Let's have a western animation thread

[AppleQueso]

Cartoons on DVD.... it'd be easier to list the shows that DO have complete runs available. Quality sets are few and far between.

The Mighty Avengers is AMAZING and is the only currently running, non-comedy cartoon out there that's any good. It is Marvel's animated equivalent to Justice League Unlimited. Unfortunately there haven't been any new episodes for a little while.

Spectacular Spider-Man was fantastic as well, if Mighty Avengers is Marvel's Justice League Unlimited, then I might go as far as to say that Spectacular Spider-Man is their Batman TAS. Too bad the show was canned after its second season when the disney buyout happened.

I did enjoy Spectacular Spider-Man, but I wouldn't put it in the same caliber as Batman: TAS. Batman: TAS raised the bar for action cartoons with incredible storytelling, great voice actors, and a very distinct art-style. Like I said, Spectacular Spider-Man was good, just not that good IMO. Personally I enjoyed the 90s Spider-Man Animated Series a lot more than Spectacular Spider-Man.

Of course, there's no way any superhero cartoon can have the same impact that Batman: TAS did. I guess I'm just trying to say that I really liked Spectacular Spider-Man.

[Gamerforlife]

I agree that the Spider-Man cartoon was pretty cool. I used to enjoy that as much as the X-men cartoon on Fox

Batman:TAS though...I mean wow. You STILL see that show's influence whenever we get a new animated DC movie like Wonder Woman, Batman:Under the Red Hood, Superman: Doomsday, Green Lantern:First Flight, Justice League:Crisis on Two Earths, Batman/Superman: Public Enemies etc, etc, etc. It set a standard that every quality DC animated movie we get is still upholding. And Bruce Timm, integral to Batman:TAS' success, is involved with every new movie that comes out

Or how bout video games like Batman:Arkham Asylum? Paul Dini from Batman TAS wrote the story and Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammil from Batman:TAS did the voices along with whoever did Harley Quinn on the show. That game borrows quite a bit from Batman:TAS. No DC animated cartoon is EVER going to have that much of an influence again. And while I'm on the subject, props to Tim Burton. Some of his fingerprints can be seen on Batman:TAS

And Gargoyles, which I love to heap tons of praise on, was also influenced by Batman:TAS. Hell, I'd argue Gargoyles was BETTER than Batman TAS, but not as influential

It still amazes me years later

[Xeogred]

Yup, Batman TAS was and will always be the boss. I loved how Under the Red Hood captured the vibe so close to it, it was like that movie could have been made back then itself when TAS was airing and everything.

Always loved Mask of the Phantasm as well. And it was definitely a treat to see Arkham Asylum have a lot of the TAS cast/stuff work on it and honestly, aside from that wacky ending, I put it above the Nolan movies personally in terms of story, characters, and just about everything, it was everything I loved about the 90's Batman perfectly put into a game. I'm stoked for the sequel.

[Gamerforlife]

Yup, Batman TAS was and will always be the boss. I loved how Under the Red Hood captured the vibe so close to it, it was like that movie could have been made back then itself when TAS was airing and everything.

Always loved Mask of the Phantasm as well. And it was definitely a treat to see Arkham Asylum have a lot of the TAS cast/stuff work on it and honestly, aside from that wacky ending, I put it above the Nolan movies personally in terms of story, characters, and just about everything, it was everything I loved about the 90's Batman perfectly put into a game. I'm stoked for the sequel.

Christopher Nolan's Batman is like Batman for a new generation. I can appreciate it on that level and I think Dark Knight is a classic. There are just a few things the movies get wrong though, like the annoying Bat voice and Batman choosing not to save a certain someone in the first movie. That's very out of character for him. Batman would NEVER stand by and let someone die. I'm not a huge fan of the new Batmobile either, not as sleek and sexy as the classic one from Tim Burton or the animated series.

I also wasn't big on the fighting style used in Christopher Nolan's movies. Doesn't seem to capture Batman's grace as a fighter and seems more of a brutish fighting style. Seems like Nolan draws heavily on Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns for his Batmobile and Batman's fighting style. Arkham Asylum really captures the elegant, graceful fighting style that I enjoyed from the animated series with just a touch of brutality when necessary.

Mask of the Phantasm is cool, but I am very invested in the bat family so I enjoyed Under the Red Hood and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker more. Check out Justice League Crisis on Two Earths though if you want to see how cunning Batman can truly be, and how fucking SCARY an EVIL Batman can be. I also loved the two Batman/Superman movies. Public Enemies just basically shows how the two of them pawn anyone in the DC universe. Apocalypse doesn't focus on Bats much, but he really makes one hell of an impression in the few scenes he has including a fantastic one with Darkseid

[WrathOskvro]

Just watched the first two episodes of Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm due to WrathOskvro reminding me of the show. Let me summarize what my thoughts were as I watched the episodes:

WTF. Jax just said he likes Sub-Zero but doesn't want to marry him and is making bad ice puns.

WTH. Sub-Zero sounds like a little girl. I think both Liu Kang and Sonya want to get with Sub-Zero (romantically). Wow. Sonya's kind of a bitch. O snap Scorpion just showed up.

WTF. Scorpion constantly sounds like he's trying to take a shit. Apparently Scorpion died, then crawled out of hell as a walking corpse so Scorpion's an intelligent zombie?

LOL. Jax keeps saying funny 90's slang like "fresh."

WTH. Raiden exists solely as a a plot device which appears via teleporting into the scene, moves the plot, then disappears via teleporting out of the scene.

WTF. Sub-Zero just froze a random dinosaur thing that came out of nowhere, had nothing to do with anything, and no one talked about.

I'm pretty late on replying to this but uh. Keep watching. It gets better. Wait until you see the episode with Rain. It's priceless. LOL

[BananaXX]

Also, is it just me or did Nickelodeon kill the real Spongebob back at the end of season 3 and replace him with an overly perky, much dumber, higher voiced, stand-in?

I noticed that too, any episode 2004+ just seems.... new Simpsons-ish... Which is NOT a compliment. I've found that this show called Chowder on Cartoon Network is quite hi-larious. Would highly recommend it. And Recess, best show of my childhood other than Looney Tunes. And Simpsons prior to 2002.

[Ivo]

I really liked Gargoyles.

Among other quality stuff, one of the best fiction treatment of time travel. Finally something that is 100% internally consistent (I don't remember any actual paradoxical events).

Ivo.

[ZeroAX]

I really liked Gargoyles.

Among other quality stuff, one of the best fiction treatment of time travel. Finally something that is 100% internally consistent (I don't remember any actual paradoxical events).

Ivo.

I've heard bad things for the 3rd season. So if it got bad reviews, maybe they also fucked up with the plot.

[Gamerforlife]

The last season of gargoyles was handled by a different head writer and possibly a different creative team. They turned the show into something more "Disney" and kid friendly. I view that whole season as non-canon. The original creator did some comic books if you want to see HIS continuation of the show. I think they're on www.amazon.com

[indecks]

Some people here have mentioned Regular Show and Adventure Time. Anyone ever like Flapjack?

That show could have almost been viewed as a spiritual successor to Ren/Stimpy, what with the hyper-detailed closeups, the grossness, etc. Someone also mentioned Chowder.

Chowder. Is. Awesome.

Oh yeah! And speaking of Chowder, which features Tara Strong as the fairy lady - what about Avatar: The Last Airbender?

That show was awesome. The movie, not so much, but the show was brilliant.