History Main / AnimationAgeGhetto

** This is probably the reason ''Anime/RingingBell'' is rather unknown in the West. It looks like a sweet and cute movie about a [[SweetSheep baby lamb]]... however, it's only like that for the first 7 minutes or so. It's a Japanese precursor to the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequel trilogy about revenge and lust for power. It doesn't help it was made in The70s as well as the fact that it was based on an equally-dark storybook written by none other than the [[Creator/TakashiYanase creator]] of ''Literature/{{Anpanman}}''.
** ''Manga/SpaceAdventureCobra'': In Puerto Rico, a Sunday Morning Kid's show aired four episodes of the Anime series, even though it features skimpy outfits, suggestive scenes and dialogue and people getting holes punched through them by Psychogun blasts. In every episode. Note: This isn't ValuesDissonance; it was yanked off the air a month later without any public explanation once they realized what they'd done.
** A poster on the IMDB forums relayed [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170208210735/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108461/board/thread/99803695 a tale]] about a clueless mom who rented ''Urotsukidoji'' (also known as ''The Legend of the Overfiend'') for her small kids. You'd almost think PopculturalOsmosis about its {{Hentai}} content would have protected it from this kind of bullshit by now.
** [[http://hollywoodandfine.com/the-wind-rises-hot-air-from-miyazaki/ This controversial review]] of ''Anime/TheWindRises'' seems to display this attitude, among other things wondering "how [Jiro Horikoshi's] family feels about having him immortalized with a biopic that's a cartoon", implying that there's something inherently inappropriate about touching on serious matters in animated films.
** In-universe example in ''Manga/TheWorldOfNarue''. Kazuto's mother complains to him when he shows his girlfriend a magical girl anime series because, according to her, "cartoons are for kids". If you've seen the sort of Seinen magical series that the show is mocking, you'd disagree.

These days, the ghetto is not as strong as it used to be (though it is far from being a DiscreditedTrope, as the ghetto is still plenty strong, especially in the film industry). It began to break in The90s with cartoons beginning to tackle darker themes (''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'') and more mature humor (''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'', ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow''). As Japanese {{anime}} began to gain a foothold in North America, American animation shows such as ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' really started leaning into mature humor, though some of these shows' reliance on VulgarHumor has led to a new misconception, arguably a ghetto of its own, that ''all'' animation made for adults is an AnimatedShockComedy. Similarly, many people assume that AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles.

These days, the ghetto is not as strong as it used to be. It began to break in The90s with cartoons beginning to tackle darker themes (''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'') and more mature humor (''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'', ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow''). As Japanese {{anime}} began to gain a foothold in North America, American animation shows such as ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' really started leaning into mature humor, though some of these shows' reliance on VulgarHumor has led to a new misconception, arguably a ghetto of its own, that ''all'' animation made for adults is an AnimatedShockComedy. Similarly, many people assume that AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles.

* This trope is OlderThanSteam. During [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance The Renaissance]], artists viewed the flat and stylistic art made during TheMiddleAges as "barbarous" and did not take it as seriously compared to the realistic art of that time period. Raphael denounced medieval art as "gothic" in a 1519 letter to Pope Leo X, which [[TropeCodifier codified]] the usage of the word.[[note]]He was referring to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths the Goths]], a Germanic people blamed for the collapse of [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire The Roman Empire]]. So he blamed the Gothic people for the existence of medieval art. The term "Renaissance" means "rebirth" in [[UsefulNotes/LatinLanguage Latin]], so artists like Raphael wanted to [[GenreThrowback return]] to the realistic art of the [[Usefulnotes/AncientGreece Ancient Greek]] and Roman periods.[[/note]]
** This mindset still exists today because if you want to be taken seriously in art, don't draw heavily stylized art that looks cartoonish ({{Animesque}} or not) because, for some reason, it isn't mature, even if your artwork depicts mature and gritty situations. This is part of the problem that most people assume that [[RatedMForMoney "mature"]] [[TrueArtIsAngsty entertainment is gritty and violent]], and for some, that's ''only'' what they want. Sadly, this mentality has caused a lot of people to feel pigeonholed into drawing ultra-realistic art despite finding stylized stuff more appealing... and how [[UnintentionalUncannyValley weird]] realistic art often looks if it's not done correctly. This is averted by some artists like Takashi Murakami and the "superflat" movement.
*** Should not be confused with people who encourage realistic art as a stepping stone to stylized art. The "know the rules before you break them" type of people.

