Current State of Comedy Cartoons

[PicardMan]

Comedy cartoons haven't had the best transition to streaming, with a few exceptions like Bojack Horseman or the cartoon everyone hates but got seven seasons Big Mouth. Pretty much every all ages comedy cartoon on streaming that has gotten any attention at is reboots of older franchises like Animaniacs. Max seems like they are purging kids and all ages comedy cartoons left and right, with adult comedy the only genre of animation they care about. Harley Quinn has been a successful comedy cartoon of theirs, but they seemingly created the two most hated comedy cartoons in recent memory, Velma and Santa Inc. Action streaming cartoons seem to be doing well, with Invincible, X-men 97, Arcane, and the like being huge hits, but it's hard to think of a comedy cartoon since 2020 that really hit it that big.

Then we get to cable. Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon don't seem to have anything hyped up that I know of in terms of comedy cartoons. Disney Channel's recent hits in Owl House and Amphibiaa seem to be "adventure" cartoons rather than "pure" comedy. Old workhorses like Spongebob and Teen Titans Go are still around, but there doesn't seem to be much to go around.

Maybe this is just a rut as the last decade in which action cartoons totally dominated comedy was the 80s, when toy ads, be they boy or girl toys, seemed to dominate while slapstick was in decline. Even in the 80s, there were comedy gems like Inspector Gadget. Are we in the darkest times for comedy cartoons since the 80s? If things go in cycles, we should see a rebound. Streamers like Netflix seem super disinterested in family friendly comedy cartoons for some reason. I might be primarily an action cartoon fan, but I loved the comedy cartoons from the 90s-early 00s like Animaniacs and Spongebob too.

 

[Goldstar!]

We definitely seem to be in an action cartoons time right now. I have no idea why. Ever since I was a child, I've always preferred comedy over action. I miss the days of the 90s-00s Cartoon-Cartoons, shows like Animaniacs and Rocko's Modern Life (my favorite Nicktoon).

My only guess as to why so many audiences want to see action cartoons now could be because things have gotten so horrible all over the world that people in general have gotten angrier and they like to imagine themselves getting revenge on the people who are the causes of their frustration.

Then you have teenagers and young adults who are too embarrassed to admit that they like cartoons and so they can only openly admit to being fans of kick butt action because that's perceived as "kewl".

Of course, that's just a guess.

 

[PicardMan]

My only guess as to why so many audiences want to see action cartoons now could be because things have gotten so horrible all over the world that people in general have gotten angrier and they like to imagine themselves getting revenge on the people who are the causes of their frustration. Of course, that's just a guess.

But I would think that humor is something that could have helped people get through the horrors of the real life events of the 2020s. Besides, comedy often involved laughing at all the bad things happening to the "jerk" characters like Squidward. Max seems to think that ultraviolent black comedy cartoons like Harley Quinn and Velma are the way to go. They did axe animated drama like Scavengers Rein in favor of comedy. Harley Quinn, which debuted in November 2019 seems to be the last significant comedy cartoon hit. There are comedy cartoon like Velma, but they are Velma quality.

 

[Goldstar!]

For fans like me anyway, comedy requires more subtlety and nuance and is more entertaining than watching 2 power houses beat each other up. There are only so many times you can see Batman bash the Joker before it starts to get repetitive. How many times can you watch Goku and Vegeta blow up an arena before it gets boring?

Another problem with modern adult comedy cartoons is that too many of them lack variety. Most of them just aspire to be the next South Park or especially the next Family Guy. As a result of this, most of them go for shock value, ugly character designs and mean spirited, dark humor as a substitute for well written plots actual jokes and genuine character development.

And sure, with the average comedy cartoon short, you just have a premise, a series of gags followed by a punchline, but that's more entertaining to me than watching characters go through a ton of angst for several episodes in some long, drawn out saga.

 

[Silverstar]

There's definitely a dearth of decent comedy cartoons right now. On Max, we have Looney Tunes Cartoons (which wrapped up last year) and Jellystone!, and that's it.

I loved comedy toons like Johnny Bravo, Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy, Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls (yeah, I know some people consider PPG an action cartoon because they're superheroes, but I saw it as more of a superhero spoof like The Tick, especially during the early episodes), Regular Show, Uncle Grandpa, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs and Freakazoid! (which definitely is a spoof rather than a genuine action toon, which is why Bruce Timm left the project early on). Even comedy cartoons based on established IPs like Wabbit/New Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse Works/House of Mouse would be a welcome sight. Could we at least get another Raw Toonage? And why the heck did Disney pass on Crazy Magic Kingdom?

I'm not a huge fan of the likes of Phineas and Ferb, Big City Greens, The Loud House or The Casagrandes but I at least respect them for being simple comedies which aren't overly serious or serialized. Ironically, the one Disney Channel comedy cartoon I was kind of looking forward to is/was Primos, which the internet decided to collectively dump on after seeing the intro, seemingly causing Disney to keep pushing back its' premiere.

