Why do we watch animated shows aimed for children?

Yeah thats the same as me. I used to watch animaton and live acton more equally, but over the years thers been less that I've liked. That's why I watch mainly cartoons, mostly on Cartoon Network or Boomerang.
 
Because, for the most part, the terms "for children" and "for adults" are meaningless. If I like it, I'm not going to worry about whether or not it's intended for me - and the same thing goes for if I don't like something. That's why I've got Wordgirl on right now instead of Maury.
 
By that mentality, when you're 50 there's nothing for you to watch. So, you might as well enjoy something for what it is as opposed to who it's aimed for.
 
Sometimes, just for the heck of it, I'll actually look at shows like Suite Life, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, and iCarly. I thought to myself one time that sometimes its nice to watch shows like that, since it allows me to get away from the smut that clouds the airwaves. The same thing goes for the cartoons I watch.
 
I hate it when people use this for a reason to bash other teenagers and adults for still watching cartoons. Just merely watching cartoons doesn't determine a person's maturity of life in general, it just shows that we're still young at heart.:anime: It's possible to be a responible, mature adult who still likes to watch cartoons (not talking about the stereotypical pedophile here, but us normal people).

I'm not getting into anything quite new, except maybe like 2 or 3 shows...then I think I'll be done actually searching for new cartoons to watch. 'Cause after all the stuff I like is done airing, alls I have to do is turn back to the DVD's and watch 'em.
 
Me, personally, it's because I find animation more original than live action when it comes to television. More can be done on less of a budget, opening up more possibilities. Plus, like many people have already said, I prefer something light hearted and escapist. The real world is depressing enough without anything dark and serious on tv bumming me out.
 
I don't know about any of you but I'm mentally the same little jackass I was when I was 12. But then again I'm 23 so maybe I've got a long way to go... *shrugs*
 
Well, partly because a well written cartoon can be entertaining regardless of who it's aimed at.


But also because, quite frankly, there AREN'T any cartoons aimed at me that are of the genre I prefer (save the occasional movie). If there was a well-written action/drama cartoon on TV nowadays that could get away with the same stuff 24 gets away with, would I watch it? Hell yeah. But there isn't. And beggars can't be choosers.
 
For me, it depends a lot on the individual cartoon. Sometimes there'll be an animated series with a declared target audience of 6-11 and I've got no choice but to believe them since I'll find the show to be just about as dull as dishwater. Other times I'll be watching a show set for the same demographic and there'll be jokes in it that I know no kid 6-11 (or 7-14 for that matter) is ever gonna catch, but it'll have me in stitches.

Leads me to believe that some writers (who happen to be adults themselves) like to include humor and content of a nature that is gonna smack the grown-ups in the forehead as it shoots over the heads of the kids sitting in front of them, to paraphrase Kevin Murphy a bit here.

A question you could ask on the other hand though is: if you're in the intended demographic for the show, are you automatically gonna like it? Answer's obvious, I know, but at the same time I think it's a valid one to bring up when folks ask you to explain what you're doing watching a "kids" show. I tried sitting through a show aimed at my demographic just the other week (ages 18-49, they claim) called "According to Jim". And folks, lemme tell ya, it hurt. A lot.

But animation is an entertainment medium like any other and some shows are gonna have an appeal that extends over a wide range, like the classic Looney Tunes cartoons. Besides, so long as you're enjoying yourself, where's the harm in that you're not the intended audience? Japanese commercials, for example, were defintely not made with me in mind, but danged if I don't find them entertaining.
 
Exactly! I've never understood why people seem to think otherwise.... Perhaps you can understand cruder jokes and subtler hints, but if you didn't like those kinds of things at an earlier age, you're not gonna like 'em at an older age! Sigmund Freud said that a person's personality is fully developed by the age of 5.


Personally, I find dropping kids' cartoons solely to "be mature" is actually a sign of immaturity.
Maturity, to me, means knowing who you are and being content with yourself. Therefore, only a mature person is willing to say, "Who cares if these cartoons aren't made for me? I like them!"


Too true. I don't mind good innuendos, etc., but people need to realize that there are other kinds of humor. It seems as though "adult shows" just repeat the same joke over and over again.
And as much as I love dramas, I've taken note that live-action shows will do whatever the fans want and ignore what actually works for the series. Example: Heroes should not have had a Season 2. It would've worked much better as a single-season series.
Cartoons, however, are much less commercialized (though, of course, still commercialized).


Don't forget Spectacular! :anime:
Uh, I'm not so sure that The Simpsons was designed for children in the slightest, though....
 
Me personally, I'd rather watch a so-called children's cartoon like SpongeBob or Phineas and Ferb, than anything intended for adults like According To Jim or Two and a Half Men, or any reality TV show.
 
Because a good show is a good show, regardless of who it's "supposed" to be aimed at. I found Avatar to be more mature than most live action shows and Looney Tunes and Phineas and Ferb have me laughing more than many a sitcom.
 
You're right. It's not a "children's" cartoon, it's a family cartoon. So I probably should just list the cartoons in which children are the primary target audience. Here's some examples of "children's" shows that aren't making new episodes anymore that were very adult friendly:

Batman:TAS/TNBA, Superman:TAS, Beast Wars/Machines, Batman Beyond, Justice League/JLU, the 2002 He-Man, Kim Possible
 
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