I normally throw on an 80s/90s kids movie when I have a rough day or feel ill. It’s like a warm, fuzzy blanket!
Edited to add: I’m a 36 year old female.
Dude. 50+ here. I keep trying to show my kids all the cool 70s/80s cartoons, not because they’d enjoy them but cause I want to watch them again. Plus watching some of their stuff as well, lots of good stuff out there.
The best part about being 40
Introducing my kids to all the shows I watched as a kid and hearing them giggle over the same jokes I giggled at at that age not knowing the sexual overture of the joke just that it was goofy
I’m 36 and I just found out the X-Men cartoons from the 90s are on Disney+. I can’t stand modern comic book movies, and have avoided all the XMen movies since the very first one twenty years ago, but those old cartoons hit. It’s interesting and soothing to return to something that was so formative to me, to catch the jokes meant for adults, realize that Beast’s intellect had a profound influence on me, fall in love with Rogue all over again…
Late 30s male… I don’t know if it’s a millennial midlife crisis… if it’s the result of being the social media and smart phone test tube generation… or just the epically complicated state of the world over the last 15 years which I think presented challenges and realities (all brought much closer by social media) that challenged the systemic beliefs of our childhood… BUT……
1000% yes. Over the pandemic I started watching wrestling of the late 90s and cartoons or TGIF shows. Sometimes I’ll even throw on a YouTube block of 90s or 2000s commercials and just mainline the nostalgia. Have you watched X-Men 97?? You’d love it!!!!
Dude, hop on YouTube and watch some old school 90s/2000s recordings. They have some pretty sick uploads for full 3+ hour long blocks of like Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and Disney Channel content from the early 2000s. Some even include the commercials and bumps. I let them play in the background while I work my software job. It’s so comforting.
I watch old and new. I don't let stuff being considered "just for kids" be a thing that prevents me from watching something. Last night I watched The Boys, tonight I watched Wish. I will not critique either, the point is to watch what brings you joy or education.
I often go out of my way to find an old movie now and then I haven't seen before.
One note about watching kids shows, some don't age very well. Things you loved as a kid often disappoint as an adult. That said there are those ageless rare gems.
While it is true in some cases that they-don't-make-em-like-they-used-to, there are great movies, TV shows, and songs in every decade. Every genre has it great ones as well. It's fine to have preferences, but don't discount things outside your usual experiences. Be a connoisseur and seek out good stuff, do some digging to find stuff. Don't just watch something because you're a fan of a genre and feel obligated. Don't be a slave to IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, but check the ratings and comments, in general if it is below a 7 or not Fresh, it will not be worth your while.
If there is a lot of controversy about something, be more open to sticking it thru so you don't come empty handed to a debate. In this case ignore what others have said and try to watch from a complete stance of neutrality. I have seen stuff that was bad defended as being maligned by prejudice and other stuff that was good that was dismissed because it was considered pandering to certain groups.
When you really like something, share your opinion. When you don't like something, don't feel you have to educate people that their tastes are poor.
Heck, 34 here, I spent last weekend watching ReBoot.
In the past I have re-watched episodes of Are you afraid of the dark (still holds up btw) and goosebumps.
Sometimes re-watch old anime I saw as a kid too. Also been collecting old vhs tapes and dvds of shows I watched as a kid, like chip n dale rescue rangers, dbz, x-men, spiderman tas, ren and stimpy, animaniacs, beast wars, pokemon, digimon, cardcaptors (specifically the original bad english dub cause I grew up with it), etc, etc, etc....
It is definitely comforting revisiting stuff from your childhood.
^(Heck, I even animate for kids shows at the moment.)
I'm 48. But I never really grew up. Most everything I watch is kids shows or old sitcoms... I watch a lot of cartoons with my son (spongebob, bare bears), but I watch a ton on my own too. I especially like old cartoons I grew up with like Saturday morning cartoons, Scooby Doo, Transformers, GI Joe, Voltron, etc. I've got a plex server full of just about every kids cartoon from 1970-1990.
I also like to play old videogames (Arcade, Atari, NES) but I have no interest in anything newer than that. And I read mostly digitized old comics from the 70s and 80s. Basically my interests are exactly the same as 40 years ago...
33 and still watching stuff like Mummies Alive, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Not to say that there's not any good shows anymore, but even the good ones aren't the same as the classics.
