Megan left the oven on.

@northern haste  
I see what you mean now. Those two shows did push the boundaries when it came to adult humor. The latter even got its own show aimed at adults while the former recently got a movie on Netflix that allowed them to do some of the jokes they couldn’t do on TV back in the day.
 
@Beau Skunky  
Yeah, it’s really interesting to see how these sorts of things swing back and forth.

@northern haste  
As Batmite lampshaded in an ep’ of “Batman Brave in the Bold” cartoon Batman in the 1970s wasn’t even allowed to punch anyone. Yet, Adam West Batman could a decade before. It’s weird how standards go back, and fourth.
 
And yeah, the ‘90s Batman felt very grown-up, even when it wasn’t getting away with stuff.
 
@mjangelvortex  
Understandable, but you’d think that show could get away with more sense “Beware the Batman” was actually TVPG. It’s content really felt no different then the ‘90s TVG or TVY7 Batman cartoon, and such. Nowadays, PG when it comes to movies doesn’t mean much.
 
Tom & Jerry kinda always had that “Frenemies” aspect in some of their old cartoons.

@mjangelvortex  
more like Rocko’s Modern Life and especially Ren and Stimpy. shows like Batman were actually mature shows

@northern haste  
Oh. You’re talking about shows that explored adult themes (and had adult fanbases) but were overall still aimed at a general/family audience? Kind of like Batman: The Animated Series and other shows in the DCAU? They did try putting BTAS in a later timeslot so older audiences would watch but it didn’t do all that well back then and did much better on the “kiddy” block in regards to getting viewers.

@mjangelvortex  
when I said experimenting I meant they were making shows that adult like but was still kid shows however some episode would be censored or straight up banned

@Beau Skunky  
Well yeah, a lot of kids and adults are smart enough and kind enough to not resort to using weapons and engaging in real-life violence after consuming a piece of media with violence in it.
 
Though I think in the case with guns it’s not just a fear of people copy-cating the behavior but also the fear of it delving into “too soon” territory. Kind of like what happened to the animated TV show Beware the Batman. They had to censor the gun violence in that show after what happened with then recently infamous theater shooting for The Dark Knight Rises.
 
@northern haste  
To be fair, there were some old classic shorts where Tom and Jerry were friends.
 
And they did experiment with adult animation. There were cases of it done with TV shows (like The Simpsons) and even with a few movies (like Cool World) (which was more or less “Who Framed Rodger Rabbit” but sexier if that makes sense).

@Beau Skunky  
to be honest I couldn’t believe my ears when that Mummy in DuckTales told a character to die (in a slow voice) and of course bullshit censorship goes way back for example the 70s had a show where Tom and Jerry were friends.also I heard that some cartoons from the 90s with being made when they were experimenting with adult animation.

@mjangelvortex  
Perhaps, but they still have knives, swords, lazer guns, and such which honestly aren’t any less violent to me. (And knives are arguably easier to get then a gun nowadays.) As a kid that was never an issue for me, as I knew not to mess with knives, guns, or whatever.
 
Suicide jokes, like the kind Looney Tunes used to do all the time are a no-no either, with the rise of teen suicides, and such. So they’d kinda be in bad taste. Characters smoking cigars isn’t allowed in cartoons nowadays either, but seeing as most of them were pretty fugly constantly-coughing characters, they never made me want to smoke as a kid.  
Though, now they’re so strict on it, they can’t even have anti-smoking messages in kid shows now. Toon Disney even censored “Sonic Says” for that.

@Beau Skunky  
Given the recent rise of gun violence, I can see why the latter is something that just faded away with time. Similar to what happened with realistic-looking toy guns.

@mjangelvortex  
That might be one of the creepiest moments in the series. Well, next to everything Bill Cypher does in the finale story arc.
 
It’s funny what you can/can’t get away with in cartoons both nowadays, and back then. Some things from the 1980s & ‘90s cartoons they can’t do now. Like a crazy old lady threatening the Ninja Turtles with a gun. lol

@Beau Skunky  
Agreed. It’s hard to find the balance of fun comedy, scary moments, and heart but Gravity Falls pulls all three really well. The clip I had in my link had the clip with blood. Blood just coming out of the haunted taxidermy animals’ mouths and eyes.

@mjangelvortex  
I love “Gravity Falls,” it has alot of funny, and dark moments in it, so it balances the dark & light well, and has alot of parental bonus. It’s almost practically a teenage show in disguise.
 
Surprised they got away with actual blood in it, which is shocking for a Disney show. Granted, some old Disney movies had brief blood in them too.

@neo4812  
Bruh. I can think of a lot of recent animated TV shows animated at kids/family that have nightmare fuel in them. One of them is one of my favorites, Gravity Falls.
 
That show makes the nightmare fuel here look like a little playground game.

@neo4812  
In fairness, many modern cartoons still have good ol’ family-friendly nightmare fuel, and such in them. Even the newer MLP:FiM has had a few. (Some probably even darker then this.)

god I miss the days when you can scar kids with a cartoon

That’s a clean burning hell I tell you what  

And she covers her face as her skin blisters from the radiant heat, because fire doesn’t have to actually touch you to hurt you.

GIVE ME GENESIS!
 

THROUGH FIRE, JUSTICE IS SERVED!

You maniacs! You burnt it up!

And then WindWhistler smiles…

FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!