News:

"Wings and a Prayer [L-E]"
Congratulations OfferedToEros & Random for completing your RP!

Main Menu

Best non-anime cartoon

Started by Armand, October 06, 2012, 06:40:07 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Kuroneko

Arthur, that belt is an accessory of evil, and evil is never in fashion!

I don't understand, I threw BOTH my shoes at it.

The Tick
Samurai Jack
Archer
Futurama
American Dad
Family Guy
Sea Lab 2020
Johnny Quest (the original)
Alf Animated Adventures (don't judge me if you haven't see it :P )
The Real Ghostbusters
Fractured Fairytales
Ons & Offs//Requests//Where is the Black Cat?
Current Posting Time - Once a Week or More

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art" ~ Oscar Wilde
"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream" ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Mitsu

I'll start with some older cartoons, and then work my way towards newer cartoons. I will only include cartoons that are no longer in production. I don't feel an accurate assessment can be made on the cartoon as a whole, unless it is a finished work.

The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991 - 1996)

    The brain child of John Kricfalusi, and the very first cartoon by the now defunct animation studio, Spümcø, Inc. Ren & Stimpy was unique for it's time in that it was an adult's cartoon, featured on Nickelodeon, under the guise of a children's cartoon. The humor was rife with violence, sexual innuendos, mental insanity, and just plain disturbing content. I cannot express the magnitude of "What the fuck?" this show had going on. Just watch the episode "Stimpy's Fanclub".

    While it is VERY easy to talk about the off-the-wall humor, I feel the fantastic art direction and animation is often overlooked. This is a cartoon I cite when I mention how modern "adult cartoons" are uninspired and needlessly squander the talent of their artists. Good art and animation only lend to the cartoon, and can never subtract from it. The Ren & Stimpy Show had very good art and animation. This is a direct result of John Kricfalusi's stringent standards, and iron-fist direction of Spumco. There was NO laziness in the halls of Spumco. It was practically policy that no two faces would be exactly the same in a single cartoon. A difficult task when animating a character talking.

    The Ren and Stimpy show was eventually handed over to Games Animation studio (Hey Arnold, Rocko's Modern Life) in 1992, due to a falling out between John Kricfalusi and Nickelodeon.

Batman: The Animated Series (1992 - 1995)


    Developed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, BtAS was a cartoon produced during Warner Brother's strong animation surge during the early and mid-90's. Unlike other cartoons produced by WB at the time, BtAS was different. It wasn't a comedy show. It wasn't bright and cheery. It was Batman, and it was dark and mature. While the series was placed in time-slots that featured other children's shows, BtAS was never written with children in mind. It featured story-lines with thinly veiled references to death, characters that fired real guns at other human beings, and themes of loss and sorrow. There were very few, if any, American produced cartoons that touched these areas at the time. What is more important is that BtAS managed to do all of this well. It wasn't for shock value.

    One of the most striking features of the series is the art deco-inspired style. Gotham's buildings are tall, dark, and often silhouetted against an eerie red sky. Around them is a time-stuck world seemingly of the fifties or forties. It's a world were it's denizens watched television in black and white. Where they drove the streets in classic cars too old for many of the young, real-world viewer to recognize. It was a world where they sky above Gotham was patrolled not by helicopter, but instead by blimps. When the series took advantage of this setting, when the stories felt reminiscent of film noir, it was at it's best.

    Fun fact: The series was drawn and painted on black paper, which is what gives it such a dark, gritty look.


Well... this list is far shorter than I wanted it to be. I've run out of time, so this is all I will post. Below are some honorable mentions.

Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs

Samurai Jack

Rugrats










rick957

Rock on, Mitsu.  That was an incredibly informative and knowledgeable post.  :)  Just sayin'.

Mitsu

 I had to leave to get a shower, so I couldn't finish it. I thought I was going to have company, but it turns out I won't.

LunarSage

Has anyone mentioned Exosquad? 

That show was a pioneer of it's time for actually having a far reaching story where the events of one episode directly affected the subsequent episodes... and people actually died!

  ▫  A.A  ▫  O.O  ▫  Find & Seek   ▫ 

bubby

Family Guy
American dad
The Tick
Archer
Frisky Dingo
The Brak Show
Harvey Bird-Man
Home Movies
Sea-lab 2021
Angry Beavers

LunarSage

Quote from: bubby on October 20, 2012, 01:17:27 PM
Family Guy
American dad
The Tick
Archer
Frisky Dingo
The Brak Show
Harvey Bird-Man
Home Movies
Sea-lab 2021
Angry Beavers

<3

  ▫  A.A  ▫  O.O  ▫  Find & Seek   ▫ 

Mitsu

Quote from: LunarSage on October 20, 2012, 01:09:18 PM
Has anyone mentioned Exosquad? 

That show was a pioneer of it's time for actually having a far reaching story where the events of one episode directly affected the subsequent episodes... and people actually died!

I've never heard of Exosquad, or if I have, I forgot about it. This is a pretty interesting one, in that it has a great deal of potential, but it's squandered in the art design. I've watched a few episodes, and there is obviously some thought here in the writing. It isn't a high-mark for science fiction writing, but it isn't bad either. The animation isn't too shabby, it's pretty typical of the time. It isn't where I'd like it to be, but it isn't hard on the eyes. The biggest issue here, as I mentioned before, is the art design.

