Best cartoon era for kids

[zoombie]

What is the best era to be kid watching cartoons?

Was it better when we were kids? Or now a days?

In my case, I was born in 82, so I grow up in the 80's and 90's.

Do you think todays kids have better cartoon shows to watch than you did, when you were a kid?

While I have fond memories of the 1980's, they had their pros and cons. Cartoons in the Reagon era had the tendency to be too educational at times. Now a days, the creators have more creative freedom than they did when they were making cartoons when I was very young. In the 1980's it was all about incoporated cartoon to or from a toy line and how to sell that toy line. The 1990's was the cartoon renaissance decade for innovative creative cartoons. The 2000's continued that, but a lot of the ideas weren't as innovative as they were in the 90's, but some of them were brillant none the less.

But the cartoon in the 80's had the best catchy theme songs. And I am not going to comment on cartoons that were made when I wasn't alive, I feel out of place discuessing an era I didn't experience my self.

 

[judyindisguise]

I've been watching Boomerang for some time now, and I think today's cartoons are sooooooooooooo much better than all that Hanna-Barbera crap.

 

[Dr. Zin]

Rather than answer this by strict dates (because I don't have enough of the specific dates in my head to be certain), let me define my periods as follows:

Network Saturday Mornings, Vintage Era:
Late 1960s into the '70s: all three of the major broadcast networks were running mostly kids' programming from 7AM to noon. A lot of it was very silly and, well, childish, but there were usually a few gems to be found: early Scooby Doo, Thundarr the Barbarian, Hong Kong Phooey, Dungeons & Dragons. I'd tag the early '70s as the height of this period, partly for the best of the live-action shows dating from around that time (Isis, Land of the Lost, The Kids from C.A.P.E.R.). Plus Schoolhouse Rock, of course.

Weekday Syndication, First Wave:
As noted, the late '70s shading into the early '80s was the Age Of The Action Figure, and for a long while the syndicated cartoons reflected this -- so we had mostly GI Joe, M.A.S.K., He-Man, and the like (plus things like My Little Pony for girls and younger audiences). On the plus side, though, you got many more episodes than the Saturday morning series tended to produce, and that meant that the writers could occasionally spend some time on (gasp!) character development and longer story arcs. Adventure shows dominated the airwaves, and if there were relatively few really superlative or innovative shows, there were also relatively few out-and-out bombs.

Weekday Syndication, Second Wave:
I think I'd argue that kids' animation was at its best in this period -- when the afternoon cartoon blocks went "network", so that you had the Disney Afternoon (highlighted by Darkwing Duck, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and the incomparable Gargoyles), and the Warner renaissance (Batman:TAS, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, etc.). Production values went up drastically, writing did likewise, and the results were spectacular.

Network Saturdays, the Return:
By the time the Fox and WB Saturday blocks came along, they'd become pretty much the only game in town; the big alphabet networks had at that point largely abandoned animated and kids' programs on Saturday in favor of news and sports -- and what was left was mostly very forgettable (or in some cases consisted of reruns of syndicated programming). While there's been some excellent material arising from these blocks (Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, Jackie Chan Adventures), it's frustrating to see so much essentially similar programming dominate the landscape -- most notably the unending run of monster-battle/game-anime series.

 

[Baltofan]

I was born in the 1970's, and I found the 90's best with Animals of Farthing Wood, Noah's Island and so on.

Those were the days!

 

[Movie06]

I grew up with the 90's. I love that decade and I had fun times with the 00 decade. But it's sad to see Saturday Mornings to become rather boring with sports and infomercials.

 

[Harvey Two Face]

Definately when I was younger, to me it was and still is the epitome of cartoons, so basically the 90s until about 2004-05.

 

[Old Guy]

Every person will say their generation was the best. I grew up in the `90s and loved the cartoons of that decade. But...I do also enjoy the old school Hanna-Barbera as well as some of the `80s gem. As well as Looney Tunes.

 

[Aldrius]

The 90's was easily the best. More importantly, the mid-90's.

You had Beast Wars, Reboot, Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Series, and so many other good or at least decent television programs.

Just in terms of sheer focus and variety, I think. Not to say the 90's had the single greatest show ever (though there are a number of contenders). I mean I'm having trouble saying which was my favourite out of the four I specifically listed. (Well, actually not really, it's easily Reboot... but still. The others are not far behind.)

