History ValuesDissonance / WesternAnimation

* UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation has a lot of cartoons that have scenes that are nowadays considered racially offensive: black Africans with huge red lips [[DarkestAfrica putting people in cauldrons and being obsessed with tribal gods]]; Japanese soldiers being [[AsianBuckTeeth buck-toothed]] and squinty-eyed; black Americans being lazy and obsessed with dice games, chickens and watermelons; Native Americans wanting to kill all white people and speak in TontoTalk; Arabs talking [[ArabBeobleTalk gibberish]] and wanting to plant daggers in unsuspecting people, Hispanics being [[LazyMexican lazy and slow]], etc. It doesn't help that due to the nature of these types of cartoons being way too over the top that their features are often exaggerated, thus being very close to racist caricatures from propaganda material. There are jokes where characters suddenly resemble a BlackfaceStyleCaricature after an explosion, even with bloated lips to complete the visual reference. Apart from that, many scenes involve violence with guns, bombs and explosions that in adult eyes look far more disturbing than to a child. There are also scenes where children are spanked, characters freely smoke and drink, people resort to SuicideAsComedy, women shown as objects of lust to horny men (often depicted as wolves) and characters pray before they are about to fall or die.[[note]]Most children's media tries to refrain from talking about religious topics, so this often looks weird nowadays.[[/note]]

** The Creator/{{Disney}} WartimeCartoon UsefulNotes/{{DVD}} collection has [[UsefulNotes/UserOperationProhibitFlag unskippable, un-fast-forwardable]] intros by Creator/LeonardMaltin, with the same message before each of "times were different then but we know better now." Thus the dissonance is acknowledged in a meaningful way.

* The 1980s ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' cartoons, and to a lesser degree the 1990s DirectToVideo features, had the Chipettes dress in [[AgeInappropriateDress risqué clothes]] despite being children (certain episodes imply they're as young as 8): BellyDancer clothing, short shirts, Burlesque dresses, etc. That wouldn't fly with audiences anymore even if they were only intended to be fashionable or cute, and they're dressed up more in ''WesternAnimation/AlvinnnAndTheChipmunks''. There's also some scenes of them taking a bath in a ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' parody episode that wouldn't exist in 21st century cartoons. The [[Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks films]] got away with nude Chipettes because they're chipmunk sized and look like chipmunks. In the 1980s cartoon they looked like girls with chipmunk noses because [[FurIsSkin their fur was skin toned]] and they were human sized.

* After two generations of increasingly extreme paranoia over the sexual exploitation of children, the song "If You Sit On My Lap Today" from the classic 1970 ChristmasSpecial ''WesternAnimation/SantaClausIsCominToTown'' comes across as far more disturbing nowadays than it did when it was released. It's actually not unheard of for the idea of aspects of the Santa Claus myth [[AccidentalPervert coming across unfortunately]] to be played for comedy, for example: The song ''Things are Looking Bad for Santa'' by Music/TheArrogantWorms. It wasn't until 2020, when the song was restored for the Creator/{{Freeform}} airing for it's "25 Days Of Christmas" (which also restored the Peppermint Mine scene for ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'' since 2019).

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Rugrats}}'':

** In one episode, Angelica goes to preschool, and her teacher sends her home with a note pinned to her clothes for her parents to read. This practice wasn't ''unheard'' of in TheNineties, but it would ''not'' have been done after since most schools and daycares would require the parents give contact information (Such as work and home numbers), not trust a troublemaking kid with a pin ''or'' to not "lose" the note.

** Part of the reason for Sheldon's negative CharacterPerceptionEvolution is that him being a StalkerWithACrush, which was viewed much more as harmless (if exaggerated) pining in 2002, as opposed to nowadays where awareness of [[EntitledToHaveYou male entitlement]], especially in nerd culture, makes how uncomfortable he makes Jenny harder to ignore.
** Jenny has a habit of "disciplining" bratty children by ''[[DisproportionateRetribution using her weapons on them]]'', such as chasing Tuck with laser beams for CryingWolf, or smacking ''kindergartners with a ball at full super-strong force, [[FelonyMisdemeanor just because they kept teasing her]]''. [[RuleOfFunny Harmless slapstick]] back in 2002, but nowadays would be seen as making light of child abuse, which isn't taboo per se, but is seen as jarring ComedicSociopathy, better fitting an AnimatedShockComedy.
** A running gag involves Dr. Wakeman continually referring to Jenny by her model name, XJ-9, with Jenny always correcting her ("I changed my name to JENNY! Remember?"). In 2002, it was just a funny gag, but nowadays, it could be interpreted by some people as a parent frequently deadnaming his/her transgender child.

