Were the 90's the best decade for cartoons ever?

[Peanut]

I already mentioned several above. Even if you don't count the incredible stuff from the Adult Swim block, stuff like Samurai Jack and Avatar: TLA absolutely blow the doors off of any 90's cartoon you can bring to the table.

[sdp]

I think the 90s are definitely the best but I am indeed biased as well and seeing it through nostalgia glasses. I do think that 2000's are a close second if not indeed better as Peanut mentions. Maybe the 2000's had less shows I was interested in but then again I am not a kid and hence not their target audience, however the few shows that are amazing are indeed better than almost everything from the 90s. The main problem 2000's shows have is I wasn't a kid and they'll never be as magical.

Now I think we can all agree 90s cartoons are indeed better than any 80s show or even previous decades. It wasn't until the 90s when some cartoons started getting some respect. I know someone will bring up looney toon shorts but meh, I liked them but I don't consider them the epitome of classic.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I already mentioned several above. Even if you don't count the incredible stuff from the Adult Swim block, stuff like Samurai Jack and Avatar: TLA absolutely blow the doors off of any 90's cartoon you can bring to the table.

I saw all of Samurai Jack and found the majority of it to be rather dull. The action scenes were great, but that's really all it was. All style, no substance. Would have worked better simply as a show showing a bunch of fighting, the actual story stuff was horrendous.

I haven't seen Avatar yet, but the anime-ish designs they went with turn me off. I really hate it when American cartoons try to mimic anime style. It really just reeks of wanna-be anime.

[Cure]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I haven't seen Avatar yet, but the anime-ish designs they went with turn me off. I really hate it when American cartoons try to mimic anime style. It really just reeks of wanna-be anime.

Goes to show how dumb biases prevent people from giving something a proper chance.

[Bauer536]

I don't think there is truly a "great" decade for cartoons. There are great cartoons, but not great decades. I mean, when people say that 90s Nick was better than today's, they need to re-watch Rocko and Angry Beavers or CatDog. If you think about it, if it wasn't from your childhood, they are pretty ridiculous. Nothing really has changed. It just depends on the show itself.

[Cure]

Wow, f*cking CatDog. I had forgotten all about that. Terrible show.

[CyberCubed]

A lot of the shows I watched when I was a kid I probably wouldn't revisit as an adult. Especially a lot of the kids-comedy type cartoons, I feel the only ones that hold up are very few.

[Bauer536]

The only ones I liked were Hey Arnold!, a bit of Rugrats, and Blue's Clues (with Steve Burns). That was it. If you were to play them today, I can guarantee it wouldn't bother me as much.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by sdp

Maybe the 2000's had less shows I was interested in but then again I am not a kid and hence not their target audience, however the few shows that are amazing are indeed better than almost everything from the 90s. The main problem 2000's shows have is I wasn't a kid and they'll never be as magical.

More people need to realize this and have the mental capacity to admit it. Good on you, sdp.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I saw all of Samurai Jack and found the majority of it to be rather dull. The action scenes were great, but that's really all it was. All style, no substance. Would have worked better simply as a show showing a bunch of fighting, the actual story stuff was horrendous.

I haven't seen Avatar yet, but the anime-ish designs they went with turn me off. I really hate it when American cartoons try to mimic anime style. It really just reeks of wanna-be anime.

Ugh. OK. Clearly the exact opposite of someone I'd want to have a conversation with.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Ugh. OK. Clearly the exact opposite of someone I'd want to have a conversation with.

Cybercubed is basically our forums version of this SNL Weekend Update Character:

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Ugh. OK. Clearly the exact opposite of someone I'd want to have a conversation with.

Simply because I thought Samurai Jack was boring? Its not exactly an unpopular opinion, I've seen many people who watched the entire show say its only worth watching for the action sequences.

As for Avatar I haven't watched it, but I wish they went with a traditional american style animation.

