Stop peeing on my childhood, Cartoon Network

[Bobinator]

So, I've been looking at clips of that new Loony Toons show they're going to put up on Cartoon Network.

It kind of sucks.

A lot.

And there's one very big reason for that. See, from what I can tell by the clips I've seen, all the jokes are expressed through people sitting around and talking. I mean, sure, it's not like nobody talked at all in the old shorts. But you had things happening, characters getting blown up, attacked, and just generally doing things. Here, there's no action, no slapstick, just the characters sitting around and talking. The most dynamic thing that happens is Daffy hitting his head on a pole and denting it slightly.

I dunno, maybe they're just hiding the slapstick for when the actual show comes out. But I'd be really pissed if they kept all the cartoon violence on the Road Runner episodes. Right now, though, this is basically like watching a live-action sitcom on Fox where the actors are dressed as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

I watched tons and tons of Loony Toons along with a healthy amount of Animaniacs, so this was pretty painful to sit through. I mean, why is it so difficult to make a good Loony Toons show at all? I mean, anybody remember Duck Dodgers? That was fantastic, and that was only back in 2004!

...And yet I bet there's going to be a whole legion of children with their brain cells sucked out by stuff like Adventure Time and Regular Show that's going to be thinking this is the next Animaniacs.

I'm going to cry now

I don't know when I'll be back

 

[Shadow Hog]

They're peeing on your childhood so they can do 35% more damage, obviously.

To be fair, though, Adventure Time is pretty good, and I've heard fairly high praise for Regular Show.

 

[Chaos Knux]

Every episode of Regular Show starts out like watching Big Brother or something, then at the 6 minute mark, Rigby and Mordecai set off a Sealed WTF in a Can.

 

[TrueTenguMan]

Really can't say that Adventure time is a brain cell sucking abomination, especially since it actually had potential which Chowder lost it in it's last season with nothing but randomness as it's remaining fuel to to drag on the show ((not to say Adventure time doesn't doesn't do this either, but unlike later episodes of Chowder, AT had an actually interesting plot to go by even if it was rather dull.

Regarding the new loony toons show however... I need to see more episodes before I can say anything, but I will say I'm not fond of Bug's new personality.

 

[LongcrierCat]

They're peeing on your childhood so they can do 35% more damage, obviously.

To be fair, though, Adventure Time is pretty good, and I've heard fairly high praise for Regular Show.

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHAHAAHHA.

Best joke I've heard in a long time.

---------------------------------------------------

Just one thing. No one can ruin your childhood. Your childhood is in the past. What they are ruining is characters FROM your childhood, but you can still ignore the recent iterations of your childhood memories and live happily ever after...

But where's the fun in being uninformed?

Damn this generation's sense of humour. Why must everything be a Family Guy, Regular Show, or Adventure Time nowadays? Learn from 90s television, Warner Bros. Your older work like Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Freakazoid are prime examples of greatness. Learn from them. Learn humour. In fact, while your at your studying, learn why Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, and Chuck Jones's stuff still holds up today. Learn what makes Looney Tunes looney.

 

[SSNTails]

I mean, why is it so difficult to make a good Loony Toons show at all?

Extremely hard. Can't have the kind of violence otherwise the lawsuits will fly.

The animation style is also insulting and horrendous of this new adaptation.

 

[TrueTenguMan]

Chuck Jones's

Can't say most of Chuck Jone's Looney Toons material was any better. Personally some of it really just showed clips of past cartoons for a quick plot or continued a previous plot but with different outcomes ((and most of those stories weren't really anything worth remembering, even if they were original to say the least. Well not when it was just HIM behind it)).

Though when I saw one that DIDN'T contain either any Looney Toons OR Tom and Jerry characters, I saw something different and more imaginative. By that I'm referring to his works like "The Dot and the Line" and "High Note."

 

[Virt]

"The Dot and the Line"? "The Dot and the Line??!"

I loved that. Why can't CN make more random, yet actually entertaining shorts like "The Dot and the Line"?

 

[Spiral_Nemesis]

They need to bring back Ed,Edd and Eddy on Cartoon Network if they have any shred of humanity in them!!!! I loved that show..now they only air the reruns :{

 

[TrueTenguMan]

Spiral, A.K.A. Cartoon shut down after the final movie was released, therefore meaning Ed, Edd, n' Eddy is done and no more animation will be seen from them. Besides, I believe Danny intended to just end it as is and move on from the get go after over a hundred episodes were made.

 

[Spiral_Nemesis]

Well that's a bummer :(

 

[LongcrierCat]

Guess what guys...

http://www.youtube.com/user/molderplz#p/c/474F7A3164D97F4F/1/GlzpIXG8W8Y

It got worse. I don't know how, but it did.

 

[TrueTenguMan]

I think they should just leave the songs to Scooby Doo cause this was just... hm, where was that pic Bigboi used to use... eh well this would have to suffice...

Spoiler

But from seeing a few clips and all, I can see they're placing them in a more modern setting than the usual mix up like Shakespeare, Dr. Jekyll, or another country. Not to say they won't do that in this show but I'm just pointing that out is all...

