# Worst. Cartoon. Ever. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521 "2006-12-17T18:04:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/1 "2006-12-17T18:04:49Z")
Popeye. In CGI. Honestly, why? Why, why, why? It’s terrible! Sure, they got a decent voice actor for Popeye who does the Popeyeisms pretty well, but for cryin’ out loud, CGI? Won’t somebody think of Max Fleischer? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/2 "2006-12-17T18:08:31Z")
You’re referring to _Popeye’s Voyage: The Quest for Pappy_, a CGI Christmas special. I saw it when it first aired on Fox a few years ago- I didn’t think it was that bad, and was true to the Popeye spirit. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/3 "2006-12-17T19:02:55Z")
I just saw a “Mickey Mouse Christmas” movie that was so unwatchable I gave up before the first punchline. 3-D with bouncy motion and correct, overobvious shadows, but no relationship to Mickey or Donald. They didn’t even try to match the voices, mannerisms or expressions. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/4 "2006-12-17T19:40:07Z")
I think my problem is with the “CGIzation” of classic cartoon characters. Cartoons are cartoons, but when you attempt to turn them into 3D characters it just reeks of cashing in on popular trends – except by now, they’re popular trends that were popular when Reboot! was still on the air. Now they’re just cheap and cheesy slapdash works made easier by relatively simplistic 3D modeling and inverse kinematics. It is perhaps in part because they approach closer to that disturbing Uncanny Valley that separates them too far from their traditional cel animation. It’s just too quasi-realistic to be authentic, but not realistic enough to pass for live action. If it was traditional animation I’m sure I could have watched it without too many problems (although the voice actor they got for Olive Oyl was annoying) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/5 "2006-12-17T22:37:18Z")
I dunno, **Minefield**. Inspector Gadget does OK. But the worst cartoon _ever_, must include Scrappy Doo. It _cannot_ be otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/6 "2006-12-17T23:08:23Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] I dunno, **Minefield**. Inspector Gadget does OK. But the worst cartoon _ever_, must include Scrappy Doo. It _cannot_ be otherwise. [/QUOTE] Don’t pick and choose. ALL the Hannah Barbera cartoons were dreadful. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/7 "2006-12-17T23:58:58Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Don’t pick and choose. ALL the Hannah Barbera cartoons were dreadful. [/QUOTE] Thank you. I hate it when people act like Scrappy ruined Scooby Doo. It was already a horrible show even for its time. I find that some of the cartoons of my youth are still watchable but Scooby Doo is NOT one of them. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/8 "2006-12-18T01:17:07Z")
[QUOTE=Mindfield] I think my problem is with the “CGIzation” of classic cartoon characters. [/QUOTE] Well, the time is coming to where we are seeing the end of the ‘classic’ cartoon character. I’m nostalgic too, but an all CGI cartoon future is near. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/9 "2006-12-18T01:23:15Z")
Cathy, no doubt ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/10 "2006-12-18T01:24:28Z")
[QUOTE=bigbabysweets2000] Well, the time is coming to where we are seeing the end of the ‘classic’ cartoon character. I’m nostalgic too, but an all CGI cartoon future is near. [/QUOTE] I can’t see it. Traditional cartoons (whether hand-drawn on acetate or done via more modern – but still very cartoony – computerized cel animation) still have a very strong following and a definite place in the market. 3D CGI cartoons are a very different beast which take a very different approach to animation in that they are (ostensibly) more “realistic” (even if they’re still pretty cartoony in presentation) and are much more fluid in character movement – too fluid, actually, which is part of the problem. They _look_ computerized – painfully so, sometimes. At least traditional cartoons are far enough removed from reality that we unconsciously dismiss inconsistencies in inaccuracies in the way characters move. 3D CGI cartoons, on the other hand, actually end up _enhancing_ our notice of those things. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/11 "2006-12-18T01:41:14Z")
This is better-suited for Cafe Society. Offs ya’ go. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/12 "2006-12-18T03:08:09Z")
I vote for The Return of the King. It’s like a special kind of bad. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/13 "2006-12-18T04:39:49Z")
Where’s the hate for The Family Circus? ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/14 "2006-12-18T08:41:04Z")
The Tom & Jerry cartoons during the [Gene Deitch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_and_Jerry_%28MGM%29#Gene_Deitch_era_.281960_.E2.80.93_1962.29) era. The weird sounds, speeds, animation. “Dicky Moe!” ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/15 "2006-12-18T13:52:41Z")
I, for one, am eagerly awaiting the Quest-for-Pappy-style CGI remake of _Dickie Moe_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/16 "2006-12-18T14:16:28Z")
I may be the only person who has a perverse sort of love for Return of the King, borne out of the fact that I believe I watched it when I was about six, before I managed to finish the book itself. All these candidates you name – even Scrappy-Doo, for the love of God – pale in comparison to the Highlander cartoon. Not only was it badly acted, drawn, and written, it took place in the world of the second (and bloody well nonexistent) movie. (On a side note, I had a coworker once who insisted for far too long that Highlander 2 was a very fine movie, possibly even better than the first one. For months afterward, we would describe movies, games, TV shows, and anything else we can think of as 'Well, it’s no Highlander 2, but it’s pretty good!) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/17 "2006-12-18T15:25:25Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Don’t pick and choose. ALL the Hannah Barbera cartoons were dreadful. [/QUOTE] Don’t let Race Bannon hear you say that, you’ll wind up screaming “AAAAIIIEEE…!” in a vaguely asiatic manner while a giant boulder crushes your jeep as you drive over a rickety wooden bridge. So don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/18 "2006-12-18T15:34:37Z")
Well, if you’re willing to take a trip on the Wayback Machine, there’s Clutch Cargo, which was so creepily bad it was difficult to watch, even for kids. I would imagine, especially for kids. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/19 "2006-12-18T20:40:18Z")
I’ll go with [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=045dK3j5FrE) one. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521/20 "2006-12-18T20:59:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, if you’re willing to take a trip on the Wayback Machine, there’s Clutch Cargo, which was so creepily bad it was difficult to watch, even for kids. I would imagine, especially for kids. Don’t forget the other “Syntha-Vox” cartoon, **Space Angel**. Also with those creepy lips. There are plenty of “bad” cartoons that had really cheap animation, but redeemed themselves with their creativity or wit. **XCrusader Rabbit** was like this – an early effort by the team that made Rocky and Bullwinkle (and later continued by others), some of the “animation” would put Anime to shame – still pictures without even a portion of it moving, or very, very limited animation. But neat puns and situatyions. even Clutch Cargo and Space Angel were pretty fair adventure 'toons, once you got past the greepy mouths. My choice for worst cartoon is one that had tremendous potential and blew it – the Japanese American movie **Metamorphoses** (aka **Winds of Change** , but not to be confused of others with that name). It was to be a modern “rock Fantasia”, with music by The Rolling Stones aqnd others, with animation by some of the animators who worked on the original _Fantasia_, and by ciomic-book artists like Mike Ploog, and top-notch Japanese cartoonists. What emerged was awful, with second-rate, poorly-recorded music and frequently pointless and aimless animation. The plot was so incoherent that, although it was supposed to be without voice-overs, they brought in Peter Ustinov to narrate it. and the narration was awful. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078495/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078495/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-cartoon-ever/384521.md?page=2)