Western Animation - Discuss American, Canadian, and European cartoons here (or just bitch about wokeshit, I guess)

[Anonitolia]

God damn it, that was the most 2000's song ever written.

I was initially tempted to disagree but honestly looking at the lyrics I’ve ended up agreeing wholeheartedly. Happily singing about global warming and dealing with being dealt a bad hand defines some of the later-decade stuff’s themes pretty well, meanwhile the video encapsulates the excessively bright and extravagant music videos that ruled the (very) early years.

Even weirder coming from a song released in 1999, the Pre-Millennium Year, one of two and a half in a short-lived Y2K purgatory that was shot dead and replaced by Evanescence and 9IN after 9/11…

 

[Sleazy Car Salesman]

Post-Columbine Pre-9/11 was a very interesting and strange point in time.

 

[Trianon]

I like old fashioned cartoons. Some time back I watched some of Disney's early work (I loved Saludos Amigos, Three Caballeros, and parts of Fantasia). What's some of the more recent stuff that's worth watching?

I feel like The Brave Little Toaster, An American Tail, and The Iron Giant would be quality movies that just kind of passed me by as a kid. Over the Garden Wall is a recent one that looks absolutely fantastic. Probably rewatch A Goofy Movie (it was actually one of my favorite movies as a little kid, but I don't think I ever saw it but once).

Those are good ones. An American Tail is a great representation of Don Bluth's work - you might want to add The Land Before Time, it's a classic. Cats Don't Dance another great non-Disney animated film that is inspired by Old Hollywood you might enjoy. Lilo & Stitch also feels very nostalgic.

 

[ShiftyBoi]

I'm surprised I just now heard about this. Living Pixel art god and actual insane person Paul Robertson is making a new show. For context he's the guy that did all the pixel art for Scott Pilgrim, animated Rumble McSkirmish and Gifany in Gravity Falls, a bunch of adult swim bumps, if there's a pixel art scene in a cartoon he probably did it.

I'm amazed he actually got something off the ground considering his last pilot Elvis and Dimmi wasn't well received.

Paul Robertson is very fucking weird and I'm glad it's not just him writing this thing.

 

[Purple Threat]

I consider it one of the 4 horseman of bringing animation down. The other three are easily Avatar, Total Drama and Adventure Time. All 4 are great in their own right, but opened a Pandora’s box of shipping, lore sperging, anime influence, and “mature” animation fan fandoms.

I think Gravity Falls hurt animation and had more direct negative influence than ATLA.

Practically every disney show since has had a mabel (manic/quirky upbeat girl who usually causes a lot of the problems) and a pacifica (snooty/popular pretty girl who usually starts out as a rival). Along with over-arching plot and deeper lore.

The key difference between GF and ATLA is that GF was a mystery that gave the audience a new clue to ponder until the next episode. It basically encouraged fans to obsessively comb through each frame and detail to find the hidden secret.

Adventure Time pre-s4 was a silly fantasy cartoon than had a fucked up world to juxtapose the silly characters and rarely went into world building unless to set up for the episode. Lore shit came in as the original creator left.

But AT definitely started the trend of "mature" fans tho. I remember back in the day when pics of fans at Comic-con were used in the CN promos.

Also I wouldn't say Total Drama had much of an influence on animation in general. Outside normalizing the PG rating for cartoons maybe.

I think the real contenders for "Shows that ruined an entire industry/generation of animation" is Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, and Teen Titans Go.

- Came out in the same time frame (2012-2013)
- Were ratings giants (SU less so) as wells as famous/infamous online
- Each popularized brighter colors and thinner outlines (mostly AT but yeah)

- Each show contributed to some of the biggest sins today: lore shit (GF), Slice of lifes/Gay shit/Weeb shit (SU), Adhd-paced nonsensical comedy (TTG & AT)

I think AT laid the groundwork for some of these shows but didn't go to shit til these three popped up.

I also think these three shows are what most non-adult cartoons try to emulate today.

 

[Coolio55]

I'm surprised I just now heard about this. Living Pixel art god and actual insane person Paul Robertson is making a new show. For context he's the guy that did all the pixel art for Scott Pilgrim, animated Rumble McSkirmish and Gifany in Gravity Falls, a bunch of adult swim bumps, if there's a pixel art scene in a cartoon he probably did it.

I'm amazed he actually got something off the ground considering his last pilot Elvis and Dimmi wasn't well received.

Paul Robertson is very fucking weird and I'm glad it's not just him writing this thing.

Oh boy. I can't wait for all the naked girls, guro and religious iconography.
Even if it ain't that. Non-pixelshit art is definately a rare treat.

