Stupid cartoon cliches [Archive]

greendeltatke

09-07-2005, 9:58 AM

After a long summer of too much cartoon watching I've seen way too many overused gags, plotlines, character types. etc. I'm starting a list of the most tired cartoon cliches. I'll limit myself to the first three:

1. A pterodactyl mistakes a kid for a hatchling and brings it back to its nest.

2. A male character is disguised as a female, and no matter how ugly a female he makes, a burly man becomes attracted to him.

3. The adolescent love triangle- two pals really belong together, but one is distracted by a third party. The third party is flashier than the pal but ultimately proves unworthy on a deeper level.

Anyone else?

OrionGirl

09-07-2005, 10:24 AM

I'll stick with Bugs Bunny...

Not true. I enjoyed Animaniacs. Think Aeon Flux is the pinnacle of modern animation. Dexter's Laboratory was amusing for a while.

But, most other recent cartoons are sad, if not annoying.

Chill

09-07-2005, 10:26 AM

They just can't live up to the master.

Emg

09-07-2005, 11:22 AM

I grew up on Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd....there's just no way the recent crowd of animators and writers are up to the task of meeting that level these days. They focus way too much on cheap bathroom humour (if you want to call it humour, I just call it gross !)

How bout Bugs and Elmer in the "Barber of Seville" lampoon...... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: anyone remember that one ????

However....."The Incredibles" comes way close !!!

cheech

09-07-2005, 11:43 AM

Bugs bunny rocks!!!

Coyote is a star... How can you not respect a coyote who manages to put on a pair of skis, strap an ice machine to his back, and while the ice shoots out of the machine, it gets crushed by "blender", and falls right in front of him, allowing him to ski down those desert mountains, alll for one purpose, to catch that stupid bird!!!

It's genious!!! :)

Chill

09-07-2005, 12:38 PM

How bout Bugs and Elmer in the "Barber of Seville" lampoon...... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: anyone remember that one ????

Remember it? it stills echos in my head 30+ years later.

Welcome to my shop, let me cut your mop, let me shave your crop....

Corax

09-07-2005, 1:24 PM

My all-time fave was Porky Pig vs. that candle that wouldn't go out.. As someone that has worked nights before, I FEEL YOUR PAIN PORKY!

Spongebob is cool, everything else sucks, especailly anything that looks like anime..

happychem

09-07-2005, 1:42 PM

Bugs, Tweety, Wiley, Porky, Elmer, Pepe, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosimite Sam... Yes, those were the golden days

Although I do have a soft spot for "Pinky and the Brain", maybe it's just a latent desire to take over the world...

cyberbeer65

09-07-2005, 2:10 PM

I think Family Guy is quite funny. :laugh:

happychem

09-07-2005, 2:48 PM

Giggidy giggidy

jessie

09-07-2005, 2:57 PM

im pretty sure i watched every episode of shamen king with my 5 year old.

Emg

09-07-2005, 3:50 PM

Remember it? it stills echos in my head 30+ years later.

Welcome to my shop, let me cut your mop, let me shave your crop....

DAINtily.....daintily.........My favorite part is when Bugs starts hacking away at his face !!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: (OUCH OOW OOW OUCH OUCH OOOW !!)

nursie

09-07-2005, 4:14 PM

My favorite is Bug's rip off of the Ride of the Valkaries...(sp?) where Elmer carries a "dead" Bugs to the top of the mountain...the operas were great!!

Roadrunner/Wilie coyote were great too.

But I think we are deviating from greendeltatke's original topic...overused cliches...I can't think of anything right now.

beautifulfish

09-07-2005, 5:31 PM

Popeye is the best cartoon ever!:D THat's what I grew up on!

SnakeIce

09-07-2005, 10:24 PM

JSchmidt

09-07-2005, 10:28 PM

"Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit..."

Jim

tyella

09-07-2005, 10:34 PM

"Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit..."

Jim

Funder, Wightning, ... Smog! .....cough cough...

One of the best of all time!

It wasn't funny and the animation wasn't great, but the artwork and story lines were fantastic ..... Jonny Quest. The epitome of cool. :cool: (not the new one, but the old one)

valleyvampiress

09-07-2005, 10:36 PM

So everyone's saying Looney Toons (my fav as well), but what about The Simpsons? CLASSIC Simpsons? I love Seasons 1-8. I'm also a Spongebob fan, and Ren & Stimpy classics weren't bad either. Geek related, I love me some Spiderman TAS and X-Men TAS.

cohazard

09-07-2005, 10:56 PM

Hey cyber, I agree with you all the way man. Adult Swim is full of quality shows (with a couple of exceptions).

