History DarkerAndEdgier / WesternAnimation

** ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' started off as a light-hearted children's show (albeit with a heavy dose of [[ParentalBonus subversive jokes]] and BlackComedy) but took a darker turn around the end of Season 2, in which we are presented with a villain with absolutely no quirky or amusing characteristics [[OmnicidalManiac whose only goal is to end all life]]. Since then, we've seen the show openly deal with issues like mass murder, genocide, mental illness, MindRape, suicide, despair, self-esteem, psychological trauma, child abuse/abandonment, relationships and break-ups, age differences, bad communication in relationships, puberty, and even DomesticAbuse. By the time the show was in its sixth season, it was a far cry from the candy-colored jelly beans shouting "Algebraic!" in the pilot so many moons ago. Eventually, the series has become one of the darkest shows of its era in Creator/CartoonNetwork. It certainly doesn't help the fact that the series has some [[VileVillainSaccharineShow creepy, disturbing villains]]: a sexual predator (Ricardio), a genocidal monster (The Lich), a MadDoctor (Dr. Gross), and a [[AxCrazy psycho]] who committed cannibalism and mistreated his brother and his own children (Lemongrab 1). It also has one of the biggest off-screen body counts in kids shows ever, and probably one of the highest on-screen too. And unlike other Cartoon Network shows, which at least manage to soften some dark moments with comic relief, Adventure Time does the opposite, some of the darkest moments of the series are played in the darkest way possible, complete with {{drama}} and [[TearJerker/AdventureTime sadness]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' was pretty dark and edgy compared to Disney's normal animated television fare to begin with, but it was definitely darker than the show Walt Disney Television Animation originally developed as an adventure-comedy in the same vein as Disney's ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'' ("Gummi Bears with edge" being the original concept). After Creator/MichaelEisner passed on the original development, Tad Stones (the creator of ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'') suggested to the then director of series development, Creator/GregWeisman, reimagining the series with a "dramatic male lead" and leaning into a "Beauty and the Beast" relationship with the human ally (Disney's own ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' was still doing well in theaters at that time). After many months of redevelopment (and support from Creator/JeffreyKatzenberg), the series took on its more familiar tone and Eisner gave ''Gargoyles'' the green light in the fall of 1992. Given the timing, it's possible the success of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' was a factor, and indeed Michael Reaves and Frank Paur, who had both worked on that show, were ultimately brought on to work on ''Gargoyles'' as, respectively, story editor/lead writer and producer (showrunner) alongside Weisman (who stepped down from his original director of series development position to remain working on the show). In the end, however, ''Gargoyles'' may have been a tad too dark and edgy for Disney: it is the only show of the Disney Afternoon run to not have "Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation" as the first of its end credits.

* ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'':
** The third short, ''WesternAnimation/ACloseShave'', starts off late at night and just gets darker from there; especially once the villain's plan of the mass kidnapping and slaughtering of sheep on an ''industrial'' scale to produce dog food is revealed. Not only that, but it's even implied that they were going to throw other animals into the grinder as well. Even ''humans!''
** ''WesternAnimation/AMatterOfLoafAndDeath'' is about a serial killer with a double-figure body count (and that's before the events of the episode go down) targeting Wallace, and they're mostly doing it ForTheEvulz. People ''die''.

* The ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'' short "WesternAnimation/AMatterOfLoafAndDeath". People ''die''.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' and ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', the newer, more dramatic sequel to its predecessors, as allotted by Ben, Gwen, and Kevin being [[TimeSkip aged up into their adolescence]]. Aside from the age difference, one drastic change is that Ben now retains wounds inflicted while in alien form even after he's reverted back to human. With ''Alien Force'' and ''Ultimate Alien,'' villain motivations go from "steal the Omnitrix and [[KickTheDog kick puppies]]" to ethnic cleansing, civil war with BlackAndGrayMorality and no good guys, people dying and staying that way, and consequences go from "astonishingly, nobody got hurt" to "Anything goes behind a GoryDiscretionShot and people stay dead." The last half of ''Ultimate Alien'' takes it farthest, especially with the episode "Catch a Falling Star."[[note]]Today, on your favorite kids' cartoon: A murderous criminal better suited for CSI gets back-alley surgery to alter his face. The amount of blood the team found from that was [[GoryDiscretionShot apparently impressive]]. We find he killed the "surgeon" (that is, the ''veterinarian'' who owed him a favor) and anyone else who got in his way. His sidekick is an actress with a messed-up upbringing that lead to her becoming like the many RealLife "groupies" of criminals. He had in fact put her in a SadisticChoice DeathTrap back when he'd been more of a "cartoon" villain than a dark villain; her affection for him is explicitly compared to StockholmSyndrome.[[/note]]In comparison, the new ''Omniverse'' series [[LighterAndSofter scaled it back a lot]] (it does have some more serious episodes, but never reached the same heights and usually tried to made them lighter with more jokes and silly situations inserted), and [[WesternAnimation/Ben102016 the new reboot]] has completely gone back to lighter and softer.

* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes2006'' started out fairly light in tone, but the second season features a future laid waste by an evil warlord, the replacement of the young Clark Kent version of Franchise/{{Superman}} with a rather disagreeable clone called Superman X, an utterly destroyed New Metropolis, and the death of one of Triplicate Girl's selves. Dark and edgy enough? No? How about, Superman X says Brainiac 5's going to do something original-Brainiac-level nasty at some point in the future. The other episodes showed similar darker shades such as a murder conspiracy where Timber Wolf was convicted of patricide, the Legion brainwashing Chameleon Boy to infiltrate Imperiex's lair, a child who will be responsible for Imperiex's creation in the future being hunted down for that exact reason, Dream Girl being kidnapped and forced to use her precognitive powers to fight against the Legion by a group of terrorists. Ultimately, Brainiac 1 influences Brainiac 5 with MoreThanMindControl, and Brainy brutally kills Imperiex onscreen, turns on the Legion, puts a crown of Kryptonite on Superman -- not the clone, ''our'' Superman. He begins to digitize the entire universe, basically assimilating the Coluans to be his army. The LOSH finale is how WhamEpisode is done. We get an EarnYourHappyEnding, though, when 5 is able to drive 1 out during a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, and Superman X can go home right and the restoration of the time-stream brings the third Triplicate Girl back.

** The [[WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieCandaceAgainstTheUniverse second movie]] is also this, though to a lesser extent than its prequel. The plot involves Candace actually breaking down due to her failures in busting her brothers to the point she decides to stay on a planet of aliens who abducted her for being the chosen one, [[spoiler:unaware she's really helping a tyrannical ruler]]. It's also where Phineas becomes genuinely depressed and heartbroken [spoiler:when Candace cuts him and Ferb out of her life, due to thinking they were causing her misery back on Earth]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' was pretty dark and edgy from the first episode, but it was definitely darker and edgier than the show that was pitched to Disney as a goofy, knockabout comedy. Michael Reaves and Brynne Chandler Reaves (who had worked on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'') were hired to write the first season, and took the whole package in a MUCH different direction.

* ''WesternAnimation/Gargoyles'' was pretty dark and edgy from the first episode, but it was definitely darker and edgier than the show that was pitched to Disney as a goofy, knockabout comedy. Michael Reaves and Brynne Chandler Reaves (who had worked on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'') were hired to write the first season, and took the whole package in a MUCH different direction.

* The works of Creator/FleischerStudios (which brought us cartoons such as ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'', ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Superman|TheatricalCartoons}}'') was mostly lighthearted or at most DarkComedy- with the exception of ''Somewhere In Dreamland'' (1936), which takes a surprisingly sad glimpse at growing up in poverty.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' takes this direction in season 2, telling a darker; more personal story than the first season; and many parts of season 1 are retroactively made darker with this one. A textbook example would be the season finale, "True Colors," which aired in prime time and was delayed to have a ContentWarning added about its final scenes for good reason: [[spoiler: Anne's friend Marcy is betrayed and stabbed through the chest on-screen by King Andrias; moments after [[WouldHurtAChild he tried to kill Sprig and Polly.]] TheStinger which sets up Season 3 then shows the king using Marcy's body as a power source; and intends to follow Anne and the Plantars back home with the intent of finishing them off for good.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' AnimatedAdaptation started out fairly light in tone, but the second season features a future laid waste by an evil warlord, the replacement of the young Clark Kent version of Franchise/{{Superman}} with a rather disagreeable clone called Superman X, an utterly destroyed New Metropolis, and the death of one of Triplicate Girl's selves. Dark and edgy enough? No? How about, Superman X says Brainiac 5's going to do something original-Brainiac-level nasty at some point in the future. The other episodes showed similar darker shades such as a murder conspiracy where Timber Wolf was convicted of patricide, the Legion brainwashing Chameleon Boy to infiltrate Imperiex's lair, a child who will be responsible for Imperiex's creation in the future being hunted down for that exact reason, Dream Girl being kidnapped and forced to use her precognitive powers to fight against the Legion by a group of terrorists. Ultimately, Brainiac 1 influences Brainiac 5 with MoreThanMindControl, and Brainy brutally kills Imperiex onscreen, turns on the Legion, puts a crown of Kryptonite on Superman -- not the clone, ''our'' Superman. He begins to digitize the entire universe, basically assimilating the Coluans to be his army. The LOSH finale is how WhamEpisode is done. We get an EarnYourHappyEnding, though, when 5 is able to drive 1 out during a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, and Superman X can go home right and the restoration of the time-stream brings the third Triplicate Girl back.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'':

