 |
| CONSISTENT |
For my second offering of Simply Anime, I wanted to tackle a
different brand of animation. American cartoons, and in particular
Cartoon Network's prime time line up of animated shows. I can already
hear the groans and complaints about how this particular review is supposed to be dedicated to anime and not cartoons, or some rubbish like that. Well
folks, these reviews are about animation, so be prepared to sample my
insight into a wide variety of shows that the medium offers. Now that
we've gotten that out of the way, here's a little history or my crib notes version of how we got to where we are in regard to
Cartoon Network's current prime time lineup. It all started in 1993
with Donovan Cook's
2 Stupid Dogs. This show would signify the
rebirth of Hanna-Barbera. An animation studio of using homegrown
creators who produced original animated shorts the likes of which
hadn't been seen since 1984's
the Snorks. Then, two years later in 1995,
the first ever “What a Cartoon” debuted on television and changed the game. The brainchild of
Fred Seibert, this revolutionary
show and format gave birth to and was the launching pad for not only shows that
many of us grew up watching, but for their creators as well. Such shows included
The Powerpuff Girls (Craig McCracken),
Dexter's Laboratory
(Genndy Tartakovsky),
Johnny Bravo (Van Partible),
Codename: KidsNext Door (Tom “Mr.” Warburton),
Cow and Chicken (David Feiss),
Courage the Cowardly Dog (John R. Dilworth),
Whatever Happened to Robot Jones (Greg Miller),
the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
(Maxwell Atoms), and a show called
Larry and Steve (Seth MacFarlane) which would ironically become the format for a little show called
Family Guy.
Even if the names of those creators are lost on you, their shows
most certainly are not. The Looney Tunes style presentation (minutes-wise) would
become the hallmark of nearly every animated show that would be aired
on Cartoon Network. In addition,
What a Cartoon, (which would become its own show), would birth clones of its own on rival network
Nickelodeon and produce even more shows. All of this would lead to a long
string of shows that some see as the “Golden Age” of Cartoon
Network. This age would not only boast many of the aforementioned shows as stand alone half hour programs, but also bring about shows like
Ed, Edd, n Eddy (Danny
Antonucci),
Time Squad (Dave Wasson),
Sheep in the Big City (Mo
Willems),
Samurai Jack (again Genndy Tartakovsky),
Megas XLR (Jody
Schaeffer and George Kristic),
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
(again Craig McCracken),
Camp Lazlo (Joe Murray),
My Gym Partner's A Monkey (Julie McNally-Cahill and Timothy Cahill),
Class of 3000
(Andre Benjamin and Thomas W. Lynch),
Chowder (C.H. Greenblat),
TheMarvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (Thurop Van Orman), and the
juggernaut known as
Ben 10 (Man of Action). There are many more
wonderful shows that were a part of the the “Golden Age” and if
you are interested knowing just what they are, you can see them in all
listed
here.
In
2009, Cartoon Network began to make changes in format and pushed toward live-action programming. That push fell flat. (Certainly did with me at least. Though, I was not their target audience.) A year
earlier, they would acquire the rights to
Johnny Test. A show many
viewed as a much worse version of Dexter's Laboratory. Although there are many similarities between Test and Dexter, they just weren't the same. Cartoon Network would also make
a move at this time that hurt me deeply. Always lauded for its balance of comedy
and action cartoons, they would inexplicably change format again. This time moving from an action oriented evening lineup to a more comedy-centric
approach that remains to this day. Gone were shows like
Generator Rex,
The Secret Saturdays, and
Teen Titans. In its place, more
Johnny Test. It wasn't just that action cartoons were gone or were
only on sporadically. It was the type of cartoons they were replaced
with. Finally, a bright light was cast back on the action cartoon wasteland when CN
announced the DC Nation block. It would host DC original shorts as well
as shows like
Green Lantern the Animated Series and
Young Justice. With a super strong lead in show like Ben 10, it seemed like a slam
dunk. Alas, it was not to be. Green Lantern the animated series was canceled after only one excellent season (Shout outs to Giancarlo Volpe) and Young Justice would also suffer the same fate after only two seasons. Their replacements would be
Beware the Batman (now on indefinite hiatus)
and
Teen Titans Go! (a
chibi version of the original Teen Titans show
that features the same voice cast).
So now that you know the history, whether you wanted to or not, let's get to the reason why you're here. Cartoon Network's current prime
time lineup. Let me start by saying that I was not entirely fond of many of the shows at first. And as a recent Game of Thrones quiz has
shown me, I can have some Ned Stark like qualities when it comes to
change. That being said, once I've given something a shot
objectively, I can say that it is either enjoyable or not. Many of
the shows that CN is currently boasting in the prime time slots I can
say I highly enjoy and recommend. Especially if you're looking for something a bit
different, or just looking to continue riding the high from Sunday
night after watching the Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy and
American Dad. To start off, let's begin with Pendleton Ward's
Adventure Time.
