ME BEING PRETENTIOUS AND ARBITRARILY RANKING A BUNCH OF TV CARTOONS

or

THE 100 GREATEST ANIMATED SERIES OF ALL TIME

Part 4

Greetings Toonsters!  We’ve passed the halfway point and are getting ever closer to the coveted Number 1 spot.  But before we get into round 4, let’s do a quick recap of the list so far…

100. YoungJustice/Thundercats (2011)

99. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

98. Mad Jack the Pirate

97. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

96. King of the Hill

95. Beetlejuice

94. Kablam

93. The Smurfs

92. The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

91. Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc

90. Rugrats

89. Doug

88. X-Men

87. Static Shock

86. Aqua Teen Hunger Force

85. Cow and Chicken

84. Moral Orel

83. Filmore

82. X-Men: Evolution

81. The Angry Beavers

80. Space Ghost Coast to Coast

79. Home Movies

78. Kim Possible

77. Pirates of Dark Water

76. Sym-Bionic Titan

75. Peter Pan and the Pirates

74. 2 Stupid Dogs

73. Beast Wars

72. The Tick

71. Batman: the Brave and the Bold

70. Muppet Babies

69. Johnny Bravo

68. Teen Titans

67. The Alvin Show/Alvin and the Chipmunks

66. Mighty Max

65. Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures

64. Courage the Cowardly Dog

63. Roger Ramjet

62. The Critic

61. Goof Troop

60. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo

59. Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers

58. Batman Beyond

57. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

56. Recess

55. Liquid Television/What-a-Cartoon Show/Oh Yeah Cartoons

54. Bobby’s World

53. The Fairly Oddparents

52. Aladdin: the Series

51. Daria

50. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

49. TaleSpin

48. Spectacular Spider-Man

47. Hey Arnold!

46. Aeon Flux

45. Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat

44. Tiny Toon Adventures

43. Futurama

42. Underdog

41. Freakazoid

We’re almost there, so let’s quit the lollygagging.

40. Superman: The Animate Series: Four years after revolutionizing Batman, Bruce Timm and crew would apply the same magic to Superman.  Superman: the Animated Series did everything it needed to do with the character and more.  At a time in the comics where Superman was dead, alive, electric, red, blue, and had a mullet, the animated series kept it simple.  It was bright, optimistic, dynamic, and constantly looking ahead, reflecting the central character.  The supporting cast as well represented and could easily hold their own opposite the Man of Steel, especially Lois Lane who’s portrayal here was the best portrayal of the character outside the comic. The show had a booming orchestral score to rival the live-action movie and the acting was strong, passionate, and every actor gave their A-game.  This was one of my first exposures to Superman and the one that continues to hold up today.

39. Invader Zim: Possibly the darkest Nicktoon ever.  From the twisted mind of Jhonen Vasquez came Invader Zim, a series about a power man and painfully inept alien named Zim, whose mission is seemingly to conquer the Earth, when in actuality his superiors just sent him there to get him out of the way.  Zim was mind-blowingly dark and hilarious.  And when I say dark, I mean dark, one of the more memorable episodes had Zim harvesting organs from his classmates and replacing them with “stuff” in an attempt to look normal.  The characters were so dynamic and hilarious absurd, you could quote them endlessly.  Also the little emphasis they put on certain words like “horrible” and “filth” were genius.  The show has rightfully gained a huge cult following and the way it handled dark comedy was the stuff of brilliance.  In fact, if I had to sum up what made this series so good in one word it would be this: GIR.