Just to name a few:

FLCL ($100 for 6 episodes, and well worth it! lol)

Cowboy Bebop

Trigun

ATHF

Family Guy

Futurama

and others..........

Peace

oh, btw, teen titans rocks!!!

Lobo.

09-07-2005, 11:19 PM

1. A pterodactyl mistakes a kid for a hatchling and brings it back to its nest.

Anyone else?

i know that one... and the pterodactyl is not supposed to be mistakeing a kid for a hatchling, i think the point comes from Jurrasic park III, kid being next source of food.....

also bugs bunny, pinky and the brain, and other clasics are awesome, if you dont like cliches then dont watch Tom and Jerry or Scooby Doo (the begging of the end for cartoons)

I say that scooby doo is the begging of the end because cartoons like that take no effort to make, imagine how long bugs bunny took to draw out frame by frame... when you simplify things by haveing single frames with moveing parts (door in background moves without changing color texture shadeing or appearence- dont know how they did it but it looks crappy) now recent cartoons use HUGE shortcuts, so they can make a new one per week useing predrawn computer images and the such.
also another problem is content, Bugs Bunny made fun of everybody from movie stars to political figures to the clasics to war heros... and had plenty of imitateable action that involved guns and the such with no consequences... in todays 'correct' word we could NEVER stand for that (sarcasum inserted) it makes me sick....

o yea and although i dont like most anime, the cartoon "megas xlr" is funny eventhough ive outgrown it by a few years... it makes fun of anime while being aneme... and the plot is completly original and american....

tyella

09-07-2005, 11:57 PM

That pterodactyl thing goes back to (at least) one of the old Sinbad movies. I think my fav Jonny Quest even did that, but I don't remember that episode well enough to be sure.

As for the Scooby Doo...I agree. It's Hanna Barbara. They DID make Jonny Quest, but they had to get something right ;) . I think it boils down to commercials and toys. They cranked out the cartoons because kids were buying the toys. Most of the classic Warner Bros stuff was for the theaters, when all they were selling was movie tickets and popcorn.

I've been watching the Futurama episodes on Adult Swim lately, and man oh man, they ARE funny!

Larissa

09-08-2005, 12:49 AM

well, personally, I love Scooby Doo. But that's just me.

odiechef

09-08-2005, 5:12 AM

Bugs bunny rocks!!!

couldn't agree more.....witness my desktop for the past year or more.....
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/3209/untitled5sb.jpg

sorry about :OT:

Emg

09-08-2005, 5:58 AM

"DAH........Don't you worry, never fear....Robin Hood will soon be here....He robs from the rich, he gives to the poor....Yo Ho we go skipping trala through Sherwood forest...helping the needy and the oppressed......."

"Be it Ever soo Crumbled...there's nooo place like Rome.....Nero he was the emporor and the palace was his home....and he LIKED to play with matches and for a fire yerned...and he burned Rome to ashes....and fiddled while it burned....."

"HELLO my honey, hello my darling...hello my ragtime gal......send me a kiss by wire....baby my hearts on fire !"

Anyone remember the one with the miniature elephant ???? HAHAHAHA !!!

Classics.....plain and simple....lol....I feel sorry for the folks who are too young to have experienced Bugs in his prime....saddly I think most of those cartoons will be gone forever soon.....replaced by substandard humour and gags......it'll be a very sad day in America when that happens.... :(

greendeltatke

09-08-2005, 8:03 AM

My husband is an elementary school music teacher, and he uses Bugs Bunny cartoons when he talks about opera and classical music. The kids always love it.

Here's another cliche I really hate- any French references. The beret, the bread, the overly romantic kid. Pepe le Peau can be forgiven, I think that's more a spoof of the genuinely beloved actor Maurice Chevalier. But these dumb French gags still go on in modern cartoons

Chill

09-08-2005, 8:07 AM

"

Classics.....plain and simple....lol....I feel sorry for the folks who are too young to have experienced Bugs in his prime....saddly I think most of those cartoons will be gone forever soon.....replaced by substandard humour and gags......it'll be a very sad day in America when that happens.... :(

I don't think Bugs will disappear. I think he's surpassed the tests of time. I'm glad my kids get to see him because there was a time when he was pulled off the air for being too violent. Anybody remember that little dismal period in the seventies.

