There’s a newfound level of excitement and freedom that accompanies television due to the advancements that have been made in streaming and other modern distribution methods. There are now more places to consume content than ever before. Television has always put a lot of stock in animated content, which evolved in staggering ways.
Cartoons used to be dismissed as children’s programs, but there’s now such a strong library of animated series that will keep audiences of all ages entertained. The consistent innovation that cartoons have experienced is undeniable, but there are still some reductive and regrettable programs that exist, which may not be obvious until they’re binged.
10 Family Guy Has Been Running On Empty For Years
Family Guy made headlines upon its debut as an extremely transgressive animated series and it’s perhaps leaned a little too hard into that label over the years. Despite facing a cancellation early on in its run, Family Guy has managed to produce over 350 episodes and is a mainstay of FOX’s animated line-up. Family Guy hasn’t reached the same heights as other long-running adult animated series, like The Simpsons, South Park, or King Of The Hill, but it’s still built a large audience. However, a binge of Family Guy only highlights how lazy it’s become over time.
9 Loonatics Unleashed Is A Soulless Adaptation That Misses The Mark
Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes is a cherished property that's struggled to find its niche in modern pop culture. Looney Tunes works best when the series' many characters are just allowed to be themselves and focus on absurdist gags. But, there have been some radical changes to the property in attempts to rejuvenate the brand.
Loonatics Unleashed transports these classic characters into a gritty post-apocalyptic future where they operate more like superheroes than comedy icons. Loonatics Unleashed is a fascinating oddity, but a binge session reflects why it's a poor idea that didn't last beyond 26 episodes.
8 The Critic Is Lost In Endless Dated Pop Culture References
The Critic still comes up in many discussions about iconoclastic cartoons from the 1990s, largely due to the fact that it came from some of The Simpsons’ creative team. The Simpsons rabidly lampoons pop culture, but it still often feels like an evergreen piece of comedy.
Alternatively, The Critic’s humor is so focused on the popular movies of the time that the series feels more like a time capsule to the ‘90s than anything else. The characters and stories in The Critic aren’t strong enough to justify repeated binges and the dated jokes continue to hold it back.
7 Rocket Power’s Extreme Slang Makes It A Painful Chore
Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo were responsible for many of Nickelodeon's most formative pieces of programming during the 1990s. Many of these series hold up well, but Rocket Power is the one exception. Rocket Power focuses on a group of four friends who share a passionate love for extreme sports, which is a decent hook.
But, Rocket Power felt dated upon its release and this hasn't improved over time. Rocket Power is full of edgy slang and buzzwords that are poor attempts to capture a younger demographic that just leave the series feeling even more out of touch.
6 The Mighty Ducks Is A Bizarre Cartoon That’s Removed From Time
There's a fascinating trend that existed during the 1990s where tons of live-action movies received animated television counterparts, even when the project didn't exactly make sense. One of the oddest examples of this is Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series, which pulls from the beloved sports movie, yet takes a decidedly different direction. Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series looks at a team of duck-human hybrids from the planet of Puckworld who use their extreme strength and powerful weapons for the purposes of hockey supremacy. Audiences can now revisit this animated anomaly on Disney+, but it's a very shallow endeavor.
5 Doug Doesn’t Bring Enough To The Table And Blends In Too Well
Doug is a fascinating cartoon that feels like a strange oddity from its decade that’s highly subdued and content in its own mundane nature. So many animated series, especially those that are meant for younger audiences, require some catchy hook. Nickelodeon’s Doug, on the other hand, prides itself in the pedestrian nature of its main character.
Doug’s imagination does result in heightened flights of fancy, but its slow pacing can definitely come across as uneventful on a binge session. Cartoons have just come so much further in their depiction of these sorts of characters.
4 Cow And Chicken’s Outrageous Antics Are Tired In Retrospect
Ren And Stimpy became such a breakout animated success that many cartoons attempted to recreate its odd madness. It's not easy to create a series that's friendly for younger audiences, but also has a dark vein of weirdness that runs through it.
Cow And Chicken is one of the more successful Ren And Stimpy imitators and it became an important staple on Cartoon Network. Cow And Chicken holds up better than Ren And Stimpy, but its shortcomings become magnified in a modern context. It's not enough to just be weird and random and Cow And Chicken is proof of that.
3 Reboot’s Charm Can’t Compete With Dated Ideas And Visuals
Reboot certainly deserves credit for being a fully-animated CG TV series during a time where the technology was still coming into its own. This gives Reboot a distinct visual aesthetic, which both works in its favor, but also unavoidably dates it. There are a lot of creative ideas going on in Reboot. The major creative shift pivots Reboot towards more mature, serialized storytelling, leaving it feeling very divided. Reboot reaches compelling material, but a binge highlights these growing pains and makes it more difficult to power through.
2 Angry Beavers’ Schtick Grows Old Fast
Many animated series are content to rely upon a simple premise or an unusual pairing of creatures that can routinely generate hilarious situations. The Angry Beavers is a Nickelodeon vehicle that lasted for four seasons with a very Odd Couple-style energy. Dag and Norb are two beaver brothers with very contrasting personalities.
Natural animosity forms from these two beavers' efforts to co-exist. There's a comfortable energy to The Angry Beavers, and the series quickly understands what it is, but it just never moves beyond that point. The argumentative antics of Dag and Norb wear thin when so many of them are consumed back-to-back.
1 Johnny Bravo Lacks Substance And Depth
It's impossible to tell which cartoons are going to connect with audiences and often, very surprising properties can resonate with crowds. Johnny Bravo is hardly a deep show and the majority of episodes chronicle the titular character's foolish, macho efforts to impress women. Johnny Bravo is a surface level caricature, which might be why the show kept young audiences entertained for six seasons. The shallow nature of the character, and Johnny Bravo, are unavoidable during a binge and it comes across as a much more problematic program.