Cartoons

Historically, most animated works of western, typically American, origin were coliqually referred to as "cartoons" in reference to the comically exaggerated hand-drawn art style of early ones, similar to that of newspaper cartoons, though both trends continue to this day. It specifically refers to animated works that fit the above description and are primarily made for comedic purposes, with large amounts of jokes, visual gags, and physical comedy, often in the form of slapstick, silly sound effects, exaggerated animation styles often utilizing gratuitous amounts of squash-and-stretch, comedic characters, often anthropomorphic animals, and humorous, exaggerated plots, mostly involving things that would be impossible in real life, such as death-defying situations. While primarily made to appeal to children, they can be enjoyed by anyone, and many include small jokes or visual gags targeted towards more mature audiences. (Modern Examples: SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents!, and The Amazing World of Gumball)

Such is why this page is separate from the main animation page on this wiki, which is more generalized, including content made for more mature audiences.