Jeremiah's School of Levitation
Upsy-Daisy!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
i Toons
I was watching cartoons with the kids the other day and I see that things have really changed from Back In Tha Day. We have more cartoons to choose from since The Simpsons made animation cool again. The result is far more, um, segmented levels of cartoons, where Scooby Doo and The Jetsons had to serve all kids in the world, now we can have animations that serve real little kids, little kids, innocent kids, "becoming aware" kids, sadistic kids, and, of course, adult kids (that is, adults who are like kids and kids who like to think they are like adults).
The result, as you are probably aware of, especially if you have kids, is that we get stuff so sweet that it gives you cavities (Little Bill) to cartoons so hateful that YOU even want to strangle a cat after watching it (Ed, Ed, and Eddy) to cartoons that are so vulgar and inappropriate that you laugh uncontrollably at them (South Park) to cartoons that, somehow, land in the middle of all of that (Sponge Bob). You can no longer just turn on some cartoons for your kids and then leave the room because, while you're in the other room, you'll suddenly hear "You are such an ass!" come from the TV where, you swore, there was just a family cartoon on, where a whole family was just in a car going on vacation. I mean, there was a dog and a baby. How could that go so horribly wrong? (Well, okay, if you've ever been on a long car trip with the kids...)
I then got all nostalgic in my head and I tried to remember the good-natured, albiet pointless, cartoons that we watched growing up, and I sighed at the bright-eyed goofiness of them all as they seem like Steamboat Mickey to us now, in their awkward animation and stilted messages. But, hey, I spent hours with them, and they deserve some props. And, now that I think back on them, maybe they weren't as innocent as I thought they were:
Hong Kong Phooey
All I can recall is his nasally voice, and that thin mask that apparently kept him unrecognizable, though, from what I knew as a kid, dogs didn't "recognize" each other by paying attention to the head end of the body, but, nevermind, Hong Kong Phooey had the neatest theme song. "Hong Kong Phooey, number one super guy. Hong Kong Phooey, quicker than the human eye!"
Underdog
Oh yeah, another nasally dog hero, but who was perpetually in love and who spent his powers rescuing the same dog over and over again. That was special, but amazingly boring. His theme song was far more menacing than he was. And, for the rest of my life, whenever someone says "We are the underdog", I'm not going to think of a person who struggles valiantly, often victoriously, against grander opponents, but I'm going to think of a little white dog with a "U" on his red shirt, and a voice like a nose.
Super Chicken
A chicken with a lion sidekick. This should have been a disasterous relationship. Instead, it was about a guy who who drove around in a spaceship thing and he had a seizure when he became super. That sounds like an acid trip to me. But, at the time, it was delightfully over the top. And the line "you knew the job was dangerous when you took it" lives forever in my repertoire, as does the reasurring "buck-akkkkk!" at the end of the theme song. Whew, here comes a chicken in a spaceship to save us all! Pass me another mushroom!
George of the Jungle
I could never figure out this one, which is why I was compelled to watch every episode. I thought that eventually, I'd learn that slamming yourself into trees was actually going to teach me something. In a way, now that I look back on it, it did try to teach me pretty much what it's like to go to work every day. And, that Pella and Persa thing--I didn't get it as a kid, why he'd want these yucky girls hanging around all the time. As a college boy, though, it made perfect sense.
Speed Racer
Our first exposure to anime. Little did we know how hooked we'd get. The big eyes, the poses that the characters would hold for about an hour while only their mouth moved, the spectacular fiery crashes that we just didn't get in the Jetsons, and, of course, the unintelligible, rapid-fire dialogue that, I now believe, had more to do with speed than they were going to tell us. I loved the Mach 5. It was a boy's dream. I used to tell my parents that if we got a Mach 5, we could go anywhere--we could launch ourselves over traffic, we could cut down trees as we roared through the forest--why didn't we just get a Mach 5? Mom just said that it was Speed Racer's car. His legend only grew.
The Super Friends
It was hard for me to imagine super heroes around a table. It was like trying to imagine football players, in full uniform, knitting. But, when they sprung into action, I was rapt. Wonder Woman in the invisible airplane, which I didn't get, and Aquaman controlling the ocean, Superman knocking over big stuff, and, of course, Hawkman, who I totally identified with because, in my own creaky social maneouvers, I often felt like a shirtless guy with huge wings and a really stupid headpiece.
Any others?
The result, as you are probably aware of, especially if you have kids, is that we get stuff so sweet that it gives you cavities (Little Bill) to cartoons so hateful that YOU even want to strangle a cat after watching it (Ed, Ed, and Eddy) to cartoons that are so vulgar and inappropriate that you laugh uncontrollably at them (South Park) to cartoons that, somehow, land in the middle of all of that (Sponge Bob). You can no longer just turn on some cartoons for your kids and then leave the room because, while you're in the other room, you'll suddenly hear "You are such an ass!" come from the TV where, you swore, there was just a family cartoon on, where a whole family was just in a car going on vacation. I mean, there was a dog and a baby. How could that go so horribly wrong? (Well, okay, if you've ever been on a long car trip with the kids...)