Part of the reason for this comedy cartoon drought as I see it that nowadays shows are even more splintered than ever: cartoons either target preschoolers or adults with no middle ground in between. Execs and CEOs will always quickly jump to the usual excuse of "Well, those age groups just aren't watching that much TV anymore", well to me it seems like a Catch-22: You don't make comedy toons for 6-12 or 9-14 because you don't think they'll watch them, but by the same token those audiences aren't watching as much TV because you're not making any shows for them.

The rise in popularity of anime in West hasn't helped comedy cartoons either; these days media snobs look at a show in which each episode is a simple, self-contained story that has no overarching plot or multipart sagas or characters going through a ton of angst and drama and sneer "Episodic comedies?? Bah! That's kids' stuff. Comedies are for babies, bro!" As my brother said once: If you consider having a sense of humor as being 'kids' stuff', then maybe you should develop a sense of humor yourself. Funny is not a 4-letter word.

 

[PicardMan]

I know some people go as far back as Adventure Time as the "comedy cartoon killer" as it eventually became a serialized dramedy and that became the hot thing. It was cooler to be the next Adventure Time rather than the next Animaniacs. Big City Greens and The Loud House are at least examples of traditional comedy cartoons even if cartoon snobs on Youtube might complain about them.

 

[JMTV]

Well, I can’t say about the current state of comedy cartoons because it always been up and down as lately. Plus, I’ve been very selective on which show I’m getting into because I couldn’t get into all of them. Not that they were bad, but it just wasn’t for me.

For me, the best comedy cartoon series that came out in recent years is Smiling Friends. I think that was the best one yet.

To be frank, you usually don’t get to see a lot of comedy cartoons for kids these days compared to adults was because executives felt that kids aren’t watching TV anymore. I personally think that’s silly, what do I know?

 

[SweetShop209]

I guess this could be why Dreamworks Animation Television feels a bit different in the 2020s. Outside of shows like The Mighty Ones, Trollstopia, and Pinecone And Pony, it's usually their preschool shows that are more episodic (whether action or comedy) while their non-preschool shows are usually some serialized action/fantasy show.

 

[Chris Wood]

We definitely seem to be in an action cartoons time right now. I have no idea why.

Are we? When I turn on Cartoon Network/Nick/Disney I usually don't see any action cartoons (not counting preschool stuff like Paw Patrol or Spidey and His Amazing Friends).

Which titles did you have in mind?

 

[Goldstar!]

Are we? When I turn on Cartoon Network/Nick/Disney I usually don't see any action cartoons (not counting preschool stuff like Paw Patrol or Spidey and His Amazing Friends).

Which titles did you have in mind?

Well, we're definitely not in a comedy cartoons time. I can count the number of new comedy cartoons that have debuted this year on 1 hand. Aside from Ivandoe, Tiny Toons Looniversity and Primos (which keeps getting delayed), what new comedy cartoons are there? If comedy cartoons are on the rise, I haven't noticed.

I was talking mainly about streaming. TV is a zombie right now, for the most part. Action drama cartoons are pretty much the only things on streaming that anyone talks about.

Also, you must get up pretty early in the morning to turn on Cartoon Network when it's not Adult Swim.

@PicardMan: I could never get into Adventure Time. It's too weird for me. There's no way that I can look at a show with a talking dog and living candy people and be expected to take it seriously.[/I]

 

[PicardMan]

Action drama cartoons are pretty much the only things on streaming that anyone talks about.

Harley Quinn, Hazbin Hotel, and Smiling Friends are doing well, so the adult comedy genre isn't exactly dying. It's family friendly comedy that is on the more obvious decline. Family feud question: name a comedy cartoon rated TV-PG or lower that debuted on cable or streaming this year.

 

[Goldstar!]

Again, this goes back to the mindset that "kids and teenagers barely watch TV anymore, so we're not going to make anything that caters to that audience specifically." Execs think that dark, crude, mean-spirited stoner humor is the kind of comedy cartoons that adults enjoy.

Generally speaking, adults don't want something like Velma; Scooby Doo fans something like Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc., which was a better Velma than Velma.

 

[Silverstar]

Harley Quinn, Hazbin Hotel, and Smiling Friends are doing well, so the adult comedy genre isn't exactly dying. It's family friendly comedy that is on the more obvious decline. Family feud question: name a comedy cartoon rated TV-PG or lower that debuted on cable or streaming this year.

Exactly. Presently TV animation is so black-and-white (not literally, of course): everything's either cute stuff for preschoolers or 'edgy' stuff for adults, but nothing in between, no shades of gray. I mean no disrespect to either genre; I know there are fans of both, but my particular fandom falls somewhere between Strawberry Shortcake and Bleach.

Part of the problem is that too many biggies in the industry still hold on to the belief that cartoons are just for kids; as such, the 'adult' comedies always have to be darker than dark, grosser than gross, meaner than mean and cruder than crude just to let us all know that "this ain't for kids". A lot of adults (myself included) enjoyed shows like the Eds, Johnny Bravo, DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, The Funny Company, Eek! The Cat, Pepper Ann, Animaniacs and other shows which were edgier than say, Sofia the First but didn't cross over into Big Mouth/Brickleberry/Velma territory either. There's a huge gap out there that's not being filled.