 

[Scizor300]

Guess what guys...

http://www.youtube.com/user/molderplz#p/c/474F7A3164D97F4F/1/GlzpIXG8W8Y

It got worse. I don't know how, but it did.

What in the hell is that, a Yosemite Sam rap?

My faith in this show has officially been diminished

 

[JEV3]

Honestly, I was hoping for something pathetic that would be funny in a "so bad its good" way. From the clips I've seen, it certainly looks terrible, but I think the new Scooby Doo series is more worth my time than this but then Scooby Doo's never really been about sophisticated entertainment and Looney Tunes has a long history and has been elevated to a certain higher level of art by geniuses like Chuck Jones.

The only ones that seem remotely earnest to me are the Wile E. and Road Runner ones... except for the fact that they're in CG. As an exploratory thing, sure, but as an earnest attempt there's certain things that simply cannot be done in CG that really made the show what it is.

This does not mean I won't still be watching clips of this on youtube out of morbid curiosity, but I'm not supporting this by doing so!

---

It seems that most attempts to renew the animation on the part of CN has been kinda lazy and is doing more harm than good. On the other hand, I watched a few episodes of Tom and Jerry Tales on the plane. Its far more simplistic, but I actually enjoyed them and felt like--aside from the fact that I don't like the voice now given to Jerry's silver cousin (yet)--they could have this alongside the old ones almost as easily as they mixed episodes from the show under drastically different directors. That said, its still missing some of the feel of the original, but since they pulled off every aspect of the feel I could quantify, I'm much more inclined to be forgiving.

---

Also, I missed the part where TrueTenguMan said that Chuck Jones isn't much better than this. I really want to debate this (maybe not here), I believe he's not only an artist but he's a pioneer who presents an example of how art, entertainment, and society are all related in some of our most notable achievements in this past century. I will leave this at least, a product of my research for a paper in art appreciation...

To choose one director or a few titles from the cartoon universe is daunting, but I'll choose Chuck Jones, because I knew him and because three of his cartoons have been included in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress: "Duck Amuck" (1953), "One Froggy Evening" (1955) and "What's Opera, Doc?" (1957).

Source

Emphasis added. I'm sure Roger Ebert as a harsh critic with high standards of quality coupled with a sensible perspective offers a good resource. He analyzes the three cartoons very briefly (I recommend watching them online if you haven't seen them yet before reading his review), I only just skimmed over it, but I think its worth a read.
Note, if you think that it must abandon characters to be good, I would like to point out something that I think Roger Ebert did not elaborate on, and that's that Duck Amuck is actually an experiment for his character, and how the character stands up to having elements of it taken away (setting, sound, appearance). I'd continue to talk about some of the things he did with Tom and Jerry which were very original and praiseworthy, but I'll try to keep this somewhat on topic.

 

[TrueTenguMan]

Personally I can't argue with that, though I can most definitely say that I wouldn't bash his work around the 50's early 60's but I would feel some animosity when the late 60s and early 80s hit which is where I felt kinda off put by his work. I think the main reasons, when it involved either Tom and Jerry or Looney Toons, is when the episodes felt rather slow placed and dull.

The idea of the story was nice, especially when seeing a rather alternate version of a cat & mouse chase though involving robots in a cheese mining facility... but afterwards I couldn't really pay attention. It was my same reaction with the Movies too probably because it may have felt depended upon cited clips to be understood at times or it required another viewing to really get the moral, which is ironic for me because "Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988)" was very entertaining and I could easily get the moral shown. But IDK, maybe I just wasn't as drawn to Chuck's work as much as the other artists that Greg pointed out. Or rather I just need a different mindset to see some connection.

 

[Virt]

I really liked the Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry cartoons. One of my favorite things is Chuck's "evil grin". Tom did it and the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas did it, too. [/offtopic]

 

[SSNTails]

The only ones that seem remotely earnest to me are the Wile E. and Road Runner ones... except for the fact that they're in CG.

And the fact that the whole point behind the cartoons was that the Road Runner was pretty much oblivious to the fact he is trying to be eaten. This doesn't seem to be the case at all here. Also, making fun of anime fights and the Matrix makes me yawn.

As an exploratory thing, sure, but as an earnest attempt there's certain things that simply cannot be done in CG that really made the show what it is.

Pixar could do it, but I doubt anyone else.

"What's Opera, Doc?" (1957)

I still get "Kill The Wabbit" stuck in my head. I think my daughter and I were dancing to it once. Wonder if that has any developmental effects. ;)

 

[Chaos Knux]

...I'll stick to my torrents, TruTV, and Adult Swim, thank you. Really, nothing can come close to the level of awesome the lower standards of The Before Times allowed.

Also, Congrats to SSN for getting TV&M's 1337th post.

 

[Sonnarkku]

Well, I don't see these series from a long time now, so I don't think it'd affect me - at all.

But yeah, probably the thing I do recognise from old cartoons is the way they showed dynamite, weapons and sometimes, death and hell. I don't know if it is a good or bad thing for these shows not to show that kind of "violence" anymore.

Altrough it's kinda funny going now and seeing things such as old chapters from the Toons and Tom & Jerry and thinking "Wow, they showed that on kid TV"