Cartoons you watched “begrudgingly”

[Dr.Pepper]

This is adapted from a thread I saw on another site. What are some cartoons you ended up seeing quite a bit, but you didn’t like them that much?

One example for me is Disney’s Doug. When my family first got Toon Disney, my brother and I watched it constantly for the first few months. Doug came on at my family’s dinner time so it just droned on as background noise. I was also waiting to get to Pepper Ann.

Another one would be Johnny Bravo. It’s easily my least favorite Cartoon Cartoon, but I watched CN religiously in the early 2000’s so naturally I saw a fair bit of Bravo, mostly on CCF.

 

[Goldstar!]

One of mine would be Rugrats. As some of you already know, I'm not a Rugrats fan, but in the mid 1990s, Silverstar and I would (while our parents were at work) frequently watch our kid brother, who was an avid viewer of Nickelodeon at the time, and so we would often end up watching the show when he watched it. We saw a lot of episodes of PBS Arthur for the same reason. Arthur was a show that I never really liked but could tolerate.

 

[JMTV]

The only recent example was Ghost and Molly McGee. I did see bits and pieces of it back when it first came out. While the animation looks okay, I just couldn't get into it. It didn't really to appeal to me. I was just waiting for a new episode of Amphibia to come on more than anything.

Then again, my younger sister loves Molly McGee, so what do I know? (shrugs)

 

[Fone Bone]

I'm abstaining from this specific thread. I'd be here all freaking day.

 

[Silverstar]

Two more for me/us (Goldstar and I):

The Alvin Show: it used to air on WGN in Chicago (which was on our cable package at the time) in the afternoons after we came home from school; neither of us were huge Alvin fans, but it was a cartoon, still preferable to game shows and news shows.

Gumby: this was another one that we saw because of the people we were with at the time. Our uncle and one of our cousins suddenly began thinking that Gumby was the joint (probably due to the character's newfound popularity because of him being spoofed by Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live) so whenever we were with them, we'd have to watch it with them. Then later on, our younger brother really got into for some reason (he wasn't old enough to have seen the SNL Gumby sketches, so I have no idea why the show resonated with him, but again, he liked it, so we would watch it with him).

 

[Pooky]

I know I watched a fair bit of Captain Planet despite never enjoying it, and to be perfectly frank there were a fair number of Scooby Doo episodes I felt I was getting absolutely nothing out of but still watched (along with the occasional good one), but honestly I have no one to blame but myself.

And yet, I blame society.

 

[Classic Speedy]

Currently, TMNT 2012's fifth season. Not really enjoying it (*), but feel like I should watch every episode just to say I've seen it all.

* To clarify: I did like seasons 1-4, but have been let down by the fifth so far.

 

[the_joker]

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

I actually didn't watch the entire show as I lost interest around season 7. Previously, I personally continued watching for a while because I kept thinking it would end at some point, and I didn't think it would go on for as long as I did, so I stuck around out of curiosity. Then, season 7 came around, and I discovered early on that I didn't care much for the show anymore.

The show isn't bad, and there were episodes I genuinely liked (even a lot at some points), but the episode quality is too inconsistent with characters acting dumb or unreasonable for the sake of the episode's morals. However, its worst flaw is easily its wasted potential. It featured magic and villains, but only the main characters are ever allowed to do anything. Some major characters like the princesses were constantly sidelined even though they should have been allowed to help, and they were always sidelined to raise up Twilight who for some reason kept thinking she needed to measure up to her competitors even though she and her friends outdid them since the beginning. On top of that, Twilight manages to act modest about her achievements and her abilities, and her modesty instead feels insincere. There's supposed to be the magic of friendship, but only Twilight and co. have access to that, so how helpful is the magic of friendship? Overall, it was a show with a lot of promise, but it couldn't get over the (relatively low) bar it raised.

 

[JMTV]

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

I actually didn't watch the entire show as I lost interest around season 7. Previously, I personally continued watching for a while because I kept thinking it would end at some point, and I didn't think it would go on for as long as I did, so I stuck around out of curiosity. Then, season 7 came around, and I discovered early on that I didn't care much for the show anymore.