** This trope is parodied in the episode "Hardly Kirking." Lisa convinces Marge to take the family to a puppet show to take care of Maggie's boredom. Marge chose a puppet show at the Lithuanian Center, assuming it was for kids because it had puppets, only to find out that the show was more violent than they expected due to the fact that it was not intended for children in the first place.

* During the 1950's, the comic book industry was nearly destroyed. A psychiatrist named Fredric Wertham (not entirely a bad guy, mind you, as he spoke out a lot against school segregation) noticed that a lot of the troubled boys he worked with described "reading comic books" as their favorite activity. Failing to take into account that almost every young boy at the time read comic books (and that comics, like regular books, have many different genres and sub-genres), he assumed that the comic books must've been the reason for their bad behavior. He published a book titled "The Seduction of the Innocent" and launched a crusade against comic books. There was even a ''Senate Hearing'' about it. Because of all the bad press, the comic book industry had to adopt MediaNotes/TheComicsCode. Few stores would even sell comics that didn't have the seal. To get the seal, the comic had to adhere to a lot of rules, many similar to MediaNotes/TheHaysCode for movies. The rules were so strict on the basis that comic books were only for children, and the rules made it so that comics had to be pretty kid-friendly to get the seal, and as a result, the publishing of "adult" comics either stopped or went underground because of the Code. The Code is now defunct, as every last comic book company has stopped adhering to it. To his credit, Dr. Wertham didn't actually ''want'' the Comics Code Authority to be created--he just wanted comics to have some sort of rating system.

* Creator/TheCriterionCollection struggled with this trope for years -- owing to Disney and other major animation studios keeping their material to themselves, for many years the only animated feature in the collection was ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', and only on Laserdisc. In TheNew10s the wall finally came down: ''WesternAnimation/FantasticMrFox'', ''Literature/WatershipDown'', and ''WesternAnimation/FantasticPlanet'', several films of Creator/KarelZeman, and ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' (the first Pixar ''and'' first Disney-backed title to receive such licensing) have all become part of the collection. The Criterion Channel streaming service features '''many''' more shorts and features, both family-friendly and not. These have included retrospectives of John and Faith Hubley and Creator/BillPlympton, National Film Board of Canada fare, ''WesternAnimation/KirikouAndTheSorceress'' and its second sequel, ''Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth'', ''WesternAnimation/CharlottesWeb'', ''WesternAnimation/TheKingAndTheMockingbird'', ''WesternAnimation/TheIllusionist2010'', ''WesternAnimation/TheLastUnicorn'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'', and ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven''. In July 2021, a gigantic "Art-House Animation" collection of 32 feature films included some of the above titles plus works by Creator/SatoshiKon, Creator/JanSvankmajer, Creator/MarcellJankovics, and Creator/DonHertzfeldt -- among others.

* Creator/TheCriterionCollection struggled with this trope for years -- owing to Disney and other major animation studios keeping their material to themselves, for many years the only animated feature in the collection was ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', and only on Laserdisc. In TheNew10s the wall finally came down: ''WesternAnimation/FantasticMrFox'', ''Literature/WatershipDown'', and ''Animation/FantasticPlanet'', several films of Creator/KarelZeman, and ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' (the first Pixar ''and'' first Disney-backed title to receive such licensing) have all become part of the collection. The Criterion Channel streaming service features '''many''' more shorts and features, both family-friendly and not. These have included retrospectives of John and Faith Hubley and Creator/BillPlympton, National Film Board of Canada fare, ''WesternAnimation/KirikouAndTheSorceress'' and its second sequel, ''Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth'', ''WesternAnimation/CharlottesWeb'', ''WesternAnimation/TheKingAndTheMockingbird'', ''WesternAnimation/TheIllusionist2010'', ''WesternAnimation/TheLastUnicorn'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'', and ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven''. In July 2021, a gigantic "Art-House Animation" collection of 32 feature films included some of the above titles plus works by Creator/SatoshiKon, Creator/JanSvankmajer, Creator/MarcellJankovics, and Creator/DonHertzfeldt -- among others.