The mechanical designs are pretty typical of the decade: bulkiness, odd color pallets, and random do-dads sticking out here and there. The character designs are about of the same quality, but there's at least a charm to them. I don't particularly mind any of them, and actually enjoy the more realistic proportions and style. It almost looks like a DiC production (Captain Planet) in some ways.

I've found the voice acting to be passable. It isn't special, sometimes it's painful, and rarely is it really good, but it fits. The actors and actresses get the job done, and while merely listening to the show, I found that I was interested in it.

Overall, I think this is a series I might just look into more. It would be great if anyone with some knowledge of the series could tell me a bit more about it, before I start to watch. I'd just like to know what the high points of the two seasons were, where in the season the animation gets kinda shoddy (budget concerns), and I think it might be nice to talk to someone about it as I'm watching.

Chris Brady

Actually, people died in SWAT Cats...  Well, anthropomorphic characters, but still, they died ON SCREEN too.

But Exosquad deserve mention because it was one of the first serial rather than episodic cartoons.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Silver

In no particular order at all:

The Boondocks
Regular Show
Batman
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Courage The Cowardly Dog
Daria
O/O's  Request Thread  A/A's
Now Playing: Star - ♡ Machinedrum (A$AP Ferg Remix)
People fear what they don't understand, But then they get mad because they don't dare to do it, Everybody a shinin' star, they ain't get far so they can't prove it, Most stars foolish, full of gas, useless, Pushin' bad influence, wonder what happened to 'em?, They say hurt people hurt people, guess that is proven, They put on a mask to mask feelings, Fill the universe with mass ceilings, Most people not even tappin' in...♡

AllieCat


Silver

Quote from: AllieCat on October 23, 2012, 01:16:15 AM
Jem, Animaniacs..

omg I forgot...

Me and friends are Jem girls's Jem, Jem is my name... *hums the tune* That was on Hub but now it's on Netflix .... My daughter loves that show..

Another I forgot was Dilbert...
O/O's  Request Thread  A/A's
Now Playing: Star - ♡ Machinedrum (A$AP Ferg Remix)
People fear what they don't understand, But then they get mad because they don't dare to do it, Everybody a shinin' star, they ain't get far so they can't prove it, Most stars foolish, full of gas, useless, Pushin' bad influence, wonder what happened to 'em?, They say hurt people hurt people, guess that is proven, They put on a mask to mask feelings, Fill the universe with mass ceilings, Most people not even tappin' in...♡

Chris Brady

I used to watch, and enjoy, Gem growing up.  Man...  The memories.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Mister Grimm

I don't know what I can define as the best, but a few of my favorites in no particular order:

Garfield and Friends
Freakazoid (I liked Cosgrove the most)
Dexter's Lab
Danny Phantom
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Avatar The Last Airbender / Legend of Korra
Angry Beavers
The Fairly OddParents (Cosmo, Crocker and Jorgen Von Strangle, haha. And the dad. "DINKLEBERG!!! *shouts at sky*")
I've got all the things I need. It's the nature of my breed.
I'm independent, s m o o t h and confident.
Always in command with a graceful element and a tasteful compliment.
Do you know who I am?
I'm a deadly handsome man.

LunarSage

"Hey Freakazoid!  Wanna go to Spackle World?"

  ▫  A.A  ▫  O.O  ▫  Find & Seek   ▫ 

Mister Grimm

"Do I?!?!?"


//hit

I think my favorite was "Hey Freakaziod, wanna go see a bear ride a motorcycle?"
Oh Cosgrove.
I've got all the things I need. It's the nature of my breed.
I'm independent, s m o o t h and confident.
Always in command with a graceful element and a tasteful compliment.
Do you know who I am?
I'm a deadly handsome man.

Oneiros

Quote from: LunarSage on October 23, 2012, 03:57:00 PM
"Hey Freakazoid!  Wanna go to Spackle World?"

It was actually Spumoni World. They went to the Great Hall of Spackle.

LunarSage

Huh, I could have sworn... ah well.

  ▫  A.A  ▫  O.O  ▫  Find & Seek   ▫ 

ForAlbion


Spynmaster

I have quite a few. Here's what I remember right off:


SatAM Sonic the Hedgehog
Bots Master
Skysurfer Strike Force
Princess Gwenivere & the Jewel Riders
King Arthur & the Knights of Justice


Skynet

#120
Fellow Freakazoid! fan here as well.  I loved this show growing up, and it still brings a chuckle out of me today.

I also like the 90's Batman Animated Series; same for the Justice League.

ulthakptah

Two great shows that I haven't seen mentioned here are Gravity Falls and Dan Vs.

Chris Brady

Quote from: ulthakptah on November 14, 2012, 04:50:27 PM
Two great shows that I haven't seen mentioned here are Gravity Falls and Dan Vs.
Never heard of those...  Will have to go check them out.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Faust

Megas XLR (probably my all-time favourite)
The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (had a crush on Grim, lol)
Freakazoid
Animaniacs

I used to watch all of the Cartoon Network cartoons that were on, but I used to love these the most.

Lux12

Overall, I'm not sure.Right now I'd say The Boondocks.