Reviews
Rugrats (1991)
A show that stood the test of time
I had first discovered "Rugrats" since the mid 1990s(during the show's production hiatus), in which I was only a mere Rugrat myself. I loved the characterization, I loved the humour and every aspect of every episode just left me hungry for more. Definitely a great experience of my childhood. However, the later episodes are often criticised, most notably the ones after the show had originally ended production/took a hiatus in 1994. But in my opinion, I find myself enjoying the later episodes as well, even if they are not up to standard with the much earlier episodes. I also loved the development of the characters and the story lines, as I had mentioned earlier. The show's first season mostly focused on Tommy(who in the first season, for the most part, actually acted like a proper baby), but eventually as the series progressed, it began to focus on Phil, Lil, Angelica and even Chuckie. Most notably later on, when we found out that his mother died. It also does well in tugging your heartstrings, as episodes like "I Remember Melville", "Moving Away", AND "Regarding Stuie" show, as well as the movie "Rugrats in Paris". In the early 2000s, it began to wane in popularity due to criticisms of Klasky/Csupo producing the majority of the Nicktoons(in spite of Nickelodeon asking Klasky/Csupo to produce Nicktoons for them, instead of Klasky/Csupo just randomly pitching Nicktoons for the network) and the show was eventually cancelled in 2004, due to "Rugrats Go Wild" flopping and "All Grown Up" (which was recently rumored to be retconned as of late) was becoming fairly popular. Not to mention that SpongeBob's popularity soared heavily during that time period and its movie did so well, that Nickelodeon decided that cancelling and ending that show was a mistake. To me, "SpongeBob" actually suffered a worse fate than "Rugrats". Because whilst "Rugrats" added new characters, at least it never made inconsistent changes to the previous-existing characters and didn't focus on sadistic and mean-spirited efforts to be funny. That is just my opinion on the matter. "Rugrats" is a cartoon, that to me, will never get old, has stood the test of time for me and paid high contributions to Nickelodeon's success(though we can't forget that it was Ren and Stimpy that put the Nicktoons on the map).
Phineas and Ferb (2007)
A somewhat underrated and under-appreciated cartoon
At first, I was more than reluctant to watch the series as I was going through a period of where I thought that all modern cartoons were lacking the creativity of the 1930s to the 1960s, and the 1990s and early 2000s. However sometime in 2010, due to recommendations from friends of mine and upon looking at merchandise for the show at the Disney Store, I had given the show a try and had instantly fell in love with it. It wasn't like any other show that was on at the time that it first aired(Keep in mind that this was before shows like "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic", "Adventure Time", "Regular Show" and "Gravity Falls" were out and soared into popularity. I don't mean when I got into it, I meant when it was starting to gain its own popularity). The characters were lovable and very relatable(Candace being unique. In the sense that a lot of teenage girls in cartoons out at the time were very stereotypical and boy-crazy. Whilst Candace has the dynamics that a normal teenage girl has, she isn't obsessed over fashion, only has a crush on one boy, and even stated that she doesn't think looking gorgeous and beautiful doesn't matter in one episode. Not to mention, that instead of being interested in boy bands, she has shown to be interested in rock bands), the plots were interesting, the execution of the jokes were genius and it had a very wide appeal. It's no surprise that the people that were once SpongeBob SquarePants fans, moved onto this show. 2011 was when it really began to soar in popularity when Disney had realised that they had a hit on its hands and that year I feel was the show's best era. It began to branch out between its characters, exploring their personalities(Namely Candace) and really got to the bottom of what made them tick. It started to focus on Candace, but I did not have a problem with that, considering she is my favorite character of the whole series. Not to mention the fact that it had such a successful TV movie that Disney had green lit a theatrical movie on the spot for the series to be made in 2013(recently got delayed to 2014, however). But Disney had already decided to make plans to make the series its SpongeBob, by 2010. However, things had slowly taken a dark turn for the adventurous stepbrothers, as come 2012, the show had started to lose popularity severely. I had noticed that some of my friends actually admitted to starting to dislike it. But later on, I had noticed that people that I knew who previously fell in love with the show were starting to hate the direction that the show was taking and I would not be lying if I said that I did agree with them. A frequent criticism of the show is that it is heavily reliant on musical numbers. The truth is that it wasn't the fault of the creators, but rather Disney being so impressed with the "Gitchie Gitchie Goo" musical number, that it was Disney that asked the creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh to include one in every episode. Unfortunately, as I have said, that isn't going very well. Many people have stated that it is becoming reliant on the formula, and that is getting stale. To be fair and honest with you, that in my opinion is not why the show is slowly declining. Half of the writers have moved onto other shows(Adventure Time, Regular Show), and they had gotten a few new writers in, with addition to a few old ones and they have changed the dynamic of the show in a mild sense. A lot of the episodes have focused on Buford and Baljeet, and that did not settle well for me. For me, Phineas and Ferb is slowly losing its magic. It had already lost its popularity in 2012(really badly, may I add), but to me, it is lacking the dynamic and a lot of the humour that made the first two seasons and first half of the third so fun for me. It is starting to feel like a different show. However, I do feel that this show is overlooked and underrated. What a few people forget is that this show started the modern animation renaissance era(as in an era, in which animation can also appeal to adults, as well kids), and just slate it off as "only being good, because, it was the only cartoon on Disney at the time". That is not true, as "The Replacements" was still showing at that point, and that show had mixed reception between a few critics. It definitely wasn't the breakthrough hit that Phineas and Ferb was. Phineas and Ferb showed the world that cartoons that are written on an adult level(the creators are even intending the show to be aimed at both audiences) can still be successful and there really wasn't a cartoon that appealed to both demographics, since the pre-cancellation/movie SpongeBob episodes. I am basically saying that if Adventure Time, Regular Show, My Little Pony: FIM and Gravity Falls were successful breakout hits, Phineas and Ferb opened the door to them. Despite its downfall, it will always remembered to me as a brilliant cartoon that we needed at a time in which animation was taking a slow downfall. And in spite of this, I am looking forward to the 2014 movie that has been green lit (if it is still on the spot), and the "Mission Marvel" special that is going to air soon. I give this a 10 out of 10 for the original seasons.