The Most Overrated Cartoons Ever
- Thread starter AJ Pfeiffer
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lair_dweller
New member
People tend to mistake overrated as "Shows I hate which for reasons I don't understand are popular." That is not overrated, that's half of it. it's something (good or bad) getting far more credit then it desurves. Yeah I know others have said this already.
Avatar: Avatar is a very good show but many people call it one of the greatest cartoons ever made. Cartoon hating anime fans keep trying to make excuses for Avatar so that they can like it saying it's an Anime and what not. Sorry that's something different. Still i knw people that call it the only good cartoon in years and other such crap like that. Hell maybe it's less that Avatar is overrated that annoys me and more that other shows I love are beung treated my crap while Avatar is being placed on a pedisal.
To me Avatar is the Final Fantasy VII of cartoons. It's good, great even, but it gets far more credit then it deserves and things just as good as it are ignored as a result.
Avatar: Avatar is a very good show but many people call it one of the greatest cartoons ever made. Cartoon hating anime fans keep trying to make excuses for Avatar so that they can like it saying it's an Anime and what not. Sorry that's something different. Still i knw people that call it the only good cartoon in years and other such crap like that. Hell maybe it's less that Avatar is overrated that annoys me and more that other shows I love are beung treated my crap while Avatar is being placed on a pedisal.
To me Avatar is the Final Fantasy VII of cartoons. It's good, great even, but it gets far more credit then it deserves and things just as good as it are ignored as a result.
I agree with you to an extent, despite having never seen Avatar. It's clearly got something going for it that almost no other Nick original does, but I think that it gets a lot of fanboys and fangirls that slobber over it just because it's so obviously anime inspired. Invader Zim seems to get a lot of slobbering fanboys and fangirls who want it to come back no matter what, and I guess I could say it's overrated in that regard if nothing else.
Yep. I thought that I remember seeing this same topic in a different thread a few months ago. Of course, that means that people will mix-up overrated with shows I don't like. Oh well.
As for me, I also agree that Rugrats feels overrated to me. I don't think that I ever disliked the show. I thought that it lost a lot of steam when they introduced Dil and it kind of went downhill after that, but I didn't really hate it. I thought that it was an enjoyable show to watch for fun, but I didn't think it was good enough to warrent two movies. But I wasn't in Nick's target audience at the time for either of those movies too.
I also agree that Star Wars: Clone Wars feels overrated. It isn't horrible by any means of the word, but it doesn't feel like it's that good of a show either. Sometimes the storylines might catch my eye for an episode or two, but most of the time I'll be so bored that I'll just start playing my Nintendo DS. Part of it also helps that I've never really was into Star Wars myself, with the exception of the micro Clone Wars series.
While I don't think that Avatar is overrated, I can definitely understand why people would think that it is. It especially depends on how people present their opinions on the series. I don't think that it is the greatest cartoon ever made. I think that it is one of the greatest recent cartoon series, at least in the past five to ten years, but there are plenty of shows that are just as great as Avatar and even better than it. I have seen people online though going by what you're saying. In that case, it wouldn't be so much the show, but rather on the specifice person/people's views on it that can make it overrated. Still, I totally understand where you're coming from.
As for me, I also agree that Rugrats feels overrated to me. I don't think that I ever disliked the show. I thought that it lost a lot of steam when they introduced Dil and it kind of went downhill after that, but I didn't really hate it. I thought that it was an enjoyable show to watch for fun, but I didn't think it was good enough to warrent two movies. But I wasn't in Nick's target audience at the time for either of those movies too.
I also agree that Star Wars: Clone Wars feels overrated. It isn't horrible by any means of the word, but it doesn't feel like it's that good of a show either. Sometimes the storylines might catch my eye for an episode or two, but most of the time I'll be so bored that I'll just start playing my Nintendo DS. Part of it also helps that I've never really was into Star Wars myself, with the exception of the micro Clone Wars series.
While I don't think that Avatar is overrated, I can definitely understand why people would think that it is. It especially depends on how people present their opinions on the series. I don't think that it is the greatest cartoon ever made. I think that it is one of the greatest recent cartoon series, at least in the past five to ten years, but there are plenty of shows that are just as great as Avatar and even better than it. I have seen people online though going by what you're saying. In that case, it wouldn't be so much the show, but rather on the specifice person/people's views on it that can make it overrated. Still, I totally understand where you're coming from.
Miss Mermaid
New member
Because back then you were against this thread because people put shows such as "Spongebob" and "Family Guy on their list, which are shows you like, and thus you left the thread.