** The 1985 season, which came complete with a name change. Cyborg joined the Super Powers Team, and the stories got more serious in that season compared to the previous seasons, including the first-ever depiction of Batman's origin story on television. It also gave us the [[spoiler: first ever on-screen depiction of ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman]], well before ''Film/{{Superman IV|TheQuestForPeace}}'' or the creation of Doomsday.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' is [[WordOfGod actively]] promoted [[http://tv.ign.com/articles/118/1181091p1.html as such]], particularly noticeable with the [[{{Catfolk}} ThunderCats]]' enslavement of their {{Lizard|folk} enemies, and other themes of FantasticRacism. Moral ambiguity comes to Thundera, which soon becomes a SoiledCityOnAHill and DoomedHometown with the murder of young Lion-O's father.

* 2010s' WesternAnimation cartoons: Compared to their more comedic, lighthearted past counterparts, these cartoons are darker, with more cartoons covering more mature stories, most of its humor being based [[ComedicSociopathy mostly on violence]], and their characters being [[AdaptationalJerkass arguably malicious]]. ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', while lighter in tone than the [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003 original show]], is a ''textbook'' example, as it has [[RuderAndCruder ruder, more mean-spirited jokes]].

** The [[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooDirectToVideoFilmSeries films]] of the late '90s to the early 2000s were much darker than the previous shows and movies. They were very violent, people actually died, the villains were threatening, most of the monsters were real, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and a few adult jokes were put in]]. By the time ''WesternAnimation/WhatsNewScoobyDoo'' premiered, they became LighterAndSofter.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'': After the movie the show took somewhat of a darker, more serious tone and a handful of darker plots like Optimus Prime rising from the dead, Galvatron being committed to an insane asylum and attempted to lobotomize, or the Autobots facing a horde of vampiric zombie-like robots.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' is easily one of Disney's more mature properties. The show is centered around the paranormal, supernatural happenings surrounding the main characters, its sense of humor is more morbid and taboo, and the amount of NightmareFuel is very prevalent. The show itself gets significantly darker in Season 2 once the [[MythArc myth arc]] begins to kick in, with its GrandFinale featuring [[spoiler: an actual apocalypse on Earth transpiring.]] This goes to the point of being riddled with several [[CerebusRetcon cerebus retcons]] of previous jokes and quirks of certain characters. The second season is also significantly more liberal with the imagery: we went from spooky monsters and a nosebleed from the first season, to ungodly amounts of BodyHorror and a scene where dozens of mounted animals ooze copious amounts of blood while chanting "ancient sins." Intense stuff for a Y7 show.

* ''WesternAnimation/IronManTheAnimatedSeries'' saw the show get darker is Season 2, with more serious plots; darker colors; and Tony gaining more of the manipulative, secret-keeping, self-destructive personality traits he had in the comics.

* Warner Brothers attempted to make the classic ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' characters Darker and Edgier in the 2005 series ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed'', only to result in a backlsh against the idea, and an overhaul resulting in a [[{{Animesque}} strangely drawn cartoon]] that was an odd mixture of classic Looney Tunes, Anime and superhero shows that received mixed opinions from fans. A {{retool}} for the second season attempted to add more references to the original WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes, with mixed results.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' may have accomplished beating the aforementioned ''Gravity Falls'' on this, being one of, if not '''the''' darkest Disney show ever released. The first season of the show, though loaded with horror elements, is mainly episodic, and any traumatic experiences that the kids go through are PlayedForLaughs, and get brushed off by them by the next episode. The show, however, gets steadily darker, even by the time of season 1B, with the reveals of [[WeUsedToBeFriends broken friendships,]] AbusiveParents, and sibling treachery. In season 2A, the main protagonist's GuiltComplex plays a critical role in the first episode of the season and the mid-season finale, the deuteragonist and her sister and the main protagonist's LoveInterest and [[spoiler:later girlfriend]] have visible parental issues brought to the forefront. But things really take a darker turn in season 2B once it is revealed that [[spoiler:the main protagonist's father died before the series and especially so once it's revealed that the Big Bad's plan entails full-on '''[[FinalSolution genocide]]''', which is shown in the season finale, and that he's been cloning his supposed nephew repeatedly and has killed each one so far, and is implied to have murdered his brother for falling in love with a member of the local MageSpecies]] By the time of season 3, [[spoiler:the events of the previous season have left the protagonist in a depressive state implied to be bordering on suicidal ideation, and the BigBad ends up [[DemonicPossession possessing and nearly killing his aforementioned nephew again in one of the show's most horrifying scenes.]]]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids And this is supposed to be a Disney show!]]
* Despite still being fairly preschooler-friendly, ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'' has gotten quite a bit more violent and dangerous in its later seasons. One example includes the debut of [[KnightOfCerebus The Copycat]], which has [[spoiler: the Copycat leave Mayor Humdinger ([[ItMakesSenseInContext dressed in a goofy sidekick costume]]) and the Kitten Catastrophe Crew stranded on a building that was about to collapse, which would have very well killed them had the PAW Patrol pups not gotten their new powers and saved them in time.]]
* Despite being funny and preschooler-friendly, ''WesternAnimation/PJMasks'' started introducing more serious and slightly darker plots in Season 4 onwards. One example includes the PJ Masks forcing to team up with Luna Girl to stop Romeo using their stolen crystals [[spoiler: to drain the PJ Masks powers and memories, destroy their own bases, or else he rapidly clones his flying factories and uses them to destroy the entire globe!]]

