From FelixTheCat to HomerTheSimpson
The old cartoons often use the animation concept of morphing shapes and taking liberties with reality. Mickey Mouse and Felix the cat use this all the time and it has such a light heartedness to it that makes it easy to suspend disbelief. The only modern day thing I can think of that still holds this childlike wonder, imagination, and warping of reality for the benefit of a joke is the Simpsons. This i think is what makes it the best show out there (correct me if i'm wrong).
All these shows never miss a chance to make something comical. The beats of the story are all normal, just the way they transition from moment to moment is where they take many liberties. The Simpsons employ this technique a little differently. They often morph reality but not always shapes.
A great example of this from a Simpsons episode I watched recently is a scene where Homer was stranded on a life raft. They're in the middle of the ocean on an inflatable raft and Homer pulls out a pocket knife and starts playing with it. Everyone tells him to stop because he might pop the raft. He takes out all the tools in the knife and then accidentally drops it. The knife bounces, rolls and comes to a stop. Then suddenly the sun hits the small magnifying glass that the tool has and burns a hole in the raft.
All these shows never miss a chance to make something comical. The beats of the story are all normal, just the way they transition from moment to moment is where they take many liberties. The Simpsons employ this technique a little differently. They often morph reality but not always shapes.
A great example of this from a Simpsons episode I watched recently is a scene where Homer was stranded on a life raft. They're in the middle of the ocean on an inflatable raft and Homer pulls out a pocket knife and starts playing with it. Everyone tells him to stop because he might pop the raft. He takes out all the tools in the knife and then accidentally drops it. The knife bounces, rolls and comes to a stop. Then suddenly the sun hits the small magnifying glass that the tool has and burns a hole in the raft.
I totally agree with you in the sense that animations like the Simpsons and Mickey Mouse are at their best when they use animation to its fullest potential and never miss an opportunity to make a joke. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have explained that the issue the find with the show Family Guy is that it is constantly coming to a grinding halt to tell a gag, rather than incorporating the comedy into the story itself. Family Guy will stop the plot to show a cut-away gag that has absolutely no connection to the plot at all. Shows like the Simpsons and South Park, on the other hand, tell the comedy throughout the narrative. I believe this is the best way to do animation, because it is using the medium to its fullest. With Family Guy it's as if they feel they can only mold and shape reality within the cutaway jokes. If this is the case, why not ONLY make the cutaway jokes animated and the rest of the show live action? South Park shifts reality and shape throughout its narrative, making it essential for the entirety of the show to be animated.
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