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and I would have gotten away with it too!
May. 14th, 2007 11:49 amI'm a former connoisseur of Cartoon Network, I'll admit it. I'm also an always connoisseur of the Scooby-Doo series - while I prefer the original, predictable, badly drawn version, I will watch the new, modern, "grown-up", less predictable version too, if it's on - which it is, this morning. Hey, "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" is a great movie. Set in the bayou, in a haunted house, with zombies that are actually pretty creepy looking that come out at sunset... and cat people.
Anyway, watching Cartoon Network during summers is one of my favorite pasttimes, even as a college student, and it leads me to wonder if little kids today still watch cartoons. Or do they play videogames instead? Watch "real" television (or watch fake real TV, like shows on Nickelodeon with child stars)?
Granted, it's not the same Cartoon Network that attracted me. Toonami, which as Kim says rescued many in my generation, is gone, and there has been no good replacement for it. To my horror, Tom & Jerry (which should have gone off the air in the first week it aired, as I think it's one of the worst excuses for entertainment to ever grace American televisions, and there's good reason that it's parodied on the Simpsons as incredibly violent, one-sided Itchy & Scratchy. No, that still airs, after decades, but the much better Japanese Toonami shows have to bow out after their season runs end. That, and the Japanese knotweed is an exotic pest that must be eliminated, but the Virginia knotweed can stay. Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo, which were guilty pleasures of me and mine, are also gone, since 2003.
Among those new shows currently showing that I (extremely arbitrarily) approve of (as good cartoons) are:
* Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends - universally acclaimed by my friends, it's sweet and extremely lovable, and celebrates odd kids' traditional hobby of having imaginary friends
* The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy - it's a kids' show that features the Grim Reaper and Goth Girl Extraordinaire Mandy. Need I say more?
* My Gym Partner's a Monkey - I've never seen an episode, but I like it because, well, I often felt that I was the only sane cow in the herd when I was at school
Shows that I do not see any potential in:
* Code Lyoko - annoying characters, unwatchable animation
* Camp Lazlo - point being....?
* Ed, Edd & Eddy - since I was a little girl who said boys were "lumps from hell", I have always found this show disgusting
* Class of 3000 - I can't stand musicals
* Codename: Kids Next Door - not just boring, but annoying too! I've never seen more token characters in a kids' show.
From a market standpoint, the network has been having somewhat of a crisis of identity. In 2004, '90s shows were kicked off (like Dexter's and Johnny Bravo) and a new slogan was introduced: This is Cartoon Network. Tom & Jerry was the only old show that survived, because it's always been on Turner Broadcasting stations. In 2006, this became: Cartoon Network - Yes! Then the station basically divided itself into three "looks": Lunchbox of Doom, VS, and CGI City. As of 2007, there is no slogan and a lot of the new cartoons introduced in 2004 are on hiatus, probably because they're not doing too well.
Of course, I loved the '90s shows. I miss the days of Toonami, Batman, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Dexter's Laboratory, even Johnny Quest and the Powerpuff Girls. Hell, I still know the Animaniacs' "Presidents" and "Capitals" songs, as well as "hell-oo-oo nurse!" And of course everyone seems to think I'm The Brain. I still say "I am vengeance... I am the night... I am... Batman!" and of course, who can let go of evil Mandark's laugh? Or "the city of townsville..." Now those shows made an impression. They were somewhat risque, in my opinion, and somewhat catering to a certain dorkville, future geek snobs of America audience. Not necessarily the ideal modern child. I'm probably reading too much into this, but the modern child does good healthy things like... go to summer camp, sing in music class, build treehouses... right? They don't build doomsday machines and they're not superheroes made from test tubes - nor are they mice. I think that's what it is. The modern shows are all so normal and unimaginative. Yes, they're somewhat more broad in audience appeal, but they compromise the very strong core audience of school... dare I say, rejects, in favor of a bland, unfaithful audience of Every Child.
