History SchizoTech / WesternAnimation

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''. The main setting takes place in the future, or possibly only a technologically-advanced alternate present day, but outside of massive cyberpunk megacities you can Vikings and Scotsmen with swords (magic), Prohibition-era gangsters with old guns, Old West towns inhabited by robots... RuleOfCool predominates.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', "Super Science" is apparently a branch of science and engineering large enough that it's offered as a major at NYU. The likes of Doctor Venture, The Monarch, and others are able to use and create technology completely unheard of in the mid-20th to early 21st century that the story and its lore spans from working teleporters, hovering chrysalis-shaped airships, mostly-perfected cloning, {{Lotus Eater Machine}}s, {{Flesh Golem}}s, and the occasional Walking Eye. And this is all alongside actual magic users like Doctor Orpheus, reanimated mummies, aliens, {{Chupacabra}}s, and a vampire population large enough to require specialists in hunting Film/{{Blacula}}s. The general populace of the Earth never gets a remote taste of the crazy nonsense happening to the main cast until J.J. invents the [=jPhone=] and [=jPad=], as most of it is tied up in the arms race between Super Scientists and legally sanctioned Super Villain archnemeses. Come season 7, it's directly stated that the world at large remains in the technological advances of the real 21st century because [[spoiler:the Office of Strategic Intelligence keeps tabs on both Super Scientists and Super Villains and steal any super science technology from them if it poses a threat to the status quo of the world.]]

* This seems to be a theme in the ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' franchise. While most of G1 was clearly set in TheEighties, almost all other continuities follow this trope to a point.
** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'' was especially topsy-turvy -- for example the cars the [[AnthropomorphicShift ponies drive]] can be anywhere from modern to mid 20th century.
** [[Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration5 Generation 5]] of the franchise exaggerates this even further than past generations, by introducing ''modern technology'' from smartphones to computers.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' features a fair amount of this -- swords used against enemies who sometimes fire lasers back, Princess Bubblegum's advanced science and mathematics and the detritus of past cultures like bunkers, cars and tanks next to BMO, a sentient handheld video game. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the AfterTheEnd setting.

* This seems to be a theme in the ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' franchise. While most of G1 was clearly set in TheEighties, almost all other continuities follow this trope to a point. ** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'' was especially topsy-turvy -- for example the cars the [[AnthropomorphicShift ponies drive]] can be anywhere from modern to mid 20th century.
** [[Franchise/MyLittlePonyGenerationFive Generation 5]] of the franchise exaggerates this even further then past generations, by introducing ''modern technology'' from smartphones to computers.

* This seems to be a theme in the ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' franchise. While most of G1 was clearly set in TheEighties, almost all other continuities follow this trope to a point. ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'' was especially topsy-turvy -- for example the cars the [[AnthropomorphicShift ponies drive]] can be anywhere from modern to mid 20th century.

** The Northern Water Tribe's ability to [[MakingASplash Make A Splash]] enables them to live comfortably in [[CityOfCanals Cities Of Canals]] made entirely of ice. Look into Venice sometime for how much hassle that is. They also end up developing waterbending powered submarines by the end of the show.
** The Earth Kingdom's ability to [[DishingOutDirt Dish Out Dirt]] enables them to build, maintain, and supply multiple [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopolis_%28city_type%29 megalopoli]] [[BigApplesauce the size of New York City]] and a capital city the size of a small ''country''. They even have {{Cool Train}}s powered entirely by earthbenders (and eventually develop their own earthbending-powered tanks by the end of the show).
** The extinct Air Nomads' ability to BlowYouAway resulted in ''[[IBelieveICanFly ubiquitous personal flight.]]'' (With hang-gliders, yeah, but it still meant that their homes looked like a cross between Film/CrouchingTigerHiddenDragon and Film/{{Metropolis}}.) It also allowed them to build an ''entire upside-down city hanging from a cliff'' simply because few others can even find the place, let alone actually enter.
** The Fire Nation is the reason why the setting can't be considered pre-industrial, due to [[PlayingWithFire firebenders effectively being]] ''[[FridgeBrilliance living external combustion engines]]'' '''that don't need fuel.''' Tanks, steamships... as long as they can fit people inside to power the machinery, they can make it move. {{Steampunk}} to the core. Additionally, firebenders aren't [[ElementalBaggage dependent on external sources the way the other benders are]]. If [=A:TLA=] had been a RPGMechanicsVerse, there'd be a [[{{Whoring}} word]] for this. In fact, unlike the other countries, a lot of the Fire Nation's more advanced technology (much of it developed by a captive non-bending Earth Kingdom engineer) ''doesn't'' seem to even require bending to operate, having substituted firebenders with more advanced coal-powered engines. Nevertheless, they're still not able to develop a working hot air balloon until near the very end of the war, as lampshaded in the [[WebVideo/AvatarTheAbridgedSeries Abridged Series]] (on a side note, firebending assassin Combustion Man had fully functional [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotz spring-loaded prosthetic limbs]]).

* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': while the settling is quite magical and medieval per se, certain hints of more advanced tech have been seen, like the flotaing castle, which have no sails and could be easily a steam boat, or Cedric's Glider, which although magical, can be seen to posses certain aspect of a primitive glider.And not forget the Wheeled Fishbowl the Queen Emaline uses to assist to Aunt tilly's Wedding...

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' takes place in an early-industrial world with "[[ElementalPowers Element]] [[FullContactMagic Bending]]" -- and a ''lot'' of MundaneUtility. This throws tech development into a tailspin.

* In the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse, ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Batman]]'' series tend to have a film noir style, down to the appearance of cars, guns, etc. However, modern technology exists as well. You're sure you're watching something taking place in the days of the earliest Batman comics, with Tommy guns and classically shaped 1940's cars, until the characters start casually referencing genetic engineering and cybernetic interfaces. Similarly, video cassette and digital recorders exist, but television sets still seem limited to black and white images. This was all done for artistic reasons (giving Batman a somewhat nebulous, noir-themed setting in time) and also to keep network censors from forcing the GCPD and the mooks from [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms using laser guns]] (by apparently sending it so far in the past that lasers would strain even a kid's disbelief)\\\

** The ''film noir'' look continues to be used as modern technology advances. ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheLongHalloween'', which was released in 2021, uses the same old-looking cars, Art Deco architecture, Tommy guns, old-fashioned mobs, and WWI-era biplanes, but later on, Harvey Dent answers a call from his smartphone as he's watching the news from a flat-screen TV in his hospital room.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' mimics modern society via modern conveniences that use [[BambooTechnology animals and stone-and-wood cars and other mechanical devices]], but somehow still has working televisions and telephones which can't possibly function without electricity and radio.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndGuessWho'': The animation is based on the style from the original cartoon, ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou''. But given most of the celebrity guest stars in the show's episodes as well as how pretty much all the characters are seen regularly using electronics like smartphones and tablets, the show itself is obviously set in the 21st-century.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', of course.
** While being set in TheFuture, likes to play with this, giving us "Silent Holographic films" (Where Zoidberg's uncle made his reputation) as opposed to modern talking holographic film. The early films were also in black and white too (since it's far easier to create a monochrome hologram than a colour one)

** And Fry had to reinvent the wheel during that unfortunate Revolt of the Robots. Too bad he couldn't quite remember the necessary shape.

* Gem technology in the past era of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' used to mash [[MedievalStasis medieval-era weaponry]], [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis ancient-looking architecture]] and even [[WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture manual labour]][[note]]although, to their credit, most of their manual laborers had superhuman abilities[[/note]] together with advanced spacefaring technology. And even then, that technology was handled [[ClarkesThirdLaw much like magic]]. This trope is subverted, however, in the current era of Gem history, where technology has advanced all across the board to the point of {{energy weapon}}ry and robots being common, and any ambiguity as to [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane whether Gem society is magical or technological]] being basically absent.

* Gem technology in the past era of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' used to mash [[MedievalStasis medieval-era weaponry]], [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis ancient-looking architecture]] and even [[WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture manual labour]][[note]]although, to their credit, most of their manual laborers had superhuman abilities[[/note]] together with advanced spacefaring technology. And even then, that technology was handled [[ClarkesThirdLaw much like magic]]. This trope is subverted, however, in the current era of Gem history, where technology has advanced all across the board to the point of {{energy weapon}}ry and robots. Any ambiguity that might have existed in the past era as to [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane whether Gem society is magical or technological]] is absent in the current era.

* Gem technology in the past era of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' used to mash [[MedievalStasis medieval-era weaponry]], [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis ancient-looking architecture]] and even [[WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture manual labour]][[note]]although, to their credit, most of their manual laborers had superhuman abilities[[/note]] together with advanced spacefaring technology. And even then, that technology was handled [[ClarkesThirdLaw much like magic]]. This trope is subverted, however, in the current era of Gem history, where technology has advanced all across the board to the point of {{energy weapon}}ry and robots. Any ambiguity that might have existed as to [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane whether Gem society is magical or technological]] is basically no-existent in the current era.