What would you consider the last "old-school" cartoon?

[CassieTheDragon]

I know, I know. This is quite subjective (and a bit objective to an extent). I understand that cartoons that are 20-30 years old will have at least a few differences from today's cartoons.

Here's where the subjective part comes in. Your definition of "old-school" will likely be different than mine, or someone else's. You might say that cartoons made before the 90s animation renaissance are the last old school cartoons, and someone else might say otherwise and that it goes even further back.

I feel like cartoons from the 90s are the last "old-school" cartoons in terms of tone, style, characters, stories, animation quality, etc. The Magic School Bus (94), CatDog (98), Dragon Tales (99) and Ed, Edd n Eddy (99) I would argue are all old-school in both tone, style and animation quality, whereas cartoons like Invader Zim (01), Kim Possible (02), Codename Kids Next Door (02) and Cyberchase (02) I wouldn't call old-school in the slightest. These are 20+ year old cartoons and I could still see them coming out today with minimal changes.

The very last "old-school" cartoons, to me, is probably Clifford The Big Red Dog (00) and Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat (01), which despite being digitally animated from the start, both have a completely different vibe from preschool shows from the mid-late 2000s onwards.

 

[JoeMabbon]

My sliding scale for retro content goes back 15 years. So as of right, 2009 is my defining year for what I consider old school. Next year it will be 2010.

 

[Pooky]

Real Old School for me would be something that initially played in theatres before movies. So the last Old School cartoon of note in that regard would be The Pink Panther (started 1964, ended 1978), though he was not the last character/series created for this purpose.

That aside;
- Last Old School "Golden Age Style" TV Cartoon: George of the Jungle (1967)
- Last Old School 80s Action Cartoon: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; started in 1987 when the "Toyetic" thing was winding down, and was still on the air in 1996
- Last Old School Nicktoon: I guess I could go with Catdog; I can't tell you why, but Wild Thornberrys does not feel of a piece with the previous shows, and then you get Spongebob, which of course is a real "before and after" moment for the network. A couple of years later you get Fairly Odd Parents and Invader Zim which definitely feel pretty distinct from anything the network made or started in the 90s (even though FOP *technically* started in the 90s)
- Last Old School Cartoon Network Cartoon: Billy & Mandy; Last to use the "Cartoon Cartoon" branding, last to use that thick outline aesthetic the Network was known for

 

[Silverstar]

I'm old, so I categorize "old school" as anything originally made for theaters (Looney Tunes, Disney shorts, MGM, Popeye, Walter Lantz) or from the early days of television (The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Underdog, etc.). Naturally what you consider "old school" depends on when you were born and what you grew up watching; years ago someone here once described Freakazoid!, which debuted in 1999, as "old school"; if that's "old school", then I'm freaking ancient!

IMO, Old school Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon refers to the eras before each network began making their own original shows. Then there are Golden Ages, which are equally subjective: for me, CN's Golden Age ended when they retired the Cartoon Cartoon branding and ended premiere blocks like Cartoon Cartoon Fridays/CN Fridays, Har Har Tharsdays and You Are Here.

 

[toonatic#_#]

I'd say Ed Edd n' Eddy would count, since it was the last cartoon to use traditional animation cels.

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[CassieTheDragon]

I'd say Ed Edd n' Eddy would count, since it was the last cartoon to use traditional animation cels.

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For cartoons overall, it was, however i'm 99% certain Robot Jones also used cel animation.

 

[Darklordavaitor]

- Last Old School Nicktoon: I guess I could go with Catdog; I can't tell you why, but Wild Thornberrys does not feel of a piece with the previous shows, and then you get Spongebob, which of course is a real "before and after" moment for the network. A couple of years later you get Fairly Odd Parents and Invader Zim which definitely feel pretty distinct from anything the network made or started in the 90s (even though FOP *technically* started in the 90s)

I think for CatDog in particular, this was the last time that Nickelodeon really tried to make lightning strike twice in the Ren & Stimpy format. With The Wild Thornberrys, which only premiered a few months later, it felt that the channel was going all-in on Klasky-Csupo being the channel's foreseeable future.

So I can see how despite premiering close to each other, both shows feel like different eras. It's also worth noting that CatDog would be all but forgotten shortly after the new millennium started, while Wild Thornberrys would be one of the channel's most marketed shows right until SpongeBob took the crown.

 

[Red Arrow]

I associate the term "old-school" with cell animation, stop-motion and old (ugly) CGI.

Detective Conan episode 284 (from 2002) definitely isn't old school but most of the episodes before that definitely are.

The Incredibles (2004) definitely isn't old-school but Ice Age (2002) is.

The cartoon Rintje from 2021 is also old-school to me.

 

[wonderfly]

When "Ed, Edd n Eddy" (and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends") ended in 2009, that's the last of the "Old School" cartoons. "Adventure Time" premiering in 2010 is the start of a new era.

The 2000's Ninja Turtles ending in 2009 is another end of "Old School" ("Turtles Forever" movie also came out in November, 2009, same as when Ed, Edd n Eddy ended).

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

If we are talking about cartoons in general, I consider the Golden Age and possibly the early television era as “old school”. If we are referring to channels specifically, I say if it’s from before 2010 then it’s old school.

 

[CassieTheDragon]

Oliver and Company IMO is the very last old-school Disney movie.