Probably most of us remember or have heard about Cartoon Network animated TV series channel, which was particularly popular among 90's kids. In my case, it was a huge entertainment part of my childhood and I have seen it rapidly reforming from 2000 up until 2011 by the old shows being replaced by new ones. My main question in this blog post is: Is CN still something worth watching or did it diminish to please the newest generations?
Now when asking someone else from my generation (mostly generation Z) about whether Cartoon Network has become something greater, the usual answer is: ''No, the old CN is gone and nothing can replace it''. Even though I do believe in that myself, I assume that there is that piece of our childhood that is irreplaceable so we do not want to cope with the fact that our favorite childhood cartoons can be replaced in any way. This is why in this blog post I will try to compare the new CN with the old one with an unbiased opinion of mine. Even though I will break down only a few examples of CN shows, it might give a good insight into general changes in this cartoon universe.
First of all, I want to discuss the most popular old CN shows that most of the Gen Z viewers will likely remember.
The Powerpuff Girls (original series released in 1998) was one of my favorite shows and is about three kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers who saved their town from villains. Apart from the obvious moral of helping the weak ones and fight the bad, the show had some deeper waters running underneath. It taught the viewers that being a kid does not mean you can not achieve great things. Also, it did promote a largely discussed topic of gender equality by breaking misconceptions about how females are viewed in the general public. However, there are some moral elements that promote unnecessary actions. For example, in one episode one of the girls (Buttercups) purposely knocks out the teeth from both villains and Blossom (her sister) after she learns that it brings cash when put under the pillow. Even though we must know that everyone can make mistakes, this particular part promoted Buttercups to be greedy without limits.
Courage the Cowardly Dog (aired in 1996) is a horror comedy animated series about a cowardly dog, who lives with an elderly couple in the middle of nowhere. They are continuously encountering mysterious and often supernatural misadventures. It falls upon Courage to deal with whatever comes to protect his owners, even though he is highly fearful about almost any danger. The moral of the story emphasizes the significance of overstepping one's fears for the loved ones and stepping out of the comfort zone. However, not all will agree that the show is suitable for young viewers because of the frightening content it consists (but I guess we all survived and loved it).
Johnny Bravo (premiered on 1995) are animated series about a tall, muscular guy who constantly tries to get women to date him. He fails most of the time regardless of the efforts he makes. The show itself has a drop of adult humor in it and the irony of a narcissistic man's misadventures. Even though it can teach us some life lessons: Be persistent in reaching your life goals (in his case finding a love) and never underestimate yourself. However, I might object that it does create quite visible misconceptions about sexism, particularly about establishing relationships between men and women.
Tom & Jerry (debuted in 1940) are animated short series about a cat (Tom) and a mouse (Jerry) and is probably one of the most recognized cartoon classics. The story is simple - Tom is constantly attempting to catch Jerry by any means, while Jerry is using his cleverness and resists. Probably the most valuable morale of this cartoon is that they actually do care about each other if a real danger comes and solves bigger problems together, even if it means that they do have to leave their squabble behind. There is a slight drawback in the show - it does include violence in the show and is the main plot of the story. This is why some of the series was banned for inappropriate violence imagery.
Now that we have looked into some of the old CN shows and the morale they hide behind them, let's move on to reviewing some examples of newer cartoons from 2010 onwards.
Adventure Time (premiered in 2010) are animated TV series about adventures of Finn (a boy) and his best friend Jake (a dog) with superpowers to change his shape. They live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, which suffered from the nuclear war a thousand years ago. They encounter different adventures and interact with a variety of other characters. It is interesting that these series compared to older ones discussed before are having already some history behind it and each character has quite a significant role in the show. It also teaches some good morale about a strong friendship and plenty of general life principles.
Legends of Chima (released in 2013) are computer-generated imagery animated TV series based on LEGO Legends of Chima series. The story evolves in a land of Chima consisting of tribes and anthropomorphic animals, which interact with each other and create relationships in a very detailed manner. The series has a rather complex storyline, however, some viewers agree that it is suitable only for young viewers. But again if we compare it with the older CN series, it does have a broader story behind the whole series and is wider in complexity in character relationships.
