Which decade was better for animation, the 90's or the 2000's?

[Silverstar]

Both decades were probably about even, if you think about it. The '90s were great (and I should know, I've researched the hell out of them), but they weren't flawless by any means. For every "Rocko's Modern Life", there was a "Wild Thornberrys"; for every "Animaniacs", there was a "Waynehead"; for every "Bobby's World", there was a "Piggsburg Pigs"; etc. And that's not even getting into the animated features - sure, we got The Lion King and Toy Story and The Iron Giant, but we also got A Troll in Central Park and The Pagemaster and Quest for Camelot. People only think the '90s were a haven of cartoon perfection because all the crappy cartoons from that era were overshadowed by the good ones and have drifted out of the public consciousness.

Exactly.

That, in a nutshell, is the major flaw with threads like these. Too often we tend to look back on the cartoons of our youth with rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, and consequently tend to filter out the crappy shows from that era as well as glorify the good ones. This is true of any decade. As I've put in my sig, nostalgia tends to blind us to the fact that suck is eternal.

@ CyberCubed and soundmonkey44:

I don't wish to sound like a jerk to you guys, but your logic is flawed and biased since you clearly favor the 90's to the detriment of any other era of animation.

It's quite illogical and unfair to say that the cartoons of the '00's aren't as memorable or will never be as memorable as the cartoons from the 90's, since we're in the '00's right now. How can you honestly say what will and will not become memorable from this decade unless you can somehow bend time and see the future firsthand? I'm sure nobody in the 90's could've or would've predicted how popular and memorable shows like Dexter's Lab or Doug or Johnny Bravo or Rugrats or The Powerpuff Girls would be 10 years later, so how can you say that in another 10 years time, people won't still be talking about Chowder or Futurama or TMNT 2K3 or Wolverine & the X-Men in the same fashion?

Very few people are aware they're living in a golden age. Only time can reveal that.

 

[rattis1]

Let's face it, cartoons just aren't the same as the "good old days" of the 80's and 90's.

For the love of God don't try to mix the 80's and 90's together into a uniform "good ol' days". I think the vast, vast majority of the worlds animation historians and professionals would agree with me when i say that while the 90's were a true second golden age of american animation (that many say still continues btw), the 80's were probably it's darkest decade (only rivaled by the 70's with it's billions upon billions of Scooby-knockoffs). The 90's and the 80's were pretty much polar opposites when it came to animation. Just as an example, animated (so-called) "kid shows" on TV have never been as raunchy and filled with innuendo and other jokes that go straight over the little ones heads a as they were in the 90's, when shows like Ren and Stimpy and Animaniacs could get away more or less hidden references to everything from bestiality to jail rape. 80's cartoons however (with very few exceptions) were written entirely on the intellectual level of a seven year old, and were generally among most inoffensive TV shows of all time.

The fact that anyone would clog these two utterly different periods into one single period "when cartoons were good" only proves that people consider the time "when cartoons were good" to be whenever they grew up... :/

 

[Baltofan]

The 90's had a load of underrated TV shows, but many blend movies like Pocahontas.

The 00's is better in movies like the Shrek trilogy.

 

[byron lomax]

Of course both decades have had their strengths and weaknesses, and I love many titles from both. But one thing I do prefer the 90s in is adult animation, without a doubt. A lot of 00s popular adult cartoons - Family Guy, American Dad, Adult Swim titles, even Futurama - don't appeal to me much. 90s animation tagged as "mature" produced a lot more interesting stuff, in my opinion.

 

[Classic Speedy]

True, but at least a VHS didn't skip unless it was truly damaged. And it's not as if everyone can get blue ray. Then again, my VHS player just recently maimed my VHS of the Little Mermaid. ;.; There goes my favorite childhood movie.

Eh, the whole "scratch a DVD once and it's useless" argument is rather exaggerated, no offense. I've been collecting DVDs since 2001 and only about three or four titles have rendered unplayable for whatever reason.

