Things about eighties cartoon series which irk you.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

There's something about the voices of villain characters that was always really grating.

Always so over the top... like Skeletor with that "NyaH! NYAH!" in his voice! LMAO!

I chaulk a lot of that up to the generations playing the part - maybe that kind of performance was more sensible to them considering that when they were kids villains were sort of that extreme, mustache twirling or "Ming the Merciless" kind of bad guy.

[drgon78]

Snarf never bothered me...though Snarfer annoyed the crap out of me.

I have always liked Orko. I like it when you find out how powerful he is on his home dimension.

[neatoman]

• Choppy frame rate
• Coloring errors
• Layer errors
• Recycled footage
• Scaling errors
• Characters speaking in the wrong voice
• Odd sound effects
• Missing sound effects
• Pacing issues
• Characters talking without moving their lips
• Characters not making any sound despite lip movement
• Inconsistant characters
• Continuity problems
• Plotholes
• Toothless comedy
• Deus Ex Machinas
• Insane plot elements
• Characters getting replaced for the sake of selling toys
• Weird items intended to sell toys (like a mutagen toilet for instance)

It's sad how common these errors used to be...

[ABrown]

And yet, ironically, all of these 80's cartoons (flaws and all) are more entertaining than most of the cartoons of the last couple of years.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

I just remembered something. I can’t be the only one to notice. It was very common in older cartoons.

A lot of times the objects that characters were set to interact with were prominently colored and brighter than the overall environment.

They stuck out even if they had not been mentioned. You could easily tell what was “in use” and what was just background.

This really does annoy me because what was so hard about drawing and coloring objects that blended well with the entire environment?

It breaks the illusion because it’s like my Simpsons example. The 2 separate layers of art are so obvious.

Yeah!!! Like if a fire hydrant looked more 'cartoony' you knew that one was going to be used rather than the more realistic painted parking meters. Or if a piece of the ceiling is cartoonish, you know that part is gonna collapse over the rest of the ceiling.

[Cure]

That's how cel animation works. The different layers aren't usually done by the same person or even at the same time, so they're not gonna blend in with each other.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by ABrown

And yet, ironically, all of these 80's cartoons (flaws and all) are more entertaining than most of the cartoons of the last couple of years.

Nah, most have not aged well. I love the original TMNT cartoon because it was a parody and didn't take itself seriously, but a lot of other cartoons of the day tried to "play it straight" and have aged poorly because of it.

I think the late 90's through the early 2000's was the best time for cartoons. I think around 2008ish was the cut-off spot, even though we got some great shows that started that year like Brave and the Bold and Clone Wars began that time.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by Cure

That's how cel animation works. The different layers aren't usually done by the same person or even at the same time, so they're not gonna blend in with each other.

Really? Well I didn’t know they’re done by different people but I still think they could have matched up.

Both sides knew what they were working on. The animated portions just needed to be drawn and colored accordingly. I think it should have been pretty easy.

They must have had background images available so they could line things up. It would have made a more seamless presentation.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by ABrown

And yet, ironically, all of these 80's cartoons (flaws and all) are more entertaining than most of the cartoons of the last couple of years.

I dunno man... I cherish the 80s properties and shows in my mind's eye. But I've got to tell you that getting through any single episode of any of those shows that took themselves seriously can be grueling in hindsight. I love 'em, but it's really hard to argue that the 80's truly hold a candle to something like Thundercats '11 (was it '11?) or TMNT '12.

The thing is - the shows that are intentionally ridiculous are so much easier to watch after all this time - FW TMNT and The Real Ghostbusters are good examples. Batman TAS will always hold up, although that was a 90s animal.

But MOTU? G.I. Joe? Transformers.... very difficult to get through.

[drgon78]

I can easily watch He-Man and she-Ra, they hold up fine to me though there are some character voices that can be annoying especially in She-Ra. The show is camping but that is what gives it it's charm. I also love the 2002 version but can't stand the design of He-Man's sword.

Thundercats were best when they were serious and a little dark. I do like the 2011 series but that one never got a chance to really grow and develop.

TMNT was at it's best in the beginning before it become completely goofy or that 90's "to the extreme" mutation crap.

The Transformers was not bad in it's first two seasons bur after that I can only think of one decent episode that had what seemed to be an aged Cobra Commander. But I love the animated movie.

G. I. Joe had some great episodes(if not downright messed up) though once they added Serpentor then it went down hill. I also love the animated movie.

Dungeons and Dragons is still fun to watch, too bad they never got to finish the story on that one.