 

[Basic Blond Boy]

But AT definitely started the trend of "mature" fans tho. I remember back in the day when pics of fans at Comic-con were used in the CN promos.

It was moreso either Teen Titans or ATLA. The internet was in the baby phase, so they weren’t as well documented, but I remember it being said that Teen Titans had a very active adult forum and ATLA had the creators purposely pissing off the adult Zutara shippers:

I should also throw in the DCAU as another ground zero given that Batman TAS was sort of the original “deep” children’s cartoon.

I think Gravity Falls hurt animation and had more direct negative influence than ATLA.

You can honestly say a lot of cartoons lead us to here. The most glaring original sin cartoon would technically be Flapjack as it was the gateway for many into the industry: Ward (Adventure Time), Quintel (Regular Show), Hirsch (Gravity Falls), etc..

I think many of us see Gravity Falls as more-or-less a product of the Adventure Time era, with Steven literally growing off the back of that series. The 2000s and the adult-fandom culture really shaped current animation. I would throw up Disney, the DCAU, Teen Titans, Invader Zim, Avatar The Last Airbender, Total Drama and finally Adventure Time as the western animation combination that created the Tumblr landscape of today. The other driving force would be anime, primarily Sailor Moon.

 

[Anonitolia]

Paul Robertson is making a new show

my interest has been piqued
I’m not a huge fan of his visual style, at all, but what he actually does with those visuals has me interested. Completely convinced this dude was actually born out of a meth pot and hasn’t come back to earth since, so i’ll be watching.

 

[Vyse Inglebard]

I like old fashioned cartoons. Some time back I watched some of Disney's early work (I loved Saludos Amigos, Three Caballeros, and parts of Fantasia). What's some of the more recent stuff that's worth watching?

I feel like The Brave Little Toaster, An American Tail, and The Iron Giant would be quality movies that just kind of passed me by as a kid. Over the Garden Wall is a recent one that looks absolutely fantastic. Probably rewatch A Goofy Movie (it was actually one of my favorite movies as a little kid, but I don't think I ever saw it but once).

you might want to add The Land Before Time, it's a classic

The Land Before Time is easily the weakest of Don Bluth's 80s films. Not even a contest. The Secret of NIMH, on the other hand, is definitely a must-watch. All Dogs Go to Heaven too, if only for how bat shit it gets (Big-Lipped Alligators, anyone?).

Cats Don't Dance another great non-Disney animated film that is inspired by Old Hollywood you might enjoy.

Lilo & Stitch also feels very nostalgic.

The best original Disney animated movie.

 

[Ouro Boros]

You know, I'm surprised not many people know of this movie, but it was something I liked when I was younger: 2008's Igor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbjAInII4mY

Its rather obscure but its something I found charming and rather fun to watch for its dark comedy and rather grimdark parody vibe to it. Also has a rather interesting art direction and a decent cast. Its all around...good.
....I wish we can have films like these again.

 

[Trianon]

The Land Before Time is easily the weakest of Don Bluth's 80s films. Not even a contest. The Secret of NIMH, on the other hand, is definitely a must-watch. All Dogs Go to Heaven too, if only for how bat shit it gets (Big-Lipped Alligators, anyone?).




The best original Disney animated movie.

I forgot about NIMH, yeah, that should be on any list. But NO, Land Before Time is beautiful.

Maybe we can agree that any of his '80s films are better than his '90s work? (Except maaaaybe Anastasia?)

Now if you want a fusion of Big-Lipped Alligators and Land Before Time, have to watch We're Back! Most batshit fucking movie, I love it.

 

[Kermit the Impaler]

That fat fuck, Gail Simone, intended for Black Canary to be bisexual. But it never materialized. Something along the lines of her being 75% straight, 25% bi, whatever the hell that means. I think the others are safe... for now.

I think she was lying about that to avoid backlash from her fan base. There was some Oracle comic where Black Canary said she was "100% Straight to the Bone" or something like that. Of course, it upset some Barbara/Dinah fans and Gail came out saying "Oh, it was just a mistake. "Straight to the bone" was placeholder dialogue. I meant her to say she was '25% straight'" or whatever. Yeah, right, that line just happened to make it into print by mistake.

 

[Slideshow Bill]

I think Gravity Falls hurt animation and had more direct negative influence than ATLA.

Practically every disney show since has had a mabel (manic/quirky upbeat girl who usually causes a lot of the problems) and a pacifica (snooty/popular pretty girl who usually starts out as a rival). Along with over-arching plot and deeper lore.

