(Because I can’t talk about games every weekday, Friday is now where I can talk about one of my other interests: cartoons and animation)
Welcome to the first Cartoon Friday blog entry. Every Friday I hope to throw out some random thoughts on cartoons, animation, and the animation industry. Note that unlike with games, I approach the industry largely as a fan. I’m not an artist or an animator and while I know some people I can’t confess to some deep profound knowledge other than familiarity with the industry. I just love cartoons, comics, and animated films.
So let me come out and say, if you’re a kid right now there has never been so many worthwhile cartoons to watch then right now. There are worthwhile animated shows on all three major kids networks. Cartoon Network has Chowder and Flapjack (and Adventure Time! soon). Nick has recently had El Tigre and Avatar. Even Disney can still surprise even though long standbys like Kim Possible have been retired. Even the misses more often than not can flex a little bit of ingenuity.
I think a large part of this can be attributed to how animation more than ever is a large and growing industry. Back when I was a kid, there was only one place and time to air cartoons: Saturday mornings. Even with 3 major networks in on the act there was a small chunk of time that had to be split between animation, live-action, and educational shows. Ignoring that many of these shows in the 80s were more interested in being toy advertisements, there were just simply less shows for something good to emerge.
This started to change with the rise of cable networks in the 80s and 90s. Nickelodeon followed by Disney Channel followed by Cartoon Network eventually created large programming slates that needed to be filled with original content (eventually, once all 3 had used up all their archives). Now instead of a small 3-hour block a week, you may have near 24 hours of TV space across 3 networks everyday that needs a show. More shows, more chances for a good show to emerge from the muck.
But even then, that doesn’t adequately explain the sheer quality of many animated shows right now. The best shows like Flapjack or El Tigre combine hilarious writing for both kids and adults with a vibrant, unique art style that can wow and amaze. You have shows that endear themselves to all sorts of people, shows that are willing to be quirky or different or dark.
This change I attribute to young enthusiastic artists and animators who are excited to be working in the animation industry. And I think only changes that have occurred in the past 15 years, with the advances in technology like the internet and the rise of better animation have led to this outpouring of creativity. Technology internet in particular I believe has been vital in revitalizing animation and cartoons. Now fledging animators no longer need to use crude tools or work alone. Anyone can easily get access to much of the same equipment and software as the pros now. And the ability to share art and animations easily online to gather feedback, communicate with like-minded people, and improve one’s craft has lead to better artists and animators.
And what’s most exciting is how today’s cartoons will affect future generations of animators. Kids watching Avatar or Chowder now have more reason than ever to fall in love with animation. I can’t imagine anything but cartoons just getting better and better from now.
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