Cartoons... It's a phrase commonly associated with childhood. Everybody remembers those days as a kid where they would just sit in front of the tv on Saturday Mornings or after school and watch hours of animated adventures, or when we begged our parents to take us to the newest Pixar or DreamWorks movie. In recent times, animated series aimed at more mature audiences had become popular. Fox put the concept of the "adult cartoon" on the map with its long-running hit, The Simpsons in the early 90s, and since then networks like MTV, Comedy Central, and Adult Swim popped up and dedicated entire lineups to so called "adult" animation. Today, there seems to be a major boom in adult cartoons, with streaming services producing as many uninspired clones of Family Guy as their budget would allow. But even now, animation is still seen as something primarily for the elementary school set. Anything that isn't a raunchy sitcom is either watered down into something an 8-year-old can enjoy, or is just not made at all. Especially true for movies where even a PG-13 rated animated feature feels rare.
But how did we get to this point? What caused "cartoons" to have this air of childishness to it. Like it's something you're supposed to outgrow once you reach a certain age? Was it the death of animated shorts in theatres? The rise of made-for-tv cartoons? The success of Disney movies and shorts? The overplay they had on Saturday Mornings and Afternoons?
But how did we get to this point? What caused "cartoons" to have this air of childishness to it. Like it's something you're supposed to outgrow once you reach a certain age? Was it the death of animated shorts in theatres? The rise of made-for-tv cartoons? The success of Disney movies and shorts? The overplay they had on Saturday Mornings and Afternoons?