Cartoons Were NEVER Made for Kids..

cartoons are not for children okay for like 40 years they were almost exclusively for kids but they weren't originally created for them some of the most successful and iconic animations of the past 30 years were specifically designed for adults and aside from a few iconic disney creations it's safe to say cartoons are more enjoyable when they are constructed for older audiences today i'm going to take you all on a nostalgia trip covering adult cartoons from their inception in the 1920s all the way to the crowning point of adult swim the mecca of adult animations drink water in the 1920s hollywood was booming producing an average of 800 feature films per year there were some cartoons but they were still in early development the few cartoons that were made in the 20s were shown at cinemas before a feature film they were essentially short films with no dialogue just music and sound effects it was also in the 1920s where there was a big push for harsher censorship in films and theatrical performances the supreme court ruled in 1915 that free speech did not extend into motion pictures a lot of films such as the ones performed at the new york stage had mature content nudity cursing and adult subject matter it was like the wild west with no rules and regulations in 1927 there was a censorship committee formed by will hayes a republican politician to propose some do's and don'ts in the film industry it took a while for these suggestions to become an actual enforced code known as haze code and in the meantime cartoons would take advantage of the minimal regulations this was known as the pre-code era betty boop she was a caricature of the 1930s flapper a woman with more love to give than knowledge to share typically depicted as being innocent yet scandalous she had a baby face but the body of a grown woman many of these early productions were heavily sexualizing betty and other animated women some of these straight up glamorizing do you like your job [Music] they pretty much depicted every way possible a woman's dress could get removed from her body betty exploded in popularity however with the enforcement of hayes code in 1934 the animation studio was required to button up betty's image she went from being a free spirit flapper to a housewife career girl who wore fuller dresses her curls got straightened out her earrings got smaller and she slowly became more mature she even smelled different okay we don't know how she smelled but i think we can all agree smelling good is feeling good which is why scentbird is a necessary service for you scentbird is a fragrant subscription service with over 600 different designer fragrances available to you at a fraction of the price the low monthly price gives you the ability to sample one designer fragrance every month i know i don't feel comfortable buying a 300 to 600 cologne that i haven't even tried out yet the sample size will last you a full 30 days you can test out a different one every time or even take 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to have uninspired animators to make cartoons for adults because most of their humor at the time revolved around themes that were now banned by the code so creators had to try and entertain the adult audiences inconspicuously through their children's shows animated shorts hit new strides in the 30s with the creation of mickey mouse donald duck and snow white these animations were good enough to captivate audiences for extended periods of time in the 40s there was bugs bunny tom and jerry bambi they were definitely designed for children but parents could watch and be entertained storylines were basic most of the humor came from silly faces characters getting hurt and just basic tropes that would make kids laugh in 1949 the first animated television series was launched called crusader rabbit gumby in the 50s was a groundbreaking new animation style but most of the 50s was dominated by the same kid-friendly animations from the 40s television sales were exploding in popularity but animated series were not regularly programmed yet you had experimental 5-minute episodes programmed by various stations at different times popeye being one of the more famous ones and was pretty much adult targeted leaning into relatable humor the best kind that was a joke focused on the working-class man and relating to his struggles like wow the pipe broke on this sink oh my god i hate when that happens there was a massive shift in the 60s the birth of hannah barbera animations basically every american household has a tv now you had the flintstones the jetsons pink panther scooby-doo spider-man hulk so many more regularly scheduled cartoons enjoyed by millions so you don't have to go to the cinema to see animation there was more variety better writing still leaning into the working class man and the modern family but the colors were brighter the scenes and animation were more imaginative tvs in general were more creative and fun most of these cartoons were still family friendly designed for children yet really enjoyable for adults to watch as well the 70s was the birth of nickelodeon however the mid 70s to mid 80s would be the weakest era for new cartoons the 70s were carried by shows that were started in the 60s critics whoever they are say the golden age of animation ended in 1972. obviously everyone born in the 70s or later would say that's cap but many of the most critically acclaimed financially successful and culturally significant animated films and cartoons were released from the 20s to the early 70s however they had significantly less variety and less competition so it's a lot easier for those cartoons to have a bigger impact these old cartoons were considered to be more lifelike emotionally relatable and contained valuable lessons but a lot of adults may argue that cartoons are not a place where they want to learn life lessons and rather escape into a creative and complex alternate reality not to remind them how much their boring life is just like this boring cartoon