Need I remind them of their most popular shows in history? They are ALL shonen anime. Need I remind them how very, very uncool these shows were and still are in suburbia? Trust me, the geeks will inherit the earth. They already own the digital age. It might pay to make them happy... not disenfranchise them further with shows that, quite frankly, aren't smart, quirky, or exciting enough for them.
Anyway, watching Cartoon Network during summers is one of my favorite pasttimes, even as a college student, and it leads me to wonder if little kids today still watch cartoons. Or do they play videogames instead? Watch "real" television (or watch fake real TV, like shows on Nickelodeon with child stars)?
Granted, it's not the same Cartoon Network that attracted me. Toonami, which as Kim says rescued many in my generation, is gone, and there has been no good replacement for it. To my horror, Tom & Jerry (which should have gone off the air in the first week it aired, as I think it's one of the worst excuses for entertainment to ever grace American televisions, and there's good reason that it's parodied on the Simpsons as incredibly violent, one-sided Itchy & Scratchy. No, that still airs, after decades, but the much better Japanese Toonami shows have to bow out after their season runs end. That, and the Japanese knotweed is an exotic pest that must be eliminated, but the Virginia knotweed can stay. Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo, which were guilty pleasures of me and mine, are also gone, since 2003.
Among those new shows currently showing that I (extremely arbitrarily) approve of (as good cartoons) are:
* Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends - universally acclaimed by my friends, it's sweet and extremely lovable, and celebrates odd kids' traditional hobby of having imaginary friends
* The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy - it's a kids' show that features the Grim Reaper and Goth Girl Extraordinaire Mandy. Need I say more?
* My Gym Partner's a Monkey - I've never seen an episode, but I like it because, well, I often felt that I was the only sane cow in the herd when I was at school
Shows that I do not see any potential in:
* Code Lyoko - annoying characters, unwatchable animation
* Camp Lazlo - point being....?
* Ed, Edd & Eddy - since I was a little girl who said boys were "lumps from hell", I have always found this show disgusting
* Class of 3000 - I can't stand musicals
* Codename: Kids Next Door - not just boring, but annoying too! I've never seen more token characters in a kids' show.
From a market standpoint, the network has been having somewhat of a crisis of identity. In 2004, '90s shows were kicked off (like Dexter's and Johnny Bravo) and a new slogan was introduced: This is Cartoon Network. Tom & Jerry was the only old show that survived, because it's always been on Turner Broadcasting stations. In 2006, this became: Cartoon Network - Yes! Then the station basically divided itself into three "looks": Lunchbox of Doom, VS, and CGI City. As of 2007, there is no slogan and a lot of the new cartoons introduced in 2004 are on hiatus, probably because they're not doing too well.
Of course, I loved the '90s shows. I miss the days of Toonami, Batman, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Dexter's Laboratory, even Johnny Quest and the Powerpuff Girls. Hell, I still know the Animaniacs' "Presidents" and "Capitals" songs, as well as "hell-oo-oo nurse!" And of course everyone seems to think I'm The Brain. I still say "I am vengeance... I am the night... I am... Batman!" and of course, who can let go of evil Mandark's laugh? Or "the city of townsville..." Now those shows made an impression. They were somewhat risque, in my opinion, and somewhat catering to a certain dorkville, future geek snobs of America audience. Not necessarily the ideal modern child. I'm probably reading too much into this, but the modern child does good healthy things like... go to summer camp, sing in music class, build treehouses... right? They don't build doomsday machines and they're not superheroes made from test tubes - nor are they mice. I think that's what it is. The modern shows are all so normal and unimaginative. Yes, they're somewhat more broad in audience appeal, but they compromise the very strong core audience of school... dare I say, rejects, in favor of a bland, unfaithful audience of Every Child.
Need I remind them of their most popular shows in history? They are ALL shonen anime. Need I remind them how very, very uncool these shows were and still are in suburbia? Trust me, the geeks will inherit the earth. They already own the digital age. It might pay to make them happy... not disenfranchise them further with shows that, quite frankly, aren't smart, quirky, or exciting enough for them.
