The 30 best cartoons even adults can enjoy
By Shawn Lealos
1. The Simpsons
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While later seasons do not match up to the brilliance of the earlier work, there is no doubting what The Simpsons mean to television and the adults who love cartoons. The show was initially showcased on the Tracey Ullman Show in 1997 as shorts and then debuted as its own series in 1989. While the animation in the first season was rough, and the characters were still finding themselves, the seeds were planted for brilliance.
Homer Simpson is the father and an incompetent employee at the town of Springfield’s power plant. His son Bart is a troublemaking pre-teen and his daughter Lisa is a smart kid with high aspirations. Add in his loving wife Marge and baby Maggie, and you have the family that the entire series revolves around.
There is absurdist humor here, but it never goes over the top like Family Guy. There are pop culture references, but they never dominate the story. This is a family show, with a healthy dynamic of jokes that stem from the situations the characters find themselves in, rather than just jokes thrown in for more laughs. There is as much heart and warmth as there are mean-spirited gags and punchlines. The best Simpsons shows tow the line perfectly between the gags and the characters
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Matt Groening created something extraordinary with The Simpsons. In this show, the jokes take on pop culture references, but they do so with a new and unique kick. The lead character has changed from Bart to Homer over the years, but the humor remains true. After an astonishing 29 seasons and 629 episodes, it is still going strong. The Simpsons has surpassed all other adult cartoons as the best of all time.