The key difference between GF and ATLA is that GF was a mystery that gave the audience a new clue to ponder until the next episode. It basically encouraged fans to obsessively comb through each frame and detail to find the hidden secret.

encouraged fans to obsessively comb through each frame and detail

And this is what ruined animation imho. Creators get too interactive with the audience and now that every animator is on Twitter, you can't just watch the show, you have to keep up with their tweets in hopes of hints or lore secrets. Not to mention how every loreshow likes to build up to to a grand plot twist that goes nowhere and is more focused on outsmarting the audience.

 

[Life is Hell...]

Seems Rebecca Sugar now has a TikTok account apparently.

Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@rebecca.sugar

 

[A Grey Cat]

Seems Rebecca Sugar now has a TikTok account apparently.
View attachment 5320865
Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@rebecca.sugar

Sugar....you're 36 and ugly as sin, gtfo tik tok and have some dignity in your life. Nobody is gonna wanna see your old washed up it's pat looking mug on tik tok.


Well in other news chicken run 2 released a new preview.

So let's get the obvious out of the way, is this looking like another "muh gurl power" reboot? Ehhh? I mean remember in the original rocky was an arrogant, cocky and selfish jerk who lied to pretty much everyone and even tried to bail on the chickens the first chance he got. So him being a bumbling git isn't too far off from before. There's also seeing Mrs tweedy back seemingly with no Mr tweedy around running a high tech factory chicken farm/nugget factory. Then again she was already a bit of a bossy bitch in the original. Also ironically while Mr tweedy was a bit of a buffoon in the original, so thick he couldn't put together the pie machine was for making chicken pies, till the mrs yelled it at him. He was ultimately right in the end. He was right about the chickens being smarter than. They looked and right about them planning an escape.

I don't know know about this one, I don't think it's shipping up to be a "woke" reboot despite being direct to Netflix, but it's definitely shaping up to be a pointless reboot ardman only green lit to cash in on nostalgia since they haven't had a hit since...maybe Wallace and grommet curse of the were rabbit.

 

[Vyse Inglebard]

Seems Rebecca Sugar now has a TikTok account apparently.
View attachment 5320865
Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@rebecca.sugar

>"is anyone still talking about Steven Universe?"

I don't think it's shipping up to be a "woke" reboot despite being direct to Netflix, but it's definitely shaping up to be a pointless reboot ardman only green lit to cash in on nostalgia since they haven't had a hit since...maybe Wallace and grommet curse of the were rabbit.

The Shaun the Sheep movie also did modestly well, IIRC.

 

[Archeops]

Sugar....you're 36 and ugly as sin, gtfo tik tok and have some dignity in your life. Nobody is gonna wanna see your old washed up it's pat looking mug on tik tok.


Well in other news chicken run 2 released a new preview.

So let's get the obvious out of the way, is this looking like another "muh gurl power" reboot? Ehhh? I mean remember in the original rocky was an arrogant, cocky and selfish jerk who lied to pretty much everyone and even tried to bail on the chickens the first chance he got. So him being a bumbling git isn't too far off from before. There's also seeing Mrs tweedy back seemingly with no Mr tweedy around running a high tech factory chicken farm/nugget factory. Then again she was already a bit of a bossy bitch in the original. Also ironically while Mr tweedy was a bit of a buffoon in the original, so thick he couldn't put together the pie machine was for making chicken pies, till the mrs yelled it at him. He was ultimately right in the end. He was right about the chickens being smarter than. They looked and right about them planning an escape.

I don't know know about this one, I don't think it's shipping up to be a "woke" reboot despite being direct to Netflix, but it's definitely shaping up to be a pointless reboot ardman only green lit to cash in on nostalgia since they haven't had a hit since...maybe Wallace and grommet curse of the were rabbit.

I'm honestly kind of torn on this one because they apparently replaced some of the original VAs with Hollywood names, IIRC Ginger's original VA was particularly torn up about it.

>"is anyone still talking about Steven Universe?"
View attachment 5321775

To be fair here there was some SU-related drama involving Funko releasing a series of SU Funko POP NFTs last week. Say what you will about the IP but even they don't deserve that kind of fate.

 

[ShiftyBoi]

They released a new trailer for Nocturne.

There's something about the style that I don't care for, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's probably the faces and the style of shading, they make it look like that corridor digital video that used AI.

Just make a new game already cowards.

 

[Life is Hell...]

Cartoon Network released an episode of Tiny Toons Looniversity on their YouTube channel today and...

Spoiler

Hooo boy... we're in for a treat...

 

[SteelPlatedHeart]

They released a teaser trailer for season 7 of Totally Spies!, but one of the original VAs also said they were replaced.