Now that a show you dislike is listed, then naturally it's all OK.
Now that a show you dislike is listed, then naturally it's all OK.
Even as a Transformers fan, I do have to concede that the G1 Transformers cartoon did have more ludicrous moments than great ones. I can't believe how many fans hold this show in such unblemished regard when it's also the same Transformers cartoon that had stuff like the Autobots SURFING after the Decepticons, VERY kiddified takes on "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court" and "The Most Dangerous Game" (although the latter might have worked better as an issue of the Marvel comic), Powerglide and Seaspray picking up human chicks, Inferno carrying Red Alert out of harm's way as Red beams up lovingly at him, not to mention the writers' apparent inability to make up their minds as to just where the Constructions came from. And that was BEFORE Season 3 nailed the coffin shut.
monsterjamp
New member
Replace "Stan and Kyle" with "Brian", "Matt Stone and Trey Parker" with "Seth MacFarlane", "Cartman" with "Peter", "Kenny" with "everyone else", and that pretty much sums up my current feelings on Family Guy. While FG can still produce a few gems like I Dream of Jesus, I just think it gets way too much praise.
It was actually mentioned in three other posts before yours, but I digress.
South Park does fit being "overrated" for me, and Family Guy too -- both for one main reason: it became popular and "cool" to watch them.
I never cared for Family Guy much to begin with -- and I'm not just referring to the fact that the title character is inconsistent, abrasive, and unlikable and about as far from being a genuine "family guy" as you could get. But I don't care for it because the gags are just too formulaic and predictable for me. Every time I try watching it, whenever Peter says, "This reminds me of the time that I..." or some variant thereof, you already know what's coming: a pop culture reference or political or religious joke. That's what gets old to me.
And in my social circles, when people learn I'm an animation enthusiast, they usually ask me if I like Family Guy and/or South Park. That's what makes them overrated -- they've gotten so much mainstream exposure that people speak of them as if they're the only cartoons on TV for adults.
The Simpsons also fits "overrated" for me. I liked the earlier seasons, but newer episodes just don't seem as humorous as they used to be. I didn't even care much for The Simpsons Movie. It gets a lot of hype because it's been on so long, but it just doesn't live up to it.
Star Wars: Clone Wars was WAY overrated, especially in the preliminary promos. In no way has this series lived up to the expectations I had, especially after Gendy Tartakovsky's marvelous vision of Clone Wars that proceeded it. I don't hate it, but it has taken some time to grow on me because my expectations were so high. It's so hard to get past the stiff character animation, wooden faces, and cheesy dialog. I'd say it's just marginally entertaining. It tries too hard to be like the films, and falls far short.
And I would actually agree that some of the more popular vintage favorites like Transformers, GI Joe, He-Man, etc... tend to be overrated by diehard fans today. Nostalgia's rose-colored glasses obscure the shows' flaws and shortcomings. I love the original Transformers series, but as an animation enthusiast and critic it's difficult for me to ignore the continuity errors, the many animation mistakes, the poor writing, the plot holes, and the mandate from Hasbro to sell toys that took priority over everything else.
And then for diehard, purist Geewuners, the original TF series is absolute perfection. Now, that's overrated.
And I don't agree that Spongebob is exactly overrated. Overhyped, maybe. But not overrated. It's a kids show that happens to have broad demographic appeal. I keep watching it because I've developed an attachment to the characters and the voice acting. I don't care if plot ideas are getting recycled. And I don't expect anything more or less from the show. I just watch it to be entertained.
All the other shows I've mentioned fit the definition:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overrated
South Park does fit being "overrated" for me, and Family Guy too -- both for one main reason: it became popular and "cool" to watch them.
I never cared for Family Guy much to begin with -- and I'm not just referring to the fact that the title character is inconsistent, abrasive, and unlikable and about as far from being a genuine "family guy" as you could get. But I don't care for it because the gags are just too formulaic and predictable for me. Every time I try watching it, whenever Peter says, "This reminds me of the time that I..." or some variant thereof, you already know what's coming: a pop culture reference or political or religious joke. That's what gets old to me.
And in my social circles, when people learn I'm an animation enthusiast, they usually ask me if I like Family Guy and/or South Park. That's what makes them overrated -- they've gotten so much mainstream exposure that people speak of them as if they're the only cartoons on TV for adults.