The show isn't bad, and there were episodes I genuinely liked (even a lot at some points), but the episode quality is too inconsistent with characters acting dumb or unreasonable for the sake of the episode's morals. However, its worst flaw is easily its wasted potential. It featured magic and villains, but only the main characters are ever allowed to do anything. Some major characters like the princesses were constantly sidelined even though they should have been allowed to help, and they were always sidelined to raise up Twilight who for some reason kept thinking she needed to measure up to her competitors even though she and her friends outdid them since the beginning. On top of that, Twilight manages to act modest about her achievements and her abilities, and her modesty instead feels insincere. There's supposed to be the magic of friendship, but only Twilight and co. have access to that, so how helpful is the magic of friendship? Overall, it was a show with a lot of promise, but it couldn't get over the (relatively low) bar it raised.

I'm with you there. That's why I stopped watching the show after Season 6 because of it.

 

[Dantheman]

Every episode of The Loud House and latter seasons of The Fairly OddParents was against my will, because my roommate's grand kids would watch that whenever they came over when they were younger.

I didn't mind them pretty much making me watch the Phineas and Ferb Star Wars special, because I got to explain to them that the scene of Luke Skywalker seeing the opening battle from ANH on the ground while checking on his Uncle Owen's moisture evaporators was from a deleted scene.

 

[Red Arrow]

I don't do that anymore. I value my time too much now.

As a child, I sat through all 16 episodes of Dynomutt Dog Wonder because I had it on DVD. I also watched The Fairly OddParents too much, despite never liking it. It has a nice concept that looks good on paper, but the entire cartoon is so cynical and the characters are so unlikable...

As a young teenager, I saw two hilarious episodes of Ren & Stimpy and then kept watching, hoping for more gems. But 99% of that cartoon is just dreadful boringness with the occasional shock humor. I liked The Amazing World of Gumball at first and then stubbornly kept watching that cynical hyperactive cartoon all the way through season 3. The same thing can be said about Shinzo: I watched the beginning of it multiple times, but I never made it until the end (only 32 episodes though) because it gets soooo bad. Oh my glob, starting that alien invasion, it becomes a completely different show compared to episode 1... And every time I was confused: "Why did I stop watching? Don't I want to know if she ever reaches Shinzo?" I now know the answer is NO, the writers clearly didn't care about Shinzo so neither should I. Next up: The Incredible Hulk (90s series) and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, for the classic reason: I expected both to get better over time, and that just didn't happen. I saw potential that wasn't there. I think that's a big lesson I have learned now: if the first couple of episodes suck, just stop watching. For me, having interesting characters is one of the most important things in a cartoon and you don't need many episodes to figure out if that's the case. Then finally season 1 of Justice League, but I learned English with that cartoon so I don't regret it.

As an adult, only Spectacular Spider-Man comes to mind. One of the most overhyped cartoons on the internet. I sat through it all because I was such a fan of some other Greg Weisman cartoons: Young Justice (season 1 and 2), W.I.T.C.H. and Gargoyles. Of course I expected Spectacular Spider-Man to be similar. Now I know that Greg Weisman's ideas only work depending on the group. He has amazing ideas, but his cartoons can really suck if he is given too much freedom. If I remember correctly, there really was just one villain in Spectacular Spider-Man and all other villains were just henchmen, not unlike Miraculous Ladybug. (I must admit I only watched the cartoon once and my memories of it are fading away)

Welp, that is time I'm never getting back LOL.

 

[Dantheman]

As a young teenager, I saw two hilarious episodes of Ren & Stimpy and then kept watching, hoping for more gems. But 99% of that cartoon is just dreadful boringness with the occasional shock humor. I

So, much like Roy Rooster on Garfield and Friends, you would've been ecstatic if they made funny episodes of Ren and Stimpy?

 

[Red Arrow]

So, much like Roy Rooster on Garfield and Friends, you would've been ecstatic if they made funny episodes of Ren and Stimpy?

When I was 12-13 years old? Yes, absolutely. The episodes that gave me tears of laughter were Space Madness and Road Apples.

I also loved Cow and Chicken, which is really just Ren & Stimpy with actual jokes instead of shock humor and without the "Look how hilariously boring this is! Look, a log!!!!i!".

As an adult? Nope.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

Another one I forgot to mention in my original post: The Wacky World of Tex Avery. This monstrosity came on before Pokémon on my local UPN station when the latter was still in syndication. I would come home from school and catch the last 10 or 15 minutes of this.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

Can we talk about certain segments of cartoons? With Looney Tunes, I'd sit through the Sylvester and Tweety, Pepe Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, and Cool Cat cartoons just to get to Bugs, Daffy, Road Runner, and the rest of the characters who I actually liked.