38. The Adventures of the Gummi Bears: Adventures of the Gummi Bears was the first in a string of animated hits that would make up The Disney Afternoon.  Inspired by the candy of the same name, Gummi Bears was set in medieval times and centered around a group of mystical anthropomorphic bears called Gummi Bears.  These Gummis were some of the last of their race and lived in secret of humans and were only known by a select few: their young friends Cavin and Princess Calla, and their arch enemy Duke Igthorn, who wanted the secret of their GummiBerry Juice which gave the Gummis the ability to bounce like rubber and gave super strength to any human who drank it.  This show would go on to set the trend for future Disney shows to follow.  It presented a unique setting, interesting characters, great character design, top-notch voice cast, and solid animation.  Gummi Bears helped to revitalized television animation and remains a timeless animation classic.  Plus, it gets props for reuniting June Foray and Bill Scott (aka Rocky and Bullwinkle), as Grammy Gummi and Gruffi Gummi respectively.

37. The Schnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show: After Eek the Cat, Bill Kopp went on to create a number of great and off-beat shows that sadly never became as big, and the funniest of those funny cartoon shows was The Schoonukums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show.  Schnookums and Meat was Disney’s attempt to capitalize on the success of Ren and Stimpy, but sadly was cancelled too early, before it could gain the same audience numbers.  The show was divided into three segments: Schnookums and Meat, about a cat and dog duo with a style reminiscent of golden age Tom and Jerry; Pith Possum, about a Batman-style hero and his sidekick Obadiah, who’s look was invocative of what was done on Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures ; and Tex Tinstar, a parody of western serials, with looked like a better animated Jay Ward cartoon.  Though different, the three cartoons shared truly excellent animation, with each having their own unique look and style to them.  In addition, the humor was top-notch and relied on visual gags even more than dialogue, which is always a plus in my book.  It’s sad it never built a strong enough following, because this show was an absolute gem.  Plus the pasta it inspired was awesome.

36. The Jetsons: The polar opposite of The Flintstones, The Jetsons took the same premise, a typical American family, but this time set it in the future rather than the past.  The show was basically Blondie and Dagwood in the far future (in fact Penny Singleton(Jane Jetson) played Blondie in film and radio), except much more entertaining and creative.  In contrast to Fred Flintstone’s bombastic and oafish personality, George Jetson was bumbling, laid-back, natured and somewhat hapless, a great central character.  The show took full advantage of its setting and was constantly coming up with new and inventive futuristic gadgets.  The animation was solid enough but the writing was where the show excelled.  Like most old cartoons, this show saw a brief revival in the 80’s, but aside from a brighter color scheme and a new character called Orbity, the show wasn’t that much different from the original, keeping the original cast and the same quality storytelling, and as a kid I couldn’t tell the difference.

35. Garfield and Friends: Under the guidance of Mark Evanier, Garfield and Friends brought everything great about the comic strip and added to it.  Garfield and Friends worked so well because Mark understood what Garfield was at its core and never strayed from it.  Plus Lorenzo Music as Garfield was absolute perfect casting.  His mellow and smart allecky tone was a perfect fit for the character.  There was also another show in the mix called U.S. Acres, about a group of animal characters running a farm that was equally as good.  The characters were strong, the designs were great, and the writing was snappy and funny.  Garfield and Friends still remains much more enduring and entertaining than its source material.

34. Duckman: Created by Everett Peck and produced by Klasky Csupo, yes the same people who made Rugrats, Duckman was about the crass, foul-mouth, pornography-obsessed, abrasive, greedy character of Duckman, private dick and family man.  Duckman was certainly the most adult thing to come out of Klasky Csupo.  It’s jokes were more risqué, it’s visual style was very gritty and non-conformist, and it’s characters were more complex and morally gray.  Duckman on its surface looked like another raunchy late-night cartoon, but the show had real heart to it, and the characters, despite being loud and crude, had real vulnerability to them, making them much more relatable.  Duckman had great animation and real layers to it, just a great show all around.

