Cartoon Network "Real"

[Thylacine]

Yes, it has ALOT to do with advertising though there is a way to market coke, cell phones our whatever into a cartoon. Heck, I've seen it in Anime of all places.

Yeah, I know. I've seen Coca-Cola advertised in the Cowboy Bebop movie, and it fits rather nicely with the scene. It was very organically done in that one, whereas in something like Spongebob or Flapjack - two cartoons very much in their own universe - it would be a little weird no matter how they did it.

Reality TV works out nicer. It also costs considerably less to hire the "actors" for those shows than real VAs or people to do scenes for things like Tim and Eric.

Which is not an awesome show.

[Maco70]

Tex Avery.

Memories of my childhood just came screaming back.

I totally forgot about that show.

[RedTigrr]

Now THAT'S a concept I can get behind, 100 per cent... just as long as they aren't all based on the games that are light on story, like Pac-Man or something like that.

Actually, come to think of it, wasn't there a Pac-Man cartoon show at one point or something? Maybe that's just something my overactive imagination created in my head, but I could've sworn I once saw an episode of a show like that.

You are correct sir. There was a Pac-Man cartoon that ran for about 2 seasons from 82-84. Cartoon Network would show the Christmas episode every year. Now Boomerang shows it every year.

[Aninymouse]

Flapjack & Chowder are the only shows worth watching on the whole damn network besides any reruns of awesome shows they might air from time to time.

That is all.

[NNY]

Flapjack & Chowder are the only shows worth watching on the whole damn network besides any reruns of awesome shows they might air from time to time.

That is all.

You forget Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

[Ninja-san]

I blame Spongebob and Family guy for Animated shows today at least American.(Japanese animation is going down hill too IMO) The humor is just slap stick or not even related to the plot if there is one. Animation quality doesn't bother me much whether its hand drawn or done in flash, it's horrible character designs or just bs for 30 minutes that irks me.

Online animations or even comic seem to be the best way today for ideas. you have alot more freedom to do things than with a studio or network that cares solely on how much cash they can get on a show.

This is why I'm trying to get an animated web series hopefully started soon :\

O yea I hate whats become of Scooby Doo now. I freaking worshiped the original series growing up. A good series or show should last at least 2/3 seasons.

[NNY]

...what has become of Scooby Doo?

[TheSnowStorm]

People still watch that shitting network? Sorry, but Cartoon Network died for me about five years ago.

[Fratto]

I thought Scooby Doo died with that nauseating Scrappy. One day he yelled "PUPPY POWER!" and I turned off the television and rode my back to the 7-11 to blow off my preteen angst.

[Toadofsky]

I blame Spongebob and Family guy for Animated shows today at least American.(Japanese animation is going down hill too IMO) The humor is just slap stick or not even related to the plot if there is one. Animation quality doesn't bother me much whether its hand drawn or done in flash, it's horrible character designs or just bs for 30 minutes that irks me.

O yea I hate whats become of Scooby Doo now. I freaking worshiped the original series growing up. A good series or show should last at least 2/3 seasons.

I honestly enjoy Spongebob, at least the first three or four seasons. After that, they altered Spongebob's voice, and the writing hasn't been as good since Steven Hillenberg (the creator) left.

Honestly, I hate Family Guy now. Sure at first, it was funny with the random stuff that would happen. But I guarantee that in ten years, you won't remember what the meaning was behind some of the jokes in the show. Not to mention that since the random clip stuff has gotten stale, they're trying to make statements (the 420 episode, the one where Louis works for Fox News). And let's not start on about half of the stuff on Adult Swim. I honestly do enjoy Robot Chicken still, at least seeing the Star Wars Specials.

I've never liked Scooby Doo honestly. It's like Wile E. Coyote cartoons, you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. Funny how that has been one of the most marketed old series for some time. I honestly enjoy The Flinstones and The Jetsons more, even though those two are almost identical (in some respects).

[Nec5]

In other cable news, SciFi (Science Fiction channel) is now Syfy. I don't get it, but then again I'm probably not the target audience. Weird stuff.

Not that I've watched it in a long while. I prefer to see Ramsay yell at people in the kitchen.

[Fratto]

If I'm not the target audience for SciFi and Adult Swim anymore then what on Earth am I the audience for?

It's like I enjoy TVLand and Nick at Nite more than anything else on TV right now.

