Because of cable and satellite channels, offbeat fare such as Ren & Stimpy and Courage the Cowardly Dog had a shot on the air. Courtesy of Spumco (left) TM & © 2001 Cartoon Network. An AOL Time Warner Co. All rights reserved.

It was indeed enlightening to read fellow writer Tom Sito’s recent take on the cyclical nature of the animation business. Although times are currently not easy for those who wish to labor in the world of toons, Sito has a cogent point: Downturns have happened before, followed by flourishing eras of plenty. For this month’s column I thought it might be interesting and, perhaps, informative to track some of the creative and cultural trends in animation over the past 20 years or so.

I chose the decade of the ‘80s because I believe that many animators working today (and, I suspect, many of our readers) bore close witness to this era of animation. I also believe that cycles of entertainment styles have roughly a 20-year span before the next definitive moments tend to occur. In researching and writing this month’s piece a few interesting facts surfaced that can indisputably be linked to evolutionary changes in both culture and entertainment since the 1980s.

Perhaps the most salient change was the saturation in cartoon fare that resulted from three networks presenting round-the clock animation. During the 1980s animated cartoons were limited to Saturday morning or the afternoon syndication market during weekdays. The thought of even one network devoted entirely to animation was unthinkable. Cable and satellite television, plus refined techniques of determining audience demographics proved abundantly that the market was there. This alliance between broadcast technology and niche marketing led to an explosion in animated series. At first much of the new networks’ broadcast time was filled with old theatrical shorts, cheaply made imports or superannuated TV shows, but within a short time original creator-driven series began to appear.

The diversity encouraged by the cable and satellite channels cannot be underestimated. There is no doubt that if only the “big three” networks existed into the present decade there may have been little chance for cartoons such as the original incarnation of Ren & Stimpy, Invader Zim, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Grim and Evil or Samurai Jack to ever crack the lineup at ABC, NBC or CBS. The ruckus that followed the Religious Right’s smackdown of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures in 1987 would have led to caution not only at CBS but among its competitors as well; shows that played it light and kept it safe would have been the rule. The Fairly OddParents, The Proud Family, Powerpuff Girls and Kim Possible may well have had a shot at Saturday Morning or UHF syndication, but I would be willing to bet that most network execs would have considered anything as offbeat as SpongeBob SquarePants a reach.

Kim Possible plays it light and safe. © Disney Television Animation.

One very noteworthy change occurred in the concept of depicting games. The mid-1980s were rife with cartoon versions of videogames. Those tired of plunking down quarters at the local arcade could connect with Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Super Mario Bros., Dragon’s Lair, Q*Bert, Frogger, Lazer Tag Academy or Pitfall Harry on the Saturday morning screen, trading joysticks for the joys of animation instead. What happened to this popular genre and how did this trend evolve over time? To begin with, videogames are no longer the astonishing novelty they were in the early 1980s. The games mentioned above were unprecedented entertainers in their day, but the introduction of advanced technology and graphics made that day a short one indeed. Soon bulky arcade games could be compressed onto one’s television screen at home beginning with the first primitive gear by Atari. The videogame became domesticated and its novelty eventually disappeared.