33. Ed, Edd, n Eddy: Coming out of Cartoon Network’s big creator driven animation period of the 90’s, Ed, Edd, n Eddy stood out among the rest with its striking visuals and extremely non-conservative animation.  Ed, Edd, n Eddy stared three boys, all having the roughly the same name, and their various money making schemes.  The core of the show was the dynamic of the three main characters: Eddy was the fast-talking and money-grubbing leader; Edd (or Double D as he’s known) was the whimpy and OCD brainy one; and Ed was the blissfully dim-witted and sci-fi and horror movie obsessed lug.  The trio were distinct, unique, and their personalities were consistent made for great storytelling.  The animation was the high point of the show.  It was fast, fluid, and seemed to be always changing, always re-inventing itself with each new episode.  That can be attributed to the style of creator Danny Antonucci.    It was one of the longest lasting shows on Cartoon Network and never lost what made it good along the way.

32. Bonkers: Of all the shows on the Disney Afternoon, Bonkers was the most underrated.  Originally conceived as an Roger Rabbit series, the new character Bonkers D. Bobcat was used instead.  Bonkers, a former cartoon star turned beat cop was paired with human, Detective Lucky Piquel as they patrolled the streets of Hollywood and tackled toon-related crimes.  It’s easy to see the Roger Rabbit influence in the show, but it may be a little jarring seeing as how the show was fully animated rather than being a live-action/animation mix.  Still, the show worked well.  Bonkers and Lucky were great characters and their classic comedy double act worked well here.  The show was just zany fun and all the toon characters they came up with were inventive and cool to watch.  To date, this show as yet to come out on DVD and that’s a damn shame because this show deserved a wider audience.

31. Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinx: Tom and Jerry may be seen as the definitive cat-and-mouse cartoon, but I would rank Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinx as it’s equal.  Sure the animation wasn’t as great and violence was toned down, but it’s characters had a lot more personality, plus they talked.  Pixie and Dixie were very innocent and wittier and they made perfect counterpoints to Mr. Jinx, ho, while a jerk, was much more dim-witted and hapless.  As with all of Hanna Barbera’s cartoons, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinx traded in lavish animation for snappy and character specific dialogue.  It’s not the most original premise, but it had a winning approach to it.  I loved those meeces to peeces.  And Mr. Jinx too.

30. Beany and Cecil/The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil: After leaving Warner Bros, legendary animator Bob Clampett went on to create two new characters for television.  Originating as a puppet show called Time for Beany, Beany and Cecil made the jump into animation in 1962.  The show, about a young, bright-eyed, toe-headed buy named Beany and his best friend Cecil, a sea serpent who’s only visible parts are his head and neck, proved to be a major success in both venues.  The show had Clampett’s trademark brand of exaggerated and insane situations and humor and the characters were simplistic, but very likeable.  In 1988, the show was revived as The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil, spearheaded by John Krisfaluci, fresh off Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures.  While the show wasn’t as successful, it kept the spirit of the original alive, had great staging and animation, and proved to be even stranger than its predecessor.

29. Scooby-Doo: Where Are You: Scooby-Doo has been one of the most enduring characters in animation history.  He’s had more shows under his belt than any other character not originating in the golden age.  The New Scooby Doo Movies, Scooby-Doo/DynoMutt Hour, Scooby’s All Star Laff-a-Lympics, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show, Scooby-Doo/Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour, The All New Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show, 13 Ghost of Scooby-Doo, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, What’s New Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue, Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, not to mention a crap load of movies including four live-action ones and a string of imitators such as Clue Club and Jabberjaw!  But for the absolute best, we have to go back to the one that started it all…Scooby-Doo: Where are You.  The show was about a group of four teens and their talking dog, Scooby-Doo (although the fact the he could talk was never brought to attention),  as they solve various mysteries in their town and flee from ghost and monsters, who always end up being a regular person in a costume.  The stories may seem tired by today’s standards, but back then it was fresh and new.  Scooby-Doo: Where are You was definitely the most grounded of the series, feeling more like an actual mystery.  The characters are worked and made up a solid and interesting group that we could follow from show to show.  The show was also a lot more darker than it’s successors, with villains that actually seemed threatening and scary.  The various other shows in the franchise have ranged from creative and entertaining, to mediocre and repetitive, but this is another case of the original being the best.