The Simpsons also fits "overrated" for me. I liked the earlier seasons, but newer episodes just don't seem as humorous as they used to be. I didn't even care much for The Simpsons Movie. It gets a lot of hype because it's been on so long, but it just doesn't live up to it.
Star Wars: Clone Wars was WAY overrated, especially in the preliminary promos. In no way has this series lived up to the expectations I had, especially after Gendy Tartakovsky's marvelous vision of Clone Wars that proceeded it. I don't hate it, but it has taken some time to grow on me because my expectations were so high. It's so hard to get past the stiff character animation, wooden faces, and cheesy dialog. I'd say it's just marginally entertaining. It tries too hard to be like the films, and falls far short.
And I would actually agree that some of the more popular vintage favorites like Transformers, GI Joe, He-Man, etc... tend to be overrated by diehard fans today. Nostalgia's rose-colored glasses obscure the shows' flaws and shortcomings. I love the original Transformers series, but as an animation enthusiast and critic it's difficult for me to ignore the continuity errors, the many animation mistakes, the poor writing, the plot holes, and the mandate from Hasbro to sell toys that took priority over everything else.
And then for diehard, purist Geewuners, the original TF series is absolute perfection. Now, that's overrated.
And I don't agree that Spongebob is exactly overrated. Overhyped, maybe. But not overrated. It's a kids show that happens to have broad demographic appeal. I keep watching it because I've developed an attachment to the characters and the voice acting. I don't care if plot ideas are getting recycled. And I don't expect anything more or less from the show. I just watch it to be entertained.
All the other shows I've mentioned fit the definition:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overrated
Concert Junkie : )
New member
Here's a solution to your issues in this thread.
Everything is overrated.
Simply because of our excessive western tendencies on all sides of the argument. While Simpsons may be overrated to some, it will always be the other way around for some other group of people. The case is the same for any other show. Some people will think classics and current-gen cartoons such as Ghost In The Shell: SAC are overrated (The second movie Innocence was overrated, everything else was gravy IMO).
So, I'd rather take everyone's opinions and just say that everything is overrated, because when you hear something is overrated it lowers your expectations of the product - that way, when you see it for the first time you might be pleasantly surprised.
It's called reverse psychology, people. Marketing folks never use that.
Everything is overrated.
Simply because of our excessive western tendencies on all sides of the argument. While Simpsons may be overrated to some, it will always be the other way around for some other group of people. The case is the same for any other show. Some people will think classics and current-gen cartoons such as Ghost In The Shell: SAC are overrated (The second movie Innocence was overrated, everything else was gravy IMO).
So, I'd rather take everyone's opinions and just say that everything is overrated, because when you hear something is overrated it lowers your expectations of the product - that way, when you see it for the first time you might be pleasantly surprised.
It's called reverse psychology, people. Marketing folks never use that.
Go Bananas
New member
This is something FG bashers should learn. Yes, it's way overrated today. Many of my friends proclaim it as the pinnacle of comedy. But nothing is more annoying than, "I can't see why ANYONE would like it in the first place!" nonsense bashing. If they ever saw a pre-revival episode, they might see exactly why. Remember, back then Family Guy was the underdog, a triumphant one mostly because it not only was it so damn funny, but it was also very well written at times (see "Brian in Love", "Road to Rhode Island", "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows"). It had a heart. It was truly loveable and incredibly irreverent at the same time. The first three seasons of Family Guy create uber-nostalgia from me, mostly reminscing back to a time when I was absolutely enamored with it, not because I thought it was LOL funny, but because of how strangely charming it was.
The second the show came back it was very apparent something was missing. Much of the smartness went with writers who transferred to American Dad, and the heart was left somewhere in the middle. It sharply went downhill, in fact, the last thing that they created that was even near the standards of old FG was the three episodes for "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story". By the time 2006 hit, FG was lost in a sea of praise and attention from college kids and YouTube fanatics. Seth had his writers arranged so that he controls the show, imbuing it with a sense of it being smarter than it actually is while doing ridiculously stupid and unnecessary cutaways at the same time. Then somehow the Internet generation picks it up because the voice actor said it in a funny way. Meanwhile, those who reccall a charming summer night in 2000 where they stumbled upon Peter Griffin traveling to different parts of the world, only to end up in Kentucky and asking to see the Colonel at KFC, are incredibly disappointed.