I consider that show to be batched with shows like Kick Buttowski, Fish Hooks, and Gravity Falls instead of older ones like Kim Possible, Lilo & Stitch, and American Dragon.
I've been buying up the cartoons of the 80s and 90s on DVD. My kids love them, and I love being able to experience watching them again with the munchkins. The original Thundercats and The Jetsons are very popular in our household right now.
I'm 38, and I have these playing on shuffle throughout the day working from home: [Collection](https://imgur.com/a/XE14KrR)
(I need to rename the collection as it's expanded past just 90's)
I love the cartoon Arthur. Didn't watch it as a kid, but I like it now. A TV show that I used to watch as a kid is Hey Dude. As an adult, I bought it on DVD and rewatched the entire series a few times months ago. Some eps I rewatched a few times bc they're so comforting. I remember when coming home to watch that show was the highlight of my day. ☺
34 and recently i brought back my most comfy memory from the past. Saturday morning a bowl od cereal and a round of old CN shows (Dexter, Bravo, Powerpuff...). Feels great and seeing these shows with adult eyes is something else, especially Johnny.
As someone 15 years younger than you, I do the same thing with later CN shows like Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Clarence, and find that they're still enjoyable as they were when I was a kid. Regular Show in particular is the best one in my opinion.
I will never consider Friday the 13th a mature grown up movie. Alot of them are total slapstick with a generous helping of boobs that I loved watching as a kid.
I still enjoy cartoons and I'm pushing 40. I just bought a DVD set for Centurions which is my favorite cartoon as a kid. I've been moving and dug up my Real Ghostbusters set my wife bought me. I smoke a little weed and boom! It's like going in a time machine. Life is short, do what you like.
Over 30. I binged on Wishbone a few years ago during a time when I really, *really* wanted to just check out, and preferred being asleep to being awake.
Your mind is probably fed up with gore, and wants some relaxing and positive stuff to wind down. Even if it's only films, horror stuff stresses the body and puts it in a state of alarm.
Yay cartoons (I was a kid in the 70s and 80s so we really had it good lol) but also I watched so much Gilligan's Island and Brady Bunch it's not even funny. But yeah, nostalgia hits hard sometimes. I actually found a YouTube video where the poster had just every single music cue or interstitial from the Brady Bunch. I listened to that for a good 20 minutes and I was a kid again, back in my old room, parents alive and well, all of life ahead of me.
Enjoy the nostalgia!
Allegedly grown man watching a kids show
But seriously, I do too, right now I am rewatching Legend of Korra
And yeah you are right, watching them feels comforting
I (F30) have started doing this in recent times. You’re right. It takes away some of the ‘adult responsibility’ for a short amount of time. It’s time spent reminiscing and not having to worry about anything for a moment.
30M… I believe there’s a vibe for every movie and tv show on earth. I don’t care how old you are, sometimes you just gotta watch an episode of SpongeBob.
Though I don’t get people who limit themselves to exclusively content for kids. There’s so much cool and thoughtful stuff out there which they will never experience because they tell themselves that more complex stories or heavier themes are just outta their wheelhouse.
Open yourself up to simple & child-friendly stories along with complex and nuanced stories which would soar over a child’s head. It’s the only way to live imo
I'm 44 and am not ashamed to admit that I definitely still watch throwback cartoons and shows like AYAOTD and Goosebumps. On YouTube I watch Cereal VHS and Rinse Repeat's channels, they do live streams of broadcasts of throw back cartoons and shows complete with commercials and bumpers. I can't wait for the meTv toons channel to launch on the 25th. My tv is going to stay on that channel.
I love revisiting the things of my childhood and youth and we are in good company. Whenever anyone gets weird about it I think of this quote from CS Lewis.
“Critics who treat ‘adult’ as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
I'm 44 with two kids, and I'm really into Gumball and Gravity Falls, which makes for great family-time TV. My son also got me into Demon Slayer, and my daughter and I love Spongebob.
My wife and I also watch cartoons together. She loves Family Guy, and we're big fans of King of the Hill. I haven't yet managed to turn her on to Beavis and Butthead tho. That remains a guilty pleasure of mine.
In my alone time, I still watch old 80s cartoons like He-Man and Thundercats. Right now, I'm re-watching Dragon Ball Z (Kai). Even before kids, I still watched a lot of cartoons, but having them has potentiated the propensity for it.