** Even Website/ThisVeryWiki mistook some of Bakshi's works as kids' films due to this phenomenon. At one point, ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'' was cataloged under WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids despite not being one.

** Even creditable sources commonly mistake some of his films, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'', to be kids' films due to this phenomenon.

* A segment on Creator/{{ABC}}'s ''Good Morning America'' on February 24th, 2011 discussed how no animated movie has ever won an Academy Award, on the basis that the Academy thinks that animated movies are always just for kids and only for kids, despite knowing that Oscar-winning actors and actresses have contributed to these films as far back as Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'', which even earned Walt Disney an Honorary Oscar. Despite being largely for kids overall, some films today have more adult themes and issues that kids wouldn't recognize, but the Academy refuses to see things that way.

** Some of his films are confused as kids' films due to this phenomenon, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'', which is commonly mistaken to be one even by credible sources.

** Some of his films are victims of this phenomenon, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'', which is commonly mistaken to be a kids' film even by credible sources.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Primal}}'' was the first show to buck this trend. Not only was it renewed for a second season, but it won five primetime Emmy awards, the first animated drama series ever to do so. Notably, unlike the aforementioned shows, ''Primal'' was never [[ScrewedByTheNetwork sabotaged]] by its network, and on the contrary has been well-promoted and was allowed to completely wrap up its storyline.

* During the 1950's, the comic book industry was nearly destroyed. A psychiatrist named Fredric Wertham (not entirely a bad guy, mind you, as he spoke out a lot against school segregation) noticed that a lot of the troubled boys he worked with described "reading comic books" as their favorite activity. Failing to take into account that almost every young boy at the time read comic books (and that comics, like regular books, have many different genres and sub-genres), he assumed that the comic books must've been the reason for their bad behavior. He published a book titled "The Seduction of the Innocent" and launched a crusade against comic books. There was even a ''Senate Hearing'' about it. Because of all the bad press, the comic book industry had to adopt UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode. Few stores would even sell comics that didn't have the seal. To get the seal, the comic had to adhere to a lot of rules, many similar to UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode for movies. The rules were so strict on the basis that comic books were only for children, and the rules made it so that comics had to be pretty kid-friendly to get the seal, and as a result, the publishing of "adult" comics either stopped or went underground because of the Code. The Code is now defunct, as every last comic book company has stopped adhering to it. To his credit, Dr. Wertham didn't actually ''want'' the Comics Code Authority to be created--he just wanted comics to have some sort of rating system.

** This could be the reason Light Novels took so long to get released in the West. Unlike most regular literature aimed at Teens and Adult, they are primarily based around having freqeunt illustrations. Since most Western illustrated books are predominantly aimed at children, this made light novels umarketable. Also worth mentioning is that the fact that "cartoons are for kids" doesn't apply to their sister mediums [[AllAnimeisNaughtyTentacles anime]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Comic Books]].

* During its infancy, console gaming in general fell victim to the Ghetto. Back when the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was released, with success, there was a clear distinct line between gamers who played on computers (who were the adults) and people who played on the NES (who were the kids). Perhaps this is one of the reasons for Creator/{{Nintendo}} of America's strict guideline policy before the [[UsefulNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingBoard ESRB]] rating system in 1994. The Japanese version of the NES was even called the ''Family'' Computer, and Famicom games generally typically targeted younger, less literate players than games made for Japanese home computers such as the Platform/{{MSX}}.
** Creator/{{Sega}} noticed this trend and used it to their advantage when putting the Platform/SegaGenesis on the shelves in America, by way of the infamous "[[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars Genesis Does What Nintendon't]]" marketing campaign. As a result, Nintendo became labeled as a "kiddy" brand, while Sega would be positioned as the brand for teens and young adults: a stigma that would stick with Nintendo long after Sega left the hardware market, with Sony and Microsoft taking their place as the "adult" consoles.

