I get forced all the time to watch cartoons with my nieces/nephews. some stuff out there is truly bizarre viewing. Uncle Grandpa, Adventure time, My fairy godparents all have very bizarre plots, ultra weird characters, stuff not appropriate for kids under 10, lots of screaming, etc.
Whatever happened to good ole fashioned tunes like Bugs bunny, Yosemite sam, etc.?
Am I overreacting to these modern cartoons? Is this some underhanded plot by Hollywood to warp young kids’ minds?
Check out adventure time. A lot of characters are inanimate objects that talk, characters that look like monsters. the plots make no sense, very disjointed. A lot of conflict and yelling and screaming and at one another. Not even funny. At least the saving grace is that my little nieces like to watch SpongeBob. At least that has some humor to it.
Given that the older alternatives are things like Tom & Jerry or Loony Toons, I’m not sure what you expect. Animation is, by its nature, a great medium for absurd plots and over-the-top drama or comedy. It’s my understanding that Adventure Time is one of the few successful western cartoons with some drama, though I don’t watch it myself. The few episodes I have seen were decent. I prefer superhero shows, since they tend to be more dramatic and character-driven (and the plots make sense, if that’s a concern for you), but they’ve been getting cancelled recently. Action-comedy is the standard in animation, and it’s hard to break out of it. I really think this is just a continuation of what animation has always been. It’s not an underhanded plot (and it has nothing to do with hollywood), it’s just that the networks are slow to change. But even if superhero shows did come back, wacky comedy is never going away. It’s something animation does really well, and a lot of kids love it. I don’t think bright colors or talking objects do them any harm.
Honestly, I wish people would be allowed to put more darkness and conflict into children’s cartoons. It’s difficult to showcase heroism without contrasting it with encroaching darkness.
There aren’t really any good dramatic or pure comedic shows on TV right now. The superheroes have mostly been relegated to DVDs for the moment. I guess if you’re looking for something more age-appropriate, but still fun and colorful, you could look into anime. Most of the
Digimon series are appropriate for a 6-10 year old, and the plots involve fantasy (talking monsters, other worlds, etc) without going crazy. If you want to stick with western stuff, some superhero shows are OK, but overall they skew towards older audiences (10-14). If bright colors, talking objects, and general weirdness bother you, you have to realize that that gets rid of most modern shows for younger kids. Realism is generally reserved for the older crowd. It’ll be difficult to find any shows that fit your standards if you’re not going to watch them yourself.
If you’re just here to see if it’s a conspiracy… Not really, no. But it is kind of annoying that these are the only shows that get air time right now, and character-driven pieces with more depth are passed over or canceled. I’m still not over the cancelation of Green Lantern’s animated series. There wasn’t much screaming in that one. Lots of heroism and space adventures and talking robots, though. Hopefully I’ll get enough money to buy the DVD’s sometime.
), Talespin ( 