Regular Show (launched in 2010) is a story about two class friends Mordecai (blue jay) and Rigby (raccoon) whose days would mostly conclude in a series of unplanned adventures. They are imitated as typical school guys who play video games, improvise raps etc. The colorful cartoon series hide some strong messages underneath about the importance of friendship and sacrificing for each other and it does involve a complete storyline of character relationships. Because of that, it had become also a suitable entertainment for adult viewers.
After comparing the beginnings of Cartoon Network series and what has it become in recent years, I can answer my previously asked question: Is CN still something worth watching or did it diminish to please the newest generations? Even though the content of the cartoons have changed significantly over the years, there are values and morals that are unchangeable and are still being applied in modern cartoons. We can even observe that the newer cartoons have become more complex in their storylines and the characters evolve over the time, which makes it also interesting for adult viewers to follow. If the older cartoon series were mostly watched by kids and teens, then now some shows are engaging older generations as well. Oftenly the new shows consist of deeper life lessons, which makes them valuable for the viewers. So I can conclude that the new CN cartoons are something worth to watch by both adults and kids, even though they are very different from what we had in our childhood.
Used for inspiration:
Johanna M. Ericson. Very Important Life Lessons From "The Regular Show".
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/3-very-important-life-lessons-from-regular-show
Now when asking someone else from my generation (mostly generation Z) about whether Cartoon Network has become something greater, the usual answer is: ''No, the old CN is gone and nothing can replace it''. Even though I do believe in that myself, I assume that there is that piece of our childhood that is irreplaceable so we do not want to cope with the fact that our favorite childhood cartoons can be replaced in any way. This is why in this blog post I will try to compare the new CN with the old one with an unbiased opinion of mine. Even though I will break down only a few examples of CN shows, it might give a good insight into general changes in this cartoon universe.
First of all, I want to discuss the most popular old CN shows that most of the Gen Z viewers will likely remember.
The Powerpuff Girls (original series released in 1998) was one of my favorite shows and is about three kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers who saved their town from villains. Apart from the obvious moral of helping the weak ones and fight the bad, the show had some deeper waters running underneath. It taught the viewers that being a kid does not mean you can not achieve great things. Also, it did promote a largely discussed topic of gender equality by breaking misconceptions about how females are viewed in the general public. However, there are some moral elements that promote unnecessary actions. For example, in one episode one of the girls (Buttercups) purposely knocks out the teeth from both villains and Blossom (her sister) after she learns that it brings cash when put under the pillow. Even though we must know that everyone can make mistakes, this particular part promoted Buttercups to be greedy without limits.
Courage the Cowardly Dog (aired in 1996) is a horror comedy animated series about a cowardly dog, who lives with an elderly couple in the middle of nowhere. They are continuously encountering mysterious and often supernatural misadventures. It falls upon Courage to deal with whatever comes to protect his owners, even though he is highly fearful about almost any danger. The moral of the story emphasizes the significance of overstepping one's fears for the loved ones and stepping out of the comfort zone. However, not all will agree that the show is suitable for young viewers because of the frightening content it consists (but I guess we all survived and loved it).
Johnny Bravo (premiered on 1995) are animated series about a tall, muscular guy who constantly tries to get women to date him. He fails most of the time regardless of the efforts he makes. The show itself has a drop of adult humor in it and the irony of a narcissistic man's misadventures. Even though it can teach us some life lessons: Be persistent in reaching your life goals (in his case finding a love) and never underestimate yourself. However, I might object that it does create quite visible misconceptions about sexism, particularly about establishing relationships between men and women.
