Children’s animation in today’s day and age is a mixed bag of fool’s gold and genuine gems. Since the early 2010s, children’s animation has taken a turn to favor brighter colors and heavily cartoonish, kid-friendly art styles with matching humor and plot lines to boot. Many who grew up with the darker, often stranger animated shows like “Courage the Cowardly Dog,” “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack,” “Teen Titans” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” saw this growing trend as the animation industry watering down and desecrating its name.
If “Teen Titans: Go!” with its highlighter color pallet and children’s toilet humor comes to mind, then you too may be entitled to financial compensation.
Despite this, it’s not fair to say that this new era of children’s animation deserves backlash. “Steven Universe,” “Phineas and Ferb,” “Craig of the Creek,” “Adventure Time,” “The Amazing World of Gumball” and “Star vs the Forces of Evil” are all incredibly solid pieces of art that told their own unique stories at varying levels of maturity. Their animation styles, while bright and bubbly, are far from the carbon copy Illumination style that overruns the box office.
It’s not to say this era is devoid of telling darker stories either. “Gravity Falls,” “Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated” and “Over the Garden Wall” are all stunning examples of animation that did not shy away from more serious or downright creepy topics. More recent series like “The Dragon Prince,” “She-Ra and the Princess of Power” and “Infinity Train” all follow their footsteps.
So, the next time your little sibling is having their Saturday morning cartoon ritual, don’t criticize. Get off your high horse, grab a bowl of cereal and join them.
