#cartoon critique

[cityzenshark]

The worst message Earthspark has done is making an alien war invasion equal to immigration, and demonizing natives & locals for being defensive and having resentment of invaders.

It's the epitome of demanding victims of house robbery to forgive the robbers, as if the stuff stolen can simply be bought again and trust that they will not be misused (passports, ID, private documents, cherished heirlooms, pricy devices, etc.). More accurately, demanding victims of war to forgive and befriend invaders who brought death and destruction to their homes because if they don't, to our protagonists' morality, they'll be worse than said invaders.

The Terrans & kids could've felt the slightest semblance of how the general humanity feels about Transformers after Swindle and especially after Tarantulas snuck into their farm and kidnapped their parents. Sure, he made amends but before that, he wouldn't even listen to Nightshade until after they fought him.

Don't get me started on Starscream. Sure it's implied he was mercilessly abused by Megatron, but it doesn't mean what he did to Earth during the war is suddenly forgivable and how he along with other Earth-hating Decepticons "deserves" to make Earth his home just because the Terrans say so.

I never mind serious topics in kids show. This has been a thing for decades, and I grew up with them. Even a toddler's show like Bluey touch sensitive topics such as death & miscarriage, yet the show delivered them wonderfully.

But misinterpreting messages, total black-and-white views, lack of empathy, babying experienced soldiers who have kill counts?

No.

Just no.

Official media can't do this. Fanfics can but never the official ones.

[cityzenshark]

I have a feeling writers want to give depth at first but then they seem to struggle how to present him as sympathetic yet irredeemable a la Tai Lung from Kung Fu Panda and it shows by them ignoring how empathy works. All it takes is for the bad guy to express a few gestures (Tai Lung genuinely listens to Shifu before giving in to his anger again). Explanations aren't necessary if you want to deliver a well-rounded bad guy who stays a bad guy.

What's really tragic about Mandroid is that it's heavily implied that he was a nice and good person before his accident. I find it hard to believe Alex would've been friends with him if Mandroid was an asshole to begin with. Also the fact that the writers would've been very upfront if he was an asshole prior to losing his arm.

The show does actually give us a glimpse of what Mandroid used to be like and that's during his conversation with Dot in Age of Evolution.

He's calm and polite to her, even after she punches and insults him. Notice how he has none of his usual smugness when talking to her. It's also the only time he smiles normally. His character was the perfect chance to explore the themes ES wanted to do, but the writers blew it.

[bahja-blix]

Challenge Accepted ',:) (A Tumblr🧵 REQUESTS OPEN)

*Critically Cracks Knuckles*

Let's begin shall we? ',:)

Better shows I have in mind are:

Demon Slayer

My Hero Academia

Attack On Titan

Full metal Alchemist

One Piece

One Punch Man

Uzaki Chan Wants to Hang Out

The Owl House (from Disney to indie)

Little Witch Academia

Lackadaisy (indie)

South Park (old classic still running)

The Amazing Digital Circus

The Amazing World of Gumball (childhood Nostalgia)

Regular Show (childhood Nostalgia)

The Punk'd Pooch Pilot (indie)

The Original Classic Powerpuff Girls (childhood Nostalgia)

Bluey

Smiling Friends

Mao Mao Heroes of Pure Heart (underrated classic)

Any Vintage Cartoon Classics

And trust me, we can do this All Day :)

REQUESTS CONTINUED:

Batman The Animated Series (Vintage)

Bojack Horseman

Gravity Falls (Childhood nostalgia)

Infinity Train

Total Drama Island (childhood Nostalgia)

Avatar: That Last Airbender (childhood Nostalgia)

Ramshackle (Indie)

Murder Drones (Indie)

Tuca & Bertie (Underrated classic)

I WILL ADD MORE TO THE LIST ALL REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED FOR THIS THREAD 🧵 :)

[bloominglegumes]

im.hunting for secrets in the tf one trailer because i'm normal

there are markings on this guy's chest and shoulder that seem too deliberately designed to not be some kind of writing, but comparing it to cybertronian alphabets that have been presented before, i cannot for the life of me make out what it could be

bottom right purple text only has "MINE" visible in the shot

top middle text says "HA'LS" in gold (or at least i'm assuming it does, i'm not sure what the little dash in the middle is meant to be) and "BAR" in green

i hope they get in a bar fight. i love bar fight scenes

just thought it was funny that "IACON 5000" is written in english,, i assume it's because this setting is more important to the story and other text is mainly easter egg purposes

the clearest frames i could pick out showing megsy's first alt mode. just for fun

alpha trion is some kind of mossy mystical cave unicorn creature

alpha trion is some kind of mossy cave creature who plucks organs out of rusting bodies and shoves them into people no hesitation

note alpha trion is also huge. (comparable size to the very creature-type bodies all around this cave area?)

this shot was deliberately chosen to highlight this dead guy for some reason

gold and blue, claws, big feathered wings ringing bells for anyone??

if they're an existing character, i don't know who it could be

the way baby megs is kneeling, gently placing his hand on the face and talking to it seems reverent or like he's confiding in it, so like duh showing that he feels connected to it in some kind of intimate, emotional way

(dead bodies don't turn grey in this universe, judging from the winged blue+gold guy, so.is little megs hanging out with a giant head is that what's going on)

note d-16 has the decepticon insignia already on his left shoulder throughout the whole trailer, and it seems about as beat-up and grimy as the rest of him, so it has to have been there for a good while

[uncleardyn]

(alan wake-gravity falls crossover) man i love that character. you know, the deeply paranoid author who made a pact with a dark entity that ultimately ended with him stranded in another dimension separated from his loved ones for years at a time? takes place in the pacific northwest? has twin imagery associated with him and a reoccurring specific piece of symbology related to the unfortunate situation they're in? doesn't ever explain the reasoning behind his actions and instead just kinda goes "bro trust me"? yeah he also wears an outer layer of clothing with elbow pads on it, that one.

