Movie Reviews – Judge By Reviews

Usually when we think of animation, at least in the United States, we think of kids stuff. Cartoons are the domain of children, from Disney movies to Saturday morning TV fare. But over the decades, the animated series has grown and evolved into a wide variety of forms for a wide variety of audiences. Animation is not just for kids anymore.

The first animated series to break away from the children’s entertainment ghetto were probably Rocky and His Friends and the Bullwinkle Show. Although these two programs of the early’60′s were shown in the late afternoon timeslot, when children were home from school and assumed to be watching, the humor in them was decidedly not aimed at children. At least, it was not exclusively for the kiddies. While Rocky & Bullwinkle provided plenty of high-speed, slapstick silliness for children to enjoy, they also delved into political and topical humor which zoomed right over children’s heads. For the first time, it was clear that adults could enjoy an animated series as much as, if not more than, their kids.

Then came the Flinstones. Unlike the usual animated series which were aimed at a juvenile audience and broadcast during the day, the Flinstones was shown in prime time. It was intended for a family audience, including the adults. It was created as a spoof of the classic sitcom the Honeymooners, and it poked fun at sitcom conventions as well as suburban family life and marriage. Sure, kids could enjoy the Flinstones animates series perfectly well, and they still do to this day. But adults could find much to enjoy as well.

It was several years before another animated series ventured into prime time. In the early’70′s, Hannah Barbera produced Wait ‘Till Your Father Gets Home, an animated family sitcom inspired by All in the Family. Unlike almost any other animated series, Wait ‘Till Your Father Gets Home contained a laugh track. It was most decidedly intended for an adult audience.

After that, prime time was bereft of animated shows, until of course the Simpsons came around in the late’80′s. The Simpsons animated series mixed family-friendly juvenile humor with plenty of more sophisticated, relevant topics and references. It was a huge success, and spawned a proliferation of animated series aimed mostly, even strictly, at an adult audience. Family Guy, South Park, and countless other failed and successful animated series came along and finally demonstrated that cartoons are not just for kids anymore.

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