KITSCH IS IN, GOOD TOONS ARE OUT

In the 1990s, I grew up with beautifully drawn animated series that always taught moral, scientific, and/or cultural lessons while providing thrilling plots:

Who said that learning about Austro-Hungarian relations...

...or the history of science should be dull?

Nowadays, the crisis appears to have spread into the world of animated series. Aesthetic and educational goodness are out, kitsch is in. Series such as Phineas and Ferb or SpongeBob, featuring poorly drawn characters, nonsensical premises, and no educational content have replaced the lovely animated objets d'art of my childhood.

Does Ph&F make any sense at all?
Stock characters, a pet platypus/secret agent...

I wonder why such an absurd character and such an absurd cartoon
have become internationally celebrated.

Anyway, there's hope as long as YouTube doesn't shut down. Some people have had the brilliant ideas of posting 1990s animated series on the Net, creating fanworks and keeping the memories of such remarkable shows alive for a long time!