28. South Park: What once started as a crudely animated 30 minute fart joke, has grown into an award winning, social commentating, crudely animated, 30 minute fart joke.  South Park originated as the short film, The Spirit of Christmas, and became an animated series in 1997.  South Park was famous for its extremely low-budget animation and infamous for its foul mouth and very crude and adult humor, juxtaposed by the fact that the main characters were four young boys.  As the series progressed, the show began to tackle current events and turned into one of the most looked to and quoted pieces of satirical media.  The show is absolutely ruthless in it’s approach, going after everything and everyone typically without bias.  Even when it’s not tackling what’s going on the news, the show has enough funny and interesting characters to build stories off for a long time to come.  It’s rare to see a show evolve in its approach only to get better and better.  There’s a reason why it’s Comedy Central’s number one show.

27. Jonny Quest: This was the shot in the arm Hanna Barbera needed.  So used to making kid-friendly cartoons, Jonny Quest burst onto the scene as an intense and engaging action cartoon.  The title character, Jonny Quest, was a young adventurer traveling the world with his super scientist father Dr. Benton Quest, bodyguard Race Bannon, adoptive brother and best friend Hadji, and pet dog Bandit.  Jonny Quest was ass-kickingly action packed and filled with all that glorious un-politically correct subject matter missing from today’s entertainment.  The show had the look and feel of a comic book and made up for its limited animation with a gorgeous visual style.  It had everything you need in an action cartoon, strong characters, crazy and creative situations, real peril, high stakes, stereotypical minorities, it was amazing.  The show saw a revival in the 80’s and again in the 90’s as The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, but none could really match the brilliance of the original.  Truly a show of it’s time.

26. Gargoyles: Disney’s answer to Batman: The Animated Series.  Created by Greg Wiseman, Gargoyles was unlike anything Disney had ever done,l and still has yet to do.  The show was about a race of beings known as Gargoyles, once plentiful in numbers, now rendered almost extinct thanks to human betrayl.  A group of six became frozen in stone by a magical spell and are reawakened a thousand years later in Manhattan by a billionaire named David Xanatos.  The six, under their leader Goliath, resolve to protect their new home from everything from organized crime, mystical creatures, mad scientists, and even other Gargoyles.  I’ve talked at length about it before, but this show was way ahead of its time.  Unlike the other Disney cartoons it was serious, the storylines were expansive and complex, the characters were constantly evolving, the way it drew upon folklore, mythology, and Shakespeare for inspiration was masterful.  Gargoyles could deliver morals but do it in a subtle and entertaining way.  It tackled things like illiteracy, gun violence, and even racism, all while being a kick-ass action show.  Like most of Wiseman’s works, it was cancelled well before its time, it was a show that held so much potential and wasn’t afraid to take risks.  Gargoyles was a masterpiece.

25. Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: Craig McCracken’s beautifully animated show about a foster home where kids send their imaginary friends after they’ve outgrown them to be adopted by other children was probably the best thing ever done in Flash animation.  This show was the embodiment of joy.  Insanely creative, Foster’s had some of the best character designs ever, really drawing upon the creative minds of children to create the imaginary friends.  The show was rounded out by a great cast of core characters who were very well fleshed out and had real depth to them, especially the lead characters of Mac and his imaginary friend, the outspoken, selfish, manipulating, but otherwise friendly Bloo.  The voice acting was amazing, the writing and stories were hilarious and filled with all the great pop-culture jabs everyone loves.  But the best thing about the series was the look.  The color pallet was gorgeous and vibrant and the staging was truly cinematic.  It was creative, it was visually mind-blowing, it was funny, and it was fun.  You didn’t have to be a kid to see the brilliance in this cartoon.