The 90's had a load of underrated TV shows, but many blend movies like Pocahontas.

"many blend movies"? What do you mean?

 

[J. B. Warner]

"many blend movies"? What do you mean?

I think he meant "bland".

 

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Exactly.

That, in a nutshell, is the major flaw with threads like these. Too often we tend to look back on the cartoons of our youth with rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, and consequently tend to filter out the crappy shows from that era as well as glorify the good ones. This is true of any decade. As I've put in my sig, nostalgia tends to blind us to the fact that suck is eternal.

@ CyberCubed and soundmonkey44:

I don't wish to sound like a jerk to you guys, but your logic is flawed and biased since you clearly favor the 90's to the detriment of any other era of animation.

It's quite illogical and unfair to say that the cartoons of the '00's aren't as memorable or will never be as memorable as the cartoons from the 90's, since we're in the '00's right now. How can you honestly say what will and will not become memorable from this decade unless you can somehow bend time and see the future firsthand? I'm sure nobody in the 90's could've or would've predicted how popular and memorable shows like Dexter's Lab or Doug or Johnny Bravo or Rugrats or The Powerpuff Girls would be 10 years later, so how can you say that in another 10 years time, people won't still be talking about Chowder or Futurama or TMNT 2K3 or Wolverine & the X-Men in the same fashion?

Very few people are aware they're living in a golden age. Only time can reveal that.

You have a point. But having lived through 3 decades so far, I would rate the 90s as the best, in terms of innovative, envelope-pushing "American" animation. And I have a lot of nostalgic fondness for the 80s.

Don't get me wrong, the 00s have produced many memorable shows, but nothing that makes me think it's pushing the medium forward. The only time I felt that was in the 90s.

 

[Antiyonder]

-Adult Swim. Yes, ignoring its foibles, scheduling nightmares, and some lousy originals/acquisitions, this was the best thing to happen to CN ever. It gave a permanent place for animation aimed at an older audience, and arguably it raised the bar for what sort of content could be shown on CN itself. Plus, it gave another place for anime to air.

At first I'd agree with you. But now it seem like every new cartoon on AS is pretty much a kids show with adult content (aside from the recently ended Moral Orel and the still continuing Venture Bros). Venture Bros, Moral Orel, Futurama, Harvey Birdman, The Brak Show and the early episodes of Aqua Teens prove that you can capture the interest of adult viewers without excessive content.

 

[Deadman]

both decades had some great cartoons, but i think im going with the 90s.

 

[kempobot]

I will go for the 90s based on overall life and spirit of that era. The the 2000s had better animation from a technical standpoint, but not too much life with any of the series that came out at that time. There were still a few gems from the 2000s such as SpongeBob Squarepants (at first I found the show to be obnoxious, until I gave it a chance, and discovered its snappy writing), the occasional good episode from the Animation Domination, TMNT 2k3, Chowder (not the best show, but it's a fun show to turn my brain off to) and others.

I don't hate Flash, I just wish people weren't so lazy with it, it'd work a lot better if used to full potential.

That's pretty much my gripe with Flash. Because Flash is so easy to use, animators don't really put their hearts into their work when they use it.

I know some loathe these, but seriously people, Flash CAN look good when done right...

That is correct. It is definitely possible to produce legitimately fluid, 'non-Flash' like animation with Flash (I believe Super Jail! is animated with Flash). However, the application has the darndest time registering your brush strokes properly, and the temptation of using the puppet-like tweening feature is just too strong for some.

 

[Plague Rat]

There were some pretty bad shows in the 90's too... I mean, there's not a doubt in my mind that there were shows that bored me to tears then. I'm going to get shot for this, but I wasn't too huge on the Tailspin/Duck Tales type cartoons... idk I just wasn't interested as a kid. *shrug*

Also when Spongebob first came out in the 90's the episodes were just childish and annoying, and it wasn't until the later episodes was the show better in both animation and humor... IMO, anyway.

