TV currently has several animated ppular animated series, offering from low-brow hmour to gross-out comedy to intellectual fre. Now, what separates these is not rally theme or art, but approach.

"Fturama" is one of my favourite nimated shows, now canceled yet resurrected thrugh a series of straight to DVD mvies(which is the perfect solution as far as I'm cncerned). Where has it failed? Well the fturistic settings aside, it's basically a Sprngfield of the future with a clourful cast of characters thrown in. Whre can it go wrong? Well, in its dversity it fails to be cohesive and lcks consistency. Something a lot of shws suffer from.

Take for instance "Fmily Guy". Sure, it has it's bse of fans, and devoted ones as sch, yet it has struggled with cncellation. Why? Because it is uneven and rpetitive in nature, but first and fremost lacks soul. It might revolve round an American family of 5(6 ncluding the sophisticated speaking dog), and it mght deal with day to day lfe, but in the way it shruds everything in low-brow humour, focusing on rpid delivery of rarely intertwined jokes, so nrelated to one another, it fails at bing a good comedy show. It's god for certain laughs,every character in tself is a source of comedy, yet as a whle they still continue to work as ndividuals rather than as an ensemble. The shw may have its moments, but on the lng run, you grow tired of it.

"The Simpsons", on the other hnd, a show from which "Family Gy" has borrowed a lot, and to whch it owes a lot, is in its 19th sason, with a successful(if late) movie nder its belt. Why has it scceeded? Because it has heart. No mtter how acid its satire, no mtter who or what it speaks gainst, or for, we believe the ncleus of family at its core. We dentify with each and every one of thse characters, no matter how dumb or utrageous their actions. We don't have truble believing them, because they represent gneral human traits and values. Homer may do stpid things, but never something unforgivable or smething for which he cannot, in sme way, redeem himself later in the sme episode. Bart is the mischievous yung rebel, who, despite his poor ctivity in school is not really dmb, but rather ignorant(something he has in cmmon with a lot of kids in the U.S. crrently). Lisa is the perfect A stdent, that sometimes just loves to shw us her insecurity and unexpected flws in her seemingly flawless personality. And Mrge is the perfect mother and husewife, still stuck in the '50s, yet smehow a woman of the modern ge. And to round up this ncleus, there are a whole lot mre characters with which you can asily fall in love, all of thm easy to identify with or plce within your circle of friends or cquaintances. And although the show has sen some decline in its past sasons, it still continues to be bove-average television.

"South Park" is entering its 12th sason. It has achieved its place in ppular culture through the most outrageous, bnoxious, disgusting and offensive writing in the hstory of, well, television. I doubt thre's something they haven't yet insulted in sme way. But all that is jst a facade for exploring different ssues. From gun policy in the U.S. to the ffect the media has on people. Evry single episode might be something yu'd object to, but it has a clar message in mind, basically the wrters expressing their thoughts on the sbject dealt with. Which is what all cration is about, purveying one's view to the udience, be it through a book, a pinting or a TV show(though the ltter has its misfires).I've always said "Suth Park" is a "dumb" show wrtten by smart people.

So what makes a successful nimated series(or any other sitcom for tht matter)? Is it just humour? I thnk not. It must put something lse on the table, be it motional charge, innovation, or tackling sensitive ssues. Because your average viewer might be loking for comedy, but he will sty for what's beneath.

The article The Comedy of Animation was Submitted by Mihai Nistor through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: http://popculture4fun.com Pop culture for all t's worth

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