to no surprise cartoon ratings were plummeting resulting in budget cuts and then the release of low budget animations that didn't have a lasting impact the 1980s you had the birth of the disney channel shows like the smurfs thomas the tank engine and alvin and the chipmunks were hits for children but the late 80s felt like cartoons were catering to their teenage and adult audiences a lot more at this point for almost 40 years cartoons were perceived to be for children and almost exclusively designed for children like it started out exclusively for adults then immediately did a 180 for kids and was slowly building towards being designed for adults again teens were waking up in the morning eating cereal watching tunes and chilling on the couch after school watching tunes teenage mutant ninja turtles transformers he-man and the masters of the universe thundercats robocop these were designed more so for teenagers and opened up a lot more opportunities for advanced animation more action and more advanced storylines that could be understood not just haha bonk on the head humor there were a plethora of new shows being premiered only to be discontinued after a season or so the scenes were more imaginative and immersive unfortunately a lot of the shows didn't stick or become as culturally long-lasting as shows made in the 90s but in 1989 something big happened a cartoon written and designed for adults without being racist or overly sexual the simpsons the simpsons is not written for kids it's written for adults was said by matt groening who created the show matt was a visionary he knew that the mainstream audience wanted and needed an adult oriented cartoon show so he made it happen homer simpson and marge simpson are married with three children bart lisa and maggie they live in the middle america town of springfield it was an animated sitcom without the laugh track leaning into a classic sitcom storyline the average american family breakfast in the morning conflict in the day resolution at night it was as basic as it gets in terms of understanding the general plot just watch the first episode and you have almost all the background information needed to watch the next 32 seasons although it was basic in nature every episode was a new day and the creative possibilities were endless homer would overreact get in ridiculous situations and handle them how basically nobody would handle them don't look at me the animation style stood out from the rest immediately they were all yellow they all had extremely unique features like huge mouths and weird shaped heads the show was carried by the extensive array of wacky side characters all that have memorable characteristics and are voiced by unique and talented actors the most successful prime time cartoon in history at this point the simpsons season 1 in 1990 averaged a whopping 27 million viewers per episode the simpsons proved that a cartoon designed just for adults can not only be successful but be the most successful liquid television produced by mtv and released in 1991 it was a compilation of animated shorts by independent artists they were pushing the boundaries of animation and all of it was catered to adults it was like this little secret network within a network that only a few knew about which sounds familiar this was the birth of beavis and bud head which was a crude humored show about two dumb asses who couldn't do anything right we tricked him he's probably like uh there's nobody here and we're obsessed with the idea of getting laid ladies beware sure it only lasted a few seasons but it is culturally iconic at the time this was groundbreaking in terms of what comedy and adult cartoons could be primarily children watch cartoons but but but but adults watch cartoons too in fact in the evening on the average evening more people more adults are tuned to the cartoon network they're tuned to cnn that was ted turner creator of the iconic cartoon network ted was a visionary who knew how badly the world needed cartoons his strategy started with buying the rights to every cartoon ever made sounds like an overstatement but let me break it down ted founded cnn the very first 24-hour news network in 1980 one year later he purchased mgm studios and united artists for 1.5 billion dollars in which he sold a portion to cut down on the debt he remained with mgm's pre-1986 library which included thousands of films but more importantly a ton of classic cartoons looney tunes merry melodies popeye the list goes on in 1991 he purchased almost all of hanna-barbera productions catalog which included the flintstones scooby-doo the jetsons and many many more basically ted now owned the rights to every popular cartoon made in the last 60 years that wasn't made by disney and with that he started the first ever 24-hour network dedicated to strictly cartoons the cartoon network did not explode in popularity right away it was a bunch of reruns of old shows acting as a little nostalgic kick for older folks this ultimately was a genius strategy because imagine trying to start a 24 hour network with zero shows that people knew it would be impossible to get off the ground so the network started with only old shows and got to work producing originals just when you think tv is going to be taken over by all adult animations we got another renaissance of children's cartoons on nickelodeon doug rugrats ren and stimpy rocco's modern life kablam ah real monsters hey arnold nickelodeon was the go-to place for children's cartoons even though some of these early cartoons were barely for kids while disney was producing the perfect imagination land where everything is happy and nice nickelodeon was bringing totally original animation styles grim scenery and taking creative risks cartoon networks slowed down on airing old shows in 1996 and they were ready to roll out their originals dexter's laboratory johnny bravo cow and chicken edd and eddie courage the cowardly dog it's safe to say in the 90s the line between what cartoons are for adults and what cartoons are for children is