The document discusses how cartoons have become more mature and serious over time. It provides a brief history of animation from the early 1900s to present day. Theories for why cartoons are now tackling darker topics include creators wanting to address issues they care about and studios being more accepting of topics like violence and LGBTQ representation. Interviews with creators of shows like Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, and OK K.O.! suggest they did not view their shows as only for children and wanted to communicate meaningful ideas and stories through their work. While networks have influenced some content changes, creators often convince executives to approve their vision.

1. Draw the Line
Or, Why Cartoons Nowadays Are So
Damn Serious
by Ethan Buckley
Image: Over the Garden Wall, Cartoon Network. A
show about harvesting the bodies of children for fuel
(yes, really)

2. "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS ABOUT"
-you, I assume

3. WHY ARE CARTOONS SO DAMN SERIOUS?
• I mean, it is more prevalent nowadays.
• When I was a kid, I watched a ton of cartoons. Like, I can easily quote
to you swaths of Justice League, Fairly Odd Parents, et cetera.
• Now that I've gotten older, I still watch a lot of cartoons, but that's
because I actually enjoy the stories; the plots are frequently well-
written and intricate, and suprisingly mature.

4. AND THAT GOT ME THINKING

5. Why are these cartoons so mature nowadays? I looked back at some
cartoons I liked as a kid; maybe they were always this way?
I mean, some shows were; there are some episodes of, say, Batman the
Animated Series that are very good (like, critically acclaimed good; one
early episode famously won a Primetime Emmy), but for the most part
it's humor, framed towards kids.
So, what's changed?

6. Theories I Had (Prior to Research)
• 1.) They're appealing to the adults watching, such as parents
• 2.) It's creator-based; the creators are adults that grew up on good TV,
and want to continue that legacy
• 3.) ...Illuminati? (That one's a stretch)
Now that we have some ideas, we can get into the meat or meat-
substitute of the argument. But wait...

7. "WHAT THE HECK'S ANIMATION"
-my grandpa, probably

8. WARNING!
In order to properly talk about a lot of this evidence, I have to go pretty deep into
these different shows. As such, SPOILER WARNING is in effect from here on out.
You've been warned!
Image: Over the Garden Wall, Cartoon Network. Holy crap, this show's bent!

9. 1910s-1920s
• 1914: Gertie the Dinosaur, a
magic show featuring a hand-
drawn dinosaur, opens. It is
widely considered the first work
of successful modern animation,
although earlier works exist.
• Felix the Cat was also introduced
this year; he's the precursor to
similar "funny animal"
characters like Oswald the
Rabbit and Mickey Mouse.

10. 1920s-1930s
• -First animated feature film, The
Adventures of Prince Achmed,
premieres in 1926. It's not talked
about too much because it was
made using papercrafts, and also
it was made by the Germans and
we didn't like them at the time.
• Around the 1930s the first adult-
oriented animated character
appeared; this was Betty Boop.

11. 1940s-1950s
• Look, up in the sky! Superman
becomes the first superhero
adapted for a cartoon in 1941.
• Around this point, cartoons got
very war-like as they began
being used for U.S. propaganda
during WWII.

12. 1960s-1980s
• Cartoon shows start! The first
primetime animated show, The
Flinstones, premieres in the
1960s.
• It's quickly discovered that it's
beloved by families and children,
and references to smoking and
drinking are watered down.
• The 1970s and 1980s are home
to many action-packed shows
targeted at young boys to sell
them toys; these shows include
all the many Superfriends shows,
plus Transformers, Thundercats,
He-Man, and GI Joe.

13. 1990s
• A period beloved by many
nowadays, this period was full of
childhood staples like
Rugrats and zany comedies such
as Animaniacs, Ren and Stimpy,
and Cow and Chicken. In
addition, the end of this decade
saw the birth of the most
infamous of Nicktoons:
SpongeBob Squarepants.
• While most cartoons this decade
were very goofy, some were a
little more serious, such as
Batman: The Animated
Series and its many spinoffs, as
well as the cult-classic
Gargoyles.

14. 2000s-2010s
• The decade with no cool name is
home to a bunch of beloved
childhood comedies as well, like
The Fairly Odd Parents and Foster's
Home for Imaginary Friends.
• This decade also had a lot of shows
that, while funny, could also be
serious, like Justice League, The
Last Airbender, and Danny
Phantom.
• At the end of the decade, a new
show premiered that changed the
game.
• In the 2010s, a new show called
Adventure Time suddenly shifted
the game, crossing zany adventures
with complex character
development and ended up
developing a huge fan following
among adults
• While goofy shows still exist, this
decade has been home to some of
the darkest and most critically-
praised cartoons of all time, such
as Steven Universe, Gravity Falls,
and Over the Garden Wall. There is
much crying.

15. Crying in cartoons: a 100-year old tradition
"Rose's Scabbard". Steven Universe, Cartoon Network.
2015.McCay, Windsor. Gertie the
Dinosaur. 1914.

16. "HOW DARK CAN THEY GET?"
-you, right now, I'm assuming

17. HERE'S SOMEONE
GETTING THEIR HEAD
BLOWN OFF
This is from the third season of the
Nickelodeon show Avatar: The Legend of
Korra. Shockingly enough, this is actually only
the second-most horrific death this season;
in a previous episode, the main antagonist
slowly rips the air out of a woman's lungs,
and kills her on-screen. Later this season, a
man commits suicide by burying himself in
lava, and the main antagonist pours liquid
metal down the hero's throat.
Unsurprisingly, this season ended up getting
the show pulled from airing on TV; it
subsequently became a web show.