 

[Ace]

I tried to get into Amphibia but something about it just came off to me as generic. I've only seen much of first season although I heard the 2nd season is better. It's just the generic style of writing and possibly the somewhat generic character designs that make it pretty boring to get through.

Camp Lazlo which is something I watched a lot as a kid but only because it was on. I was pretty excited for the premiere. I remember being 8 years old when it came out and I watched Joe Murray's other show Rocko's Modern Life on Nicktoons and other 90s cartoons on there that had a similar cartoony style which I liked. However, I remember like within about a year or so I just found the show to be pretty boring. The go kart episode I liked but I don't remember much else from that show. Rewatching it as an adult I still have the same impression of the show.

 

[khuddle]

That's easy, Family Guy. FG came about when the Simpsons was on the decline (by about Season 10 or so).I thought the first couple of episodes of Family Guy were rotten. But by that time, Simpsons fatigue had set in, and so I was willing to give Family Guy a chance. Eventually, a couple of funny episodes popped up here and there, and I started to to genuinely warm up to the show. But the Simpsons was high quality from (more or less) day 1, and was consistently great for about 10 seasons. Family Guy never came close to the Simpsons level.

Another show I had to watch through gritted teeth was King of the Hill back in the 1990s. I absolutely loathed King of the Hill (or any of that bumpkin hack Mike Judge's creations) but my girlfriend at the time found the show hilarious, in a kind of ironic way, so I was forced to watch it to keep her placated. Ah, what young men will do for love.

 

[JMTV]

Camp Lazlo which is something I watched a lot as a kid but only because it was on. I was pretty excited for the premiere. I remember being 8 years old when it came out and I watched Joe Murray's other show Rocko's Modern Life on Nicktoons and other 90s cartoons on there that had a similar cartoony style which I liked. However, I remember like within about a year or so I just found the show to be pretty boring. The go kart episode I liked but I don't remember much else from that show. Rewatching it as an adult I still have the same impression of the show.

Oh man, I'm with you on Camp Lazlo. I used to enjoy watching Camp Lazlo when I was 8. Then, I watched Rocko in 2010 on Nicktoons, and think to myself, "man, Camp Lazlo sucks compared to Rocko".

I did tried to look back on Lazlo again as an adult last year, I was left so annoyed and bored down to the point that I just stop watching it. Was it Squirrel Boy levels of bad? No, but compared to Rocko is like comparing ice cream to horse manure.

 

[Pooky]

Another one I forgot to mention in my original post: The Wacky World of Tex Avery. This monstrosity came on before Pokémon on my local UPN station when the latter was still in syndication. I would come home from school and catch the last 10 or 15 minutes of this.

This was airing on Saturday Morning TV in the UK around the same time my family got the internet. I remember going on a Tex Avery Message Board where the posters were complaining about the show; I think it attracted a fair bit of opprobrium on the ol' Termite Terrace Board too. I somehow thought there must be two shows named The Wacky World of Tex Avery, because it didn't make any sense to my 90s 11 year old brain that a show about a cowboy and a bunch of other random characters could have anything to do with the creator of Droopy, Red, Wolf etc. I'm not sure it does now! I assumed there was another modern show that was using his characters; I might have been further confused by images of the couple of 90s George and Junior cartoons that were floating around at the time.

Turns out Andy Hayward commissioned it after seeing how big Tex Avery was in licencing in France at the time (DIC being partly based, and very popular, in France). I recently watched this video on the history of the show, as well as this interview with then DIC Vice President Robby London, both interesting. I can see that there was some sincere effort to pay tribute to Avery among the commercial opportunism, but with the best will in the world, a 65-episode animated series for DIC was not the way to do it.

London also mentions in the interview that he was contacted by the US government about a scene in the show that bore a bizarre resemblance to the 9/11 attacks. Yes, really!

 

[Dantheman]

When I was 12-13 years old? Yes, absolutely. The episodes that gave me tears of laughter were Space Madness and Road Apples.

I also loved Cow and Chicken, which is really just Ren & Stimpy with actual jokes instead of shock humor and without the "Look how hilariously boring this is! Look, a log!!!!i!".

As an adult? Nope.

You should blame John K.'s father for why we didn't get any more space episodes of Ren and Stimpy, because he told him "Space is stupid", and like a dutiful son, John complied.