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What About Kids' Cartoons?

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What About Kids' Cartoons?

Hello all,

Most of the folks who post here grew up watching kids' cartoons, and now some of us are animating these cartoons ourselves. Today, most kids' shows (in the US, anyway) are animated, or contain animated characters. While a lot of these cartoons get dubbed as "corny" by adult viewers, you gotta respect the people who actually try to provide quality cartoons for children.

I don't really care for most of the kids stuff on tv, but there are a few shows that I consider outstanding...

Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat:
A PBS cartoon based on Amy Tan's book by the same name. The animation is very stylized, and made to resemble chinese paintings. Also, the writing and voice talent are fabulous!

The Backyardigans:
A cartoon Nick Jr. made for toddlers. This has to be the best 3D cartoon out there--the acting is believable, the sets are beautiful, and the choreography for the dance numbers is amazing. (It also features great music.) Unlike most 3D tv shows, this one manages not to look stiff or blobby.

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends:
You've probably already heard of it. I was lucky enough to catch a marathon of this show last summer. The art in this cartoon is amazing.

Those are my top picks. How about you guys? Have any of today's kids' cartoons earned your respect?

Sincerely,
Pooryorik

Lazy Town, it is not hard to watch unlike a lot of the children shows. I know that it is not a animated show but I like it.

As for currently running cartoons, there is a fair number of them for the under ten group but none of them stick out in my mind.

pre-schooler kind of kid shows like backyardigans and dora the explorer kinda stuff....is way too uninteresting for me to bother with. Ive seen Backyardigans and i can't stand it.

I have seen one though that i kinda thought was neat. It looks like its animated in Flash, its like "koko takamoto toto" or some weird thing. Its a bird a monkey and an ardvark thing who are friends and do stuff.

But once you get a bit older, the shows get really entertaining actually. Even a lot of adult kind of jokes or ideas/references are thrown in. Fairly Oddparents, Spongebob, Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends are my favorites.

"who wouldn't want to make stuff for me? I'm awesome." -Bloo

Hello all,

Most of the folks who post here grew up watching kids' cartoons, and now some of us are animating these cartoons ourselves. Today, most kids' shows (in the US, anyway) are animated, or contain animated characters. While a lot of these cartoons get dubbed as "corny" by adult viewers, you gotta respect the people who actually try to provide quality cartoons for children.

I don't really care for most of the kids stuff on tv, but there are a few shows that I consider outstanding...

Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat:
A PBS cartoon based on Amy Tan's book by the same name. The animation is very stylized, and made to resemble chinese paintings. Also, the writing and voice talent are fabulous!

The Backyardigans:
A cartoon Nick Jr. made for toddlers. This has to be the best 3D cartoon out there--the acting is believable, the sets are beautiful, and the choreography for the dance numbers is amazing. (It also features great music.) Unlike most 3D tv shows, this one manages not to look stiff or blobby.

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends:
You've probably already heard of it. I was lucky enough to catch a marathon of this show last summer. The art in this cartoon is amazing.

Those are my top picks. How about you guys? Have any of today's kids' cartoons earned your respect?

Sincerely,
Pooryorik

You have a point, I have been flaring the hit show Fosters for Imag...but that's because I never saw it, m god it is an amazing show, the concept is incredible and the animation is beautiful....I have a newhero, Animated Ape:)
Sagwa on PBS is indeed a great show, taking you on an adventure in ancient china, through the eyes of a cat, I like Sagwa's color, she's cute and her brother is my kinda cat.
I love Arthur, this show is one of the best and it's been around like forever, the WB needs to rectify their line up, the only show I like is Xaiolin Showdown, that's it, it is truly magnificent and funny....:D
Cartoon Network a subsidary of Time Warner, has too many shows I get confused sometimes, but I manage to regain my sanity when the powerpuff girls or courage the cowardly dog airs.
I love all cartoons and the industry really needs to gain it's momentum and release shows that will truly benifit our youth.

He who seeks the truth, must first empty his heart of a false pursuit.

