Why is there still a stigma when it comes to cartoons?

27 comments

1. I disagree. There are definitely a fair amount of adult oriented cartoons.

2. This hasn’t been the case since the 90s animation boom. I don’t know what you’re on about.

3. Batman: The Animated Series, Into the Spider-Verse, Marvel’s What If, South Park and The Simpsons (well, classic Simpsons anyway) would disagree with you.

4. I think this is becoming less of a thing.

5. Hitmonkey, Paradise PD, Rick and Morty, Brickleberry, South Park, The Simpsons, all of Adult Swim just about.

   We have plenty of adult oriented cartoons.

6. >And when there are shows/movies for adults, it’s always a comedy.

   Comedy sells

7. There really isn’t.

8. Disagree with you

9. I don’t think there’s a stigma necessarily, It’s just not something that’s been done here a lot. There definitely have been non-comedy animated movies/series aimed at adults, but they’re few and far between. Studios just prefer to use live actors and CG over full animation. A lot of American entertainment is also geared towards the idea of “family-friendly.” Where everyone gets something out of what you’re watching regardless of age. That started with Mr. Walt himself.

10. Stigma among whom? Plenty of millennials still watch Family Guy and similar stuff.

11. I reject your premise as false.

12. > It seems like in America cartoons are only being seen as kids stuff

    This is not accurate

    > And when there are shows/movies for adults, it’s always a comedy

    This is not true either, but frankly comedy sells.

13. There are tons of American animated series aimed at adults. Family Guy, Simpsons , Archer, Rick and Morty, Big Mouth and Bob’s Burgers for example.

14. this hasnt been the case since the early 90s man. We have a whole generation of adult swim content out there.

15. > It seems like in America cartoons are only being seen as kids stuff.

    I reject this premise. The Simpsons broke that idea in the late 80s.

    > And when there are shows/movies for adults, it’s always a comedy.

    Americans like comedy. However, there are many non-comedy series from Batman to the Clone Wars to Avatar: The Last Airbender.

    > How come American animation isn’t being treated like Japanese anime where there are shows for every demographic?

    I reject this premise, but there are also some cultural differences here. A simple approach is to say “Why is animation the way that it is in Japan?”. What caused it to gain popularity? What’s the origin?

    > Why only entertain children?

    The Simpsons is definitely for adults and is the longest-running scripted series in US TV history.

16. What rock have you been living under?

17. If you pay attention to animation this actually isn’t the case

18. I respectfully disagree.

19. We have plenty of adult cartoons. Bojack Horseman, Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Big Mouth, Family Guy to name a few.

20. Baby boomers didn’t grow up with adult cartoons.

21. I don’t think there is a stigma at all

22. So even on “Cartoon Network” they have a long running session called “Adult Swim” which is nothing but cartoons geared towards an adult audience. How did you not know this?

    Your premise is ignorantly (lack of knowledge) incorrect. There are cartoons for “every demographic”. They don’t only entertain children.

    >How come American animation isn’t being treated like Japanese anime

    Because it’s not Japanese anime. hmmmm Can you imagine there being differing cultures and differing approaches with each one being it’s own valid form of animated artistic expression?

23. There is an entire genre of American cartoons for teens and adults, typically comedy: Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Bob’s Burgers, Rick & Morty, South Park, Venture Brothers, Boondocks, ATHF, BoJack Horseman, The Critic, I can go on and on..

24. Despite what everyone else is saying there *is* something of a stigma, it’s just that redditors come from a demographic that’s more used to cartoons.

    While western adult animation exists, the examples that get named tend to be relatively modern. It’s entirely different from anime that’s had several adult-oriented non-comedic shows for decades.

    To really oversimplify. At the time that Disney came in, western animation was half for kids, half for adults, it had something for everyone. While Disney did try to raise the technical standard for animation, their most popular movies were generally light hearted kid stuff. Then the 60s came and a ton of cheaply animated children’s shows from Hanna Barbera got popular. Then the 80s came and a ton of shows were basically toy commercials. The Simpsons were a sort of revival of the idea that cartoons could be for adults, but adult animation tended to be sorted into a ghetto. Adult Swim was kind of like that, it had a lot of shows but it was kept at arm’s length from the rest of the increasingly sanitized industry. Also they showed anime there too.

    Then Disney went ahead with their “mature” live-action remakes, which everyone on the internet hates but the braindead majority chucks their wallets at them. Which feeds the perception among casual moviegoers (and movie executives) that live-action is simply “better” or “more adult”.

25. Maybe with the baby boomer generation but GenX and younger have all grown up with cartoons for big kids and adults so no real stigma.

26. Believe it or not, but there are some people who absolutely just refuse to watch something if it’s a cartoon. My wife’s mother will never watch any cartoon. Comedy or not, she just refuses. To her, there is this stigma where a cartoon just isn’t meant for her. Even if she might actually enjoy it. So, to some there is a stigma. However it’s definitely not all Americans. And there are lots of non comedy adult animation. Even something like Bojack or F is for family, while they might both be in the genre of comedy. They are more situational comedies. You laugh because you can’t believe someone is doing the same thing again.

27. It’s a cultural thing. Cartoons are viewed as being for kids, and comics are viewed as being for kids.

    There are some specific examples of that not being the case. There are more and more “grown up” cartoons in the US today, but they are pretty low brow. They are animated so they can get away with stuff you couldn’t do on a live action show, and because they are cheaper to produce

    The US has nothing that matches the creative complexity of Japanese anime. Nor anything as violent or fan service-y.