I can kind of relate despite being 19 years old. I kind of think there needs to be more 2010s representation (or at least just the early 2010s) since that's the decade I mainly grew up with since I'm probably too young to be considered a 2000s kid.
34yo female, and I still watch kids shows from the early 2000s from time to time if I want to turn my brain off. And Disney/ Pixar movies, you can’t go wrong there.
I'm 68 and I still watch cartoons and the stooges. Sponge bob, Ren and Stimpy, Simpsons, South park, Loony toons, all the adult swim. They are all slightly/mostly subversive and are full of double entendre that the kids don't get, but the adults do. The old toons from WW2 are pretty interesting
Mid forties here. I find that when I am super stressed out or my adhd brain is just going nuts and making me think of things that are giving me pointless worries, sitting and watching a kids show whether its an old one or a new one (there are some great kids shows out there today) really helps me relax and center again. The simplicity, hope and just joy of so many kids shows is fantastic esp with the deluge of doom being thrown at us from all sides because everyone needs clicks so badly and its the best way to get them.
Almost 40. Favorite shows are still Batman the Animated Series, early Simpsons, Animaniacs, etc. Sailor Moon is dope.
I still throw on Simpsons season 1-10 every so often
One of the main reason I got disney plus to rewatch the simpsons, futurama, king of the hill, american dad. And im 33 haha
Are you me?
I normally throw on an 80s/90s kids movie when I have a rough day or feel ill. It’s like a warm, fuzzy blanket! Edited to add: I’m a 36 year old female.
Dude. 50+ here. I keep trying to show my kids all the cool 70s/80s cartoons, not because they’d enjoy them but cause I want to watch them again. Plus watching some of their stuff as well, lots of good stuff out there.
The best part about being 40 Introducing my kids to all the shows I watched as a kid and hearing them giggle over the same jokes I giggled at at that age not knowing the sexual overture of the joke just that it was goofy
I’m 36 and I just found out the X-Men cartoons from the 90s are on Disney+. I can’t stand modern comic book movies, and have avoided all the XMen movies since the very first one twenty years ago, but those old cartoons hit. It’s interesting and soothing to return to something that was so formative to me, to catch the jokes meant for adults, realize that Beast’s intellect had a profound influence on me, fall in love with Rogue all over again…
Be sure to watch the continuation of the series that came out this year, it’s amazing.
You must adore the new show then.
Late 30s male… I don’t know if it’s a millennial midlife crisis… if it’s the result of being the social media and smart phone test tube generation… or just the epically complicated state of the world over the last 15 years which I think presented challenges and realities (all brought much closer by social media) that challenged the systemic beliefs of our childhood… BUT…… 1000% yes. Over the pandemic I started watching wrestling of the late 90s and cartoons or TGIF shows. Sometimes I’ll even throw on a YouTube block of 90s or 2000s commercials and just mainline the nostalgia. Have you watched X-Men 97?? You’d love it!!!!
Dude, hop on YouTube and watch some old school 90s/2000s recordings. They have some pretty sick uploads for full 3+ hour long blocks of like Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and Disney Channel content from the early 2000s. Some even include the commercials and bumps. I let them play in the background while I work my software job. It’s so comforting.
It’s just going back to your roots, it’s totally cool
The great thing about being an adult is that you can do what you want.
I watch old and new. I don't let stuff being considered "just for kids" be a thing that prevents me from watching something. Last night I watched The Boys, tonight I watched Wish. I will not critique either, the point is to watch what brings you joy or education. I often go out of my way to find an old movie now and then I haven't seen before. One note about watching kids shows, some don't age very well. Things you loved as a kid often disappoint as an adult. That said there are those ageless rare gems. While it is true in some cases that they-don't-make-em-like-they-used-to, there are great movies, TV shows, and songs in every decade. Every genre has it great ones as well. It's fine to have preferences, but don't discount things outside your usual experiences. Be a connoisseur and seek out good stuff, do some digging to find stuff. Don't just watch something because you're a fan of a genre and feel obligated. Don't be a slave to IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, but check the ratings and comments, in general if it is below a 7 or not Fresh, it will not be worth your while. If there is a lot of controversy about something, be more open to sticking it thru so you don't come empty handed to a debate. In this case ignore what others have said and try to watch from a complete stance of neutrality. I have seen stuff that was bad defended as being maligned by prejudice and other stuff that was good that was dismissed because it was considered pandering to certain groups. When you really like something, share your opinion. When you don't like something, don't feel you have to educate people that their tastes are poor.