[Peanut]

No, it's because you're the kind of person who dismisses strong points to serve your opinion. You don't want a conversation, you only want people to agree with your statement. It's boring to talk to someone like that.

[TurtleTitan97]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I saw all of Samurai Jack and found the majority of it to be rather dull. The action scenes were great, but that's really all it was. All style, no substance. Would have worked better simply as a show showing a bunch of fighting, the actual story stuff was horrendous.

I haven't seen Avatar yet, but the anime-ish designs they went with turn me off. I really hate it when American cartoons try to mimic anime style. It really just reeks of wanna-be anime.

So the reason you haven't bothered to watch Avatar, a show that has gotten a bunch of critical praise, is just because you don't like the animation style? I'm sorry, but that makes no sense. Avatar is a beautifully animated series and is without a doubt the best action show from Nickelodeon. You don't need to be a fan of anime to enjoy it.

The same goes for Samurai Jack, that show was anything but boring. I've read a bunch of reviews for this show and none mention that it is boring.

[AT-Man]

Originally Posted by TurtleTitan97

Avatar is a beautifully animated series and is without a doubt the best action show from Nickelodeon. You don't need to be a fan of anime to enjoy it.

And vice versa, if you like anime, there's no reason why you couldn't like Avatar too.

Judging by my latest list I made in the favorite TV shows thread, 2000s has more great cartoon shows than before that. It's pretty much a tie between SpongeBob and Avatar TLA + Korra, about which one is my all time favorite. And I've said before that I like the 200X MOTU and TMNT more than the originals. I really appreciate how the story and continuity is much more relevant in the 2000s cartoons than in 90s. Based on what I have watched, of course.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by TurtleTitan97

The same goes for Samurai Jack, that show was anything but boring. I've read a bunch of reviews for this show and none mention that it is boring.

I watched the entire span of Samurai Jack. Not just a few episodes, but every single episodes.

At the beginning of the series I was excited about it because Jack was lost in a new land, it seemed like it had a story going with Aku and everything, but as it progressed it just pretty much turned into "action scenes" where the story elements were an afterthought.

After a while it became obvious the show only existed to watch Jack slash a whole bunch of enemies up.

[Ecto Jedi]

I agree with Peanut. And virtually everyone else. Nostalgia will try to argue otherwise, but most cartoons from the '80s/'90s are absolutely atrocious when seen today. TMNT comes to mind, as does Transformers, the progenitors of two of the most successful and most popular animated franchises of all time.

Still, I think it deserves saying: The Simpsons absolutely f*cking ruled in the '90s. Stuff from '93 all the way up to '97/'98 is gold. Even the animation of the '90s-era Simpsons has more style and substance, and character, than its more modern incarnation has had in over a decade.

If we were to judge it from that alone, then yeah, you'd pretty much conclude that the '90s were amazing and the '00s were absolute garbage.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Ecto Jedi

I agree with Peanut. And virtually everyone else. Nostalgia will try to argue otherwise, but most cartoons from the '80s/'90s are absolutely atrocious when seen today. TMNT comes to mind, as does Transformers, the progenitors of two of the most successful and most popular animated franchises of all time.

Original TMNT is still great. The reason it hasn't aged badly is because it was always a self-aware comedy series to begin with. The entire show was one big joke.

[Ecto Jedi]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Original TMNT is still great. The reason it hasn't aged badly is because it was always a self-aware comedy series to begin with. The entire show was one big joke.

Uhuh. Humour either ages well or it doesn't. Sometimes it doesn't.

And it's just great how in the span of about a decade's worth of episodes the animators still couldn't keep track of which voice belonged to which turtle or indeed learn not to have two Leonardos (or Donatellos, or Raphaels) in a single shot.

[Cure]

Peanut's right, he has no intention of discussing it; just wants everyone to agree with him.

[The Sewer Lord]

Originally Posted by Cure

Peanut's right, he has no intention of discussing it; just wants everyone to agree with him.

That's correct.