* This was especially propagated by UsefulNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, when the Japanese gaming market went into decline and West took over the industry. The cost of game development shot through the roof, killing off many Japanese and mid-tier Western developers. Most of the survivors switched over to handheld development and the blossoming mobile gaming scene just to stay afloat. As Japan was the primary market for games with cartoonish art styles (and where most of them were being made), and mid-tier developers were the ones who usually made them in the West, this resulted in far fewer such games being produced. Meanwhile, gritty, realistic Western games became the new norm thanks to the massive success of games like ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'', ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'', ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''. The entire industry wanted a piece of that pie, and the hordes of new gamers brought in by these titles mostly shunned older, more family-friendly series because they weren't what video games were "supposed" to be like. This led to many large Japanese developers "Westernizing" their games in hopes of catching the attention of these new gamers; usually this took the form of making their series [[DarkerAndEdgier darker, more "mature", and more realistic]] (usually in the form of [[BloodierAndGorier increased violence]] and [[RuderAndCruder swearing]]), and, for the most part, only alienated their old fans while failing to bring in new ones.

* This trope is OlderThanSteam. During [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance The Renaissance]], art that was made during TheMiddleAges, which was flat and stylistic, was viewed as “barbarous” and not taken as seriously compared to the realistic art of that time period. [[Creator/RaphaelSanzio Raphael]] denounced medieval art in a 1519 letter to [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope Leo X]], referring to it as “gothic.”[[note]]He was referring to a Germanic people known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths the Goths]], who were blamed for the collapse of [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire The Roman Empire]]. So he blamed the Gothic people for the reason that medieval art existed. The term “Renaissance” meant “rebirth” in [[UsefulNotes/LatinLanguage Latin]], so artists like Raphael wanted to [[GenreThrowback return]] to the realistic art that was made during the [[Usefulnotes/AncientGreece Ancient Greek]] and Roman periods.[[/note]]

** The [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra sequel series]] has been consistently getting high views in older age groups, even managing to beat out some Prime-Time shows in viewership. Despite this, its marketed at a slightly ''lower'' age group than its predecessor.
** Interestingly, part way through season 3, the show was pulled from air, and only made available to watch online. While some feel that this was merely an example of continuing ScrewedByTheNetwork, many others suspect that Nickelodeon was trying to distance the show from its younger-skewing series due to it becoming increasingly dark and violent, as well as the fact that [[spoiler: Korra ends the series in a relationship with another woman,]] something virtually unheard-of in Western animation at the time.

* Creator/{{NBC}}'s streaming service Peacock [[https://www.ksl.com/article/46705725/here-are-the-movies-and-shows-coming-to-peacock classifies]] ''WesternAnimation/FatherOfThePride'' as a children's show. If one were to watch it, they will be recommended shows such as ''WesternAnimation/CuriousGeorge'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/NoddysToylandAdventures Make Way For Noddy]]''. This is despite the fact that this trope was part of the reason it was a Short-Runner: it was promoted as a family show, but actually was made with an adult audience in mind.

There are many sociological theories as to how and why this stereotype originated, but one of the most common theories is that it's a by-product of the rise of animation on television in the '50s and '60s. As cinemas declined in importance, the big theatrical animations of TheGreatDepression and The40s transferred to [=TV=] - but [=TV=] demanded faster production in greater bulk done more quickly. [[note]]The decline in quality of big names like ''Franchise/TomAndJerry'' and ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner'' is directly down to the television companies buying out the rights and forcing lower qualiy production values on the shows[[/note]] With many adults uninterested in the consequent [[LimitedAnimation low quality]] of many of these, and thus only kids being able to tolerate it, as well as television at the time being marketed as a way of keeping kids quiet and the rise of [[MoralGuardians parental groups]] arguing for more government regulation on the content of these programs.

