Okay so in my past posts I've alluded to this but I wanted to make the full post on the subject here. Over the past decade more and more reboots and sequels have invaded the entertainment industry to the point where many people viewing them with disgust. The biggest sinners are definitely Hollywood's focus on live action reboots but this has trickled down into the animation industry too. Which wasn't really the most unwarranted feeling as shows like Teen Titans Go and PowerPuff Girls 2016 ran rampant across the mid to early 2010's; which whether you liked them or not can deny that the shows did garner a lot of hate and negativity towards them and shows connected to them in the years to come. And unfortunately this stigma seems to be sticking as despite all of the massive progress we've made in children's media over the past 10 years alone I think that we've also grown this popular stigma that modern cartoons from the (2010-2020) are "bad" and that we've peaked. So to combat this I've decided to combat these points and show off why I think the 2010's have been one of the best decades of animation.
Note
Okay so before we tackle this topic I want to make myself very clear. I am not dealing in absolutes here, since what I'm saying is my own opinion and this was not meant to insult or demean anyone since this whole argument in of itself really shouldn't be taken that seriously in the first place. All I'm doing is tackling the great strengths of this era and I'm not trying to demean any other era since at the end of day we wouldn't have this without what came before. And even then I still have my own strong nostalgic opinion (like how the dcau is peak dc animation).
Diversity
Over the years people have hated how a lot of shows have "diversified"casts through different skin tones, body types and the inclusion of lgbt characters for "woke" points. As a straight black man I don't particularly have the best headspace on this but let me say here that I overall heavily disagree with this statement.
The world is changing and the representation of different cultures in the media is important but I do think that the best way to show off said representation is to acknowledge it is a fact of life through normalization. As long as the show never tries to make that big of a deal out of someone's race or sexuality (unless the story permits it) because it is the normal for those people represented and would often interrupt the flow of a story. There is a clear difference between inclusion and pandering and we really need to learn the difference. Finally this is not supposed to be an iron gate from genuine critique on cartoons since as long as you're fair and aware of your own bias when it comes to certain representation then you're good.
Artstyle
So I heard that a common term used to critique animation is the overuse of the "Calarts" style that has seemingly made every main line cartoon look the same. Which I have problems with for my own reasons. Every era of animation has had it's trends and failures, with hidden or underrated gems coming through. The onset of streaming and representation in media I'd argue this past decade has honestly given us probably the single most diverse period of animation ever. Trollhunters and Miraculous show off the magic 3d animation can have regularly. The amazing world of gumball in particular is iconic now for the use of it's different art styles across realistic backgrounds, 3d and 2d animation. And that versatility just keeps coming with shows like Voltron Ld, Ben 10 Omniverse and so many others. Artstyle in general is completely different from background, characterization and design, a character from Gravity Falls looks a lot different from a Steven Universe character because they have completely different themes and tones with their designs.
Reboots
I'm not going to say that every reboot this decade has been amazing I feel like when it comes to the subject we tend to have some serious tunnel vision on it. Mostly because everyone hates the Powerpuff Girls 2016 but loves Ducktales 2017. Except there is way more than just dealing with that. A good reboot shouldn't divide generations since it often allows people to introduce a franchise to a new generation while at the same time modernizing and adding to it to become something special and divergent. To say that almost all reboots lack originality or quality would be to ignore Carmen Sandiego,Voltron Legendary Defender, Ducktales 2017,ThunderCats 2011, TMNT 2012, My little pony FIP, Mystery Incorporated, and Transformers Prime, Avengers Emh, all reboots within the 2010's that have all been considered the greatest interpretations of their respective franchises ever. And it did that by adding relevance and complexity to age old concepts to create something out there and different. Because they were made by people who were passionate about what came before.
Adult Animation
For you still thinking that kids shows are still playing it safe and our only immature (even with the more serialized and serious stories nowadays like Steven Universe has) than how about the leaps and bounds we've made in today's adult animation? In the early 2000's adult animation either boiled down to underrated gems or long running comedy sitcoms. But in the past 5 years Primal, Castlevania, F is for family, Harley Quinn, Rick and Morty and the Midnight Gospel, are all animations geared for adults with adult subjects that are still fun while adding some serious diversity to an underrated genre. Cartoons aren't just for kids and really shouldn't be.
Web Animation
Something that almost never gets brought up on the topic is how independent creators and smaller studios create profitable franchises like Epithet Erased, Rwby, and Hazbin Hotel in a matter of only a few short years. Hell YouTubers like Emichu, Wolfchyu, Odds1Out and Jaiden Animations are all YouTubers in the past couple of years that made entire careers by doing what they love solo. Rewind that clock to the early 2000's and you'll see the difficulty rise exceptionally and I think we are really taking that for granted.
Epilogue
Overall all I have to say is that western animation in particular hasn't gotten any worse, nor are all of these shows bad. You just need to clear up your eyes and find those shows for yourself.