24. Justice League/Justice League Unlimited: Superfriends used to eb the most well known portrayal of the Justice League of America in the mainstream media, but in 2001, Bruce Timm and crew would once again work their magic with the DC heroes and give us Justice League.  Taking some inspiration from various interpretations of the League in the comics, most notably the Grant Morrison run, Justice League assembled seven of the most recognizable DC heroes and pitted them against the greatest threats known to man.  This series continued the continuity established in the previous Batman and Superman cartoons and brought attention to various other DC heroes like Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Green Lantern John Stewart.  Each episode was about an hour long and typically split up into two parts, making each episode feel like its own mini-movie.  The characters were all engaging and had real life to them, the various ways the characters would interact with each other, as well as their conflicting styles and ways of operating made the stories that much more gripping to watch. In 2004 the show was relaunched as Justice League Unlimited and featured a greatly expanded cast of heroes and villains, and more stand-alone but still interconnected stories.  JLU proved to be even better than Justice League and the second season story-arc alone rivals anything that had ever been done in the comics and was some of the best writing on television.  Justice League and JLU was the exact thing comic book fans had been waiting for, a smart, serious, and fun animated portrayal of the greatest super team of all time.

23. The Flintstones: A true hallmark of Hanna Barbera, and animation as a whole.  The Flinstones, essentially The Honeymooners in a stone-age setting, was revolutionary as being the first prime-time animated TV show.  Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera wanted to re-capture the adult audience they once had and this was the perfect show for it.  The show was written not like a traditional cartoon, but like sitcoms of the time.  The characters dealt with more down to Earth issues played off this pre-historic backdrop with dinosaurs and saber-toothed tigers and stuff.  The show had some truly larger than life characters, especially Fred and Barney who would go on to outlive the show itself.  At it’s time, The Flintstones was the first cartoon in a long time to have a firm grasp on both younger and older audiences, and being the first animated sitcom it would go on to pave the way for shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy.  It was groundbreaking – or stonebreaking, HAHAHA!  See what I did there, that’s called comedy – for its time, and still holds up today.  The Flintstones is a classic.

22. Quick Draw McGraw: Hanna Barbera’s animated send up of the western genre was a great one.  One of the earliest Hanna Barbera TV cartoons, Quick Draw McGraw was about a good-hearted, semi-competent, but mostly dim-witted anthropomorphic horse sheriff named Quick Draw and his much smarter but laid-back donkey sidekick Baba Looey.  The show one of the original HB stable of toons of the 50’s, long before the quality of their shorts began to drop, so the formula was both fresh and engaging.  Quick Draw, as well as his alter-ego El-Kabong, was a great character.  He wasn’t as passive as Huckleberry Hound or as slick as Yogi Bear, but more a bit-more of a blow hart, which is always fun to watch.  He was always in it to do the right thing, but was just kind of a stubborn moron.  Baba Looey was cool, collected, and the wiser of the duo, so of course he was always ignored.  The show was funny and featured that good, but underrated HB animation.

21. The Powerpuff Girls: Craig McCracken’s breakout show about three super powered little girls still in kindergarten started out life as a short film called The Whoop-Ass Girls, but was toned down and real tooled for Cartoon Network.  The show was one of the absolute best of the creator driven cartoons of the 90’s.  The look was very much of the Hanna Barbera style, but the animation was far better.  The color style of the show was absolutely amazing and could tell a story better than dialogue could.  Not to say the dialogue was bad, far from it, the show was witty as hell and could parody the superhero genre and yet still be a great entry in its own right.  Everything from American comics, to anime, to action movies, was a big influence on this show and the characters very appealing, made all the more better by the top-notch voice acting, Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, and E.G. Daily all did amazing jobs as Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup respectively and they played off each other so well.  Powerpuff Girls had the kind of crazy fun missing from superheroes today and still remains a must see for any animation fan.

Well, next week will be the big one, the grand finale of this insane list, the top 20 greatest animated series of all time, including the number 1.  I’ve saved the best for last so get ready to have your feeble minds BLOWN!