** This trope is parodied in the episode “Hardly Kirking.” Lisa convinces Marge to take the family to a puppet show to take care of Maggie’s boredom, only to find out that the show is more violent than they expected due to the fact that it was not intended for children in the first place.

** Creator/DrSeuss fell into this mindset after the failure of [[BleachedUnderpants his only venture into adult literature]], ''The Seven Lady Godivas'', which convinced him that only children were able to appreciate his whimsical art and writing style, and that adults were simply "obsolete children" not worth his time. He would become one of the most beloved children's authors in American history, so this is [[TropesAreTools one of the very rare instances of this trope turning out for the better]]. That being said, he also made some very adult-oriented political cartoons during World War II, and some of his children's books (''The Butter Battle Book'', ''The Lorax'', etc.) contain fairly weighty themes that young children might not immediately get. Seuss eventually wrote another book aimed at adults... titled ''You're Only Old Once: A Book For Obsolete Children''.

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* A more specific example is the presence of Sprite graphics in games today (With the exception of downloadable games), which are dismissed by review sites as dated and rarely taken as seriously as 3D models.

* While gaming is seen as perfectly normal for adults these days, hardcore gaming is still seen as "immature." This belief might stem from the fact that kids, teens and college students generally have more free time to spend on hardcore games than people with kids, mortgages and jobs do, which is why the latter tend to play casual games.

* Numerous cartoons by now-defunct Hungarian animation studio [[Creator/PannoniaFilmStudio Pannonia]] were aimed squarely at older audiences. Some, like the adult satirical comedy ''Animation/{{Gustavus}}'' have mostly held onto this reputation. Others fared differently. ''Animation/MezgaCsalad'' was a comedy for all ages, but its social satire and cultural nods were mostly understood by adults. ''Animation/KeremAKovetkezot'' was, on its surface, a silly FunnyAnimal show, yet it was full of DarkComedy and more cynical satire, plus an infamous episode where the characters get high on real-life drugs. ''Animation/HungarianFolkTales'' looks similarly tame and child-friendly on first glance, and most episodes are perfectly suitable for little kids. But in being faithful to the actual fairytales of old, some episodes deal with touchier matters, feature stylized violence and murder, and uncensored nudity, which allegedly lead to the series getting banned in Romania and caused quite a stir among English-speaking viewers when the series was shared on Website/YouTube. In its home country, the show still airs on weekend mornings in a children's cartoon block, paradoxically with a 12+ age rating and no censorship.

** It's probably not a coincidence that ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' in general became better known after Website/YouTube became more populated.

* Ironically, this is the reason behind both Website/GoAnimate's success with kids and the infamous "grounded" videos. The platform was made for businessmen and educators to explain things through animated characters, but once the younger PeripheryDemographic kicked in, it was branded as a kids site by the public, which the site owners tried multiple times to shake off. The "grounded" videos are frequently made by those kids, often having ''WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}'' or ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'' characters in them... but since those shows are made for ''younger'' kids, the video makers turn the protagonists into brats and put them through all kinds of horrifying mishaps because "baby shows" are inherently bad to them and need to be punished.

--> Though our original story was good, and we loved mixing our simplistic shape-based art with a mature story line, we found it nearly impossible to pitch this concept to any animation studio. With this new version we have a more lighthearted tone that gives us the chance to bring humor and energy into the series. We are still making an action adventure show, but it will just be a little less serious.