My younger brother got to watch non-violent cartoons like Super-friends. They were the Justice League but toned down for the "delicate" children of the time. Never liked that show. Crimefighters who didn't actually fight - they just kind of surrounded the bad guys who imediately gave up. Very friendly crime fighting - can we have a group hug now. Give me an acme anvil dropped on the head anyday.

happychem

09-08-2005, 8:43 AM

I agree that the current crop of anime like cartoons are junk, But Some of the subtitled japanese animes like ranma 1/2 and kenshin the swordsman are quite the stories.

They did a dubbed US version of the kenshin one and that stank. It totally messed up the inflection and respect that under lay all the disputes the characters had.
Funny you should mention those Snake. When I shared an apartment with my sis years and years ago, we started watching some anime. I had a friend who would recomend the occasional series and we'd watch a couple of episodes. We watched a ton of Ranma and just watched a few of Kenshin before the school year ended and we went our separate ways. Those two are easily my favourites among the ones we watched.

judgemax

09-08-2005, 9:34 AM

I DON'T KNOW it sounds like grendle was watching NICK, those sound like jimmy nuetron, and the fairly odd parents! lol...but seriously on nick theres a show called avatar, i really dig that one and rug rats all grown up is cute from a kids stand point! i really like inuasha (sp), and Tripping the rift!,the simpsons still are a fav,,,i have watched them growing up from their start on the tracy ulman show,,i still love the holloween specials! ...and i must say my fav..cartoons growing up, had to be ..he-man, he was so hot! i loved rainbow bright! and for the record this wasn't a cartoon but i loved it any way, you can't do that on television!

valleyvampiress

09-08-2005, 9:42 PM

couldn't agree more.....witness my desktop for the past year or more.....
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/3209/untitled5sb.jpg

sorry about :OT:

How could you keep the same desktop wallpaper for over a year?? I can barely stand a week.

Watcher74

09-08-2005, 10:13 PM

"Oh WHHHHHHY, did I kill the wabbit?"

*sniff* the pure remorse of Elmer as he ran down and picked up Bugs limp body off the rocks and sang that teared me up as a child.

And the Robin Hood cartoon? With Daffy spinning the staff and his bill bending up every time he reached a certain point. With Porky laughing his A** off? I rolled in laughter everytime.

*sigh* Too bad most of those cartoons are now banned for being derogatory to ethnic or cultural groups now. Bugs didn't teach me to hate. Just to laugh at ourselves and life.

odiechef

09-08-2005, 10:18 PM

Lila

09-08-2005, 10:53 PM

No Tom and Jerry? Are you kidding? They're hilarious! Yep, love Bugs and all his friends.

Watcher, you were talking about Daffy as Robin Hood...My son loves watching that one, especially when Daffy is swinging from tree to tree, smacking into each one. Love to listen to my boy giggle.

;)

nursie

09-09-2005, 12:07 AM

My husband was so in to the BB/RR stuff...he can tell you who the directors were..the artists that drew the tunes...he has this thing about reading credits..

Emg

09-09-2005, 6:57 AM

And the Robin Hood cartoon? With Daffy spinning the staff and his bill bending up every time he reached a certain point. With Porky laughing his A** off? I rolled in laughter everytime.

Da TRIP....Da Trip.....Da Trip...........!!!

Hey, all you BB fans....check out ebay for some old BB cartoon DVDs...! So you can have them to show the grandchildren...because you just know they're going to stop showing them on t.v. sooner or later.... :)

happychem

09-09-2005, 8:36 AM

Good call Emg! I never thought of that!

Emg

09-09-2005, 9:30 AM

GREAT !!....now I'm going to have to compete with you folks at ebay....I'll probably get outbidded now ! LOL ! :laugh: :laugh:

jaylin

09-09-2005, 10:04 AM

Duck season ... Rabbit season ... Duck season ...

I loved bugs!

I loved Yosemite Sam too ... When I says whoa, I means WHOA! *clunk*

And Speedy Gonzales ... Helloooooo, my name is Speedy Gonzaaaales. I am the fastest mouse in all of Mehico!

And Pepe LePew ... I can't tell you how much I giggled watching Pepe.

And the Road Runner (Accelerati incredibulis) was ok, but I was always rooting for Wile E. Coyote (Carnivarious vulgaris)!

