Cartoons of the 90's

I was raised in the 90's and at that time, there was a revival on cartoons. The Disney Renaissance was around that time, SatAM Cartoons had better quality, Steven Speilberg had four good TV cartoons, Nicktoons was formed, Cartoon Network started, and so much more.

I know they'd never hold a candle with the cartoons of the 30's, 40's and in some way the 50's. But was the 90's a renaissance to the cartoon world?

I don't know that I'd call it a "renaissance..." More an "evolution." FTR, I am limiting my context to "animated shorts" such as the original classic WB cartoons. As you pointed out, the 30's-50's were the golden age of those shorts. The reflected the pulse and thinking of the county as do other literary forms. They were unbashed, uncensored and mostly written for adult audiences that went to the theater to watch full length features.

What I think "changed" was the advent of Television. Now, anyone and everyone could see the shorts in their homes... including (and especially) kids. They ate them up. Hence, the Sat. morning shows, of the 60's - 70's, etc. So, now, cartoons are being written and targeted towards kids and not the adults as originally intended. I think what happened by the 90's was the advent of "political correctness" and what I call the "moralization" of cartoons. Shorts now included writing that infused messages of moral conduct, good behavior and "doing what's right." The also now deemphasized a lot of what I call "cartoon violence" and "mature situations," found in the original shorts (which were, of course, censored if not banned from being shown anywhere - ie. the "Censored 11"). I guess they felt that kids these days aren't mature enough to understand the difference between the real and animated worlds. I mean. what kid of that time (or even today) has access to an anvil that they can drop from a desert mesa??? But even simpler things like all the "Now I've seen everything" scenes where the character then shoots themself. Or a classic example is in the "Herman & Katnip" series when they're all in a classic NY Soda Fountain/sweet shop and the short culminates in Herman having Katnip ingest "sleeping pills" through a straw. That one was also censored (although uncensored versions are available on YouTube).

One ray of hope in all of this, I think were the shorts released by Steven Spielberg and Amblin (Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, etc.). where they addressed these issues (anvils in particular) in a comedic way but also in a way that would not suggest that kids could actually use an anvil to solve their problems. Sadly, nobody ever "sees everything" anymore, but....

So, I'd call it an "evolution." Not a "renaissance."

I only thought I ask because the quality of cartoons in the 80's and 90's was as good as the cartoons of the Golden Age (30's-50's). Though they'll be second best.

Today's cartoons don't have a moral message unlike the 80's cartoons. But they're NOT politically incorrect unlike the Golden Age of Cartoons...(unless it's an adult cartoon).

"Quality?" As in stories... or cinematography.... or animation/action/effects/directing? I just wasn't sure of your context. In a "stories" context, I think my original comments apply. In re: cinematography, then I think there has been significant improvements from the "golden age" as a lot more can be done with CGI, etc. Same in respect to digital effects, action, animation, etc. And all of that, I think, allows for the director to explore more options, therefore enhancing the "directing." In short, technology has caused a lot of the "evolution" in re: cartoons... and, mostly, for the better.

As for the "moral messages," perhaps they learned a few lessons from the 80's and swung the pendulum back towards the center. Keep "political incorrectness" out, but don't club people over the head with morality.

When I mean quality, I mean...the animation.

Between the 50's and even the early 80's, the animation was minimum. I do like that, but once The Disney Renaissance came, cartoon animation got better.