The Dark Age of Animation: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"TV is such a monster. It swallows up all this animation so fast that nobody seems to care whether it's good or bad. These kids shows are badly done technically; it seems as though nobody really looks at them but the kids...the networks don't look at the show, they just look at the ratings. If the ratings are good, to heck with the show. They don't care whether it's just a bouncing ball."''|[[Friz Freleng]], sharing his feelings about some of the [[Animation Age Ghetto|detrimental effects]] of the era.}}

The unfortunate successor to [[The Golden Age of Animation]], slowly setting in at the late 1950s and slowly fading out at some point during the ~~'80s~~ <ref> ~~the~~ Dark Age ended for animated movies some time before the change would spread to television as well, not fully disappearing until Disney and Warner improved television animation standards in the late '80s and early '90s</ref>. [[Limited Animation]] was the rule, not the exception during this time. Its start coincided with the [[Fall of the Studio System]] in Hollywood. The theatrical short slowly died off, and cartoons moved to television. Naturally, this era would leave a lasting impression on the American culture, for better or for worse, as the [[Animation Age Ghetto|primary target audience for cartoons]] became children.

The unfortunate successor to [[The Golden Age of Animation]], slowly setting in at the late 1950s and slowly fading out at some point during the 1980s.<ref>The Dark Age ended for animated movies some time before the change would spread to television as well, not fully disappearing until Disney and Warner improved television animation standards in the late '80s and early '90s.</ref> [[Limited Animation]] was the rule, not the exception during this time. Its start coincided with the [[Fall of the Studio System]] in Hollywood. The theatrical short slowly died off, and cartoons moved to television. Naturally, this era would leave a lasting impression on the American culture, for better or for worse, as the [[Animation Age Ghetto|primary target audience for cartoons]] became children.

To start with, [[Limited Animation]] was primarily an [[Doing It for the Art|artistic choice]] for animators like Chuck Jones and John Hubley who were tired of [[Disneyfication]]. With the death of UPA and MGM animation studios, it became primarily about saving [[Exploited Trope|time and money]].<ref>Much like the debate over [[Adobe Flash|Flash Animation quality today.]]</ref> [[Hanna-Barbera]] was very prominent during this time, thanks to how cheaply produced and rushed their television cartoons were. [[Filmation]] also got its start during this time, although it wouldn't hit its stride until much later during the [[The Renaissance Age of Animation|~~'80s~~.]] In the meantime, it ''did'' give us shows like ''[[Star Trek: The ~~Animated Series|Star Trek the~~ Animated Series]]'' (which was a continuation of the [[Star Trek: The Original Series|original show]] after it was canceled). However, like Hanna-Barbera, they also relied on notoriously low budget animation (possibly even more so than the other company) and corner cutting to get their cartoons out as quickly and cheaply as possible. Hanna-Barbera writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears also formed [[Ruby-Spears]] around this time and churned out a number of properties based on [[Mister T (animation)|celebrities]], [[Rubik the Amazing Cube|toys]], and other [[Animated Adaptation|Animated Adaptations]] of sitcoms, mimicking their former employer's animated style to a T.

To start with, [[Limited Animation]] was primarily an [[Doing It for the Art|artistic choice]] for animators like Chuck Jones and John Hubley who were tired of [[Disneyfication]]. With the death of UPA and MGM animation studios, it became primarily about saving [[Exploited Trope|time and money]].<ref>Much like the debate over [[Adobe Flash|Flash Animation quality today.]]</ref> [[Hanna-Barbera]] was very prominent during this time, thanks to how cheaply produced and rushed their television cartoons were. [[Filmation]] also got its start during this time, although it wouldn't hit its stride until much later during the [[The Renaissance Age of Animation|1980s.]] In the meantime, it ''did'' give us shows like ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' (which was a continuation of the [[Star Trek: The Original Series|original show]] after it was canceled). However, like Hanna-Barbera, they also relied on notoriously low budget animation (possibly even more so than the other company) and corner cutting to get their cartoons out as quickly and cheaply as possible. Hanna-Barbera writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears also formed [[Ruby-Spears]] around this time and churned out a number of properties based on [[Mister T (animation)|celebrities]], [[Rubik the Amazing Cube|toys]], and other [[Animated Adaptation|Animated Adaptations]] of sitcoms, mimicking their former employer's animated style to a T.

