The Decline in Quality of Today's Animation (Re: This Cartoon is SHIT)

[alexthewhite]

I'm pretty sure that the decline of animation was also due to producers being all like:

wait shit guys

what if

what if we like

made

millions of live action shows

that no one cares about

but will cut costs for animators and all that jazz

and make the animation industry less strong

and put little to no effort in making our actual animated shows have comedy

yeah

that sounds

PERFECT

I guess I ought to help resurrect this thread.

Some problems with this theory:

1. Nickelodeon has been using live action programming since Nick at Nite started in 198-fucking-5. Worked pretty okay for them.

2. Disney Channel's main focus has been live-action shows since 2002 or so.

The only channel to start making live action shows recently was Cartoon Network, and most of them tanked. However, CN has probably the strongest cartoon line-up on TV right now.

• Adventure Time
• Regular Show
• Young Justice
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• Thundercats
• Green Lantern: The Animated Series

All of those shows are either ratings juggernauts or shows that would be considered excellent cartoons even during the Renaissance. Cartoon Network still blows most of their money on expensive, high-profile cartoons. The live action stuff is mostly filler (like Hole in the Wall or Dude, What Would Happen?)

You're likely thinking of that Level Up abomination, but that's CN's last live-action hoorah. They debuted it shortly before the Green Lantern show, which is a smart cartoon with great voice-acting, fast-paced action, and an instantly interesting group of villains to explore.

Live action programming accounts for the weaknesses of one channel, and that would be the channel making pretty much every show you're currently watching (which won't be true in a few weeks because Korraaaaaaaaa,) if any at all. I don't think it's the main problem here, is what I'm saying.

[Triangle Man]

/AndIshouldgivethoseshowsaspin

But yeah, I think you may be onto something here. That and the most effective point I've seen in this thread has been along the lines of 'Cartoons aren't much better or worse today compared to the past, take a look at the stuff that's out there and find what you love'.

By the way, apparently 'Cartoon Network is coming to Canada' or something like that, based on what my TV tells me. I'm pretty sure I saw some interesting shows in the clips they flashed during the commercial (including ones for a certain 'Tartavosky(?) Giant Robot' show that I'd love to watch [yay!]), so this could be interesting.

I have also seen some episodes of Young Justice, and I agree with you that it is one of the better shows out there. Not 'over-the-top spectacular', mind you, but its really 'solid' on a number of fronts. It also gets points for the episode where Red Tornado's 'family' broke into our heroes base; that episode created the kind of 'holy shit they could all die here' feeling that you rarely get outside of some season finales in animation...

Edit - By the way, guess who discovered Korra recently?

Fucking great cartoon, in my view. There is so much to love with animation nowadays, you know?

[rj lake]

Episodes of TV shows that take place inside of video games always annoyed me because video games are not like that. They don't only have 3 levels, that's like, fucking short.

not reading the rest of the thread, don't care right now

all i care about is telling you to play comix zone

[Quirk]

Do mine eyes lie? No?

Indeed.

[Obselescence]

And lo, salvation is delivered from on high.

[Quirk]

And lo, salvation is delivered from on high.

And the people did say "Man, I haven't seen that in a while!" And it was good.

[Dmatix]

not reading the rest of the thread, don't care right now

all i care about is telling you to play comix zone

Ugh, that game. I loved it to death, and all I got in return was, well, death. So hard, yet so fun.

[Triangle Man]

Fucking video isn't available in my country.

I saw 'classic cartoons' and 'cartoon network'. Does this mean that old favourites are coming back?

[Dmatix]

Fucking video isn't available in my country.

I saw 'classic cartoons' and 'cartoon network'. Does this mean that old favourites are coming back?

Drawing blank too. This sort of thing happens way too often.

[alexthewhite]

Fucking video isn't available in my country.

I saw 'classic cartoons' and 'cartoon network'. Does this mean that old favourites are coming back?

Sort of. It means Cartoon Network's new Friday Night Block (which will include, according to the ad, Chowder, Flapjack, Powerpuff Girls (!!!), Dexter's Lab (!!!!!!!!!), and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends,) will be hosted by Brak and Zorak of The Brak Show.

That's the good news.

The bad news is, judging from its absence from Cartoon Network's recent press releases, Thundercats 2011 will be canceled once the second season wraps up. It will be missed, and I recommend it highly. Get in while the getting's good and all that.

[Triangle Man]

Oh, I remember PPG and Dexter's Lab. Those were fucking awesome cartoons.

Such as the PPG episode where Mojo Jojo abused the protection he got from a bunch of animal rights activists to go on a crime spree. That shit was awesome.

That was fun.

Also, maybe I could give the Brak show a shot.

Also, they may be offering Cartoon Network in my country soon?

[myu2k2]

Do mine eyes lie? No?

Indeed.

OMG, it is like happening all over again.... I remember before Toonami it was all about Cartoon Planet, hopefully in another 2 years they'll bring back the Absolution and weekday action animations

[Triangle Man]

OKAY OKAY OKAY!

