back when they were made to run in theaters.

there were cartoons that were friendliER for kids (Casper and other Paramount/Famous Studios cartoons, for example) and could be stitched together for Saturday matinees, but sitting through a handful of Looney Tunes should reveal jokes that, while not dirty, are definitely grown people humor. Plenty of cartoons, however, are a little (or a lot) salacious (see also, Betty Boop pre 1934)

What turned the tide in the US was television, where old cartoons were chopped up and used in live kiddie-show packages, and new cartoons were produced under the strict eye of parent groups