The Real Ghostbusters was great but later episodes got way too goofy and the focus on Slimer got really bad. The voice changes didn't help but they still had some great episodes after that.

Other 80's cartoons I can still watch would be The Smurfs, Jem and Holograms, Galaxy High, Garfield and Friends, Mysterious Cities of Gold, and The Littles come mind.

There are many that never got a physical release and I haven't seen in years. There are also a few that it is best to never see them again.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

The 1980s were actually a remarkable time for children's animated programs, on account of Ronald Reagan's presidential administration scaling back government regulations which opened up more programming possibilities than had existed in any previous decade. The same guy who was probably elected into office by a large number of those dastardly "Christian soccer moms" you disdain so much.

Does anyone know why legislation was re-introduced in the 1990's? Who were the main forces behind? Christian extremists? Politicians? Soccer moms?

[turtle1237]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I just didn't like how Christian soccer moms controlled the level of violence in kids cartoon back then. A lot of shows were not even allowed to show the good guys punching the bad guys, it was ridiculous.

You look at the cartoons aimed at kids in the early 2000's, like Teen Titans, the DC cartoons, Avatar, etc...and characters beat each other up just fine, there's often death or serious injury, and no kids had their heads explode.

Christian soccer moms ruined my childhood. Just think of all the cool fight scenes we could have gotten in our cartoons when WE were the target audience. But no, "Little Timmy" can't see a bad guy get punched in the face. "Oh TMNT is too violent for kids" when the original cartoon was so tame as it was.

Damn the Christian soccer moms from the 1980's and early 90's....you people ruined my childhood!

At least Thundarr did not hold there punching. Most of the evil wizards Thundarr face in a episode, do end up dead. Had Skeletor been in Thundarr and not He-man, trust me, Skelector would not of been a recurring villain. He would of been turn to stone like Gemini, blown up or something. Sadly the violence in Thundarr was its down fall after 2 seasons, as it got cancel for that reason.

[turtle1237]

Originally Posted by Cure

That's how cel animation works. The different layers aren't usually done by the same person or even at the same time, so they're not gonna blend in with each other.

You have your characters, background, and foreground layers to make it seem like the characters are "In" the area, there mostly paste there for animation purpose. And in some cases you get some awkward moments with the layer format. I was watching Crunch the Rockdog from MLP, and were they place Danny, it would seem he was checking his sister Megan out. It was so odd and awkward.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by turtle1237

At least Thundarr did not hold there punching. Most of the evil wizards Thundarr face in a episode, do end up dead. Had Skeletor been in Thundarr and not He-man, trust me, Skelector would not of been a recurring villain. He would of been turn to stone like Gemini, blown up or something. Sadly the violence in Thundarr was its down fall after 2 seasons, as it got cancel for that reason.

I define the era of 1980's cartoons lasting from September 1983, when He-Man and the Masters of the Universe debuted, until September 1992, when Animated Batman first aired.

[turtle1237]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

I define the era of 1980's cartoons lasting from September 1983, when He-Man and the Masters of the Universe debuted, until September 1992, when Animated Batman first aired.

You know the 80's had Cartoons before He-man and the Masters of the Universe. And Batman the Animated series was a 90's cartoon. NO WAY could BTAS get away with what it did had it aired in the 80's. You think they let Harvey Dent get scared up to be Twoface? Batman having "Somewhat" bloody fight with Man Bat. The Joker gassing people with his smiley X?

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Does anyone know why legislation was re-introduced in the 1990's? Who were the main forces behind? Christian extremists? Politicians? Soccer moms?

This might help:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regula...96_regulations

I didn't think there was much legislation being introduced at the federal level during the first half of the 1990s decade, but each television network had their own BS&P department which tried to self-regulate content in order to avoid unwanted controversy or running afoul of the Federal Communications Commission. Of course, the U.S. Congress grew particularly concern about the oversight of violence in video games during the 1990s, but I think most cartoon censorship was done in-network.

I have read about the FOX network being far more open to "violence" in the early 1990s (compared to their competitor networks) so that shows like Batman: The Animated Series could freely show the impacts of humans punching and kicking (without the consequences of blood or serious injury) but the network literally pulled the punches in their Saban/Marvel cartoons a couple of years later. Eventually, the DC cartoons moved to the WB Network where I expect their BSP department gave them more leeway.