 

[PicardMan]

Let's go back to the ancient times when the Jetsons and Flintstones aired in prime time for a family (not exclusively kid audience). During that period, swearing in even live action dramas was incredibly rare and scandal worthy. The idea that stuff has to have blood, swearing, and sex to be enjoyed by adults seems like a 21st century invention as TV-G primetime shows died out pretty much the exact moment the calendar hit 2000 and Sister Sister, Family Matters and all those TV-G sitcoms died out. The change in what's happening to comedy isn't exclusive to animation. Comedy lower than TV-PG is rare live action or animated.

 

[Chris Wood]

Also, you must get up pretty early in the morning to turn on Cartoon Network when it's not Adult Swim.

That tends to happen with a one year old running around.

 

[The Overlord]

For fans like me anyway, comedy requires more subtlety and nuance and is more entertaining than watching 2 power houses beat each other up. There are only so many times you can see Batman bash the Joker before it starts to get repetitive. How many times can you watch Goku and Vegeta blow up an arena before it gets boring?

Another problem with modern adult comedy cartoons is that too many of them lack variety. Most of them just aspire to be the next South Park or especially the next Family Guy. As a result of this, most of them go for shock value, ugly character designs and mean spirited, dark humor as a substitute for well written plots actual jokes and genuine character development.

And sure, with the average comedy cartoon short, you just have a premise, a series of gags followed by a punchline, but that's more entertaining to me than watching characters go through a ton of angst for several episodes in some long, drawn out saga.

Well there is stuff on Disney Channel like Hailey's on it.

Besides Smiling Friends, I think a lot of the other animated comedies tend to blend with other genres.

Star Trek Lower Decks is Sci-fi comedy and Hazbin Hotel is comedy/horror/drama.

Now Lower Decks seems to be aimed solely at Star Trek fans and no one else will get the humor. Hazbin Hotel is not a pure comedy and definitely episode 4 is not very funny overall. The Amazing Digital Circus is a comedy, but also extensional horror.

Ultimately Comedy is subjective, a comedy aimed at kids would not hold much interest for me, because I like darker humor.

 

[Leviathan]

I don't think animation fans miss all-ages comedies too much. If you remember, they were very down on shows like Uncle Grandpa, Breadwinners, Sanjay and Craig and especially Thundercats Roar.

At best, you have established ongoing shows like Spongebob, The Loud House and Big City Greens.

 

[Goldstar!]

Ultimately Comedy is subjective, a comedy aimed at kids would not hold much interest for me, because I like darker humor.

Well, everyone isn't you, friend. A cartoon doesn't need to dark in order to be considered adult. Again, this is the mentality that too many adults have; that if it's not dark, edgy, mean-spirited or ugly, it must be for kids. Shows like Mission Hill, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast or even MTV's Liquid Television were good examples of adult cartoon that were twisted, but not overtly dark.

Well, there is stuff on Disney Channel like Hailey's on it.

I'm not a fan of tweencoms. Big City Greens is a show that I respect more than I like. I do respect that BCG is brave to just be a comedy that's in no way serious or serialized. Problem is that I don't find the show to be that funny. DuckTales 2017 was good, even if that show's take on the Duck Brothers, (especially Dewey) got on my nerves sometimes. The early seasons of SpongeBob Squarepants were decent.

 

[Silverstar]

Ultimately Comedy is subjective, a comedy aimed at kids would not hold much interest for me, because I like darker humor.

I wish that TV-G animated comedies with no strings attached and which don't cross into any other genre wouldn't immediately be lumped into the "for kids" category, but I respect your opinion, even though I don't agree.

I don't think animation fans miss all-ages comedies too much. If you remember, they were very down on shows like Uncle Grandpa, Breadwinners, Sanjay and Craig and especially Thundercats Roar.

I guess I'm in the minority then (and not for the first time), since all-ages comedy is my personal favorite genre. Of the above list, I unironically enjoyed Uncle Grandpa; the others didn't do anything for me. Stuff like Hazbin Hotel and The Amazing Digital Circus just aren't my jam. I neither need nor want heavy drama or existential horror mixed in with my comedy; I just want to be entertained.

 

[PicardMan]

I don't think animation fans miss all-ages comedies too much. If you remember, they were very down on shows like Uncle Grandpa, Breadwinners, Sanjay and Craig and especially Thundercats Roar.

What magic formula allowed comedy cartoons from the silent era to the 2000s to become popular only for the genre to decline so much? I'd figure that if it's good, audiences will watch it. I remember how big Spongebob, Fairly Oddparents, Jimmy Neutron, Invader Zim, Danny Phantom, and all of Nickelodeon's 2000s comedy cartoons were. What made 2010s comedy cartoons so ill regarded compared to what came prior?