Sam & Max against Modren Cartoons

S&M1/2

Sam and Max are very different characters than other cartoons that have been seen throughout the last century. They have no moral and their comedy never seems to disappoint (even with pour gameplay). This however dosn't make them the only great cartoon, but it seems that recently cartoons on channels that we have grown up with have started to lack something, eather in writing, design, or vulger humor that makes Sam and Max look like characters for five year old; cartoon on channel like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel have been in a rapid decline.

In your own word try to compare Sam and Max to todays cartoons and if any up comeing shows on the channel have any appeal or in other words, dosn't STINK! Examples:

You can also say what you think Sam and Max would say or do about them.

RAnthonyMahan

Is this a stealth "Everything was better when I was a kid!" thread?

Anyway, I suppose Adventure Time and Regular Show are thematically similar to Sam and Max. We've got two crazy characters (one slightly more grounded in reality than the other) going on increasingly ridiculous adventures, and...that's the entire premise, pretty much.

Shyguy

I like how the Sam and Max cartoon was for kids, but most of the jokes only adults would get.

Fly

I disagree. I think cartoons are more like Sam and Max nowadays than they ever were before. If you compare, say, mainstream 80s cartoons to mainstream cartoons nowadays, you'll find there's a lot more amoral protagonists, writing aimed squarely at adults and random mayhem than there was back then.

coolguy721

what does modren mean?

CartoonistWill

That's a lot to comment on, but I think one mistake some shows make is that they replace good writing with too awfully vulgar comedy and other content, going for shock value or because they think vulgarity sells or that comedy must be vulgar. Sam and Max may not be as vulgar as Family Guy (which I'm honestly thankful for), but it has good comedic writing and character interaction writing. Possibly also good story writing. I mean, it's not Emmy material, but it's better than some stuff out there. I'm talking about the Sam and Max TellTale Games, by the way, not the cartoon or Hit the Road or comics. I think the comics and cartoons had some very well-written material and the LucasArts Hit the Road had a well-written story all it's own. I think maybe the writers are going for comedic timing instead of relying solely on vulgarity or shock value to sell their product. This isn't to say that there are no funny moments or comedic timing or etc in these modern vulgar cartoons. Well-written comedy, especially comedic timing, is a universal language that communicates to people of all ages and can be seen in children's, young adult, adult, and other age rating entertainment. It does not rely on vulgarity. It is not hurt by the taking away of vulgarity nor is it impossible to have it with amounts of vulgarity. However I think maybe the shock value vulgarity sometimes can take away from the comedic effect or change it if used excessively. A good writer knows how to balance things to influence and affect his target audience the most. It is because of this that the comedy in Sam and Max, as well as many other shows and games and movies of various age ratings, can be successful and always cause the target audience to laugh - if timed and balanced correctly with other genre the piece might consist of or contain.

Let me know if you realized I'm just rambling off of the top of my head. Feel free to point out if I'm slightly off. Some of you might recognize what I'm trying to say about the universal appeal of good comedic writing and such.

Sausy Gibbon

^One of the great things about Sam and Max is they are so flexible. They can go from high brow to low brow material in seconds. So they could talk about vulgar things (nothing about sex obviously more like toilet humor) and witty material. Sam and Max can go beyond the boundaries and within them.