However, this does not mean ''everything'' from this era was ''bad''. Disney's output remained generally respectable and generally well animated early on, although Walt Disney's continual lack of involvement with his films due to his focus on television and theme park projects at the time had a noticeable effect in quality on the '60s Disney films, and the inevitable death of the man hit the company ''extremely'' hard, sending their studio into a hard slump post-''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]''. Although they would eventually begin to recover with their short adaptations of the ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'' stories (which were later made into a feature) as well as ''[[The Rescuers (Disney film)|The Rescuers]]'', which was something of a throwback to the style of the older Disney films, thanks in part to a Mr. [[Don Bluth]]... mind you, he ''was'' an employee of Disney at one point in the past. However, Disney would still continue to struggle until the '80s.

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Bakshi would also go on to make an animated adaptation of ''[[The Lord of the Rings (animation)|The Lord of the Rings]]'', which despite ''[[Love It or Hate It|extremely]]'' mixed critical reaction was ultimately a box office success. ''[[Heavy Metal (animation)|Heavy Metal]]'' would create its own cult interest late in the game (1981). Even Hanna-Barbera brought a respectable adaptation of ''[[Charlotte's Web]]'' to the big screen in 1973. And though [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on which, some cartoons from this era may have had mediocre to poor animation but were ultimately saved by good writing; shows like ''[[Rocky and Bullwinkle]]'' would be a particularly good example of that.

Also, [[Anime]] was making its first impact in North America with such imports as ''[[Astro Boy]]'', ''[[Speed Racer]]'', ''[[Star Blazers]]'' and ''[[Battle of the Planets]]''. While it often was crudely [[Bowdlerized]], the form's distinctive look and content created a cult following that would eventually grow into much more.

Also, [[Anime]] was making its first impact in North America with such imports as ''[[Astro Boy]]'', ''[[Speed Racer]]'', ''[[Star Blazers]]'' and ''[[Battle of the Planets]]''. While it often was [[Macekre|crudely]] [[Bowdlerized]], the form's distinctive look and content created a cult following that would eventually grow into much more.

[[In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You|The Soviet Russia reversal]], however, is still at its dirty job. Behind the "iron curtain", many [[Eastern European Animation|USSR cartoons]] saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Some are dark, some are educational, some are just damn fun. And not only were successful inside the country (we're not even speaking about a huge amount of fans who loves them even today and makes English translations of these cartoons for you)... [[Once Upon a Dog|one]] even got a ton of awards. Considerably, the animation cut ''was not an option'' for Ivanov-Vano's cartoons made in this era, every one of which made you feel like you're back to Disney's times of rise when hand-drawn people and animals moved as smooth as never before (and after). However, [[Eastern European Animation]] also brought us Gene Deitch's ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' shorts in the 1960s, which were...[[Deranged Animation|interesting to say the least]].

[[Animation Age Ghetto]] is a trope that has its roots firmly planted in this era. Check it out to see the full impact of this era on the typical viewer's idea of a cartoon nowadays.

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Chances are whenever you see a parody of this era or something that was made during it, it's either a [[Take That]] or an [[Affectionate Parody]] at the least.

For this era's successor, see [[The Renaissance Age of Animation]] (which lasted from the 1980s through the ~~'90s~~).

For this era's successor, see [[The Renaissance Age of Animation]] (which lasted from the 1980s through the 1990s).

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== Characters, films and series that are associated with this era ==

{{examples|Characters, films and series that are associated with this era}}

* ''[[Alvin and The Chipmunks]]'': The original 1960s series.

* ''[[American Pop]]'': A drama film by [[Ralph Bakshi]] that came out at the end of the Dark Age.

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* ''[[Schoolhouse Rock]]''

* ''[[Scooby-Doo (animation)|Scooby Doo]]'' and its many clones

* ''[[~~Western Animation/Sealab 2020|~~Sealab 2020]]'', (more notable for its [[The Millennium Age of Animation|Millennium Age]] spoof ''[[Sealab 2021]]'')

* ''[[Sealab 2020]]'', (more notable for its [[The Millennium Age of Animation|Millennium Age]] spoof ''[[Sealab 2021]]'')

* ''[[Secret Squirrel]]'': The original incarnation.

* ''[[Space Ghost]]''

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{{examples| Animators who are directly associated with this era}}

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== Animators who are directly associated with this era ==

* [[DePatie-Freleng Enterprises|David DePatie and Isidore "Friz" Freleng]]

* [[Filmation|Norman Prescott and Louis Scheimer]]

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* Yoichi Kotabe

* [[Bob Clampett]]

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== Tropes that are associated with this era ==

* [[Animal Superheroes]]: Mighty Mouse, Atom Ant, Underdog, Batfink...

* [[Animated Adaptation]]: for example, ''[[The Three Stooges]]'' cartoons, ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series|Star Trek the Animated Series]]'', Filmation's adaptations of ''[[Batman]]'', ''[[Superfriends]]'', ''[[The Beatles (animation)|The Beatles]]'', etc.