I think Conan O'Brien is the only thing geared towards my audience.

[Aninymouse]

You forget Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

No. No I did not. Forget that show.

[Thylacine]

I've never liked Scooby Doo honestly. It's like Wile E. Coyote cartoons, you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. Funny how that has been one of the most marketed old series for some time. I honestly enjoy The Flinstones and The Jetsons more, even though those two are almost identical (in some respects).

I think Scooby Doo's popularity was more about the risque nature of the show while still remaining kid-friendly. After all, it's accepted that Shaggy (and, to a lesser extent, Scooby) was a champion stoner, Daphne and Fred had sex in the haunted mansions, and Velma...

Well, SOMEONE had to solve the mysteries!

But there's a very adult element behind the silliness of watching Shaggy and Scooby fleeing in terror from a monster, knowing full well they could avoid harm because they ran just fast enough. Walt Disney once lamented that amusement parks weren't fun because, among other things, "there's nothing for Daddy." The popular cartoons of yesteryear have a mass appeal, just naughty enough for adults to get, yet tame enough for the kids not to get the adult stuff. All parties walk away satisfied.

Now, factor in a few years of market segmentation, parents protesting violence exposure to kids, and whatever else nonsense you wish to toss in that separates Gen X from Gen Y, and we don't have shows that grow up quite as well. Spongebob Squarepants, I have to credit, manages to be clever enough where I (and a handful of my friends) can laugh at jokes even though I'm much older than who it's being marketed towards.

I haven't had the pleasure of watching Flapjack, but I've heard from both this post and others that it's good. I don't doubt that it has a similar appeal.

...So yeah, that's why Scooby Doo is still popular whereas other cartoons have fallen by the wayside. I haven't seen Ren and Stimpy on in reruns. Have you?

[DarkeSword]

No. No I did not. Forget that show.

Forget Batman: The Brave and the Bold? Why would you forget that show? It's brilliant and fun. Plus it's got the Blue Beetle!

[BooDidley7]

Can I just say something about the original TMNT cartoon from the 80's?

The first 5 episodes are still pretty awesome IMO. Why? It was violent and the story actually went somewhere.

If I recall correctly, they literally hacked and slashed up robotic foot soldiers limbs and all, which was changed in subsequent seasons to just being 'knocked out' or Leo using the butt of his katana for everything for some inexplicable reason.

And 5-part arc that actually had a story line, and they had a whole gang of mutants in addition to Bebop and Rocksteady that they never used again, that could've been the start of something awesome...

But alas, it kinda just became a dopey series designed to sell action figures, but it does have some fun episodes, and frankly, I'd still put it above 95% of the other junk that passes for cartoons today.

And we also got a couple of great Konami games out of it.

[Aninymouse]

Forget Batman: The Brave and the Bold? Why would you forget that show? It's brilliant and fun. Plus it's got the Blue Beetle!

It's a show written for people about 13 years younger than I am. I honestly couldn't care less.

[Final Hero]

I honestly enjoy some things about Family Guy. Yes, a lot of the jokes get kind of repetitive, but I like how it's kind of got a stream of consciousness thing going on. I mean, when I'm going through my everyday life, I don't just think constantly about what I'm doing at the moment - like Peter and the other characters on the show, my train of thought is often interrupted by stray memories, thoughts, and dreams that wouldn't seem to connect to the matter at hand to anyone else, but to ME it makes sense. With Family Guy, I see something similar, except it's like it's making fun of just how random some people's train of thoughts are.

Also, there's so many hidden cultural references in the show that it's just freaking fun trying to figure out what they're referring to sometimes - catching the more subtle references is a challenge, even. As a journalism teacher I once had put it, "Seth McFarland is an evil mad genius, because he's basically taken a century of "pop culture," tossed it all in a box, and takes out random things and glues it all together, so that you're getting inundated in history without even realizing it... and because he knows about all that history, he's got a hundred plus years of material to make fun of, whereas most shows have only - at most - the past decade or so."

[NNY]

It's a show written for people about 13 years younger than I am. I honestly couldn't care less.

Its a show that while it can appeal to children, it's jammed pack full of references that only real DC fans will ever catch. Giant homages and most of all, good clean Dick Sprang style fun. You're probably too young to remember the silver age.

