90
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2026
90 points (91.7% liked)
Unpopular Opinion
9439 readers
260 users here now
Welcome to the Unpopular Opinion community!
How voting works:
Vote the opposite of the norm.
If you agree that the opinion is unpopular give it an arrow up. If it's something that's widely accepted, give it an arrow down.
Guidelines:
Tag your post, if possible (not required)
- If your post is a "General" unpopular opinion, start the subject with [GENERAL].
- If it is a Lemmy-specific unpopular opinion, start it with [LEMMY].
Rules:
1. NO POLITICS
Politics is everywhere. Let's make this about [general] and [lemmy] - specific topics, and keep politics out of it.
2. Be civil.
Disagreements happen, but that doesn’t provide the right to personally attack others. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Please also refrain from gatekeeping others' opinions.
3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.
Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.
4. Shitposts and memes are allowed but...
Only until they prove to be a problem. They can and will be removed at moderator discretion.
5. No trolling.
This shouldn't need an explanation. If your post or comment is made just to get a rise with no real value, it will be removed. You do this too often, you will get a vacation to touch grass, away from this community for 1 or more days. Repeat offenses will result in a perma-ban.
6. Defend your opinion
This is a bit of a mix of rules 4 and 5 to help foster higher quality posts. You are expected to defend your unpopular opinion in the post body. We don't expect a whole manifesto (please, no manifestos), but you should at least provide some details as to why you hold the position you do.
Instance-wide rules always apply. https://legal.lemmy.world/tos/
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
I think it depends on the topic being animated. It needs to be for satire, caricature, or humor.
Anime horror is not a cartoon.
"Cartoon" is a synonym for "animation."
Incorrect.
Most animation is for humor, so people mislabel all animation as a cartoon.
Is A Scanner Darkly a cartoon? No.
A Scanner Darkly isn't even straight animation. It's rotoscoped. But yes, it is technically a cartoon.
The "technically a cartoon" part is what is being debated.
"Animated design" is the definition in other languages (particularly in french, by its inventor). Yes a cartoon is an animated design, but not all animated designs are cartoons.
Let's make it simple. Is a moving technical blueprint of a car engine a cartoon?
Promise kids an afternoon of cartoons and show them Mazda MX5 engines and you'll have a riot.
Tell an motor engineer that their CAD presentation is a cartoon and they will kick you out the meeting.
No. Not all Animated Designs are cartoons.
How the fuck is anime horror not a cartoon? It's the same type of media, that being drawn animation.
Because for a cartoon the topic needs to be satire, caricature, or humor.
Finish reading that sentence:
All anime is cartoon.
A scanner darkly relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation, but it is not a cartoon.
Every frame of Loving Vincent is an oil painting and would not be considered a cartoon.
Waltz with Bashir would not be called a cartoon even though the drawn style matches popular cartoons.
A counterexample of your final claim. Grave of the Fireflies is an anime about children during World War II. It is not a cartoon.
"Cartoon" isn't a genre, it's a technique. All of the films you've listed are cartoons. Because, by definition, they're a series of illustrations. Animation = cartoon = anime.
How you feel about the subject matter is irrelevant.
None of the films listed are cartoons, because none are satire, caricature, or created for humor.
I agree my feelings are irrelevant. I'm quoting Wikipedia
You really ought to read the links you post
Yes, Cartoons rely on a sequence of illustrations for their animation.
No, not all motion picture that rely on a sequence of illustrations for its animation are cartoons.
The semi-colon indicates a related thought. The or after the semi-colon indicates it is a discrete element. Either part of the sentence is correct, just not complete. So yes, given that English is not static, a motion picture created with a sequence of illustrations is a cartoon, as per Wikipedia. The topic of the animation is not relevant to that part of the statement.
The creators of Loving Vincent would be offended at their work being called a cartoon.
It certainly isn't described as a cartoon. Take a look at the wiki describingLoving Vincent.
This counter example is sufficient to prove my point.
You seem very firm on the idea of cartoon not meaning animated video. I don't think any one person or group is in charge of what words mean in English, but I'm certain it isn't you, or the makers of Loving Vincent, for that matter. Even the Wikipedia article you referenced doesn't agree with you, which I can only assume you accept since you're now going with the stance of "Cartoons can't be fine art. This is fine art, so it can't be a cartoon." I reject both elements of that statement.
Ultimately, your whole argument has been a series of appeals to authority, but merely as a defense of your opinion since you will change authorities if they don't agree with you. This makes you the authority in your appeal to authority. I'm not a child and you're not my parent. You also aren't my boss. Why do you think your authority, a random stranger on the internet, would matter to me, another random stranger on the internet?
All that said, this is your opinion, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, even when they're wrong. Just don't expect everyone else to agree with it.
It shows cartoons are satire, caricature, or humor, and can be animated.
Animated images that are not satire, caricature, or humor, are not cartoons.
Moving from fine art to engineering. A gif of how an engine functions is not a cartoon. Not all animated images are cartoons.
No. My argument is proof by counter example. I give many examples where moving images are not cartoons. My other approach is linguistic. In many languages the phrase is animated design, and the cartoon reference stems from the funny pages of a newspaper.
The American "cartoon" banket usage is down to the low cultural impact of foreign media and overdisneyfication.
Okay, you're reading comprehension is failing. I'm not even getting into that. I'm sorry that you don't grasp how commas, semi-colons, and the word or work in a sentence.
Now, who says those things aren't cartoons? You? Everyone? People who don't speak English as a first language and therefore imply nuance that native speakers don't? And right or wrong, there are a number of dialects in the English language. Does a flat refer to a tire or a place people live? Which definition is wrong? Is it possible the answer is neither?
What does the word gay, or coke, mean? Is that today's definition? How about 100 years ago? 200 years ago? Do you think the definition for the word cartoon can't or hasn't changed? Why do you think your opinion on that has any bearing on the fact of it?
Engineers, film makers, critics
Yes
Well, obviously not you.
Correct. Particularly the French inventors of the medium. There they are animated designs.
Calling all sparking wine champagne isn't wrong. It just makes you sound like an idiot.
The problem is that you are wanting to refer to all LGBTQ+ people as gay and all soft drinks as coke.
I don't disagree that it has expanded from print to film. The problem is that it hasn't expanded as far as you think.
Ditto.
However, I have reinforced my opinion with links and counter arguments. So far your bluster is only hot air.
Go on. Show me the winners of the "Oscar for best Cartoon".
That's their problem?
Well, it shows that the word cartoon is not commonly applied to all animated films.
Let me give another analogy.
Many comics are graphic novels, but not all graphic novels are comics.
all donkeys are equines but not all equines are donkeys
Gotcha, so you’re just content in your bubble. I've already shown you that's not the whole sentence, and the very wiki article you've linked refutes what you’re saying.
Go enjoy your cartoons.
This debate doesn't exist in French. It is the Americanization of the word that is incorrect.
Je ne savais pas que cette discussion était en français ou à propos de la France.
Le premier dessin animé était français. C'est pertinent, non? Nous ne discutons pas de Dessin Satirique ou Caricature.
Non.