* The ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig'' episode "Mr Skinnylegs" was banned in Australia. The [[AnAesop moral]] of the episode was that spiders aren't to be feared. While an Aesop like that works well in the show's native UK (where all native species are virtually harmless) and in America (where, outside of a few types like the brown recluse and the black widow, spiders are mostly harmless and beneficial), it doesn't at all in Australia, as that continent [[UsefulNotes/AustralianWildlife is home to the deadliest spiders in the world]], with spider bites that can kill or severely injure people.

** While never really made for children in the first place, many of the old pre-Hays Code cartoons have a lot of sexually suggestive scenes with Betty's dress or bra accidentally falling down - without showing anything naked - or males lusting after her. Nowadays most people wouldn't feel comfortable showing this to young children, especially not young girls.

* UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation has a lot of cartoons that have scenes that are nowadays considered racially offensive: black Africans with huge red lips putting people in cauldrons and being obsessed with tribal gods; Japanese soldiers being buck-toothed and squinty-eyed; black Americans being lazy and obsessed with dice games, chickens and watermelons; Native Americans wanting to kill all white people and speak in TontoTalk; Arabs talking gibberish and wanting to plant daggers in unsuspecting people, Hispanics being lazy and slow, etc. It doesn't help that due to the nature of these types of cartoons being way too over the top that their features are often exaggerated, thus being very close to racist caricatures from propaganda material. There are jokes where characters suddenly resemble a BlackfaceStyleCaricature after an explosion, even with bloated lips to complete the visual reference. Apart from that, many scenes involve violence with guns, bombs and explosions that in adult eyes look far more disturbing than to a child. There are also scenes where children are spanked, characters freely smoke and drink, people resort to SuicideAsComedy, women shown as objects of lust to horny men (often depicted as wolves) and characters pray before they are about to fall or die.[[note]]Most children's media tries to refrain from talking about religious topics, so this often looks weird nowadays.[[/note]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' deliberately sets out to be as shocking as possible, but there's usually an undercurrent of acceptance towards non-whites, homosexuals and the disabled presented in a way that doesn't come across as too in-your-face. There are two examples of the show aging badly in these regards though.

** The episode "Dangers in the Deep Freeze" depicts Inuits as ignorant to modern technology, believing the villains cellphone to be a form of black magic. Needless to say this would never be allowed now.

** The series' violence level has been hit with this. It was rather bloody for its rating even when it came out, but ratings have gotten stricter over the years. The [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016 2016 reboot]] goes for the same TV-Y7 rating as the original but it had to censor the fighting. The original show would have likely been rated TV-PG in the 2000s and 2010s.

* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'', one of the most popular cartoons of [[TheNineties the late 1990s]] and [[TheNoughties the 2000s]], became somewhat controversial throughout TheNewTens, due to its premise of playing the misadventures of a girl-crazy egomaniac for laughs, in the wake of more awareness of sexual harassment. Thankfully, it's helped quite a bit as Johnny's [[CasanovaWannabe "playboy"]] character usually results in him [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption getting beaten up by those he tries to seduce or otherwise humiliated for trying to seduce women who aren't interested in him]] and he's typically depicted as a loser who can't get a woman to save his life and still lives with his mother, making it nestle quite comfortably into a StealthParody by today's standards.

** The protagonists frequently use "fag" and "retard" as insults. While Cartman or equally unsympathetic characters can get away with using it due to context, it's not quite so justifiable for Stan and Kyle, who are typically shown to be the voice of reason. Telling is how both insults were phased out over the course of the 2010s.