18. THIS IS AN ACTUAL SCENE FROM A DISNEY
SHOW

19. STEVEN UNIVERSE DID A SONG ABOUT
COPING WITH DEPRESSION
For context, the two characters singing are also the four characters
dealing with the butterflies: on Steven Universe, characters "fuse"
with people very close to them and become personified
relationships. That's right: the lady with the square head is basically
two space lesbians in a trenchcoat, and she's great.

20. OH GOD WHY ARE THEY LIKE
THIS
I dunno. Let's find out!

21. From the mouths of the creator(s)!
• The creator of Steven
Universe (that's the one about gay
space rocks), Rebecca Sugar, has
stated in the past that the show is
inspired by her childhood.
• Similarly, Gravity Falls creator Alex
Hirsch has stated that his
protagonist was" a fictionalized
version of [himself] where all of
those wishes [he] wished would
come true", and OK K O creator
Ian-Jones Quartey has mentioned
basing characters off of his family
members.
Self-portraits: from left to right: Alex Hirsch, Rebecca
Sugar, Ian-Jones Quartey, and Dana Terrace (who doesn't
have her own show... YET)

22. Continued...
• In the same interview, Alex Hirsch explains that he never thought of
Gravity Falls as a "kids' show"; in fact, he says that when developing
all-ages shows, the trick is to "not think about anybody when you
make the show" and to just make a show that you love.
• Similarly, in a different interview, Rebecca Sugar explained that she
feels that Steven Universe is a way for her to communicate to the fans
of the show. That song from earlier? She said she wrote it to "move
you to a place of calm."

23. REFLECTION
• I'm honestly still unsure why shows have gotten more serious. From
what I can determine, it's because the creators of the shows wanted
to tackle those topics, and the studios approved them to do that.
However, I couldn't find a lot of info about all the politics behind the
scenes, and while I know a little bit about some of the things
networks cut (for example, Gravity Falls had a gay couple in an
episode that were cut by network demand, although they revealed
two recurring characters were gay in the final episode) I don't know
about all the things that were removed.

24. REFLECTION
• Why are studios so cool with these previously-taboo things? Without
access inside the mind of an exec, I'm left to speculate. All I can
assume is that we've gotten to a point where society is accepting
enough that there's little risk to including serious topics like sexual
consent (an actual topic Steven Universe covered) and violent matters
like all those Gravity Falls murder references.
Or maybe their creators are just really convincing with their ideas.

25. Citations:
• “Batman/Superman Awards.” Toon Zone - Shows - Awards - Batman / Superman, www.toonzone.net/shows/awards/batman-superman.html.
• “Animated Films.” An award-Winning, unique resource of film reference material for film buffs and others, with reviews of classic American-Hollywood films, Academy Awards
history, film posters., www.filmsite.org/animatedfilms.html.
• Johnston, J., & Liu, J. (Writers). (2015, July 13). Cry For Help [Television series episode]. In Steven Universe. Cartoon Network.
Johnston, J., & Liu, J. (Writers). (2015, July 17). Friend Ship [Television series episode]. In Steven Universe. Cartoon Network.
• Howard, C., & Liu, J. (Writers). (2016, Aug. 15). Mindful Education [Television series episode]. In Steven Universe. Cartoon Network.
• Allegri, N., Campbell, J., (Writers). [2014, Nov. 7]. The Unknown [Television series episode]. In Over the Garden Wall. Cartoon Network.
• DiMartino, M. (Writer). [2014, Aug. 22]. Enter the Void [Television series episode]. In Avatar: Legend of Korra. Nickelodeon.
• Hirsch, A. & Weinstein, J. (Writers). [2014, Nov. 26]. The Love God [Television series episode]. In Gravity Falls. Disney.
• Hirsch, A. (Writer). [2016, Feb. 15]. Weirdmageddon 4: Somewhere In The Woods [Television series episode]. In Gravity Falls. Disney.
• McCay, Winsor. Gertie the Dinosaur.
• Polo, S. (2016, May 11). Steven Universe, explained. Retrieved from https://www.polygon.com/tv/2016/5/11/11604098/steven-universe-explained
• Lin, Joseph C. “'Gravity Falls' Alex Hirsch on How to Create a Show for All Ages.” Time, Time, time.com/3064362/gravity-falls-alex-hirsch-interview/.
• Opam, Kwame. “Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar on animation and the power of empathy.” The Verge, The Verge, 1 June 2017,
www.theverge.com/2017/6/1/15657682/steven-universe-rebecca-sugar-cartoon-network-animation-interview.
• Trumbore, Dave. “'OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes' Creator Ian Jones-Quartey on His Robot-Punching Protagonist.” Collider, 1 Aug. 2017, collider.com/ok-ko-ian-jones-quartey-
interview/.
• “The Love God Intro storyboards. Original sequence had a gay couple! • r/Gravityfalls.” Reddit,
www.reddit.com/r/gravityfalls/comments/2oczlh/the_love_god_intro_storyboards_original_sequence/.