Would You Ever Be Interested in a Cartoon Show Where the Characters Actually Grew Up?
 

I know what makes cartoon shows so endearing and fun is the sameness that's always in them. They never get old, change jobs, change clothes, move, etc. And if they do any of these things it's usually changed back to the original way by the end of an episode.

But I'm wondering, would people here watch a cartoon show about, say, a family (like the Simpsons, Family Guy, etc) in which the characters actually grew up? They grew up physically, maybe even mentally/emotionally. We'd see, if you want an example, Bart and Lisa actually get taller, go away to college, etc. We'd see the parents get older. What would possibly be funny is if their personalities didn't change as much as their bodies. So Bart would still be a problem child at 20 or whatever. Homer would be a child-like bufoon at 59.

Or what about cartoon characters even changing clothing every episode? What about cartoons becoming episodic, where one event that happened at the end of episode 13 carried directly into what happened in episode 14 and beyond?

Thoughts?

Pitching For Better or For Worse : The Cartoon? :)

i was gonna say the same thing.
funky winkerbeen did the same thing a few years ago, and safe havens too i think.

well, plenty of anime is "episodic" and it works for that genre. I'd watch it. Granted, if they tried to pull this off with Family Guy, i wouldn't like the idea...but in a more serious cartoon setting, this could work.

You mean like "King of the Hill"?

I'd stick to the forever young format

There was the Flintstones series where Pebbles and BamBam were older. There were movies where they got married and had a baby. Of course, this series was after the first one ended and Flintstones had turned into just a kids show.

I think during the origonal Flinstones, they showed Wilma pregnet and having Pebbles so you can say they did age during that time.

As far as continuing plots, anime and a lot of recent shows have an ongoing story.

Simpsons sort of has elements that carry over into later shows. There has been many times an event from the past has been mentioned or shown. But they are not that concerned about continuity as there are tons of contridictions. Since the show is a comedy, its OK. I sort of like the never any major changes or continuing plot aspect of The Simpsons. This way, I can catch one episode and see the full story or see an epsiode from season 2 and then a season 8 episode and it doesn't seem like a 6 year gap.

I like shows that aren't episodic in nature. I like to see change. This is a big reason I like anime. Dragon Ball, for instance, begins when Goku is around 5 years old. By the end of Dragon Ball Z, he is a grandfather.

The cartoon, Rugrats is one where they grow up. It's more of a kids cartoon though. It isnt like the Family guy or the Simpsons.

Granted, when Pebbles and BamBam grew up... the cartoon wasnt as good. I dont think I liked it because it wasnt drew the same as the old school Flinstones.

maybe with a different cartoon but not the simpsons!

King of the Hill has aged the characters somewhat. Bobby started out 11 (he turned 12 midway through the first season) and is now 13; Luanne just turned 21; Bobby's pal Joseph even went through a growth spurt and a voice change (though admittedly this was probably just because Brittany Murphy no longer had time to voice that character). It has also made other changes: Nancy broke up with John Redcorn and fell in love with her husband again; Hank's dad moved to Arlen; Luanne left beautician's school and moved out of the Hill residence (though rumor has it she might be moving back in again); Bobby became Connie's boyfriend in season 3 and broke up with her in season 6. Also season 3 had kind of a continuing storyline about Peggy wanting more children and Cotton's wife Didi getting pregnant.

As to whether an animated show could go beyond that and have "arcs" and so forth, I think that while it could happen, it would be very difficult because it takes so much time to produce an episode of an animated show (a "Simpsons" or "King of the Hill" episode usually airs 8 months after they start recording it) that the season has to be almost finished by the time it actually starts airing. And that means they can't really change anything. An "arc" show can and often does switch gears in mid-season if the public is not responding to the storyline. An animated show can't do that -- which means that if the producers commit themselves to a season-long storyline, and it doesn't work, the whole season is pretty much doomed.

As has been stated, <strike>many</strike> most anime is of this nature, where a larger story is unfolding as time goes on. The characters age, etc., although there aren't many shows with drastic changes from the first episode to the last

Southpark had the kids enter the Fourth grade in the fourth? season.

Already exists.

Mission Hill also had changes that effected the characters in each episode. But the show didn't go on long enought to see if the characters would actually age.