*** In "Malled", Daria and Jane hitch a ride home with the Fashion Club (Who are ditching class). Within only a matter of years, this action would land the school in some pretty ''deep'' legal trouble
** Multiple times, it's implied that students ditch class. Within a few years, it became much ''much'' harder to actually get away with this as even high schools would usually send calls directly to parents' workplaces and cell phones if a student was not present for class and had no exucse.

%%** Angelica was considered just a bratty antagonist in the 90s when the show first aired. However, as greater awareness of the effects of childhood bullying have surfaced over the years, it's startling how harsh she can be towards the babies - especially in Season 1 before her HiddenDepths were revealed (she was originally conceived as a KarmaHoudini to teach kids that sometimes life isn't fair, but the creators loathed how mean she was and were compelled to soften her as a character). Notably in the ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' spin-off, her teenage self is shown as more hopelessly self-centered and superficial as opposed to outright mean.
%%** A minor example in Season 1 - where Didi is embarrassed to admit she's afraid of clowns. The MonsterClown trope hadn't really taken off in the early 90s yet (aside from a few forerunners like the Joker and Stephen King's ''{{Literature/It}}''). Over the years, however, it's become quite popular to portray a clown as the villain (see ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'''s "Laughing in the Dark" episode, where another character is embarrassed by her coulrophobia). Awareness of the UncannyValley has also made fear of clowns more plausible and socially acceptable.
%%** There’s also an InUniverse example: Dr. Werner P. Lipschitz (if you don't get the joke, try saying his name out loud) is often shilled by many well-meaning parents, including Didi and Chas, as the world’s greatest child psychologist. But the narrative establishes that he [[KnowNothingKnowItAll knows nothing about child rearing (despite his delusions to the contrary)]] - and some of his methods look downright irresponsible to parents who know better like Stu and Betty.
** Although the reboot still features Tommy and his friends escaping their playpen and the like, these days you could never get away with episodes like "Ruthless Tommy" where he's kidnapped or "Special Delivery" where Tommy is almost killed in a post office, let alone have them PlayedForLaughs.
** "Weaning Tommy" has Stu and Didi close the door on Tommy, as they leave him to cry himself to sleep. This was already a controversial parenting tactic when the episode aired.
** "A Visit From Lipschitz" has Didi leave the titular doctor all alone in her home to his own devices while she leaves to reprimand Stu and the guys for ditching him for a baseball game[[note]]She is completely unaware that they didn't take Tommy or Chuckie with them.[[/note]]. This has her unknowingly leave two babies home alone with a complete stranger, only known for his prestige and fame; not helping that he unknowingly strips naked in front of them to take a bubble bath. Ignoring that Dr. Lipschitz is a celebrity, the idea of leaving a complete stranger alone in your house could never be PlayedForLaughs now.

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'':
** The show frequently depicted Sam Manson, the shows PerkyGoth female lead, as unattractive (or at the very least undesirable to the guys around her) due to her manner of dress. One episode even featured her needing to dress up in bright, pink, preppy clothes to get Danny to pay attention to her when she had been erased from his memory. While this made sense back when she show was airing, nowadays, the idea that teenage boys would find a goth girl, especially a PerkyGoth, unattractive is questionable, if not laughable.
** In one episiode, Danny taunts Jazz by chanting "Jazz is spazz," repeatedly. In the US, "spazz" is a childish insult that doesn;t really mean anything, but in the UK it's seen as a slur for people with mental disabilities.

** ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' had an episode where Plucky, Buster, and Hampton appear to drink an alcoholic beverage called "One Beer" ([[TitleDrop which was also the name of the episode]]). Even though it was supposed to send a message about the dangers of abusing alcoholic beverages, it would have a hard time getting broadcast these days. In fact, it was even banned by the early 1990s when it was done.[[note]]Interestingly, this is ''exactly'' what the creators wanted. The episode was created in protest to the higher-ups wanting the showrunners to shoehorn morals into their episodes. The moral of "alcohol is bad" was poorly implemented on purpose just so the executives would ask them to never try and implement morals in the show again, and it ''worked''.[[/note]]