Cartoons: Now with Lovecraftian Horror

[MCerberus]

Recently I've been noticing a trend in cartoons I've been enjoying, the presence of nightmare fuel. I've recently switched to satellite and have been able to watch some Courage and Rocko along with the usual standbys of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Flapjack, and pretty much everything Adult Swim has been making.


So what do you think about these kinds of cartoons? Mind-erasing joy, pointless weirdness, or something else?

[Bhu]

I run on nightmare fuel so I'm okay with it :smallbiggrin:

[Brewdude]

Adult swim, by definition, is not for kids. :)

[Tengu_temp]

From my experience, kids actually like Lovecraftian horror, just like they like egregious violence.

[Berserk Monk]

Adult swim, by definition, is not for kids. :)

What? Next thing you'll be telling me is Comedy Central isn't for kids.

[Nerocite]

Silly rabbit! Comedy Central is for Kids!

[BizzaroStormy]

Silly rabbit! Comedy Central is for Kids!

Actually, nowdays its: "Stupid ******* rabbit. Comedy Central is for ******* kids *****!!"

[MCerberus]

At least the Daily Show is still decent. :smallsigh: Of course if the theory holds true that kids nightmare fuel as much as pointless violence, Invader Zim would have had a longer run.

[FoE]

The Adventures of Flapjack had Nightmare Fuel in it? Lies.

[Starscream]

This isn't really a new trend. Rocko's Modern Life is now over 15 years old. Ren & Stimpy, which is even more horrifying (and funny:smallbiggrin:) is 18. Even Courage will be turning 10 this year.

Personally it doesn't bug me at all. When I was a kid in the 1980s (okay, I suddenly feel ancient) the parental watchdog groups really neutered cartoons in general for being so violent and scary. I understand their motivations, but their way of going about it was pretty dumb.

GI Joe could still shoot guns, but they had to fire lasers because no way a kid would pick up a gun and decide to play with it even though it isn't a laser.

He-Man could still carry a sword, but couldn't use it except to transform from Prince Adam and occasionally cut through a rope or something.

Robots could be destroyed left and right, because robots aren't people. Never mind they they are sentient, emotional, and fully characterized and are thus "people" as far as a child understands the term, they don't have blood. Sparking and then exploding is fine.

And every bloody show had to have some stupid segment at the end where the characters turn to the camera and explain how foiling Skeletor's plot to access Castle Grayskull is really a metaphor for how you should always make sure the stove isn't hot before you touch it. Even 4 year olds weren't impressed.

And then there's the cloying cuteness that was "safe" shows like Care Bears, Get-A-Long Gang, and Monchichi's. Give me the comical sociopathy of modern cartoons any day.

[Ormur]

The cartoons of the 90's were awesome even though they had a lot of nightmare fuel for sensetive kids like me. It's also not just the disturbing visuals but the drama of cartoons. There was of course The Lion King, Bambi and also The Animals of Farthing Wood where every other character died a gruesome death. If that kind of emotionally scarring material has been accepted in kid's cartoons for decades I can't object to a bit of Lovecraftian Horror or Ren & Stimpy. Some kids like it and I think it's okay.

[MCerberus]

Well when I was a kid (god, that's depressing even though I'm only 21), there were a ton of good cartoons that were neither "let's all hug" or "Y'AI'NG'NGAH YOG-SOTHOTH H'EE-L'GEB F'AI TRHODOG UAAAAH." It was the era of Animaniacs, where WB played some honestly good stuff. Even Freakazoid and the Nickelodeon cartoonery was mostly just zany. Of course, Batman pulled "Watch as everyone you love tries to kill each other over your death" and similar. That one freaked me out to no end.

Side note: who remembers Angry Beavers?

[Green Bean]

Everyone knows that horrifying kids shows are a thing of the past. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zail7Gdqro)

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/osiris32/carebear.png

[Telonius]

You want horrifying? Spiral Zone. Inhumanoids.

Bah, kids today. :smallannoyed: ::goes back to weeding his lawn::

[hamishspence]

not sure if Thundercats villain Mumm-Ra counts- he might be a shade on the creepy side for small children.

[Berserk Monk]

The Adventures of Flapjack had Nightmare Fuel in it? Lies.

Gotta agree here. Seen some episodes of that show. It's more disturbing in that the main character is annoying you want someone to turn him into zombie fodder so he won't ever say/do anything ever again more than disturbing in that the show looks like Cthulhu produced it.

[MCerberus]

Gotta agree here. Seen some episodes of that show. It's more disturbing in that the main character is annoying you want someone to turn him into zombie fodder so he won't ever say/do anything ever again more than disturbing in that the show looks like Cthulhu produced it.

I think the last part of that explains a lot. There's something underneath Stormalong living in a city whose architecture is incomprehensible to our pitiful moral minds.

[Cleverdan22]

Side note: who remembers Angry Beavers?

Friggin' YES. I watched that show all the time when I was a kid.

But yeah, old nineties cartoons aren't really "now." Sure, they were great, but no new cartoons today geared towards children are good anymore. Sure, Fairly Odd Parents and Spongebob used to be enjoyable in their early days, but look at them now. Eeesh.