** To a lesser extent, the fourth season as a whole, while still overall remaining optimistic and upbeat, seems to be more liberal when it comes to using BlackComedy, and the stories of some episodes may count too, in particular Phineas' controversial snapping in [[WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbMissionMarvel "Mission Marvel"]].

* 2010s' WesternAnimation cartoons: Compared to their more comedic, lighthearted past counterparts, these cartoons are darker, with more cartoons covering more mature stories, most of its humor being based [[ComedicSociopathy mostly on violence]], and their characters being [[AdaptationalJerkass arguably malicious]]. ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', while lighter in tone than the [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans original show]], is a ''textbook'' example, as it has [[RuderAndCruder ruder, more mean-spirited jokes]].
** Action cartoons in general tend to be this, as even some of the lighter ones can have their heavy moments. They also underwent something of an AudienceShift starting in the [=2010s=] and continuing into the [=2020s=], with many being geared towards older viewers and having more violent content and mature themes, something extremely rare in past decades. In some cases, [[GrowingWithTheAudience shows that were once aimed at children are now aimed at adults]] (''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' and ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' being prime examples). This is thanks in part to the rise in streaming services, where most action cartoons have migrated. Though it should be noted that even some action cartoons geared towards younger viewers in this era can be a bit heavier in tone (i.e. ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'', ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', the various Star Wars cartoons).

** ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' manages to be this and DenserAndWackier simultaneously. Season 1 took fairly realistic, lighthearted SliceOfLife plots and contrasted them with the surreal, wacky world of the show. From Season 2 onwards, however, the humor got much darker, [[{{demographically inappropriate humour}} raunchier]], and less subdued, Gumball TookALevelInJerkass, the plots started to become dark deconstructions of common sitcom tropes, and from Season 3 onwards the show introduced an actual story arc involving a genuinely dangerous villain and [[spoiler: the idea that the universe itself is sentient and controlling the world.]] At the same time, it also [[GrowingTheBeard became much funnier as a result]], and it never takes itself ''quite'' as seriously in the same way that the darker episodes of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' or even ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' do.

** And now with the LighterAndSofter ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' finished up, Cartoon Network is launching ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman''. WordOfGod is the network deliberately wanted to return to a darker and more serious tone evocative of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and the more recent Creator/ChristopherNolan [[Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy movies]]. ComicBook/{{Katana}} has taken the place of ComicBook/{{Robin}} and Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}, which should probably tell you something about the tone.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' itself saw this after the end of Season 1, which featured [[spoiler: the death of Optimus Primal]]. The first, episodic, often very campy season stands in contrast to the more mature, more serious later seasons. AnyoneCanDie also goes into full effect, though [[spoiler: naturally, Optimus does get resurrected into a new toy, er, body]]. Its sequel ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' [[FromBadtoWorse continues raising the already dire stakes from the previous series]] by busting right out of the gate with planetary genocide... and it still manages to degenerate from there.

