American animation losing it's identity?

Chaos Angel · Post by **Chaos Angel** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 12:19 pm

Not sure whether to put this here or in GOT, so I flipped a mental coin. 8)

With Teen Titans and Totally Spies now on the air, I am beginning to wonder if American animation is beginning to lose it's identity. It seems more and more like anime iks the next big thing, and while I like how it is getting more recognition, I am worried that the popularity of it may lead to American animation and Japanese animation becoming, stylistically if not thematically, identical.

I do not like Totally Spies at all, and I only like Teen Titans because the way they cram every anime visual quirk into it makes it very cheesy and bad. However, with those two and the comic book Blue Monday on the shelves, it seems to me like some American comic book artists and animators have made a conscious decision to try to mimic the drawing style of anime (or, more accurately, the stereotyped anime style), and it worries me that more may follow in their footsteps.

What happened to developing your own style? What happened to standing out and doing something different? What happened to uniqueness and ingenuity?

Oh, yeah... popularity sells.

)v(ajin Koji · Post by **)v(ajin Koji** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 12:32 pm

wait for a cartoon with the big robots, then we should get worried

Decoy · Post by **Decoy** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 2:00 pm

Erm, totally spies is french in its origins, so it doesn't technically count as american cartoons

DJ_Izumi · Post by **DJ_Izumi** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 2:13 pm

American culture often influences and melts into other cutlures, like it'll be the end of the world if the other happens?

rubyeye · Post by **rubyeye** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 3:30 pm

Most of those cartoons are animated overseas in Korea anyway, so they are not completely American. Besides, American animation is more focused on 3D and not so much with 2D - sad really. Why? Video Games and Movies - duh!

If you want originality, what about South Park, Bevis and Butthead, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and a few others I've glanced at. They are all crap but there's creativity there (I guess). It's just selectively broadcast to a wide audience. Hell, HOMESTARRUNNER is flash animation and based on the number of icons and avatars I think it's popular and creative. You just have to know where to look - the internet man, the one refuge still left to the people to share their thoughts and ideas.

angelx03 · Post by **angelx03** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 4:04 pm

rubyeye wrote:Most of those cartoons are animated overseas in Korea anyway, so they are not completely American. Besides, American animation is more focused on 3D and not so much with 2D - sad really. Why? Video Games and Movies - duh!

If you want originality, what about South Park, Bevis and Butthead, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and a few others I've glanced at. They are all crap but there's creativity there (I guess). It's just selectively broadcast to a wide audience. Hell, HOMESTARRUNNER is flash animation and based on the number of icons and avatars I think it's popular and creative. You just have to know where to look - the internet man, the one refuge still left to the people to share their thoughts and ideas.

A sad truth.

And don't forget Simpsons!

Pie Row Maniac · Post by **Pie Row Maniac** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 5:47 pm

Dare you forget Family Guy?

skanks · Post by **skanks** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 6:24 pm

I guess cartoons like Goof Troops and what not are just blantly boring.

I remember growing up Watching Scruge Macduck and the like on morning television and now adays its all Anime in the mornings. Mind you it's the childish boring ones like Poke'mon and Yugi Go or whatever..

Jap Anime is popular so its only natural that people will try and rip it off..