here.

Who needs cartoons?  We've got Hillary.

WOW.Lookie here. We knew big brother has big eyes. But for those in doubt.

This is real CCCP/East Germany 1950s-90 stuff:

The DoD (Department of Defense) document dump about the Times military analysts story has been monitoring blogs.  Talking Points Memo is described as a super-liberal blog,  "edited by Bush-bashing uber-liberal Josh Marshall.."

[.]

"Rajiv responded today to Dan's op-ed by writing a post on a super-liberal blog. Talking Points Memoc Cafe, edited by Bush-bashing uber-liberal Josh Marshall. It seems that Rajiv is now a "guest blogger" on Marshall's blog, which makes Rajiv's liberal bias no longer a question but a certifiable fact. It's be like a Washington Post asistanat managing editor guest hosting for Rush Limbaugh. I cannot believe that the Post allowed him to write on such an openly partisan blog..."

[.]

go read

WTF?

where do we send these guys to after January 2009?  We need a very special place. Very special, with padded rooms. In fact we need special equipment to clean out Washington - all departments are politicized.

Well, "You can't vote for war and disown the results"

Me, I can't wait for Speed Racer. I watched that show so much I even DREAMED that animation in my sleep. Way cool. The only animation dream I've ever had, that I can remember!

"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

Anyone old enough to remember "Diver Dan"? It wasn't really a cartoon. It was a guy in a diving suit who, if I recall correctly, talked to cardboard fish.

Not really better. Different, yeah, I'll give you that.

When I was a kid, watching TV by candlelight because electricity hadn't been invented yet, Bugs Bunny ruled the roost, followed by Bullwinkle and George of the Jungle. (I have to admit back then I didn't get all the jokes.) Then all of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons -- Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Atom Ant, Magilla Gorilla and the lot. And a bunch of cartoons few remember these days -- Underdog, King Leonardo of Bongo Congo, Milton The Monster (with Penny Penguin and Fearless Fly), SuperPresident (one of the world's worst premises, IMHO), Tooter the Turtle and Clyde Crashcup. Oh, and I forgot to mention Mighty Mouse, Tom and Jerry and the Walter Lantz cartoons (Woody Woodpecker et al).

We shall not speak of atrocities like The Archies.

Then when my kids were about that age there was a different sort of cartoon out there. Things like G.I. Joe, Thundercats, Tigersharks, and of course Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My grandson occasionally rediscovers the series of TMNT videos we got for the kids back then (at one time you could get one for a buck if you ordered a meal at Burger King).

Moving forward, there are some real turkeys out there, and the less said about most of them the better. But more recent shows that I've enjoyed: Animaniacs, Pinky And The Brain, Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Odd Parents, Kim Possible, Backyardigans. I get these inflicted on me every so often courtesy of the entertainment junta in my house (ages 11, 6 and 3) They all have what I consider the hallmark of any creative endeavor, well-made characters and interesting writing, even if the premise stretches credulity. For instance, once you buy into the premise of an A-Team consisting of an incredibly athletic teenaged girl, her borderline doofus boyfriend, a ten-year-old behind-the-scenes supergenius, a naked mole rat and a pair of twin brothers who have to be reminded not to mess with the reactor in the basement, you can enjoy the incredibly goofy villains, absurd plot complications that mine the antinomy between saving the world and getting to cheerleading practice on time, and you get great dialog like this:

Ron: 'Scuse me, scary orb thing? Where are you taking us?
Robot: The attitude adjustment center.
Kim: Isn't that the high school?
Robot: Prepare to be drained of all individuality and spirit.
Ron: Yep, high school.

I'll also watch things like Dora the Explorer and Little Einsteins with the three-year-old, but they're not my favorites by a long shot. (We also watch Nihau, Kailan! but it's hard to get her to do the tones right when I help her with the Chinese words. It can't be that hard, three-year-old Chinese kids do it.)

Oh, and a special shout-out to Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's the one cartoon the family looks for when new episodes arrive on the TiVo. Kinda like Johnny Quest, but a hundred times cooler.

Anyway my point is that there are some good cartoons being made these days, but for me it comes down to the characterization and writing as much as anything. I can put up with crappy animation (for a while, anyway) if the writing is good enough.

The avalanche has started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote. -- Ambassador Kosh