The golden age of western animation

Growing up, I used to love watching western animation. These days, western animation is something that isn't even considered to be on life support anymore, but more considered something that has been dead for a long time. There's no doubt about that. It's a neglected industry that only finds itself deeper in the grave. With the rise of AI, the collapsing of major studios, and Hollywood's general lack of creativity, it just can't catch a break. Even elsewhere animation has managed to find its footing, especially when we consider the world of anime. There was a time where western animation was considered the peak, where it had influences generations and led to a lot of creative growth ranging from the 1960s onward. Recently, I decided to jump into some of those older animations, going even before the 1960s. These were the cartoons I remembered. The ones I cherished. And a sad symbol of where things ended up.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the chaotic characters of Looney Tunes. The animation standard that came with expressive characters and movements that had really short, but unique stories that made so many episodes feel like something unique. Animated episodes were not made to be 24 minutes in length, were not made to be insufferable like Rick and Morty. But they held a lot of references to pop culture and the world around them still. I mean, even some of those earlier cartoons went as far as being blatant propaganda for the Second World War and the Allies' war effort. Some characters even spawned from that era entirely, like Popeye! Anyone remember him? Probably not. But this is something that is special about the world of animation: it can say anything, it can be anything. It can reflect the sad state of current events, or joke about them, or even ignore them entirely.

Returning to some of these animated series, it's strange to see how much the world has changed, particularly for this industry of filmmaking and television. Where something as simple as Tom & Jerry once was within every household, the simplicity of its animation through next to no voice acting and relying on expressive animation and characters to tell stories of triumph and challenge, as well as the comedic moments of general idiocy between the typical cat and mouse drama. And with Looney Tunes it holds the advantage of plenty of unique characters that live within different environments and worlds, their stories can be manipulated in different ways to exaggerate them or again connect to the real world. One episode features a film noir aesthetic in which Goofy portrays a detective in the sad cold streets of the city. Another sees Daffy Duck exploring the cultural oddities of Mexico as he holidays there. Some episodes even go back to prehistoric times.

Revisiting these, it makes you think of what happened to our creativity. It makes you think of how the golden era of animation led to this sad state of 'adult' Netflix animation that all looks the same. Where our ability to tell quick and simple, engaging stories has been lost. One would also assume that in the digital era we'd have more influenced by such an era. More that would try to pursue indie development of their own creations with a similar interest. But I guess that spark has since died out.