 

[Old Guy]

The 90's was easily the best. More importantly, the mid-90's.

I'd argue that early `90s because of Batman TAS and Animaniacs as well as the original NickToons.

 

[Racattack!Force]

I find that I really like the 2000s, although I do enjoy the 90s also.

 

[Old Guy]

I find that I really like the 2000s, although I do enjoy the 90s also.

In the last 8 years the only cartoons I've enjoyed are Spongebob (although it premiered in 1999), Fairly Oddparents, and Danny Phantom. And perhaps a few others here and there. But for the most part I've been mostly disappointed with this decade's cartoons.

 

[Aldrius]

I'd argue that early `90s because of Batman TAS and Animaniacs as well as the original NickToons.

Those were still in syndication in the mid 90's weren't they?

 

[Old Guy]

Those were still in syndication in the mid 90's weren't they?

Sort of. The Fox Kids run of BTAS was over by `95. As well as the Fox Kids run of Animaniacs.

 

[Silverstar]

I was born in '69, so I grew up during the 70's, but I'm not about to say that the 70's were the best era for animation. That decade was dominated by Hanna-Barbera, which, while not without their merits, were the kings of limited animation and repeating the same formulas ad nausea. The superior cartoons for me during that time were the Warner Bros. shorts, the Disney features (and shorts, albeit to a lesser extent) and the Nelvana TV specials, which technically crossed over into the 80's.

The 80's were a step up in terms of art and animation, but many of the cartoons from this era were so unabashedly toyetic that it was hard for an animation purist like myself to get into them.

To date my favorite animation era would have to be what I consider the Cartoon Renaissance: the 90's to early 00's. Beginning with Tiny Toon Adventures and continuing with Peter Pan and the Pirates (an underrated show, IMO), Animaniacs, DuckTales, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, X-Men, Batman: TAS, Superman: TAS, Freakazoid!, Earthworm Jim, Rocko's Modern Life, Angry Beavers, Futurama, Dexter's Lab, The Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy and onward, there was a reawakening of fresh material, snappy dialogue, decent animation, clever writing, memorable characters and a genuine commitment to quality.

But as always, I'm not asking anyone to agree with me, and there's no need to flame if you don't, because all of this is just my opinion, which doesn't carry the weight of a feather in the wind.

 

[DarthGonzo]

The problem with a thread like this is that everyone is just going to prefer the eras they grew up in.

 

[Silverstar]

The problem with a thread like this is that everyone is just going to prefer the eras they grew up in.

Mostly everyone, DG. Read my post above. I grew up in the 70's, but that's hardly my favorite animation era. Not by a long shot.

 

[Lonestarr]

The problem with a thread like this is that everyone is just going to prefer the eras they grew up in.

A lot of people didn't really grow up in the 70s and 80s (I was born in the early 80s, myself), but I'm sure the ones that did would tell you that (except for a handful of good shows) that era was total schlock.

And I really can't imagine people picking the current era (the one with pointless toilet humor, character humiliation and forced shipping) of their own accord.

That pretty much leaves the 90s. Fox Kids was getting off of the ground. Nickelodeon was producing original shows. Disney was creating enjoyable programming. Kids WB was on its way. Generally, I agree with Silverstar.

 

[Racattack!Force]

And I really can't imagine people picking the current era (the one with pointless toilet humor, character humiliation and forced shipping) of their own accord.

Um, I did. Though, I prefer the early and late parts of this decade. The first and last three years of this decade look great to me. And yes, I realize this decade isn't close to ending.

 

[Classic Speedy]

But as always, I'm not asking anyone to agree with me, and there's no need to flame if you don't, because all of this is just my opinion, which doesn't carry the weight of a feather in the wind.

Actually, that post is pretty interesting, as it proves that not everyone will be rose-colored glasses and nostalgic about the era in which they grew up.

 

[RayChuang]

I'd argue that early `90s because of Batman TAS and Animaniacs as well as the original NickToons.

In that period we also had some excellent Disney cartoons: Darkwing Duck, Duck Tales, Gargoyles and even some episodes of The Little Mermaid animated series. I'd love to see Disney get back into doing more "traditional" animated cartoon series.