So I've been having the greatest day ever so far, just did a lot of studying, did some writing, watched a bunch of animation that I enjoy, and I decided to take another look around for Sym-Bionic Titan online.

Well guess what?

I just found the first episode of the sucker. Day keeps getting better and better!

So, I normally only do 'first impression' runs for new episodes of the Pony Show, but since I promised Alex I'd do this (and still feel obligation in that regard) and because I figure this could be good advertisement if I enjoy it, I'm going to record my thoughts as I watch the episode.

Hopefully writing this down won't be too distracting. LET'S DO THIS, MO-FO!!!

show spoiler

hide spoiler

That is some nice 3-D right there. Is this the opening?

That was the opening.

Space, the final frontear.

Holy shit, a spaceship.

I am already loving this art style. Already already already.

And the first thing our hero does is check for danger.

I love the British motif on the guy.

Hi Tara Strong.

Princess isn't impressed.

This is a fairly good way to establish a backstory.

...Past? This guy may turn out to have an interesting backstory.

That is a helicopter. The army is coming to find you because that's what they do to aliens.

Oh wow, suddenly the entire fucking army shows up!



That is a fucking awesome robot.

Oh my God, so many explosions.

Wow, they actually set the mood very well.

Princess don't need protection, right?

So Mutrati aren't humanoid?

That guy is going to have the worst case of PSTD after this.

...Some of the terminology can be a little cheesy, and sometimes the facial expressions make me laugh unintentionally, but so far this has just been so many times of awesome.

...Why did I pause this thing?

Wow...he became a lot less violent when he figured out who his enemy was. That's pretty cool, makes sense.

That guy means business. Best army general, I guess.

I bet Soloman is the main villian of this show.

Or one of them, at least.

I want to know more about what the fuck is happening here, but I probably will need to wait.

That guy gives off some creepy vibes.

I get the feeling that I'm going to love these guy's interactions.

...That's kind of grim, isn't it? He used dead in a kid's show.

And the artificial intelligence program is the voice of reason/the tactful one.

I love the view of the city at night, and so does she.

GO TO THE CITY! VISIT THE LIBRARY! USE THE INTERNET!

XD

That didn't work out so well. UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR!

The robot discovers the internet, right?

XD

XD

I'm sorry, but the out of nowhere Digrassi High Parody was just too much.

I'M ILLITERATE!

The show's male lead had a reasonable reaction to that.

So that's a Mutrati.

And their planet is dead and vaguely gothic.

This is sort of grim for a kid's show, right?

I bet that guy's also a main villian, right?

There is a history between those two, right.

What did you do, King? What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!

....So he's like space Napoleon. /nohe'snot

This is getting tense. I think Body/Heart/Mind will be an important motif in this show.

Badass can read minds. Sweet.

I love how serious this guy is. He isn't here to fuck around and I can respect that.

And now it's time for the appearance of today's MONSTER OF THE WEEK!

That is not very conspicuous of you, Princess.

I still love how the robot looks like a stereotypical nerd.

Our main protagonist is a hilarious asshole and I love that.

And then this became a Sociology/Anthropology course with High School.

Remember kids - Cheerleaders are dangerous.

Newton has the right idea here.

Also, our hero is no named 'Lance'. Sweet.

I love the dual 'what' here.

And then Lance gained automatic cred with the female population.

Newton is already my favourite character on this show...or at least one of them.

HEY! DO NOT INSULT THE IDEALISTIC PRINCESS, OKAY?!

Doofus.

So many doofuses.

That general is about to have a horrible day, isn't he?

Already, they are facing problems with their social lives.

God, that looks weird. What weird food.

Confrontation with the jocks in 3...2...1...

I bet he's going to beat the shit out of all of them - especially gravel-voice man.

And then he beat the shit out of all of them.

And I mean that.

It as painful to watch, I guess.

And here comes the monster!

BREAKING NEWS, FUCKASS!

Holy Shit, that is a living fire monster.

I agree, general.

Illiana is the motivator? Wow!

Lance has the right idea here, right?

Well, can the Earth defend itself?

GO PRINCESS GO!

I don't think lasers can hurt fire, right?

No it can't.

The action sequences are pretty nice here.

AND THEN LANCE SHOWED UP WITH HIS AWESOME 'BRITANNIA' ROBOT!

...for Britannia will be my personal nickname for that robot.

FIRE ALL ZE MISSILES!!!

Oh hey, fire.

How much money in damages is that by now?

Oh God, are they going to combine?

Holy Shit.

Holy Shit.

Holy Shit.

Holy Shit.

Holy Shit.

Holy Shit.

AH

AH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! !!!!

That...is...fucking...AWESOME!

:O

I DUB THIS ROBOT 'TITAN'!

No words, only viewing now.

And all this exposition is done in the most awesome manner ever.

