Many of us grew up watching cartoons. The playground debates between Disney Channel Kids and Cartoon Network Kids were some of the fiercest I ever heard, with my fellow munchkins and I always squealing together about our favorite shows. "Pokemon" was an early morning staple for me, one of the only temptations that could ever wake me up before dawn. Over the years I indulged in everything from "Avatar: The Last Airbender" to "Courage the Cowardly Dog," and even though I've now wandered past the threshold from child to "adult," cartoons are still an essential piece of my life.
Of course, being a grown-up means I've had a lot more worldly experience than I did when I was eight and absorbing "Fairly Odd Parents" episodes like they were crucial to my survival. Perhaps I've gotten cynical in my old age, but nowadays when I see new cartoons being broadcast on all those familiar networks, I find myself asking the same question over and over: were cartoons always this dumb?
Now, I'm sure the easy answer is that yes, there have always been at least a handful of dumb cartoons out there. I know that there were plenty I watched back in the day that weren't exactly the most intelligent shows ever created, even if I thought they were hilarious. The difference I've found between today's cartoon repertoire and that of my childhood is that now it seems we have almost nothing but dumb cartoons. In the past, the more mind-numbing cartoons could be ignored in favor of countless others that were clever and imaginative. We had gems like "Teen Titans" and "American Dragon: Jake Long" to keep us afloat. Perhaps my sense of humor has simply evolved, but it seems to me that the way cartoons are treated has evolved as well—or devolved, depending on how you look at it.
Take, for example, a classic from the early 2000's: "Powerpuff Girls." The original version of this show was chock full of witty jokes, interesting characters and important themes like female empowerment. This year, Cartoon Network decided to start airing a reboot of "Powerpuff Girls," which on the surface seems to pay fair tribute to its ancestor. Upon closer inspection, however, it seems that the only aspects of the show that the reboot actually kept were the characters and the setting. The animation style is more on the cutesy side than it used to be, the characters are much flatter and the humor is downright ridiculous. Forgive me if I sound like a crotchety old woman longing for the good old days, but if there was one sight I'd never hoped to see, it was the Powerpuff Girls twerking with a panda when they should be kicking butt.
Sadly, "Powerpuff Girls" is far from the only cartoon to suffer this terrible fate. "Teen Titans" also got a reboot in recent years, transforming from an emotional and intelligent superhero show to a hot mess of childish chibis who devote entire episodes to the wonders of the bathroom, among other delightful topics. Many shows that have been running for over a decade have downgraded their content so much that I doubt I would ever let my own children watch them, even though I gobbled them up when I was younger. "Spongebob Squarepants" is one of the biggest culprits here. The oldest episodes of "Spongebob" had silly, clever humor that my mother used to enjoy as much as I did. Compare that to today's "Spongebob" episodes, which range from odd to downright disturbing at times. Whenever I happen across news about "Spongebob," I can't help but wonder how we went from the glory of the band episode to Squidward being treated like an adult-sized baby. Not only does it make me disappointed in the direction cartoons have gone, but it makes me feel insulted for the children who watch them today.
Why are we being so lazy with children's shows? Why are we treating them like we can just feed kids any dumb cartoon content we want and they'll gobble it up, no questions asked? Just because kids aren't mature yet does not mean they're unintelligent. Shouldn't we be giving them cartoons that are enriching and engaging through better means than just fart jokes? We had plenty of smart cartoons when we were young, so why are we depriving children of that now?
Cartoons have so much more to offer than simply living in a pineapple under the sea. I can only hope that children's TV networks start to remember that soon. The diamonds in the rough that exist today, like "Steven Universe," can only do so much damage control. Children have so much potential for growth, and their cartoons are letting them down.
