Whether or not you’re a fan of cartoons now, there’s a good chance that you most likely grew up watching at least one. Even if cartoons aren’t your thing, you have to admit that some of the designs and colours can be pretty interesting.
Animation is a hard job. It’s competitive, forever changing, and you have to keep in mind what audience you are trying to impress. Over the years, some shows do very well and then die out, whereas others remain on the air year after year.
As time goes by, there are bound to be some slight adjustments and changes in character style. These changes can be so subtle that you may not have noticed them before. Check out the way some of your favourite characters looked at the beginning of their series, and at the end.
1. Peter Griffin: Everyone is probably familiar with this chubby silly giggling, chicken fighting man. What do you think of the differences between the two designs? The first Peter looks a bit more like a dorkier father than a beer-drinking frat boy.
2. Louis Griffin: Do you prefer Louis ginger or a blonde? I think the ginger hair works better with the New York accent, don’t you?
3. Applejack: Whether or not you roll your eyes at My Little Pony or think that the ‘bronies’ are weird. It does have a legitimate fandom, and a recent remake you can find on Netflix.
4. Princess Twilight Sparkle: Upgrade! Everyone has a bit more of a chibi-style eye and trust me when I say that at least one joke in this series is bound to crack you up. Look at that difference!
5. Marge Simpson: The Simpsons is probably one of the longest-running cartoons on the air. Its first episode release was on December 17, 1989.
6. Homer Simpson: Whoa check out the face life on this one! It’s no secret that being on the air for this long, there are bound to be changed in animation style, direction, and even the team itself.
7. Bart Simpson: These characters almost look like they come from different shows. The only thing that connects them is the straight-up yellow hair.
8. Lisa Homer: Glow up! Lisa looks a bit like a disgruntled porcupine in the first episode. Much closer to the saxophone playing Brainiac in the second shot.
9. D.W: To be honest, this show was actually pretty consistent with their character designs. Although they did move from 2D to digital, there isn’t much of a design change.
10. Francine: Things are looking sharper, and there is more color in the background. Did you know there are over 9 seasons of Arthur?
11. Arthur: You should have seen what these characters looked like in Marc Brown’s novels. Since they’re aardvarks, they had long snouts. A bit off-putting!
12. Dora: For a spin-off series, they actually brought a pre-teen Dora back with her cousin Diego for a show called Dora and Friends.
13. Mr. Krabbs: I’m a fan of this upgrade. The first version is a wee bit scary. With the squiggly nose and dark red color. Even Squidward looks off-putting.
14. Patrick: This guy looks pretty much the same. Did you know that they actually brought this cartoon to Broadway? It was actually pretty neat!
15. Spongebob: Looks like they made him a bit round at the edges and rounded out his nose and eyes a bit. The little dimple is also a nice touch!
16. Cartman: Whoa, the early South Park days. Things were so simple back then, huh? He doesn’t even have whites in his eyes.