Around the middle of the 1990s, just about every network dropped Saturday morning cartoons altogether on account of government mandates pushed by FCC Commissioner Reed Hundt (Bill Clinton appointment) demanding networks give children "educational programming." Hundt's proposal was apparently backed by 24 Democrats and only 1 Republican.

So if you want to blame somebody for "ruining" your cartoon shows, blame the U.S. government.

[CyberCubed]

Another thing I think everyone hated back then is cartoons were just randomly canceled out of the blue without any proper "endings" at all. Like the last episode could be a random unimportant episode with the villains still at large and nothing been resolved.

Of course not that many shows had continuing plotlines back then, but I always hated when a cartoon got canceled and I'm like, "Wait, that's it? Where's the ending? They didn't really defeat the villains yet." and then there was just...no more episodes.

Thank god these days now most cartoons are allowed to have proper endings before they're canceled.

[turtle1237]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Another thing I think everyone hated back then is cartoons were just randomly canceled out of the blue without any proper "endings" at all. Like the last episode could be a random unimportant episode with the villains still at large and nothing been resolved.

Of course not that many shows had continuing plotlines back then, but I always hated when a cartoon got canceled and I'm like, "Wait, that's it? Where's the ending? They didn't really defeat the villains yet." and then there was just...no more episodes.

Thank god these days now most cartoons are allowed to have proper endings before they're canceled.

The 80's cartoons relied on the rerun format. Inspector Gadget was never allow to nab Dr Claw. C.O.P.S were not allow to lock up Big Boss, Skeletor was never going to get imprison by He-man, Oddly the only time the villain gets a "Final" is in girls cartoons. How many times did Megan, Rainbow of Light some evil doer to ashes? It was insane, Boy cartoons, you cant have any one die, and here in My Little Pony, she was pretty much putting Bad guys to death lol.

[ABrown]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Nah, most have not aged well. I love the original TMNT cartoon because it was a parody and didn't take itself seriously, but a lot of other cartoons of the day tried to "play it straight" and have aged poorly because of it.

Have they aged well, no. But I still find them much more entertaining than anything I've seen from 2018-present.

I think the late 90's through the early 2000's was the best time for cartoons. I think around 2008ish was the cut-off spot, even though we got some great shows that started that year like Brave and the Bold and Clone Wars began that time.

I 100% agree.

Originally Posted by IMJ

I dunno man... I cherish the 80s properties and shows in my mind's eye. But I've got to tell you that getting through any single episode of any of those shows that took themselves seriously can be grueling in hindsight. I love 'em, but it's really hard to argue that the 80's truly hold a candle to something like Thundercats '11 (was it '11?) or TMNT '12.

My statement wasn't comparing the 80's cartoons to shows from that far back. I wasn't comparing the cartoons of the 80's to shows from early in the previous decade like 2011 Thundercats, Transformers Prime, or Nick's 2012 TMNT series. Heck, I wasn't even comparing the 80's cartoons to shows from the middle the decade that just ended: Star Wars Rebels, 2015 Transformers Robots in Disguise, Justice League Action. My statement was only comparing the 80's cartoons to anything from 2018-present.

The thing is - the shows that are intentionally ridiculous are so much easier to watch after all this time - FW TMNT and The Real Ghostbusters are good examples. Batman TAS will always hold up, although that was a 90s animal.

But MOTU? G.I. Joe? Transformers.... very difficult to get through.

And yes, my statement still stands. I find any of those cartoons to be much more entertaining than anything from 2018-present day.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by ABrown

My statement wasn't comparing the 80's cartoons to shows from that far back. I wasn't comparing the cartoons of the 80's to shows from early in the previous decade like 2011 Thundercats, Transformers Prime, or Nick's 2012 TMNT series. Heck, I wasn't even comparing the 80's cartoons to shows from the middle the decade that just ended: Star Wars Rebels, 2015 Transformers Robots in Disguise, Justice League Action. My statement was only comparing the 80's cartoons to anything from 2018-present.



And yes, my statement still stands. I find any of those cartoons to be much more entertaining than anything from 2018-present day.

LOL! Take it easy.... we're just talkin', not trying to publicly discredit your feelings about the cartoons, man. -wow-

Originally Posted by turtle1237

The 80's cartoons relied on the rerun format. Inspector Gadget was never allow to nab Dr Claw. C.O.P.S were not allow to lock up Big Boss, Skeletor was never going to get imprison by He-man

That "endless battle of good vs evil!" often didn't carry a story anywhere!

Originally Posted by turtle1237

My Little Pony, pretty much putting Bad guys to death lol

-jaw drops- LOL!