Diemeras Dark Angel

Arthur is probably my favorite of the kids shows. Really very good. They get away with what they can with the animation, but it really shines with the stories they write for it. I'm a little disappointed to hear a rumor that Mainframe is doing a 3d version of Arthur.
Sagwa is great.
Bob The Builder does a pretty nice job with the animation. The stories are a bit on the tame side, but it is for a very young crowd (3-6 year olds I imagine) and my toddler loves it.

Cailou and Dora are just painful though. Those delve into a level of relating to young kids that even I have a hard time dealing with.

I always thought of Xiaolin, Fosters, etc. as being more for tweens and young teens than young kids, splitting hairs but we are talking about kids' shows. While kids may enjoy them, I have a feeling that they connect more with Arthur, Maya and Miguel, Dora, Bob the Builder, etc.

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

Bob The Builder does a pretty nice job with the animation. The stories are a bit on the tame side, but it is for a very young crowd (3-6 year olds I imagine) and my toddler loves it.

I actually really respect the makers of that show. Doing stop-motion is very hard to do especially on a tight TV budget.

James :cool:

i really lean more towards the shows that gear more towards the 9 and up age range with "SpongeBob", "Fairly Odd parents" "Foster's", & "My Life as a Teenage Robot." I don't really care for the more younger shows like Caillou, Backyardigans, DragonTales, Maya and Miguel, Dora, etc. Their stories and dialogue are to simple for me to suffer through, but for younger kids i think they're great (except for Caillou, thats braindead material). But i will have to agree that among younger cartoons, the most exceptional is Arthur. The stories don't flat out determine that the child watching is stupid or slow (like Caillou). Plus i find it enjoyable to watch even at the ripe old age of 19. Another great Kids' show, that i considered great for all ages, was Rugrats, but sadly:( it is nolonger with us.

What would scooby do?

You have a point, I have been flaring the hit show Fosters for Imag...but that's because I never saw it, m god it is an amazing show, the concept is incredible and the animation is beautiful....I have a newhero, Animated Ape:)
Sagwa on PBS is indeed a great show, taking you on an adventure in ancient china, through the eyes of a cat, I like Sagwa's color, she's cute and her brother is my kinda cat.
I love Arthur, this show is one of the best and it's been around like forever, the WB needs to rectify their line up, the only show I like is Xaiolin Showdown, that's it, it is truly magnificent and funny....:D
Cartoon Network a subsidary of Time Warner, has too many shows I get confused sometimes, but I manage to regain my sanity when the powerpuff girls or courage the cowardly dog airs.
I love all cartoons and the industry really needs to gain it's momentum and release shows that will truly benifit our youth.

you were flaming a show that you hadnt even watched.

how appropriate.

I tend to like the shows for older kids as well. Some of my favorite shows are "Fosters," for obvious reasons ;), "Kim Possible" really nice designs and fun writing, "Avatar..." has a nice look to it and long story arc, but you can pretty much pick up at any point. I just saw a couple of newer shows that caught my eye. "Dragon Hunters" (?) has nice designs and very nice full animation. I gotta watch that one again, and also "Robot Boy" has a very strange Fosters/Power Puff feel to it. I usually get home too late and don't wake up early enough to see the cartoons, but when I do, those are some of the ones I enjoy.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Some of my favorites are Hey Arnold!, Ginger, Rocket Power and the Thornberries. Back a few years I used to watch Inspector Gadget with a nice little five year old named Sam that was transfixed by it.

Fairly Oddparents has to be one of my least favorite kid shows.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

Some of my favorites are Hey Arnold!, Ginger, Rocket Power and the Thornberries. Back a few years I used to watch Inspector Gadget with a nice little five year old named Sam that was transfixed by it.

Fairly Oddparents has to be one of my least favorite kid shows.

Ah. A Klasky/Csupo fan.

I can see how Fairly OddParents is your least favorite. I don't even know why I mentioned it. The stories aren't really that interesting nor funny to me. And i also feel that the character designs have been done so many times before. There's nothing really original about this specific show(for me, of course)

What would scooby do?

I just don't like the story lines or the art of those "odd parents". The storylines could give kids the wrong idea on some things, the art just seems forced.