Tom & Jerry (debuted in 1940) are animated short series about a cat (Tom) and a mouse (Jerry) and is probably one of the most recognized cartoon classics. The story is simple - Tom is constantly attempting to catch Jerry by any means, while Jerry is using his cleverness and resists. Probably the most valuable morale of this cartoon is that they actually do care about each other if a real danger comes and solves bigger problems together, even if it means that they do have to leave their squabble behind. There is a slight drawback in the show - it does include violence in the show and is the main plot of the story. This is why some of the series was banned for inappropriate violence imagery.
Now that we have looked into some of the old CN shows and the morale they hide behind them, let's move on to reviewing some examples of newer cartoons from 2010 onwards.
Adventure Time (premiered in 2010) are animated TV series about adventures of Finn (a boy) and his best friend Jake (a dog) with superpowers to change his shape. They live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, which suffered from the nuclear war a thousand years ago. They encounter different adventures and interact with a variety of other characters. It is interesting that these series compared to older ones discussed before are having already some history behind it and each character has quite a significant role in the show. It also teaches some good morale about a strong friendship and plenty of general life principles.
Legends of Chima (released in 2013) are computer-generated imagery animated TV series based on LEGO Legends of Chima series. The story evolves in a land of Chima consisting of tribes and anthropomorphic animals, which interact with each other and create relationships in a very detailed manner. The series has a rather complex storyline, however, some viewers agree that it is suitable only for young viewers. But again if we compare it with the older CN series, it does have a broader story behind the whole series and is wider in complexity in character relationships.
Regular Show (launched in 2010) is a story about two class friends Mordecai (blue jay) and Rigby (raccoon) whose days would mostly conclude in a series of unplanned adventures. They are imitated as typical school guys who play video games, improvise raps etc. The colorful cartoon series hide some strong messages underneath about the importance of friendship and sacrificing for each other and it does involve a complete storyline of character relationships. Because of that, it had become also a suitable entertainment for adult viewers.
After comparing the beginnings of Cartoon Network series and what has it become in recent years, I can answer my previously asked question: Is CN still something worth watching or did it diminish to please the newest generations? Even though the content of the cartoons have changed significantly over the years, there are values and morals that are unchangeable and are still being applied in modern cartoons. We can even observe that the newer cartoons have become more complex in their storylines and the characters evolve over the time, which makes it also interesting for adult viewers to follow. If the older cartoon series were mostly watched by kids and teens, then now some shows are engaging older generations as well. Oftenly the new shows consist of deeper life lessons, which makes them valuable for the viewers. So I can conclude that the new CN cartoons are something worth to watch by both adults and kids, even though they are very different from what we had in our childhood.
Used for inspiration:
Johanna M. Ericson. Very Important Life Lessons From "The Regular Show".
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/3-very-important-life-lessons-from-regular-show
Jennifer Borama. The Top 20 Cartoon Network TV Shows of All-Time.
Wikipedia. Legends of Chima.
Tanner Greenring. 18 Ways "Adventure Time" Is Making You A Better Person.
Wikipedia. Adventure Time.
Quora. Why was Tom and Jerry banned? Who loved it and loves it till now?
Wikipedia. Tom & Jerry.
Clipd. 13 Life Lessons Johnny Bravo Taught Us About Finding Love.
Wikipedia. Johnny Bravo
Powerpuff Girls Wiki. Moral Decay.
Wikipedia. The Powerpuff Girls
Wikipedia. Courage the Cowardly Dog.
M.G. Garis. 6 Lessons ‘The Powerpuff Girls’ Teaches Us About Feminism That You Never Noticed.
So cool topic! I loved CN but sadly I have not watched it for a while now. Will be interesting to see comparisons between now and then, but I think you nailed it here: "that piece of our childhood is irreplaceable". Please don't forget Dexter's laboratory :)
ReplyDeleteAn interesting topic and not something I know much about myself. It can be hard to take off our nostalgia glasses sometimes, but you did a good job of being fair to the newer content on CN too.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this sooo much :) Powerpuff girls and Courage were my favorite things when I was a kid!
ReplyDeleteI also had nooo idea what were the cartoons currently airing, besides Adventure Time, and you made me wanna check them out, thanks :)