* While Website/TVTropes itself has averted this for the most part, there have been complaints by some users of the site as well as critics of the site simply because [[AnimatedSeries Animation works]] and [[AnimationTropes tropes]] are cataloged. A number of these complaints can be summarized as "why does this site catalog these stupid kids cartoons instead of "[[TrueArt proper literature]]"?" and such. This is why the Administrivia/ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability rule exists... It apparently never crosses any of these folk's minds to actually add whatever works and tropes they so want to see here.[[note]]Amusingly enough however, many of the sites that tend to complain about this [[{{Hypocrite}} tend to document little to nothing of what they consider as "proper literature" themselves]], so go figure.[[/note]]

** Prior to the implementation of [=COPPA=], this also happened on Website/YouTube. It was pretty common to see things like ads for (mostly unlicensed) mobile games based on stuff like ''Peppa Pig'' or a pre-roll ad for a show like ''[[WesternAnimation/WheresWaldo2019 Where's Waldo?]]'' or ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'' on anything from clips of otaku-oriented anime to {{YouTube Poop}}s of children's shows.

* Many have criticized the rating system of the MPAA[[note]]Now known as the MPA[[/note]], which has a history of assigning films mismatched ratings without rhyme or reason. One example would be that the 1982 animated film ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNimh'' was given a G rating despite its FamilyUnfriendlyViolence and NightmareFuel. The film is darker in comparison to some of its live-action PG-rated contemporaries, such as ''Film/Annie1982'' and ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''.[[note]]This was before the creation of the PG-13 rating, so both were trying to AvoidTheDreadedGRating by having gratuitous inappropriate jokes and language, The Secret of Nimh attempted to do that, but it failed.[[/note]] Granted, it's worth noting that a film's rating doesn't always accurately reflect its content and instead indicates the audience best suited for it, but this only leads us back to the ghetto since most audiences would still associate most live-action PG movies as being for adults over animated films. Although it is presumably because film studios would not think that an adult animated PG-rated film would succeed, despite there being live-action PG-rated films aimed at adults such as ''Film/TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty''.

There are many sociological theories as to how and why this stereotype originated, but one of the most common theories is that it's a by-product of the rise of animation on television in the '50s and '60s. As cinemas declined in importance, the big theatrical animations of TheGreatDepression and The40s transferred to [=TV=] - but [=TV=] demanded faster production in greater bulk done more quickly. [[note]]The decline in quality of big names like ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadRunner'' is directly down to the television companies buying out the rights and forcing lower qualiy production values on the shows[[/note]] With many adults uninterested in the consequent [[LimitedAnimation low quality]] of many of these, and thus only kids being able to tolerate it, as well as television at the time being marketed as a way of keeping kids quiet and the rise of [[MoralGuardians parental groups]] arguing for more government regulation on the content of these programs.

** Despite the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' [=DVDs=] having a '''warning''' on the DVD cases that they may not be appropriate for younger viewers due to the outdated references and [[ValuesDissonance racial stereotypes]] that often get edited when aired on television, it still doesn't stop stores from placing them in the kids section.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' won a Peabody award (very unusual for a cartoon) for its character development and respect for war's consequences. However, the finale has been criticized for a perceived "immaturity" in the resolution of Aang's moral dilemma by having him rediscover [[spoiler: anti-bending]], and not take a harsh choice. ''However'', it was representative of the character's [[MartialPacifist personal struggle]], and the creators planned this out from the beginning of the series.

* Many have criticized the rating system of the MPAA[[note]]Now known as the MPA[[/note]], which has a history of assigning films mismatched ratings without rhyme or reason. One example would be that the 1982 animated film ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNimh'' was given a G rating despite its FamilyUnfriendlyViolence and NightmareFuel. The film is darker in comparison to its live-action PG-rated contemporaries, such as ''Film/Annie1982'' and ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''.[[note]]This was before the creation of the PG-13 rating, so both were trying to AvoidTheDreadedGRating by having gratuitous inappropriate jokes and language, The Secret of Nimh attempted to do that, but it failed.[[/note]] Granted, it's worth noting that a film's rating doesn't always accurately reflect its content and instead indicates the audience best suited for it, but this only leads us back to the ghetto since most audiences would still associate most live-action PG movies as being for adults over animated films. Although it is presumably because film studios would not think that an adult animated PG-rated film would succeed, despite there being live-action PG-rated films aimed at adults such as ''Film/TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty''.