C4's "100 greatest cartoons" this Sunday

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
A few months ago, we suggested you vote in Channel 4's "100 greatest cartoons" countdown and give the nominated likes of Akira, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and (rather controversially) Legend of the Overfiend a chance of ranking high up the list.

This Sunday, the results will be broadcast at 8pm on Channel 4. We plan to post the anime rankings the following day.
 
In terms of achievement, impact and technical brilliance, at least Akira and Spirited Away should make the top 20. But will they, who knows?

As others have said, The Simpsons seems a dead cert for number 1, given it's relationship with Channel 4 these days and all. Going on the last few, completely rubbish seasons, it won't deserve it though.
 
I'll be surprised if Pixar don't have a few in the top 10...

I can't imagine anything beating the Simpsons, though; it's really the only animated program that has ever reached that kind of mainstream popularity, and stayed there.
 
Its about dang time this is coming on, I voted for this months ago. Cant wait to see them pass the anime on the list with like a five second mention.
 
That list was invalidated to me when they refused to even include Batman: The Animated Series . Sorry, but that was one of the defining cartoon series of the 90's without doubt. Stylish, dark, intelligently written, it showcased what cartoons were really capable of in an age of kiddy crap like Captain Planet. It was a cartoon that didn't patronise it's audience, a rare thing even today.

Frankly, I'd still rate that show a lot higher than a lot of the dross we get on TV these days (animated or not).

Which reminds me, I have to get those region 1 boxsets sometime.
 
In terms of quality, anime should cover at least the top 90, but then again i've never liked Western animation.

I wonder what "celebrities" get to talk about anime.
 
Who was that guy who used to talk about Akira on Sci-Fi during the commercial break- they'll probably dig him up. And the voice over will say something like "the inexplicable appeal of this bizarre animation style". :roll:
 
Not too impressed by this poll to be honest- they've already decided what the chart is going to be made up of- Spongebob Squarepants is there but no Cowboy Bebop? And why is Legend of the Overfiend included as one of the precious few anime contenders? Absolute *********.
 
According to the Radio Times, Spirited Away and Akira have made the top 20 - they're shoved up into a little corner about Japanese Animation in a feature "about the adult appeal of C4's top 20 'cartoons' (sic)". I personally think this is great news, because hopefully it'll raise the profile of anime - especially as Akira and Spirited Away are both very different yet interesting films.

Of course, there should have been far more anime in the top 20 (Princess Mononoke is probably my favorite film, but it's very low profile) and far, far more in the Top 100, but I think the situation will improve and programmes like this will have to feature more anime as time goes on.
 
Its a joke to see most of the cartoons that make it into the top 20 or so. The only western cartoons i have respect for still these days is "South Park" and "King of the Hill". "The Simpsons" lost their pure genious wit a long time ago, today it purely lives on the name it made for itself about 4 or 5 years ago.

Its a shame that they have put Legend of the Overfiend in the there, there is already enough people i have met that automaitcally assume that anime is "porn" at their first glance, this will not help. Its gonna be a long time before anime gets t he status it should already have in the UK, hopefully some of the quality series that will soon be released wo;; get a good showing on TV soon or some encouraging DVD sales.
 
kupoartist said:
According to the Radio Times, Spirited Away and Akira have made the top 20 - they're shoved up into a little corner about Japanese Animation in a feature "about the adult appeal of C4's top 20 'cartoons' (sic)". I personally think this is great news, because hopefully it'll raise the profile of anime - especially as Akira and Spirited Away are both very different yet interesting films.

Of course, there should have been far more anime in the top 20 (Princess Mononoke is probably my favorite film, but it's very low profile) and far, far more in the Top 100, but I think the situation will improve and programmes like this will have to feature more anime as time goes on.
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Thanks for the info kupoartist. Was this is the magazine or on the RT website?

I agree, it's great that Akira and Spirited Away made the top 20. I hope it converts a few bypassers into curious fans. Surely no self-respecting science fiction fan can ignore the post apocalyptic scenes of Akira. Similiarly, most film fans should be immediately interested with Spirited Away-- a bit like The Shawshank Redemption and Blade Runner, I expect it will become a set-in-stone classic over the next decade or so.

C4's title for this program is a little misleading. They obviously chose this list with UK reputations in mind- as much as Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion and countless others should be on the list of any greatest cartoons (I hate referring to anime as cartoons) countdown; they just aren't well known enough in the UK (yet). But then, the criminal inclusion of some Nickelodeon tosh and Sharks Tale makes me wonder.

These results are a tribute to the UK anime community. Most UK websites (including a few American ones like ANN too) plugged this vote and we seem to be seeing our rewards now. I seriously doubt many other cartoon shows have as devoted and organised a following as the anime community (especially in the UK).

Who wants to bet this will be presented by 'smug face' Jimmy Carr? I hope not, that guy is everywhere right now.
 
Paul said:
Thanks for the info kupoartist. Was this is the magazine or on the RT website?
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Magazine. To quote exactly: "Move over, kids, the grown-ups want a piece of the animation action, too. John Naughton examines the adult appeal of the nation's top 20 from C4's 100 greatest". Then it lists them - 6 "Sitcoms", 4 "classics", 3 from Disney, 5 from "Pixar and beyond" and our 2 anime offerings. There's even a little picture of Kaneda in the top right.

paul said:
I agree, it's great that Akira and Spirited Away made the top 20. I hope it converts a few bypassers into curious fans.
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I'm sure it will. I personally had no real reason for getting interested in anime; I just happened to read some good reviews and see some pretty pictures for Spirited Away and preordered the DVD straight off like that. They'll be people just like that who've got the feeling that they may like anime, and when seeing it get some kind of validation on TV, may start them off on it all. I'm hoping that demand for Miyazaki's films will go through the roof: perhaps the Buena Vista will shift their arses and order a reprint of the Laputa DVDs...

Paul said:
Who wants to bet this will be presented by 'smug face' Jimmy Carr? I hope not, that guy is everywhere right now.
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Sorry, but I have to dissapoint you :/ Well, I suppose it was him or Graham Norton.[/url]
 
I must admit i'm happy to see Miyazaki represented in there - if i hadn't seen 'Laputa...' as a kid i may never have got into anime in the first place. Spirited Away is probably a good film to draw in casual viewers. the Oscar it won would convince them of anime's credibility if nothing else.
 
Concrete badger said:
Spirited Away is probably a good film to draw in casual viewers. the Oscar it won would convince them of anime's credibility if nothing else.
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If anything the ultra strange creatures in it would probably have the opposite effect :cry:
I don't think the average person who is unknowing of anime would watch Spirited Away and think WOW! that's better than any Disney film I've seen! It's one of the more strange Ghibli films, something like Totoro or Laputa would be easier to understand for the average person.
 
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