No Cookies, No Supper! A trip down Memory lane.

Remember...please Don't feed the animals. She's quite capable of feeding herself.

Nostalgia is something that everyone can relate to.
It is something that each generation has unique unto themselves.
Being of the ripe age of 18 now, and looking back on my childhood there is one thing I had back then that children today never had.

Good Television.

It's true, cartoons back in the day are nothing like they are now. They were better, more cohesive, and the jokes had more thought than any cartoons do now.

Yesterday I spent some time watching old episodes of the Beetlejuice cartoon. While the animation was a bit lacking in quality, the show itself was much more imaginative than any cartoon show today would be. Despite the fact it deviated from the plot of the original movie heavily, it definitely was a creative alternative twist on the plot, making it both entertaining and fun to watch. It was a cartoon I could never miss, even as a child.

Some cartoons were fantastic on their own, without needing the fame of a major Motion picture to back them up. Examples of these cartoons where the infamously inappropriate Ren and Stimpy, and the simple yet spectacular Rocko's Modern Life. Through unique animation and the subtle ( and sometimes not to subtle) adult themes in these cartoons really made them shine. Since there wasn't the same censorship on cartoons then as there is now, the jokes were clever and involved more than just childish slapstick. While there was plenty of hysterical slapstick-esque moments in both, the jokes tended to fall a little more on the adult side, which gave them a double edged effect. The children would laugh due to the comical nature, but the adults would laugh due to the actual content that the joke or situation implied. The writing was another thing that made these cartoons truly fantastic. The writing was usually very well done. It was written for all audiences, instead of just a certain demographic that the station needs to fill. (I. E. Ben 10/Alien Force and Secret Saturdays, meant to attract more anime fans to watching Cartoon Network.)

The 90s truly were the best time for cartoons.
Of course these particular shows are not the pinnacle of what the decade had to offer in terms of entertainment.

Cartoons like Dexter's Lab and Courage the Cowardly Dog ( currently being rerun on Cartoon Network) were a different Beast than the likes of Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life. The cartoons were less obviously adult themed. They focused more on the writing and the art of parody, or uniqueness to put their point across. Courage constantly had strange and whimsical plots that brought the episodes into realms that no cartoon had ever gone to before. It was a horror/suspense theme, which, blended with creative storytelling made for an excellent cartoon. Its surreal qualities created memories that will last for my entire life. It was probably one of the first "aquired taste" cartoons of it's time. Dexter's laboratory acted more on the art of parody and the uniqueness of the writing. For example, the "Justice Friends" sketches in the show were parodies of well known superheroes. (The Infraggable Krunk parodying The Incredible Hulk.)Many episodes also parodied older shows such as Star Trek, allowing, again, the older age groups to get entertainment out of the show.

Cartoons today, however are not a total lost cause.
While Nickelodeon seems to have abandoned the focus on cartoons almost completely, Cartoon Network is starting to show signs of improvement in their show lineup. Despite complete failures, like the terribly not even almost mediocre Johnny Test, there are several shows that actually show initiative in terms of being genuinely good and entertaining shows.
For example, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Chowder, and new installment of Star Wars: The Clone Wars show that there is some hope for well written cartoons after all. All three show unique animation techniques, like moving patterns instead of flat coloring, claymation additions and even the extensive use of 3D animation.
If Cartoon Network follows the path that these tree cartoons are pioneering, I'm sure that cartoon entertainment can get back to what it used to be...someday.