[idolomantises]

for a show and its spin off known for being extremely offensive and edgy, its weird how hypersensitive helluva boss/hazbin hotel fans are.

[kalopsic-lagomorph]

theres nothing wrong with episodic cartoons btw and actually many would be better if they were episodic (HH and HB)

[lovely-v]

While my Steven Universe rewatch has mostly informed me that, yes, this show was very very good, beautiful, and well thought out despite a few issues which were way overblown on the internet during its peak popularity, I can’t deny that there are some major children’s-show-adult-themes whiplash moments in the later seasons. For example. In one episode a character is making an ube roll for a potluck and feels insecure about his love of baking and then almost immediately the show takes a turn into a sequence of episodes where Steven is on trial for war crimes. And the thing that I forgot most since I last saw this show is that they do actually use the term “war criminal.” Even in the ube roll episode.

[bmpmp3]

fishy

[kittehbiscuits]

Bettle juice...

[cityzenshark]

Relating to my earlier post, Earthspark S1 constantly shows something that contradicts the main focus/message/problem of an episode.

In "Moo-ving In", the Terrans think they have to be happy to be able to transform only for Twitch to transform when she's angry. This ep also tried to show how terrible Bumblebee is as a guest but the Maltos are being terrible hosts, too.

"Hashtag: Oops". Hashtag gains an internet-related ability after getting her alt mode, she learns how it works there and is still learning how to utilize it in further episodes. At the same time, Nightshade builds a special basement on their own without any form of guide (not by books, internet or a mentor (ahem Alex & Wheeljack ahem))

Tarantulas didn't teach Nightshade anything. The kid is already an expert in tech without explanation. Tarantulas prefers isolation because of the effects of war whereas Nightshade isolates themselves because they have a different sense of enjoyment than their siblings. Both of their reasons for isolation aren't relatable to one another.

The farm's weak internet problem is so random.

Instead of emphasizing Jawbreaker's feelings of uselessness for not having an alt mode, they made him appear annoying to the viewers. Ultimately putting Grimlock's PTSD as the main obstacle for "A Stygi Situation" makes things worse for J.B.

[theemperorsnewfanblog]

Mr. M really doesn't get enough appreciation. Not only was everything to come out of his mouth hilarious and real but he rlly did care for those kids and wanted Kuzco to improve. He was a good teacher fr🙌☺️

[spicychamomilecafe]

Engaging in recreational media is like eating a meal.

You can technically eat whatever food you want however you want, but certain types of food must be eaten a certain way in order to be properly enjoyed. You can eat soup with a fork or with your hands, but that’s not the proper way to eat soup. If you choose to eat it this way, your experience with the soup might not be as positive as it could be (and in all likelihood you will make a big mess). But even if you do eat the soup properly, (ignoring the possibility that the food itself is poorly made) you may find that you don’t like it and don’t finish it; or you may find you simply don’t have time to finish it. But that’s okay, because you tried it.

You can engage with media however you want, but certain pieces of media are meant to be engaged with a certain way.

Descriptions in books are not written to be skipped.

Scenes in movies are not filmed to be skipped.

Some Video games have cutscenes and dialogue that is not meant to be skipped.

Most Episodes of TV shows are not made to be skipped.

You are allowed to do these things. No one is stopping you. And in some cases breaking the rules may be more fun. But you cannot judge something on its merits if you do not engage with it the way it is meant to be engaged with; doing so is dishonest to yourself, and forming an opinion based on something you’ve barely touched is unfair to the creator and dishonest to those who you spread your opinion to. Just like it’s unfair to judge food you haven’t eaten.

And just like food, it’s okay to not complete a run of a game, or DNF a book, or stop watching in the middle of a movie/tv show. But if you continue to order the same thing over and over again, continue to not finish it, then that is wasteful — of time, of energy, and of resources. And that waste will then go into a half baked opinion which will in the end be nothing but empty calories.

[lust-for-ultraviolence]

for his belief that "Hell is forever" and the exterminations are good.

[usauthoritarianism]

[tomwambsmilk]

As a side note I think what makes Succession such an excellent critique of capitalism is how it handles the idea of meritocracy. It's very easy to imagine conservatives (especially wealthy conservatives) as Scrooge McDuck kind of figures who really just want whatever brings in the most money. But the truth is that most of them are deeply, deeply invested in the belief that capitalism is a meritocracy, and that their own success is the result of hard work and others' failure is the result of personal failings. They are so invested in this idea that they will go to amazing lengths to reinterpret any piece of information that challenges it. Succession does a really, really good job of depicting that conviction, and depicting it so well that the audience will be occasionally sucked into it, before slapping you in the face with the utter pathetic incompetency of these people who are essentially running America.

I think that's one of the things that really sets it above a lot of other 'eat the rich' type movies that write their wealthy characters with more of a Scrooge McDuck mindset. Personally, I think any good critique is written so that the critiqued party can see themselves in the story. They may not accept the critique, but if it's good and it's accurate there will be a character they recognize as themselves. No conservative is going to see themselves in Miles Bron, a man who is clearly out of his depth and incompetent and stealing other people's ideas, or the rich people from Squid Game, who insist on 'levelling the playing field' through random chance. But they DO see themselves in characters like Tom Wamsbgans and Kendall Roy (hence why an army of reddit bros turn out to defend their every move), and I think that's what gives Succession's critique a fighting chance of actually landing with the people who need to hear it