I miss the Saturday mornings from my childhood.

odiechef

09-09-2005, 3:59 PM

Duck season ... Rabbit season ... Duck season ...

you're wrong, it's baseball season.....poor Elmer :)

odiechef

09-09-2005, 5:37 PM

...don't forget Taz http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/4484/taz1ij.gif

...and Foghorn Leghorn....."I say, I say boy..."

OrionGirl

09-09-2005, 5:52 PM

Oh--if we're looking for another cartoon cliche...That children and animals are always highly intelligent, while adults are oblivious idiots that don't recognize danger under any circumstances.

Guess I can see why it makes them more appealing to children, but still rather cliched.

Emg

09-09-2005, 7:21 PM

That sort of nonesense started about in the late 70's early 80's I think.....with those dumb sitcoms.....that one with Gary Coleman....and that other little kid...can't remember the names of them..........but the kids were always way smarter than the adults....I hate that ! :rant: :rant:

greendeltatke

09-09-2005, 7:56 PM

For some reason cartoon dads in particular have gotten really stupid. Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Odd Parents and Danny Phantom are the Nickelodeon banner shows- all with incredibly dimwitted dads.

Chill

09-09-2005, 8:14 PM

For some reason cartoon dads in particular have gotten really stupid. Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Odd Parents and Danny Phantom are the Nickelodeon banner shows- all with incredibly dimwitted dads.

It's called pandering to your audience. Kids always think their parents are dumb. I like Mark Twains quote:
"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."

valleyvampiress

09-09-2005, 8:36 PM

well...I like Bugs, I have changed a few times over the years (Bugs is best so far), it's not at the top of my priority list (I already have time managment issues with myself), and I really don't see it but for brief periods of time (I full size all windows, I even do full screen on IE).

I don't know, call me boring but when I find something I like...

just me though :rolleyes:

lol, yeah. I've always had my browser window full screen. I can't stand when people don't do it on theres. I don't like scrolling every which way. My res. is 1280x1024 and I still do full screen for everything as well.

I don't like having to go around searching for a good background every time I'm tired of an old one so what I do is go to a free site and download a whole bunch that I like. I put it all in one folder and change the pic every time I get bored of the current one. There's also a free program (no spyware) called Webshots Desktop that will do it automatically when you specify for free. It can also download automatically, but you're limited in how many you can download a day for the free version. Still, it's an excellent program for those who don't have the time or are just lazy like me. :P

Anyway, sorry I'm off topic!

Emg

09-09-2005, 9:41 PM

For some reason cartoon dads in particular have gotten really stupid. Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Odd Parents and Danny Phantom are the Nickelodeon banner shows- all with incredibly dimwitted dads.

You bet....Dad's are especially targeted for the dumb and dumber cliche..........it's not PC to pick on moms........so the dads...especially the european white dads....get smashed in the brains dept every time these days. I find that revolting and just plain wrong......

Ahhh...back to the days of Beaver Clearver and Andy Taylor.........when dads were full of wisdom and definitly in charge........ (*SIGH*) I think the Brady Bunch was one of the last sitcoms that had a Dad with a full deck....

Emg

09-09-2005, 10:03 PM

This isn't exactly on topic.....but since we're discussing cartoons.....has anyone ever seen "Invader Zim" ?

tbone

09-10-2005, 2:52 AM

I know that this thread is about cartoons. But it got way off topic allready so heres my cliche that i can't stand anymore. It's the sitcom cliche when the main characterbuys a lotto ticket and then wins but everyone in the neighborhood/city/state/world has the same numbers and they wind up getting jack squat. I have lost count how many times this plot has been recycled. When a sitcom has to resort to recycling old cliche plots its time to move on.

Speaking of tv shows going downhill. Anyone been to www.jumptheshark.com ? It's a site about the moment that a tv showstarts to go downhill spelling the end of the show(ar at least it should) Jumping the shark refers to "The Happy Day's" when the show took a turn for the worse andfonzie was water skiing(note it was the worst blue screening ever, and disgustingly fake looking) and to win the waterskiing competition he "jumped" over a shark.

This website clelebrates the moment alot of your favorite shows sold out. Theres a huge list and you can vote too.

sumoschro

09-10-2005, 4:05 AM

Invader Zim was a really wierd show when it first came out...The concepts were really dark, and the creator of that show is realy dark too ( You should see some of his comics). But I always really loved Gir the little stuffed dog, that guy was funny. I've gotta give props to any cartoon on adult swim though, that is some of the best stuff ever. As far as the classics go? Always loved Roadrunner and the Coyote. I loved seeing how that stupid coyote kept trying to catch that bird. ACME rocket boots and such...