* The works of Creator/{{Fleischer Studios}} (which brought us cartoons such as ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'', ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Superman|TheatricalCartoons}}'') was mostly lighthearted or at most DarkComedy- with the exception of ''Somewhere In Dreamland'' (1936), which takes a surprisingly sad glimpse at growing up in poverty.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':

* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' is [[WordOfGod actively]] promoted [[http://tv.ign.com/articles/118/1181091p1.html as such]], particularly noticeable with the [[{{Catfolk}} ThunderCats]]' enslavement of their [[{{Lizardfolk}} Lizard]] enemies, and other themes of FantasticRacism. Moral ambiguity comes to Thundera, which soon becomes a SoiledCityOnAHill and DoomedHometown with the murder of young Lion-O's father.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' seems to be trying to be DarkerAndEdgier than earlier DC cartoons such as ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', by having a lot more melodrama.

[[caption-width-right:280:[[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants "Where do the years go?"]]]]

* 2010s' WesternAnimation cartoons: Compared to their more comedic, lighthearted past counterparts, these cartoons are darker, with more cartoons covering more mature stories, most of its humor being based [[ComedicSociopathy mostly on violence]], and their characters being [[AdaptationalJerkass arguably malicious]]. ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', wild lighter in tone than the [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans original show]], is a ''textbook'' example, as it has [[RuderAndCruder ruder, more mean-spirited jokes]].

** ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' was an early indication of some of the things the series would do in later years. To elucidate, there's a higher body count than the first three seasons combined (As it involves a war), Kyle's mom is a genuine, no-nonsense BigBad and the global scale war and TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt was treated dead seriously, although some of the events that kick-start it, like rampant cussing and the bombing of the Baldwins, is pretty hilarious.

* 2010s' WesternAnimation cartoons: Compared to their more comedic, lighthearted past counterparts, these cartoons are darker, with more cartoons covering more mature stories, most of its humor being based [[ComedicSociopathy mostly on violence]], and their characters being [[AdaptationalJerkass arguably malicious]]. ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', wild lighter in tone than the [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans original show]], is a ''textbook'' example, as it has [[RuderAndCruder ruder, more meaner spirited jokes]].

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' is easily one of Disney's more mature properties. The show is centered around the paranormal, supernatural happenings surrounding the main characters, its sense of humor is more morbid and taboo, and the amount of NightmareFuel is very prevalent.
** The show itself gets significantly darker in Season 2 once the [[MythArc myth arc]] begins to kick in, with its GrandFinale featuring [[spoiler: an actual apocalypse on Earth transpiring.]] This goes to the point of being riddled with several [[CerebusRetcon cerebus retcons]] of previous jokes and quirks of certain characters. That's right, Season 2 is so dark and edgy that it makes the first season darker and edgier.

* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' AnimatedAdaptation started out fairly light in tone, but the second season features a future laid waste by an evil warlord, the replacement of the young Clark Kent version of {{Superman}} with a rather disagreeable clone called Superman X, an utterly destroyed New Metropolis, and the death of one of Triplicate Girl's selves. Dark and edgy enough? No? How about, Superman X says Brainiac 5's going to do something original-Brainiac-level nasty at some point in the future. The other episodes showed similar darker shades such as a murder conspiracy where Timber Wolf was convicted of patricide, the Legion brainwashing Chameleon Boy to infiltrate Imperiex's lair, a child who will be responsible for Imperiex's creation in the future being hunted down for that exact reason, Dream Girl being kidnapped and forced to use her precognitive powers to fight against the Legion by a group of terrorists. Ultimately, Brainiac 1 influences Brainiac 5 with MoreThanMindControl, and Brainy brutally kills Imperiex onscreen, turns on the Legion, puts a crown of Kryptonite on Superman -- not the clone, ''our'' Superman. He begins to digitize the entire universe, basically assimilating the Coluans to be his army. The LOSH finale is how WhamEpisode is done. We get an EarnYourHappyEnding, though, when 5 is able to drive 1 out during a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, and Superman X can go home right and the restoration of the time-stream brings the third Triplicate Girl back.

* ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' was a pleasant surprise when it first hit TV. It had the death of one of the main characters in the first episode, dealt with prejudice and interpersonal conflicts virtually unknown in a Saturday morning cartoon, portrayed bad futures, and took a more adult approach that treated viewers as mature.

* The ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' series went in this direction during the mid 1940's. The Disney-esque musical cartoons were all but abandoned, the jokes became meaner and more cynical, etc. "Fresh Airedale", "Each Dawn I Crow", "Long-Haired Hare", "Knights Must Fall", "Chow Hound", and "Hare Raising Hare" are among the darkest cartoons Warner Brothers ever produced. Around 1952, this toned down slightly, and there were more fluctuations between DarkerAndEdgier and LighterAndSofter (although 1964's "Dumb Patrol" was among the darkest Bugs Bunny cartoons ever made). This also renders quite pointless the general notion that ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' is one of the most cynical adaptions of a classic cartoon franchise.