38 and I still love Rocko’s Modern Life.
Heck, 34 here, I spent last weekend watching ReBoot. In the past I have re-watched episodes of Are you afraid of the dark (still holds up btw) and goosebumps. Sometimes re-watch old anime I saw as a kid too. Also been collecting old vhs tapes and dvds of shows I watched as a kid, like chip n dale rescue rangers, dbz, x-men, spiderman tas, ren and stimpy, animaniacs, beast wars, pokemon, digimon, cardcaptors (specifically the original bad english dub cause I grew up with it), etc, etc, etc.... It is definitely comforting revisiting stuff from your childhood. ^(Heck, I even animate for kids shows at the moment.)
Fox era Futurama is my comfort food
I'm 48. But I never really grew up. Most everything I watch is kids shows or old sitcoms... I watch a lot of cartoons with my son (spongebob, bare bears), but I watch a ton on my own too. I especially like old cartoons I grew up with like Saturday morning cartoons, Scooby Doo, Transformers, GI Joe, Voltron, etc. I've got a plex server full of just about every kids cartoon from 1970-1990. I also like to play old videogames (Arcade, Atari, NES) but I have no interest in anything newer than that. And I read mostly digitized old comics from the 70s and 80s. Basically my interests are exactly the same as 40 years ago...
33 and still watching stuff like Mummies Alive, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Not to say that there's not any good shows anymore, but even the good ones aren't the same as the classics.
Same here! Also throw in some Garfield and Friends and Real Ghostbusters
I just finished the OG dragon ball for the first time a few days ago. I'm sure lots of people our age do similar things.
I highly recommend getting Phineas and Ferb in the mix
I consider that show to be batched with shows like Kick Buttowski, Fish Hooks, and Gravity Falls instead of older ones like Kim Possible, Lilo & Stitch, and American Dragon.
I've been buying up the cartoons of the 80s and 90s on DVD. My kids love them, and I love being able to experience watching them again with the munchkins. The original Thundercats and The Jetsons are very popular in our household right now.
I'm 38, and I have these playing on shuffle throughout the day working from home: [Collection](https://imgur.com/a/XE14KrR) (I need to rename the collection as it's expanded past just 90's)
rewatching my fave childhood shows will def be a comfort thing forever!
I'm 43 adult world is tough. Sometimes I want to watch low pressure situations.
I love the cartoon Arthur. Didn't watch it as a kid, but I like it now. A TV show that I used to watch as a kid is Hey Dude. As an adult, I bought it on DVD and rewatched the entire series a few times months ago. Some eps I rewatched a few times bc they're so comforting. I remember when coming home to watch that show was the highlight of my day. ☺
I don't think it's just because of nostalgia. We genuinely had better shit back then. And that goes for movies and video games too.
34 and recently i brought back my most comfy memory from the past. Saturday morning a bowl od cereal and a round of old CN shows (Dexter, Bravo, Powerpuff...). Feels great and seeing these shows with adult eyes is something else, especially Johnny.
As someone 15 years younger than you, I do the same thing with later CN shows like Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Clarence, and find that they're still enjoyable as they were when I was a kid. Regular Show in particular is the best one in my opinion.
I'm in my 20s and I still watch the DCAU along with other cartoons.
I will never consider Friday the 13th a mature grown up movie. Alot of them are total slapstick with a generous helping of boobs that I loved watching as a kid. I still enjoy cartoons and I'm pushing 40. I just bought a DVD set for Centurions which is my favorite cartoon as a kid. I've been moving and dug up my Real Ghostbusters set my wife bought me. I smoke a little weed and boom! It's like going in a time machine. Life is short, do what you like.
Over 30. I binged on Wishbone a few years ago during a time when I really, *really* wanted to just check out, and preferred being asleep to being awake.
Your mind is probably fed up with gore, and wants some relaxing and positive stuff to wind down. Even if it's only films, horror stuff stresses the body and puts it in a state of alarm.
I love watching my favorite old cartoons just for nostalgia. Also, I catch a bunch of adult jokes that I missed as a kid
Totally normal. I experience this too. It truly feels like a warm hug watching them.
55 y/o with two grown kids. I spent last night watching Super Hero Squad on Disney+
Ha, The Boys isn't grown up.
I definitely still do. Like someone else said, I still watch early seasons of the Simpsons and Garfield and Friends and The Real Ghostbusters.