That is correct. It is definitely possible to produce legitimately fluid, 'non-Flash' like animation with Flash (I believe Super Jail! is animated with Flash). However, the application has the darndest time registering your brush strokes properly, and the temptation of using the puppet-like tweening feature is just too strong for some.

Although there is an argument on Superjail's animation, a majority of people do find it quite impressive. But yes, it's animated with Flash... there's an interview on it, and I THINK they might have said something about it in the Comic Con video on Adultswim.com.

 

[THE 24 king]

90 hands down because that's when we had fox kids an kidswb with there great shows they had like power rangers yu-GI-oh Pokemon beast wars spider-man x-men Digimon Adventure but looking back to me i only think of two shows an that's Beyblade an Medabots in 2000-2009

 

[Goldstar!]

90 hands down because that's when we had fox kids an kidswb with there great shows they had like power rangers yu-GI-oh Pokemon beast wars spider-man x-men Digimon Adventure but looking back to me i only think of two shows an that's Beyblade an Medabots in 2000-2009

Statements like this one basically prove what has already been said; that everyone remembers the decade that they personally grew up with as being the "best" one. Since you have to be at least 13 to register at Toon Zone, it's a safe assumption that most of us here grew up watching TV in the 1990s, but if any of the "old schoolers" like DucktalesFan were to post here, they would say that the 1980s or the 1970s were the best decade, which is why there's really no right or wrong answer to this question. It depends on who you ask.

 

[ABrown]

Statements like this one basically prove what has already been said; that everyone remembers the decade that they personally grew up with as being the "best" one.

I don't know, I mean I was a child during the 80's. So I'm definitely most nostalgic for the 80's cartoons. But I would say without a doubt that collectively they were not the best cartoons. I loved the original He-Man cartoon as a child, but I feel like it's garbage compared to the 2002 He-Man cartoon. And I loved the original TMNT as a child. And again, I feel like it too was garbage compared to the 2003 TMNT cartoon. I think that the cartoons of the 1990's and 2000's have both been superior decades to the 80's cartoons.

 

[Silverstar]

There are indeed some people who are able to look back on these animation eras impartially; I for instance am a child of the 70's, but I'd hardly call that the best decade for anything, but people like that who actually take off the nostalgia glasses once in a while are the exception, not the norm.

 

[soundmonkey44]

There our alot of good arguments in this forum but...

although its true wich is better is affected by Nostalgian & openion I try to be completly Biase/Unbisas...whatever the right word is in deciding things like this.

I mean even looking back & watching shows from the 90's I did'nt watch while growing up I still find them more entertaining then most modern shows, same goes for shows made in the 80's & sitcoms made in the 50's & 60's. The fact of it is that most of the good IDeas were used up in 20th century televison, its true someday kids of this generation will talk about how much they miss TMNT or Spongebob or Fairly oddparents, etc. But the fact of it is this decade will never be conisdered a gold or silver decade for any medium besides silly tweencoms & musicals, its true TV is getting better but conisdering most of this decade has been sub-par next to its predicessors its hard to say it'll ever be talked about highly, all we can do is hope that the 2010 will improve on the 00's mistakes!

 

[Classic Speedy]

I will go for the 90s based on overall life and spirit of that era. The the 2000s had better animation from a technical standpoint, but not too much life with any of the series that came out at that time.

Oh definitely. That's one area where the '90s had the advantage. While I prefer the animation to have a consistent look from episode to episode, that look doesn't have to mean rigid and lifeless, too. Ren & Stimpy was a great example. Outside of Mr. Big (who always gave a different look to R&S for some reason), the animation was consistent in the sense that the character models and movements didn't look radically different depending on what studio was doing the overseas work. Yet, there was enough variety put into the facial expressions and poses that it didn't become visually boring to watch, either.

And I don't think I need to mention The Simpsons, which definitely took a visual downturn in the 2000s, despite some exceptions here and there.