Also, it has the best version of AQUAMAN in any comic/show/movie/radio/fruit pies ad of all time.

That's right, AQAUAMAN. If anyone hates Aquaman, seeing any episode of Brave and the Bold with him will change their mind.

Someone uploaded one of his best episodes on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1PoZUTaDGs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbjgU2auoSs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhKlzUqiCGg&feature=related

Watch it before it gets taken down.

[The Coop]

... good clean Dick Sprang style fun.

...

Um, what?

[Schwaltzvald]

...

Um, what?

This Dick Sprang

Sprang worked almost entirely on Batman comics and covers and on the Batman newspaper strip, becoming one of the primary Batman artists in the character's first 20 years. In 1955, Sprang got the chance to draw Superman, when he replaced Curt Swan as the primary artist for the Superman/Batman team-up stories in World's Finest Comics, on which he worked until his retirement in 1963. Sprang also worked on a couple of stories for the main Superman comic, "including the tale that introduced the first, prototype Supergirl

[ChrisTheWriter]

Hearing word Batman: Brave and the Bold may not get renewed. Its a shame because I actually liked it. Not enough to really go and find it but if it was on, I tuned in. It wasn't the Animated Series, nor was it Justice League... but it had a hell of a leg up on THE BATMAN... why does Mr. Freeze look like Sonic The Hedgehog?

Thats the reason for the FB boycott. Though Cartoon Network is slowly getting the message that CN Real isn't generally liked, some decent shows are still in danger, which lessens the need for artists.

[Dr.Flintlock]

I'm going to show my true colours and admit that I watched and actually LIKED Total Drama Island on Cartoon Network when it was aired. I didn't really care for the animation but the humour in that show was hysterical.

Then again, I'm pretty sure this one was Canadian so maybe it doesn't count.

So with the exception of that show, I stopped watching Cartoon Network when they stopped making new Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes. I was so in love with that show I (inadvertently) bought pirated DVDs of the entire series.

And while I will say that Batman:TAS was a fantastic show, even the creators have commented on preferring the later episodes (which I personally find a little lame in all honesty) because they weren't as restricted with animation/art. I should know...I bought that $80 DVD set for X-mas last year and watched all those commentaries.

As an aside though, definitely worth the money.

[Triad Orion]

Batman: Brave and the Bold was something of a guilty pleasure for me. I admit I was skeptical of it at first, but it proved to be a fun cartoon, which is what matters.

I'll admit to not being the biggest Flapjack fan. I see the appeal, definitely, but something about the show doesn't click with me. Some might say it's because the show is too cynical, but I'm a professed fan of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law and *Metalocalypse*, so cynicism's not really it. I am sad at the possibility of Chowder ending, though. Chowder's given me a fair share of laughs because of how silly it is. However, Chowder and Flapjack are both pretty good cartoons and actually play well off of each other. Flapjack's darker, more cynical humor and animation style with Chowder's brighter, zanier humor, and goofier character designs really create a very interesting one-two creative punch that provides something for just about any cartoon viewer between the two of them.

But I too miss the older cartoons like Courage, and *especially* Ed, Edd, n Eddy. I'm no small fan of the Eds, mostly because the layered humor. On the surface, (especially with Ed) that it's just another cartoon with squigglevision and a "random" sense of humor. But actually, the characterization was quite good in it, and Ed's non-sequitirs actually made contextual sense most of the time. Sure, it wasn't the most brilliant cartoon around, but if you actually sat down and thought about the comedic timing and use of sound effects, it became much funnier than its face value.

That long tirade being said, I'm extremely disappointed in Cartoon Network taking the easy path and making reality shows with kids in them. I understand they're competing with the Nickelodeon demographic, and the idea is the shows are low cost and might turn in some ratings, but after the genuinely negative reception of showing live action movies and Out of Jimmy's Head? You would've thought they'd learn their lesson. The network is about cartoons. Stick to that, and pick out the good ones, and use them. Really, if they want to compete, fund some better cartoons, get creative, or bring back the weekday Toonami block. They shouldn't be trying to follow the lead of the vapid live-action shows Nickelodeon plays, they should be playing their own strengths to win this fight. And I'm really surprised they haven't realized just how much pull they could potentially have if they just opened their eyes and used what was around them.

[Red9]

......they are cancelling Chowder and FlapJack as well.............