Anyone else thinks that Cartoon Network's lineup is very mixed or poor at times and it's current cartoons don't have that charm that the old one do? I grew up during the early era of Cartoon Cartoons and some of these shows even influenced my work, but over the years I noticed that CN's quality has been losing it's touch, with some occasional good material every now and then. But there are times that you expect something better based on the previous stuff they made over the years. which is why I decided to make a quick review of most of the stuff that CN dished out and that I watched since I was a kid (Not counting adult swim related content)
Here's my opinion on most of the content the channel has made since 1995 up to now
The Good
1-Codename: Kids Next Door: This show was fun, clever and visually creative. Loved the DBZ reference they made one time.
2-Cow and Chicken: Full of Random "Ren and Stimpy" styled humor.At times controversial, Who didn't like it? BTW, WTF was up with The Red Guy flashing his butt all the time? The butt jokes were for a cheap laugh though (Ben Pants, Dr. HighKnee, etc).
3-Dexter's Laboratory: A true Classic and quite possibly the best CN had to offer. I watched it constantly as a kid. Big Genndy Tartakovsky fan.
4-Ed, Edd n Eddy: Weird yet passable, interesting art style.
5-Johnny Bravo: A guilty pleasure. Just seeing him constantly get beat up by women always made me LOL. In this case Muscles don't matter.
6-The Powerpuff Girls: at first I didn't watch it, but I grew to like the subtle humor and the obscure references ( like South Park, LoZ and The Beatles among others). weird how they did an anime reboot of this one
7-Time Squad: very Anachronistic yet funny Time travel cartoon. Mark Hamill Did the voice of Larry the robot as an intentional parody of C3PO.
8-What A Cartoon!: From Weird and wacky to totally abstract this show had it all and it was awesome. clearly the launching pad for several shows. Back then I didn't know that Bruno Bozzeto made this cartoon!
9-Adventure Time: worth watching. Silly creative and mostly unpredictable
10-Ben 10, Alien Force, Ultimate Alien: I like the show at times, but MAN they're milking this show dry. IT'S ALWAYS ON!!
11-Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Loved this cartoon's dry humor and artwork
12-The Life and Times of Juniper Lee: Cute flashy and colorful. Monsters could've look more hideous and less colorful though. But it's a kids' cartoon....
13-Megas XLR: one of CN's few attempts to Americanize an anime genre(Mecha). The show was cool and should've lasted longer.
14-My Gym Partner's a Monkey: Original concept. A human stuck in an animal school because his last name is "Lyon". ok at times.
15-Samurai Jack: Being a Genndy Tartakovsky fan I had to watch it. the concept and art style is cool and all, but they should've finished the story after 4 seasons.
16-Sym-Bionic Titan: Another attempt at the Mecha Genre by Tartakovsky. Visually stunning but it didn't click. I was open to a 2nd season
17-Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Capitalizing on the anime Craze as well, but with Chibi (super deformed) characters. It's cutesy anime mixed with 60's camp. for the most part it worked ok, but the Channel's anime trend was dying out.
18-Star Wars: Clone Wars: Also by Tartakovsky. 2 movies split into several 5 minute shorts. worth watching. But at times I wonder if it's supposed to fit with the canon of the other Clone Wars series or not (which I like too).
19- The Looney Tunes show: Hit and miss, but still watchable in part due to its nostalgia.
The Bad
1-Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?: It had a very retro art style and campy humor. It reminded me of Schoolhouse rock. Very 70s disco style, but that's why it didn't last. It's style and humor felt extremely outdated.
2-Evil Con Carne: it had potential until they killed it by introducing "Cod Commando" Really? a fish with a G.I. Joe background?
3-Sheep in the Big City: weird show, full of improv, Real hit and miss and easily forgettable.
4-Courage the Cowardly Dog: Started off ok, but the concept started to drag over time.
5-The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: I watched it at times, it was alright...ish. Not t my liking really
6-I Am Weasel: Amusing at first though for the most part formulatic and repetitive.
7-Mike, Lu & Og: cute and creative, but got boring real fast.
8-Camp Lazlo: it was made by the guy who did Rocko's Modern Life on Nickelodeon in the 90s. Nothing new here. I preferred Rocko.
9-Chowder: This show makes no sense...I hate it.
10-The Amazing World of Gumball: This show can't make up it's mind! Can't you focus on one art form instead of combining everything (flash, puppets, CGI, Stop motion) in a random setting? it's the main reason I can't stand it.
11-Generator Rex: Meh...nothing too new or interesting. They intentionally copied the Agent Smith look from The matrix.
12-The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: Braindead humor. Don't bother...
13Regular Show: Don't really get this cartoon. And seriously, Why would anyone compare this to Beavis and Butt-Head? at least THAT cartoon is funny.
14- Squirrel Boy: Meh... I prefer Duckman
15-Transformers Animated: I prefer the old school transformers from the 80s.
Overall approval rating for the channel's collection of original cartoons over the years:
19 approved out of 34= 56% approval rating from my POV
I still think they should put more effort on newer cartoons with better art and storylines instead of focusing on crap like Chowder and Gumball. But then again, most of this stuff is aimed at a younger audience that doesn't really care about quality.
Oh well, everyone's entitled to their own opinions.
What do you guys think?
Pelemus-McSoy
I'll agree with you on most of these, but I'm gonna have to disagree on Gumball and Regular Show.
Gumball - I like seeing the way different animation styles can come together, and it helps give each character their own distinct personality.
Regular Show - It can be as surreal as Adventure Time, but is much more subtle, surprisingly crude, and a good throw-back to the 80s without referencing anything from the 80s.
One show that should've made the Bad list for sure is MAD. It's a poorly done attempt at parodies for children, but a lot of the jokes are lost because they parody movies that kids may not have seen (see also a Toy Story and Bourne Identity hybrid).
Johnny Test is a show that I don't know where it belongs on your list...it's a hit and miss show. While at times it has some interesting ideas, poor lip syncing, annoying sound effects, and enough cliches make it a little difficult to watch at times.
Just my thoughts on the subject. Vivan las Cartoons!
VicHD
As for my thoughts on Johnny Test (the one that I forgot to mention), I just think its a recycled and rehashed version of Dexter's Lab with a role reversal and quite possibly the dumbest name for an antagonist: Bling Bling Boy.