I've caught Foster's a couple of times, but it ranks with Sponge Bob for me, not something I'd watch if there's something else on, including any of the different versions of Law and Order that are on today. I know Ape works hard on it, but it just hasn't captured my affections yet.

I have to also admit to watching Tutenstein, it comes between animal shows that I like to watch on Saturday mornings. Sam's all grown up now so I don't have any excuses...I watch this stuff when I get a chance. Since I don't have cable anymore I don't catch the others as often as I'd like, but when I get a chance to pick a show on a friends satelite tv, I still try. And that little football headed kid has a place in my heart, as do the Ginger gang and others.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

Saider,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I had no idea everything I liked was by the same studio or artists. I just did a search and I am having more fun on their site.

I am not one of the old school animators here, I just know what I like and I don't always look at who produces or creates them. This is all kinds of fun.

Thanks again,
Pat
http://www.klaskycsupo.com/ In case anyone else is a fan. Their flash site is a little lame, but it's kind of fun getting caught up on things. Wish they'd hire me to refine their site.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

......(except for Caillou, thats braindead material)..... The stories don't flat out determine that the child watching is stupid or slow (like Caillou).

Calling Cailou braindead or for stupid/slow children is a little (make that a lot) harsh. You're taking it out of the context of the intended audience (1-3 year olds). This is a dangerous mistake that has killed many good shows, like the animated The Tick, cancelled because it didn't test well with 6-9 year olds, even though nearly the entire dorm I was living in would get up, hangover and all, to watch it. Cailou may seem slow to anyone over 5 or 6 but for someone younger, the simple story lines about simple morality and slow paced repetition are often more than enough for a young toddler.

It's funny I'm not a big fan of (read: don't like at all) Klasky/Csupo cartoons. They just rub me the wrong way. I do like Fairly Odd Parents, Sponge Bob, and many of the other 'new' Nick line up. I wonder. Does one studio (or style, I guess) typically appeal to one and not the other, like Phacker and I? Just curious.

While I was back at school, I really got into Read Between the Lions (kind of like the next step after Sesame Street), not a whole lot of cartoons, but some of the ones that were in there were pretty witty, cheap but they do the job.

I've been a fan of PBS and its animation for a long time (I still love the stop motion stuff they've been doing for the past 30 years on Sesame Street).

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

It seems that way doesn't it Kdiddy. Although I really liked Karate Jack. And I watch Courage too, not sure maybe they are produced by the same company. But I also like a lot of the PBS stuff. I was already grown when the gramar and math rock things came out, but they were great. And from time to time I do watch Arthur, it's kind of like tuning in to Mr. Rogers again.

And when I was little I was a fan of "Gumby" and "Mighty Mouse", not to mention "Tom Terrific".

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

It seems that way doesn't it Kdiddy. Although I really liked Karate Jack. And I watch Courage too, not sure maybe they are produced by the same company. But I also like a lot of the PBS stuff. I was already grown when the gramar and math rock things came out, but they were great. And from time to time I do watch Arthur, it's kind of like tuning in to Mr. Rogers again.

And when I was little I was a fan of "Gumby" and "Mighty Mouse", not to mention "Tom Terrific".

Perhaps it's as much a difference between old Nick toons (I use the term 'old' lightly, since it's the difference of about 5 to 10 years ago) and the new Nick toons. I like the new ones much better, where it sounds like you like the old (1st generation?) ones better. Do you mean Samurai Jack or was there a Karate Jack? (I don't get to see cable much) I would put Samurai Jack on the cusp of the two 'generations' of Nick/Cartoon Network toons. It, along with the Power Puff Girls and Dexter's Lab, were the first in a batch of new cartoons using the retro line art look.

I haven't seen too many Arthurs recently. I still enjoy the first few seasons, even though I think I've seen them all twice or more by now. I think the show's quality dropped a bit when they brought in the new voices and it sounded like Arthur was heading into puberty. It still isn't bad, just not as good.

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

I just don't like the story lines or the art of those "odd parents". The storylines could give kids the wrong idea on some things, the art just seems forced.

