Are cartoons for kids?

One of the special features on the awesome new Doctor Strange DVD showcased Avengers Reborn, the next animated project from Marvel. I've been enjoying these DVDs, from Ultimate Avengers to Ultimate Avengers II to Iron Man to the most recent, aforementioned Doctor Strange. I like seeing the characters I read about in high school and college brought to life, and treated with a respectful and mature approach. Animation does not always have to be aimed at kids. I'm currently making my way through some Æon Flux DVDs as well, and the level of sex, violence, and surreal concepts that confuse even me can attest to that.

I've never really fully gotten away from cartoons. As far back as fourth grade, even though the other kids were watching Transformers and all the other great animated series, they'd deny it. If someone did make the socially fatal error of displaying knowledge of an episode, the same standard excuse was used: “I walked by the room and saw a few minutes of what my kid brother was watching. I don't watch DuckTales.” Sometimes following this statement by punching me in the stomach served as the perfect diversion, and secured the speaker's role as one of the “cool” kids.

I outgrew some shows, some went away, and a select few were held on to. A revolution took place in the early ‘90s with shows like Gargoyles and Batman the Animated Series. They worked for a younger audience, but older viewers could appreciate the dark tones and literary references both to classic literature from the likes of Shakespeare or simply classic comic book source material. It was okay to talk about these shows with regular folks as well as fellow geeks. Batman spawned an entire DC Animated Universe, that still continues in some form or another over a decade later.

At some point though, that animated universe skewed toward a younger crowd with Teen Titans. Darker source material was given an anime flair, as teens were drawn like small children with big eyes and the occasional cartoonish lines of expression or distorted proportions. It wasn't the Titans older fans grew up or even the one fans at the time were reading. It had a following that consisted mostly of teenagers and younger. The 20 and 30 somethings were furiously pounding away on blogs or message boards, registering their distaste. Follow-up shows like The Batman and Legion of Super Heroes proved to be more of a compromise. They had a looser, simpler drawing style but over time worked in darker themes closer to their predecessors. Some cartoon aficionados still couldn't understand why cartoons were getting less mature as they got older, especially in a decade where TMNT was correcting everything that was wrong about its '80s incarnation.

This brings me full circle to Avengers Reborn, which leaps ahead to the future and looks at the Avengers' kids, rather than continue adapting the adventures of the well known adult heroes. Why? Why ruin a good thing? Why mesh the animated Teen Titans with Batman Beyond and look at Marvel's next generation as cartoonish kids? If they had to jump ahead, why not go the Batman Beyond route with a darker style? Admittedly, I've only seen sketches and character designs, and heard the rationale of aiming for a younger audience, but I still found it distressing.

I shared this with Rey, who caught a comment I hadn't seen under the article: “How dare they try to market cartoons to kids! Next thing you know, they'll start marketing toys to children as well!” In a single, sobering moment, I realized I was Comic Book Guy. How long before I went from chatting with friends on the subject to leaving comments on message boards for strangers. Even worse, how long before it became a blog post? (10 hours)

I'd still like to see Marvel continue aiming animated DVDs at my generation. Ultimately, it comes down to a marketing decision, so if more parents buy the next DVD than fat, lonely 30 somethings bought any of the previous ones, it's pretty obvious what kind of shows they'll produce going forward. Cartoons don't always have to be aimed at kids, but I guess they can't all be aimed at adults either. I'll probably never outgrow cartoons completely, and maybe someday I'll have the excuse of watching shows with my own kids. That way I can discuss them in an office environment without fear of mockery and, if my excuse fails, there's always a solid punch to the gut.

Who says school doesn't prepare us for the real world?