Adventure Time follows the life and times of Finn the last human boy on the
planet, his magical dog and brother Jake through their adventures in
the Land of Ooo. The show is laced with continuity that won't
alienate new viewers (which is something that nearly all the
shows do quite well also) along with comedy for both adults and
children alike. Of all the shows currently airing, I would say that
Adventure Time was the one that took the second longest to grow on
me. Once I really gave it a shot, however, I came to really enjoy the show. Now let
me say that all these shows are aired in the same Looney Tunes
style format of 7 minute or so shorts. So character development is
going to be a bit tough. Motivations are either revealed quickly over the course of many episodes, or in the case of the Ice King, in
special episodes like “Simon and Marcy”. Adventure Time also
pushed the envelope when it was implied that Princess Bubblegum and
Marceline the vampire may have been involved in a relationship in the
past. To my knowledge, the topic of homosexuality had never been
covered on a show geared toward kids before. For the
record I applaud the writing staff and all involved with the show if
that was the case. If only because it is something that is very real
in our society. Parents SHOULD be watching television with
their children and be there to explain things in a prosocial manner. My mother certainly did. (And off my
soapbox) Occasionally dark, but always fun, Adventure Time is
excellent show.
A personal favorite for me, my friends and anyone born in the 80's is J.G. Quintel's modern masterpiece
Regular Show. In it, you follow the dynamic slacker duo of Mordecai the blue jay and Rigby the squirrel as they live out there strangely entertaining lives. Mordecai and Rigby have terrific comedic chemistry together, but the unsung strength of the show is its amazing cast of supporting characters. From the ironically bad bodied Muscle Man, to Skips the yeti, to the large headed, yet sweetly insane Pops, to High Five Ghost (The name says it all) to their uptight gumball machine boss Benson. This show fires on all
cylinders. There are doses of dark humor, death (You don't come back unless magic is involved), friendship,
adult humor slid in,
and 80's music every now and then. This show gets it right more
often than not.
The Amazing World of Gumball, created by Ben Bocquelet, was a show
that I had a hard time getting into. I wasn't happy that Chowder
(Which I was slow to get into) and Flapjack had come to an end, so I
was very resistant to Gumball without ever seeing a full episode. I
initially was not a fan of the animation style and judged it only on
that. I. Was. So.
Wrong! This show continues in the rich history of
silly, madcap comedy. Gumball Watterson, the titular character, is a 12 year old, unapologetic, d-bag cat that finds himself constantly in trouble. He is joined by his adopted brother Darwin Watterson. Darwin is a goldfish that is often innocent and often times follows Gumball to
their comedic ruin. Anais Watterson, is their 4 year old genius sister that is a rabbit that goes to the same middle school as Gumball and
Darwin. Their parents are Nicole Watterson, a parentally responsible cat and Richard Watterson, the laziest rabbit in town. This show is clever in its
delivery and a pleasure to watch.
Then there is
The Annoying Orange created by Dane Boedigheimer. I simply can
not get past the opening credits. It's just, no. Simply no. I can't
do it. Maybe you can, but even I have limits. And this is one.
Peter Browngardt's
Uncle Grandpa is a show that I mentioned in my
first podcast and I panned it. I had only seen a a few episodes and I
honestly was barely paying any attention to it. The promos for the
show where a special brand of annoying and I quickly lumped it into
the same category of disdain that I hold for the previously mentioned Annoying Orange. Uncle Grandpa is everyone's Uncle and
Grandpa, and puts children in unnecessary adventures or hijinks.
I'm not overly crazy about him, but I do enjoy his sidekicks Pizza
Steve and Mr. Gus. Pizza Steve is a self absorbed living slice of
pizza who is the life of the party. (Because why else wouldn't pizza
be the life of the party) Mr. Gus is a dinosaur (although he
reminds me of the
Creature from the Black Lagoon) that plays
straight-man to all the calamity going on. There are other colorful
characters in addition to the kids and adults that also fill out the show. Uncle Grandpa may not be for everyone
but the characters play well off each other and I am giving it more
of a chance then I originally did.
Rebecca Sugar's
Steven Universe is my absolute favorite show in
the prime time lineup. This was the other show that I mentioned in my
first podcast and I errantly did not give Sugar her credit for the show
as much as I lauded it. Rebecca, you have made an excellent show and I
look forward to Monday nights to watch it. Your protagonist is Steven
Universe (Yes that's his name), a young boy that has inherited his
mother's quartz gem and is learning how to control his powers. His
teachers are Garnet (Voiced by British signer
Estelle) who is the
unofficial leader of the Crystal Gems (The group of which Steven is
apart of) who seldom speaks but is the powerhouse of the group,
Amethyst, the roguish member of the group that has a “devil may
care” attitude and also moonlights as an
underground wrestler, and Pearl, the member that is all policy and procedure. She
wants Steven to succeed but is very concerned about his safety,
almost to a smothering degree. Steven Universe is reminiscent of the
Powerpuff Girls in its delivery, yet fresh in how it drops nuggets of
the past events,
in addition to dealing with emotions that characters are
experiencing. It makes them so much more endearing. I gush about this
show.
Lastly, a special that aired last week Monday night called
The PowerpuffGirls: Dance Pantsed. Personally I felt like CN dropped the ball on
this special because they had an opportunity to air this on the 15
th
anniversary of the PPGs. (I mean, this show was announced
in January of 2013) Also this was the first episode of the Powerpuff
Girls that was made without any input from show creator Craig
McCracken. It seems wrong that he wasn't a part of this show.
That being said, it did feel like an episode of the PPGs thanks in
part to long time Powerpuff director Dave Smith. The story was fun
and it was a nice throwback to days gone bye.
All in all, as time goes on, all things grow old and eventually
must change. For good or for bad, Cartoon Network has changed and
continues to do so. Although it currently is not focused on action
cartoons, we at least have Toonami back (thanks Williams Street and
Adult Swim). The current crop of shows, that are still Cartoon
Cartoons as far as I'm concerned, continues to revolutionize American
animation and produce new creators and no matter what, that is a good
thing;
but you don't have to take my word for it.