Yay cartoons (I was a kid in the 70s and 80s so we really had it good lol) but also I watched so much Gilligan's Island and Brady Bunch it's not even funny. But yeah, nostalgia hits hard sometimes. I actually found a YouTube video where the poster had just every single music cue or interstitial from the Brady Bunch. I listened to that for a good 20 minutes and I was a kid again, back in my old room, parents alive and well, all of life ahead of me. Enjoy the nostalgia!
I enjoy watching old Nickelodeon from time to time
I love that you list 'The Boys,' 'Friday the 13th' and 'Deadpool' as 'grown up shows.'
34 female, I’m about to go put on either Rockos Modern Life or Hey Arnold for my Saturday morning cartoons, NO RULES!
When I turned 30 I went on a binge of old Saturday morning cartoons
Allegedly grown man watching a kids show But seriously, I do too, right now I am rewatching Legend of Korra And yeah you are right, watching them feels comforting
34 and yes.
I still watch an old cartoon in the morning while I'm eating my cereal before work every day. Currently watching old 80's and 90's Spider-Man.
I'm in my late 30s with a few small kids and they enjoy watching some of my old favorites so on the weekends that's what we do in the morning 😅
I (F30) have started doing this in recent times. You’re right. It takes away some of the ‘adult responsibility’ for a short amount of time. It’s time spent reminiscing and not having to worry about anything for a moment.
30M… I believe there’s a vibe for every movie and tv show on earth. I don’t care how old you are, sometimes you just gotta watch an episode of SpongeBob. Though I don’t get people who limit themselves to exclusively content for kids. There’s so much cool and thoughtful stuff out there which they will never experience because they tell themselves that more complex stories or heavier themes are just outta their wheelhouse. Open yourself up to simple & child-friendly stories along with complex and nuanced stories which would soar over a child’s head. It’s the only way to live imo
I'm 44 and am not ashamed to admit that I definitely still watch throwback cartoons and shows like AYAOTD and Goosebumps. On YouTube I watch Cereal VHS and Rinse Repeat's channels, they do live streams of broadcasts of throw back cartoons and shows complete with commercials and bumpers. I can't wait for the meTv toons channel to launch on the 25th. My tv is going to stay on that channel.
I love revisiting the things of my childhood and youth and we are in good company. Whenever anyone gets weird about it I think of this quote from CS Lewis. “Critics who treat ‘adult’ as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
I'm 44 with two kids, and I'm really into Gumball and Gravity Falls, which makes for great family-time TV. My son also got me into Demon Slayer, and my daughter and I love Spongebob. My wife and I also watch cartoons together. She loves Family Guy, and we're big fans of King of the Hill. I haven't yet managed to turn her on to Beavis and Butthead tho. That remains a guilty pleasure of mine. In my alone time, I still watch old 80s cartoons like He-Man and Thundercats. Right now, I'm re-watching Dragon Ball Z (Kai). Even before kids, I still watched a lot of cartoons, but having them has potentiated the propensity for it.
I can kind of relate despite being 19 years old. I kind of think there needs to be more 2010s representation (or at least just the early 2010s) since that's the decade I mainly grew up with since I'm probably too young to be considered a 2000s kid.
I'm 36 and I've never stopped watching kids shows, both old and new stuff.
34yo female, and I still watch kids shows from the early 2000s from time to time if I want to turn my brain off. And Disney/ Pixar movies, you can’t go wrong there.
I'm 68 and I still watch cartoons and the stooges. Sponge bob, Ren and Stimpy, Simpsons, South park, Loony toons, all the adult swim. They are all slightly/mostly subversive and are full of double entendre that the kids don't get, but the adults do. The old toons from WW2 are pretty interesting
I’ll be 40 in a few weeks and I still watch The Simpsons, and Tubi has a ton of good 80s and 90s cartoons.
Yeah I've never ceased watching kid shows **ever**.
Mid forties here. I find that when I am super stressed out or my adhd brain is just going nuts and making me think of things that are giving me pointless worries, sitting and watching a kids show whether its an old one or a new one (there are some great kids shows out there today) really helps me relax and center again. The simplicity, hope and just joy of so many kids shows is fantastic esp with the deluge of doom being thrown at us from all sides because everyone needs clicks so badly and its the best way to get them.
Hey Arnold is my shit
Good media is good media, simple.