Thats what is so awesome about it. I mean shows with morals? lllaaaameee, even so it still tries to bring out good morals...but come on its a cartoon.
There are some episodes that give pretty bad messages, its awesome. So hilarious. Timmy Turner always says the right thing at the right time.

Some of the newer episodes are pretty bad and "forced" as you say, but from its Oh Yeah! cartoon roots to its fairly recent adaptation, it is humorous to an older crowed as much as younguns.

I think it reached its prime a couple years ago.

I just realized you said the art was "forced" and...me no agree there. They are unique in many aspects, mainly shapes used and being a very 2d world. I wouldnt call it forced as much as sticking with what they created

"who wouldn't want to make stuff for me? I'm awesome." -Bloo

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you were flaming a show that you hadnt even watched.

how appropriate.

Okay..okay skinny I know:( but my friends were criticising it so much, calling it gay and that sort of thing so I thought...well maybe it is, it wasn't until I had nothing to do so I turned on CN and there it was...in all it's glory....for me to see:)
So now, I actually watch it in secrecy, cause, I actually like it, I thank the stars my friends don't know me by this screen name....can you ever imagine how hard a "ringbang" feels...:eek:

He who seeks the truth, must first empty his heart of a false pursuit.

Diemeras Dark Angel

Must say, everytime I see my little cousin watching Kim Possible, I just have to shake my head. That show is lame. When I was the same age it was Duck Tales, Tale Spin and Rescue Rangers (I think in that order), and even though I didn't care for them back in the day, I've since grown fond of Rescue Rangers, at least. But Kim Possible and Lizzy McGuire (with the cartoon cut-scenes) are abominable. I've thought about showing my cousin Rescue Rangers, but she probably could care less about wacky rodents saving the day than creepy teen-soap opera garbage. And my other little cousin got Bratz toys for freakin' Christmas! It's strange.

And what about Darkwing Duck? That show was hysterical. It's too bad it came towards the end of the Disney afternoon and people were starting to loose interest in the line up. But yeah, the Disney afternoon was fantastic. Good writing, better than average (especially for the time) animation. And I definitely agree taht Kim Possible and the Lizzy McGuire stuff is hard to take, but I'm not a girl, so I'm curious how much that has to do with it. I do like the early Recess and Filmore (formula and all, it does a good job of reminding me of the cop dramas of the 70's and 80's).

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

Saider,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I had no idea everything I liked was by the same studio or artists. I just did a search and I am having more fun on their site.

I am not one of the old school animators here, I just know what I like and I don't always look at who produces or creates them. This is all kinds of fun.

Thanks again,
Pat
http://www.klaskycsupo.com/ In case anyone else is a fan. Their flash site is a little lame, but it's kind of fun getting caught up on things. Wish they'd hire me to refine their site.

Glad that your're glad!

Calling Cailou braindead or for stupid/slow children is a little (make that a lot) harsh. You're taking it out of the context of the intended audience (1-3 year olds). This is a dangerous mistake that has killed many good shows, like the animated The Tick, cancelled because it didn't test well with 6-9 year olds, even though nearly the entire dorm I was living in would get up, hangover and all, to watch it. Cailou may seem slow to anyone over 5 or 6 but for someone younger, the simple story lines about simple morality and slow paced repetition are often more than enough for a young toddler.

Maybe I was too harse. Or maybe not. I have seen kids of the 1-5 age get completetly uninterested in this show. (y'know, sing the theme song then go back to tearing the living room apart) It's very boring. I feel toddlers need something a little more engaging and exciting to keep their interest. This is where i give props to shows like Blues Clues and Dora.

Can you say Como Estas?

Como Estas!!!

What would scooby do?

When I was the same age it was Duck Tales, Tale Spin and Rescue Rangers

And what about Darkwing Duck?

Man, did you guys just take me on a wonderful journey back to my child hood! O man, this is serious nostalgia!

I absolutley loved that old Disney stuff (i even had a crush on Gidget!) Man that just reminds of the utter downfall of the cartoons on TV today (as far as lineup I mean what happened to Saturday Mornings?!) especially the Disney Channel. But, I actually like Kim Possible and why are we even talking about yesterday's-thrown-out-garbage of Lizzy McGuire?

What would scooby do?

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