If your a cartoon you've at some point came across someone be it a friend or a family member or even a complete stranger use some combination of these words "cartoons aren't they just for little kids" or my personal favourite "it's ok it's just for kids". Now I was just going to talk about the first one but now that I think about it i'm going to take on both of these because honestly they can both be annoying at times so let's crack on with it shall we.
Cartoons first started as we know them first started in the 1920's and were shown before a movie these shorts would most likely be silent cartoons until the release of the classic Mickey Mouse short Steamboat Willie. Most of these shorts where mostly made for audiences of all ages since you'd also see cartoons featuring highly intense action as well as goofy comedy so it made sense to market them for all the family.
Now in my opinion this would all change in the 60's with the release of The Bugs Bunny Show this to me is the case because adults dont have the time to go and watch cartoons anymore but kids do and the fact that this was on TV meant that they could watch these classic shorts for nothing. This right here is in my opinion the debut of the whole cartoons is for kids mind set because parents suddenly realised that they could stick there kids in front of the TV for thirty minuets and get some piece and quite.
To me the whole mind set that i've just briefly explained the beginning of doesn't work these days and that's because everything surrounding cartoons has gotten much better. In the past you could get away with having lazy writing and lazy animation because we didn't know any better all we had in terms of TV animation was terrible parring the odd one or two great shows and in terms of movies again outside of one or two great one's we didn't have that much great ones.
If you want an example of a cartoon which is aimed at and made for little kids but has alot of adult humour then I highly recommend you check out Animaniacs in fact if you guys see anyone who still thinks cartoons is just for kids then show them this cartoon. I say that because there's alot of stuff in here which isn't for little kids (finger prince anyone) and yet still for some unknown reason parents still think that cartoons are just for little kids.
We all remember Saturday Morning Cartoons it was that one day a week where we got to see all of our favourite characters. While alot of those shows have stood the test of time and some could even be used in this argument alot of them really don't help the cause and that's not there fault because they were made in a time where kids cartoons weren't taken as seriously and that's not something the makers of those shows can help that's all us but for every Bonkers we got a Batman: The Animated Series a show which not only took it's source material seriously but treated is audience as equals and guess what it's become the best adaptation of the character because of that fact.
I'm one of the unlucky few who's seen the new Peter Rabbit movie more then once and honestly from what I recall it was bad but every single parent who saw the movie said the exact same thing which was "it's a kids movie what do you expect". That right there is the problem you should tare a movie apart even if it is a kids movie and why because kids deserve better they deserve better movies and shows your just going to excuse a movie for being bad then your just as worse as the the people who made the film because you accepting a terrible movie and not demanding better.
Now i'm not going to say that all kids shows and movies should be aimed at the whole family indeed people should at times expect some kids movies to be pretty bad. That however doesn't mean that you should say that all cartoons are for little kids because to say that without even watching them makes you come across as ill-informed it would be so easy for me to say that Steven Universe is a show for little kids but the more you go into it the more you realise it's more adult then you first realised.
To me if you want a perfect example of something that is clearly made for little kids then look at Top Cat: The Movie and the Cars franchise these two are so obviously made for little kids so no one would blame you for saying that there just for little kids. However again I have to hit this point that doesn't excuse them from being bad movies if somethings bad then you should say so because if not then your going to be seeing more terrible movies like the first Cars movie and Top Cat: The Movie.
I don't mean this post to cause any hate so if you don't agree with anything then please be respectful i'm also not saying that you can't enjoy any of the movies or shows that i've mentioned but if you look at them you know that they were really are just for little kids. I'm saying al of this just to cover myself because you just know that someone somewhere is typing that i'm telling them they can't like there favourite show or movie when that's never going to be the case.
I will for forever and a day say that Batman: The Animated Series is one of the best cartoons out there and that's taking into account cartoons from today as well. I say that because of how good the writing is this is show that's made for little kids and yet it treats them as smart people this is the kind of stuff that should be in cartoons and yet whenever a parent says that cartoons are just for little kids they are lumping not only this great show but Steven Universe , Gravity Falls and Star Vs The Forces Of Evil together with shows that air on Disney Junior or shows that are straight up bad.
Also by saying that cartoons be they in movies or TV shows are just for kids your kind of also disrespecting those involved with whatever it is your saying is just for kids. I know that people aren't going to care about a total stranger and that makes sense but imagine if someone walked up to you in the street and said that whatever it is you did for a living was something a little kid could do how would that make you feel i'm willing to bet that it would make you feel pretty bad in some cases.
Also really debunking that whole mind set are shows like Steven Universe , Star Vs The Forces Of Evil and The Legend Of Korra among many others which push the boundaries of what's expected from a kids show. One of the ways they do that is by including same sex couples that's something that alot of shows that alot of us grew up with wouldn't even try to do and yet when people say that those shows are just for little kids it kind of feels like a step backwards at least in my opinion it does.
Now I can see why adults would say this because they only look at what's popular and assume it's the same thing all round. That does make sense because let's be real they don't have the time to check out every single animated show or movie so they only look at what's popular and like it or not the kind of shows and movies that are popular are stuff made for and who's target demographic is little kids I know that sucks but it's true and the sad part is there's nothing we can do about it.
Boys and girls I know that this post seems all over the place and that's because I came up with this idea and started writing this post in like ten minuets. However the heart of the post is still there and I know there are alot of people on certain apps who agree with the statement that cartoons aren't just for little kids however tho there's nothing we can do to change people's minds because there only going to look at what's popular and nothing more.