very blurry it could be because the censorship that was enforced in the 30s wasn't really challenged for 50 years or so when the simpsons came out i'm not saying that the 90s cartoons were edgy but they were a little darker more intricate more intense and overall more adult appealing the 90s in general were a little darker and rebellious towards the 80s where everything was seen as loud colorful and glamorous counterculture became cool grunge music and gangster rap became popular so cartoons really blended in with the aesthetic of the culture we are going to be different so let's be cool and reserved and do exactly the opposite of what the 80s would do south park 1997 the first episode was crass in-your-face humor you can't come to school with me yeah go home you little dildo dude don't call my brother a dildo what's a dildo this show was not for kids which is funny because it's a bunch of fourth graders at this point the simpsons proved you can make fun of pop culture make fun of politics make edgy rude jokes while entertaining millions of people and creating a nine figure worth show south park is not unique in its use of satirical humor but it is one of the most effective satires due to its production format the scripts for episodes are not written before the season begins but the production of an episode begins on a thursday with the creators matt stone and trey parker and the show's writers brainstorming ideas for the episode the script will be written animated and voiced for release on wednesday nights just six days of work we work between 100 and 120 hours in a seven day week to deliver the episodes this hectic production allows south park to be in the zeitgeist of pop culture while it is happening for example in the season 4 episode quintuplets 2000 the show nearly does a one-to-one recreation of a famous photo of a u.s border patrol raid during the elian gonzalez affair an event that occurred four days before the show aired the season seven episode its christmas in canada references the discovery and capture of saddam hussein which happened three days before the episode aired season 12's about last night revolves around barack obama's presidential victory which happened less than 24 hours before the episode aired on the surface the show appeals to almost any age group but the news like coverage of more serious current events is certainly appealing to an adult audience south park has won five primetime emmy awards as well as the prestigious peabody award which honors excellence in storytelling that reflects the social issues and the emerging voices of our day south park remains one of comedy central's highest rated programs and in 2021 was renewed through 2027. two years after south park came family guy another soon-to-be iconic adult animated series focused on a new england family which was reminiscent of the simpsons with a moronic father stay-at-home wife and of course the three kids the first episode aired on fox immediately after super bowl 33 to 22 million viewers season one maintained high viewership but would dwindle through the second and third seasons following the third season's declining viewership fox decided to cancel the show in 2002 hard to imagine a time where family guy wasn't totally loved maybe it was just too similar to the simpsons this wasn't the end of the griffins there would be a savior coming to their rescue the 2000s a new century they spent change changing back into kid-friendly cartoons again nickelodeon started drifting from the grim dark cartoons to more companionable and kid-friendly with the additions of spongebob fairly oddparents the wild thornberries rocket power jimmy neutron they still had invader zim cat dog and danny phantom disney channel was even more kid-friendly cartoon network was kind of the place where the cool teenagers indulged but it was spiraling down pretty fast the network had a new ceo when the company was merged with time warner aol new ownership and new leadership will lead to changes all of their iconic shows like dexter's lab johnny bravo and courage were getting cancelled they rebranded launched a few new shows that are beloved today but weren't necessarily hits at the time codename kid next door billy and mandy foster's home for imaginary friends these shows were a little bit softer compared to previous cartoon network originals and were loved by children but not teenagers and adults so there was a gap in the market there wasn't a go-to place where adults could escape into an animated universe and not have to worry about censorship and juvenile humor until 2001 with the birth of adult swim the very first animated network designed specifically for adults [Music] the branding was clever all kids out of the pool because now it was time for the adults to have some fun without all the childishness the shows often had a more mature sentiment coarse language and sexual innuendos the adult swim programming block launched just two nights a week with one of those being just a repeat of the other original series would be aired such as aqua teen hunger force the brac show space ghost coast to coast sealab 2021 and more adult swim kinda had a cheat code to launch the network since ted turner purchased the hanna-barbera catalog in the 90s they were able to use classic cartoons such as scooby-doo and new shows like harvey birdman this may not seem like a big deal but having the rights to a classic cartoon and being able to tell a new story around those 50 year old characters is a huge advantage to gaining new viewership imagine your dad flipping through the channels and seeing yogi bear on the witness stand he would be confused but interested to see one of his childhood cartoons be reimagined adult swim could arguably get the credit for introducing americans to anime broadcasting popular shows like cowboy bebop and mobile suit gundam by late 2002 the network was becoming more interested in obtaining the rights to animated series that had been cancelled again knowing how hard it is to make new cartoons and get a new audience