|
'Toonists say TV animation entering a golden age
August 27, 1997
Web posted at: 5:06 p.m. EDT (2106 GMT)From Correspondent Dennis Michael
HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- For animators, there has never been a better time to be in TV cartoons. The runaway success of Matt Groening's "The Simpsons" nearly a decade ago surprised many TV executives. But they learned their lesson quickly, and now animation is telling more grown-up stories, more often.
"TV Guide's Jack Curry talks about adult-oriented cartoons"
Today's golden age of television animation has a direct lineage, back to the awkward and astounding "Rocky & Bullwinkle." "'Rocky & Bullwinkle,' I think, came from another planet. Honestly, I don't think that belonged in with any other cartoon show of its era," said David Hiltbrand, the senior editor of TV Guide.
"There were no other shows like that. A lot of shows today are aping that kind of over-the-top, perhaps too-adult humor, and -- it works," Hiltbrand said.
A host of cartoons today follow in the footsteps of the famous moose's sage sayings and wild antics. "The Simpsons" has been Fox TV's most consistently successful show for almost a decade, recently surpassing "The Flintstones" in longevity.
Newcomer "King of the Hill" now follows "The Simpsons" on Fox's schedule, and is getting even better ratings.
And cable is joining the trend. The hell-bound superhero "Spawn" haunted HBO this summer. "Daria" now brings feminism to MTV. And Comedy Central has "Dr. Katz," bringing us the psychoanalysis of the stars.
Adults aren't the only ones benefiting from new animation trends. "Ren and Stimpy" helped Nickelodeon change the way kids view animation, which has also led to hit status for "Rugrats" -- whose audience, incidentally, is more than a quarter adult.
The "Rugrats" show has been so successful for Nickelodeon that it's headed to the big screen. "Beavis and Butthead," another member of the new animation generation, has already been there and done that.
Arlene Klasky is part of Klasky/Scupo, the team that created "Rugrats." "Programmers and networks and the studios are so open to us now," Klasky said. "The doors are wide open for us, and it's so different than it used to be. It's changed in, you know, 10, 15 years, enormously."
Although techniques have also changed, animation is still more expensive than live action. But Greg Daniels, the co-producer of "King of the Hill," is one of several animators who feel the extra expense is justified. "In general, I think that animation is capable of telling all sorts of stories any which way and sometimes better than live action," he said.
Hiltbrand agreed. "You can get away with things. Once you put it on paper, rather than having people act it out, you can get away with almost anything," he said.
"Rocky & Bullwinkle" helped create this environment as well. Baby boomers grew up with 'toons, and they're ready to accept them as adults.
"I think there are a lot of people who, when they were kids, grew up on a lot of wonderful animation," Klasky said. "When they see that the animation has adult humor in it, it's a thrill to them, and they want more."
TV's new crop of creative animators have pencils at the ready to fill that need.
|
Sound off on our message boards You said it... |
|
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.