Holy shit, that is a ton of money in damages now, right?

That is a glorious splash effect...

Did they kill it?

Oh hey, it has a second form...

That was useful.

Oh yes.

Yes.

Hell Yes.

HELL FUCKING YES!!!!

And then they got the fuck out of there...smart secret agent dudes, right?

And then the other guys got the fuck out of there.

Heart/Body/Mind - yep, that's the motif for this show.

And that...was fucking...awesome.

The most important part of any show is the first episode, just as beginnings are the most important part of any story. If done poorly, a first episode can chase off potential viewers and create a negative impression of a potentially good show. If done well, it can give a sense of what is to come and make the viewer want to watch more episodes just to find out what happens next.

This first episode, while having instances of 'cheesiness' for me, was also completely fucking awesome and excelled in terms of telling me who the characters are, giving me a very clear idea of their personalities and framing this with a ton of action and suspense. I have a strong desire to see where this show will go next and am now completely convinced that it's bullshit cancellation was somehow criminal. I would exchange the success of many of my other favourite shows just to alter reality so that this show went through to it's completion.

So this could be a keeper (and this is where my silliness begins...); WHAT DOES THE JURY THINK?!?!



I, THE GREAT DIO-SAMA, AM THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED BY THIS SHOW! This is the type of programming that I can enjoy when I am not trying to destroy the Joestars! WWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYY!!!!



Two Words - Un-ironically Awesome.



You know, I could get into this show. I liked the characters and the relationship between Illana and Lance, and I loved the action sequences. It pretty much hit all the right notes with me.



I totally agree! This isn't like that stupid girly pony show! This is undeniably, unmistakably awesome!



Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to the show.

...Do you mind if I take a look at your insides, Triangle Man?

OKAY!

So we have four 'yays!' and one vaguely threatening non-sequitur. Between my experience and these (silly-sketch formatted) judgments, I say that...

THIS SHOW IS A KEEPER!!!

Thank you for pointing me to this, Alex! And let's hope that the rest of the show is as awesome as it's pilot, okay?!

...And now it's time for some Black Lagoon...

[ArmsAreLoud]

So wait, if all the good shows are going to be on Friday Night Block what's going to happen to Boomerang?

[alexthewhite]

So wait, if all the good shows are going to be on Friday Night Block what's going to happen to Boomerang?

Nothing? Boomerang is 24/7 cartoons that have stopped having new episodes made. This new block will be three hours of distilled Boomerang, more or less...probably to increase interest in DVD sales. A lot of those old shows never really got a true DVD. Matter of fact, Dexter's Lab (a show Cartoon Network fucking built itself around) only got one about a year ago.

[Triangle Man]

Seriously? I'd have thought they'd have gotten around to Dexter's Lab sooner. Think it was a budgetary thing?

[Cervos]

Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls and Ed Edd and Eddy were like, Cartoon Network's BIG Shows.

Especially the last since I'm pretty sure it had the longest run.

[Cervos]

Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls and Ed Edd and Eddy were like, Cartoon Network's BIG Shows.

Especially the last since I'm pretty sure it had the longest run.

[alexthewhite]

Seriously? I'd have thought they'd have gotten around to Dexter's Lab sooner. Think it was a budgetary thing?

A licensing issue, probably. I don't even purport to understand that sort of thing, but when you throw in all those different people who think they own the property (Cartoon Network, Hanna-Barbera, Genndy Tartakovsky,) there's bound to be some legal brutality.

As a side-note, for an April's Fools day prank, Adult Swim did this.



I really don't think there's anything I can say or do to make this more sublime. That same youtube channel has all the other videos, too.

[Obselescence]

TOM was the best.

Y'know, until they made him into a Facebot and ultimately did away with him altogether.

[Gzar]

Someone else who recognizes Neuro? Fuck yes.

And yes, Sym-Biotic Titan is awesome. I watched through it over the summer and iit did not disappoint. The one thing I have to say though, is that Cartoon Network ended it before it was over, so expect a lot of loose ends to never get tied up. Not the show's fault, just shitty higher ups being shitty.

[Triangle Man]

@ Alex - That makes sense, I guess.

And I wonder what Tartakovsky is up to nowadays...

@ Gzar - Hey, you're the third/fourth person I know who has read that series! Awesome!

And yeah, the whole point of that crazy-ass post was to communicated how amazing I find this series to be. Tartakovsky did a great job on this series and it's early cancellation is still a bullshit injustice that would be rectified in a just world.

I look forward to watching episode 2 and the rest of the series.

[Frankin-Kal-96]

OMG, it is like happening all over again.... I remember before Toonami it was all about Cartoon Planet, hopefully in another 2 years they'll bring back the Absolution and weekday action animations

You might want to have a look at this. Skip to about 8:25.

[weirdguy]

You think they just slightly modified the old clips, but then things start getting confusing.

[Quirk]

That is the best and most accurate ME3 review I have yet seen. Why am I not surprised?