when you can just capture an already existing audience one of the first and more notable of these was futurama which they obtained the rights to reruns for a reported 10 million dollars jim samples cartoon network's executive vp said futurama reruns will take our adult swim programming to a whole different level adult swim would come to the rescue for another show which would become a pivotal moment for both the network and the series family guy three seasons that had previously aired on fox would now have a new home on adult swim the president of fox tried selling family guy but nobody wanted it we ended up giving them to cartoon network basically for free in 2003 it became the block's top rated program the griffins boosted the viewership of adult swim and cartoon network as a whole by 239 percent the same week family guy aired on adult swim fox released the first two seasons on dvd 400 000 copies within a month were sold the reruns and dvds were so successful that fox ordered 35 new episodes of family guy in 2004. adult swim officially brought the show back from the dead with a massive increase in viewership the adult swim block was expanded from two to five nights a week adult cartoons were about to take over 2005 to 2015 would arguably be the peak of adult swim futurama and family guy were bringing in the consistent new viewers who were slowly and surely getting into the network's originals such as venture bros and aqua teen hunger force and you gotta check this out oh yeah that's a new price is blossom you think that's a straight six i think i have a straight six your sexual innuendo is priceless iconic long-running shows like robot chicken and the boondocks would be introduced i tried sorry honey sorry i just got a crap like a bastard i can't wait syndicated classics king of the hill and american dad are running yeah how could you do this to me in 2007 they would expand their programming to seven nights a week even branching out of animation with the tim and eric awesome show the eric andre show loader squad although its popularity was at an all-time high adult swim still felt like this dark corner of tv that only people with a secret password were allowed to watch these were shows you escape into when you're alone at night and with all the lights off not with the whole family in the living room you built relationships with the characters and became emotionally invested if you were young you didn't want your parents to find out what you were watching adult swim gave up and coming creators a chance to display their animations to the masses they embraced underground hip-hop and lo-fi which at the time had very little representation they were also known for their iconic bumps which were 5-10 second segments after the show and before commercials also after the commercials and before the show these bumps took away an extra commercial or two to provide a nice transition for the viewer most networks would just run another commercial for the back they were designed to be relaxing usually accompanied with a creative or funny visual and calm music the black screen with white text became the most iconic bump style in 2021 people were creating their own adult swim bumps on tick tock and it was probably the best trend i've ever seen on that app adult swim wasn't this roaring financial beast like nickelodeon or disney channel or even its host cartoon network but they were creating culture and satisfying a market that was so desperately in need of something beyond family guy in the simpsons cartoon network had a second boom in the 2010s with adventure time regular show and the amazing world of gumball while disney and nick were hanging on for dear life however adult swim would get blessed with the introduction of rick and morty in 2013. rick and morty follows rick sanchez a cynical mad scientist and his timid grandson morty these two split their time between a complicated home life and interdimensional space travel there aren't enough words to explain the imaginative and insane plot lines in this show it's been memed heavily and the mainstream audience definitely makes it seem a bit cringe but it's a really great show even still to this day throughout its five seasons rick and morty has measured an average viewership of 1.67 million viewers which in the modern streaming era is excellent its influence around the world is immense with multiple video games tabletop games memes and music but as you know the way most of these videos end the streaming era the downfall of television and birth of social media leads to the rapid dwindling relevance of these networks half of the people watching this video don't have cable anymore or don't care to watch it the others won't be purchasing hbo max or any other streaming services to watch new or even old classic cartoons adult swim cartoon network disney channel nick they're doing fine times are different now there are too many streaming services and too many social media platforms for cartoons or networks to have much cultural impact children's animations are definitely more financially successful and popular watching them later on in life is a heavy dose of innocence and youthfulness but the longevity and day-to-day value that adult cartoons bring is unmatched no matter where you decide to watch them whether they are old or new adult cartoons are and always will be the superior animations

Channel: Patrick Cc:

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Keywords: patrickcc, patrickcctv, patrick cc, patrick Cc:, cartoons, history of cartoons, adult swim, history of adult swim, adult swim timeline, cartoons timeline, adult animation, adult cartoons, adult swim documentary, adult swim bumps, simpsons documentary, family guy documentary, south park documentary, cartoon documentary, history of animation, 20s cartoons, banned cartoons, best cartoons, hanna barbera, cartoon network documentary, 80s cartoons, 60s cartoons, the first cartoon

Id: c7NcJjnYQTA

Length: 22min 57sec (1377 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 23 2022