I then got all nostalgic in my head and I tried to remember the good-natured, albiet pointless, cartoons that we watched growing up, and I sighed at the bright-eyed goofiness of them all as they seem like Steamboat Mickey to us now, in their awkward animation and stilted messages. But, hey, I spent hours with them, and they deserve some props. And, now that I think back on them, maybe they weren't as innocent as I thought they were:
Hong Kong Phooey
All I can recall is his nasally voice, and that thin mask that apparently kept him unrecognizable, though, from what I knew as a kid, dogs didn't "recognize" each other by paying attention to the head end of the body, but, nevermind, Hong Kong Phooey had the neatest theme song. "Hong Kong Phooey, number one super guy. Hong Kong Phooey, quicker than the human eye!"
Underdog
Oh yeah, another nasally dog hero, but who was perpetually in love and who spent his powers rescuing the same dog over and over again. That was special, but amazingly boring. His theme song was far more menacing than he was. And, for the rest of my life, whenever someone says "We are the underdog", I'm not going to think of a person who struggles valiantly, often victoriously, against grander opponents, but I'm going to think of a little white dog with a "U" on his red shirt, and a voice like a nose.
Super Chicken
A chicken with a lion sidekick. This should have been a disasterous relationship. Instead, it was about a guy who who drove around in a spaceship thing and he had a seizure when he became super. That sounds like an acid trip to me. But, at the time, it was delightfully over the top. And the line "you knew the job was dangerous when you took it" lives forever in my repertoire, as does the reasurring "buck-akkkkk!" at the end of the theme song. Whew, here comes a chicken in a spaceship to save us all! Pass me another mushroom!
George of the Jungle
I could never figure out this one, which is why I was compelled to watch every episode. I thought that eventually, I'd learn that slamming yourself into trees was actually going to teach me something. In a way, now that I look back on it, it did try to teach me pretty much what it's like to go to work every day. And, that Pella and Persa thing--I didn't get it as a kid, why he'd want these yucky girls hanging around all the time. As a college boy, though, it made perfect sense.
Speed Racer
Our first exposure to anime. Little did we know how hooked we'd get. The big eyes, the poses that the characters would hold for about an hour while only their mouth moved, the spectacular fiery crashes that we just didn't get in the Jetsons, and, of course, the unintelligible, rapid-fire dialogue that, I now believe, had more to do with speed than they were going to tell us. I loved the Mach 5. It was a boy's dream. I used to tell my parents that if we got a Mach 5, we could go anywhere--we could launch ourselves over traffic, we could cut down trees as we roared through the forest--why didn't we just get a Mach 5? Mom just said that it was Speed Racer's car. His legend only grew.
The Super Friends
It was hard for me to imagine super heroes around a table. It was like trying to imagine football players, in full uniform, knitting. But, when they sprung into action, I was rapt. Wonder Woman in the invisible airplane, which I didn't get, and Aquaman controlling the ocean, Superman knocking over big stuff, and, of course, Hawkman, who I totally identified with because, in my own creaky social maneouvers, I often felt like a shirtless guy with huge wings and a really stupid headpiece.
Any others?
Elliot, 8:24 AM
4 Back at me:
I was also partial to those live-action Sid and Marty Krofft things, like, The Bugaloos, and H.R. Pufnstuf, and Lidsville. Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. Banana Splits. Land of the Lost. I swore I was gonna marry some of the boys in those things.... Best cartoons EVAH are Bugs Bunny (and his ilk). Mel Blanc was GOD.
Mona: And, the Banana Splits! I could not get enough of them. And, yes, nothing beats Bugs. Remember that episode where Daffy was Robin Hood? Classic!
SusieB: Oh, dang. I'm sorry. We only had one TV and it was very regulated, except on Saturday mornings. I couldn't watch the news or any shows that began with some warning about the show's content.
SusieB: Oh, dang. I'm sorry. We only had one TV and it was very regulated, except on Saturday mornings. I couldn't watch the news or any shows that began with some warning about the show's content.
Was it the Bullwinkle show that Sherman and Peabody were on? I kind of had a 5 year old's crush on the dog.
And of course i have to give due credit to Bullwinkle himself. He went to college on a football scholarship in one episode. The name of the school was Whatamatta U.
Probably before your time.
And of course i have to give due credit to Bullwinkle himself. He went to college on a football scholarship in one episode. The name of the school was Whatamatta U.
Probably before your time.
Ah yes, George. Takes me back to Weird Al... in a weird sort of a way.
Superfriends. Well, in my day it included the Wonder Twins. Do you remember,
"Wondertwin Powers, Activate!"
"The form of..."
"The shape of..."
???
In the words of Edith and Archie,
"Those were the days!"
Superfriends. Well, in my day it included the Wonder Twins. Do you remember,
"Wondertwin Powers, Activate!"
"The form of..."
"The shape of..."
???
In the words of Edith and Archie,
"Those were the days!"