I used to try to tell everyone about it, but I could only convince my sister. Then one day it disappeared from the airwaves. Flash forward two years into the future, walking into the theatre in high school to find everyone watching Family Guy. It felt good for once to know other people watched it. Flash forward to, let's say a couple of weeks ago, this about four and a half years later. I'm in a room with my friends. Watching a new, post-revival episode. Annoying, frequent cutaways, and they laugh at every single one. Now cardboard cutout characters, they love 'em. Complete reiterations of pop culture, they act like it's new. Honestly, I can see why people hate Family Guy here. I really can, but it makes me hurt when their intolerance shields them from discovering what Family Guy used to be: those first fifty hilariously charming episodes. It's funny how it went from being the most underrated show on television to its most overrated, but when it was underrated, hey, I can't lie, it deserved to be known and praised more.
About South Park, I'd like to say it's a tad overrated, but I can't. Up until season 11 it was still consistently a good show. Just because a very mediocre (close to pretty bad) season happens doesn't mean it's now overrated. In fact, almost everyone I know who loves SP (including the Internet) has admitted what a crappy season S12 was. So no one (who counts) is giving it praise it doesn't deserve currently. Now, if it continues the staleness into the spring '09 run/season 13, then it'll start to get overrated since it'll prove that it wasn't just a momentary lull (keep in mind, S5 was pretty bad as well) and all that will be left is the usual scum who delude themselves into thinking that they're still riding the gravy train of entertainment when it comes to this show. You know, the same who actually pray that the Simpsons gets renewed rather than what it should be...
The second the show came back it was very apparent something was missing. Much of the smartness went with writers who transferred to American Dad, and the heart was left somewhere in the middle. It sharply went downhill, in fact, the last thing that they created that was even near the standards of old FG was the three episodes for "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story". By the time 2006 hit, FG was lost in a sea of praise and attention from college kids and YouTube fanatics. Seth had his writers arranged so that he controls the show, imbuing it with a sense of it being smarter than it actually is while doing ridiculously stupid and unnecessary cutaways at the same time. Then somehow the Internet generation picks it up because the voice actor said it in a funny way. Meanwhile, those who reccall a charming summer night in 2000 where they stumbled upon Peter Griffin traveling to different parts of the world, only to end up in Kentucky and asking to see the Colonel at KFC, are incredibly disappointed.
I used to try to tell everyone about it, but I could only convince my sister. Then one day it disappeared from the airwaves. Flash forward two years into the future, walking into the theatre in high school to find everyone watching Family Guy. It felt good for once to know other people watched it. Flash forward to, let's say a couple of weeks ago, this about four and a half years later. I'm in a room with my friends. Watching a new, post-revival episode. Annoying, frequent cutaways, and they laugh at every single one. Now cardboard cutout characters, they love 'em. Complete reiterations of pop culture, they act like it's new. Honestly, I can see why people hate Family Guy here. I really can, but it makes me hurt when their intolerance shields them from discovering what Family Guy used to be: those first fifty hilariously charming episodes. It's funny how it went from being the most underrated show on television to its most overrated, but when it was underrated, hey, I can't lie, it deserved to be known and praised more.
About South Park, I'd like to say it's a tad overrated, but I can't. Up until season 11 it was still consistently a good show. Just because a very mediocre (close to pretty bad) season happens doesn't mean it's now overrated. In fact, almost everyone I know who loves SP (including the Internet) has admitted what a crappy season S12 was. So no one (who counts) is giving it praise it doesn't deserve currently. Now, if it continues the staleness into the spring '09 run/season 13, then it'll start to get overrated since it'll prove that it wasn't just a momentary lull (keep in mind, S5 was pretty bad as well) and all that will be left is the usual scum who delude themselves into thinking that they're still riding the gravy train of entertainment when it comes to this show. You know, the same who actually pray that the Simpsons gets renewed rather than what it should be...
skapunk4ever
New member
Agreed on the FG thing. The first three seasons kinda make me wish the show was never brought back; that it would always be remembered as a short-lived show of quality humor entertainment rather than something that's become dragged out and dull. It's pretty much like The Simpsons or, on the anime side, Pokemon. :sweat:
All or Nothing
New member
Sarcasm
I feel like Scooby-Doo, Sponge Bob, and Ed, Edd 'N Eddy are all overrated. Ed, Edd 'N Eddy may be the least overrated, but it's my least favorite of the three. I liked it at first, but then I felt that the show was too stupid. Don't ask me why.
The other two are more tolerable, but to me they are no Looney Tunes, Muppets, Bullwinkle, Charlie brown, or classic Rugrats.
The other two are more tolerable, but to me they are no Looney Tunes, Muppets, Bullwinkle, Charlie brown, or classic Rugrats.