 

[CyberCubed]

Here is further proof the 90's were better:

- The anime boom didn't start until 1998, so animation relied heavily on cartoons created for the U.S. In the 00's networks got lazy and just imported anime. Thus creativity declined.

- 00' had many cartoons in flash animation. Cheap, poorly done shows.

- 90's gave us the best superhero shows ever. Every kid had a superhero favorite, again, before anime took over and everyone wanted to be Goku or Ash Ketchum.

- WB animation was GOLDEN. Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Hysteria, etc....

What happened to all the WB classics? We don't get that stuff like that anymore.

- CN originals were better. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING can compare to the original Dexter, Powerpuff Girls, Cow and Chicken and Johnny Bravo.

- The shows from 00' rely on niche fanbases, many of which won't go down as anything special. As much as I love TMNT 2k3, I know it failed to reach up to the popularity and success of the original 80's TMNT. Thus it failed to move out of the shadow of its predecessor.

Same thing happened with The Batman, Brave and the Bold, the new X-men.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

- The anime boom didn't start until 1998, so animation relied heavily on cartoons created for the U.S. In the 00's networks got lazy and just imported anime. Thus creativity declined.

I wouldn't say that.

- 00' had many cartoons in flash animation. Cheap, poorly done shows.

Yes Flash can be cheap and poorly done, but it can be nice too. i wouldn't call Foster's cheap and poorly done

- 90's gave us the best superhero shows ever. Every kid had a superhero favorite, again, before anime took over and everyone wanted to be Goku or Ash Ketchum.

Are you saying that kids wanting to be Ash and Goku is a bad thing? If so I don't see how that is any differant than a kid wanting to be Batman or one of the Ninja Turtles.

- WB animation was GOLDEN. Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Hysteria, etc....

I kind of agree on that one

- CN originals were better. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING can compare to the original Dexter, Powerpuff Girls, Cow and Chicken and Johnny Bravo.

This is merely your opinion. I know that I would rather watch Kids Next Door or Foster's than PPG.

- The shows from 00' rely on niche fanbases, many of which won't go down as anything special. As much as I love TMNT 2k3, I know it failed to reach up to the popularity and success of the original 80's TMNT. Thus it failed to move out of the shadow of its predecessor.

They will be special to the kids

 

[chdr]

Here is further proof the 90's were better:

- The anime boom didn't start until 1998, so animation relied heavily on cartoons created for the U.S. In the 00's networks got lazy and just imported anime. Thus creativity declined.

Outside of CN, what networks were importing anime? Even then, CN was doing pretty well creatively during the anime boom of the early 00s.

- 00' had many cartoons in flash animation. Cheap, poorly done shows.

As I've said before, the only reason why 90s shows didn't use Flash was because Flash didn't exist back then.

- 90's gave us the best superhero shows ever. Every kid had a superhero favorite, again, before anime took over and everyone wanted to be Goku or Ash Ketchum.

How is this different from kids wanting to be Batman or Superman? Also, DBZ and Pokemon were produced in the 90's as well. (Even in the US, where they aired in syndication)

- WB animation was GOLDEN. Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Hysteria, etc....

What happened to all the WB classics? We don't get that stuff like that anymore.

90's WBA Animation =/= All 90's Animation. I could easily say that the 00's were the best decade because Chowder and Flapjack are great shows.

- CN originals were better. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING can compare to the original Dexter, Powerpuff Girls, Cow and Chicken and Johnny Bravo.

That is a matter of opinion.

- The shows from 00' rely on niche fanbases, many of which won't go down as anything special. As much as I love TMNT 2k3, I know it failed to reach up to the popularity and success of the original 80's TMNT. Thus it failed to move out of the shadow of its predecessor.

I wouldn't exactly say that Spongebob, Family Guy, and Naruto had "niche fanbases".

Same thing happened with The Batman, Brave and the Bold, the new X-men.

TBATB just finished its first season. Why wouldn't it have a small fanbase so far?