Resurgence of the cartoon

In his critically-acclaimed phenomenon Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud explains that people relate more with a cartoon version of a character than a lifelike one. The more detail you add into a face, the more it begins to look like someone else. The fewer details there are, the easier it is for the reader to see themselves as that character.

This is likely why we’re seeing a comeback of the loosely illustrated cartoon, especially in the satire and comedy genre. It’s fair to question why a show as recent as Bob’s Burgers barely differs in visual style from The Simpsons, now 25 years old. It’s because the crude illustrations, loose jaws, lopsided eyeballs, and flabby body images give a real sense of authenticity to the characters. It lets the important parts of the show — the writing, the voice acting, and the dialogue — really shine through.

BoJack Horseman takes it one step further by anthropomorphizing animals and giving them human personalities. Since the lead character is a horse, it allows the viewer to step into his mind and relate closely with him. The fewer visual details, the better. The character’s actions and behaviors gives him his own personality.

Rick and Morty, another cult hit from Adult Swim, also uses sketchbook-like illustrations and whacky, whimsical doodles in many episodes of their show. It’s particularly evident in the eyeball and mouth shapes of the characters when they’re stunned or confused. It’s easy to execute and it works really well.

Lately, a lot of cartoons geared towards a younger audience are also implementing these techniques. Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Gravity Falls are known for their double entendres and pun-filled gags; they all share a similar visual aesthetic while sometimes relying on the obscure and strange sides of their narrative for support. Phineas and Ferb also goes the extra mile in heavily caricaturizing their heroes — one of them is literally triangle-headed.

Writes and illustrators are also starting to realize that it’s much more efficient (in terms of cost and deadlines) to produce animated comedy shorts as opposed to hour-long episodic dramas which require the additional complexities of actors and scheduling shoots. Adult comedy, in particular, is shaping up for a massive overhaul for the latter half of this decade, and I’m excited to see where it goes.