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Confronting Fears of an Uncertain Future of Corporate Controlled Zombie Cartoons

or

The Future of Animation and Me

What’s happened to traditional animation?  Truthfully, nothing really.  It’s in smaller quantities now, understandably due to the advancements made in CGI, but it’s still very much around.  New shows like Tuff Puppy, Adventure Time, G.I. Joe Renegades, and the new Thundercats still utilize the classic hand-drawn style, as well as established shows like Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer, and Fairly Oddparents.  Traditional animation is still here, it’s the personality behind the animation that’s gone away.

Back in the 1990‘s film and television animation went through what most call a Renaissance.  Disney returned to their former glory, putting out big screen hits like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, as well as developing the Disney Afternoon cartoon block for television.  Warner Bros and Stephen Spielberg partnered to create shows like Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, and Pinky and the Brain, in homage to the golden age cartoon shorts of Warners.  Nickelodeon burst onto the scene with animated hits like Doug, Rugrats, and the Ren and Stimpy Show.  And Cartoon Network began producing their own original cartoon series like Dexter’s Laboratory and Powerpuff Girls.  This era launched the careers of some of the best animators in the business.  John Krisfaluci, Gendy Tartakovsky, Craig McCraken, Joe Murray, Glen Keane, Bruce Timm, all got their big breaks around this time.  While not every cartoon to come out of this era was a winner, this time in the animation, proved unique because it seemed like studios then were more willing to take a risk.  Obviously there were the shows driven toy companies and whatnot, and those were interchangeable, but there was a surprising number of innovative cartoons that look, felt, and acted nothing like those studio driven ones.  Cartoons like Ren and Stimpy, Rocko,  and Dexter’s Laboratory were excellent because you could feel the creator’s personality injected into it.    From the design of the backgrounds, to the way the characters acted, to the timing of the gags, to the type of stories they told, they had their own way of expression that no other show could copy.  You could get a gauge of their thought process, their outlook on the world, their influences, to them, animation was an outlet to express their creativity.

Enter 2011, as I look at all this new animated programming coming in, I’m not seeing personality, I’m seeing trends.  It’s becoming more and more clear that studios don’t want to finance creativity, or at least creativity that hasn’t proved it can sell before.  To your average modern day studio executive, animation is something that can just be done on computers.  They don;t understand the care that goes into making a good cartoon good, because that’s not their language.  Why do you think most cartoons nowadays seem more like animated sitcoms, it’s because the world of live action is more familiar to executives.  They can understand a script perfectly, but for some odd reason can’t comprehend a storyboard, which is basically like a comic strip panel without the word balloon.  They don’t get that animators don’t think in words, but in images.  But what do they care, they ship is all over to Korea anyway, so it’s not their problem. A show like Rocko’s Modern Life came out at just the right time.  If Geraldine Laybourne wasn’t running Nickelodeon’s animation department then, this gem of a show might never have seen the light of day.  Today, no way it would fly, at least not the way Murray would have intended.  The show would be toned down heavily, the “off-balance” style might be replaced with something more static, and the humor would primarily be all dialogue based.  Why, because that seems to be the route things are taking.

I could be wrong here, but the way I see it there are three types of cartoons that seem to be coming out more and more.  The studio/toy company driven cartoons like the ones that make up the Hub’s programing block (G.I. Joe Renegades, Transformers: Prime, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), the completely CG animated series like the ones Nickelodeon is putting out more of (Fanboy and Chum Chum, Penguins of Madagascar, Planet Sheen), and the post-modern humor, low quality, “ironic” shows that Cartoon Network now seems to be fond of (Adventure Time, The Regular Show, Amazing World of Gumball).  Obviously the types aren’t exclusive to each network, but you can see a patten forming.  I’m not trying to say these showas are all bad, their not all bad, some from what I understand are quite good, but there’s no denying there’s no heart in their animation.  They all just kind of blend together, nothing original, nothing that let’s me get to know the creators more.    Even the shows today that are creator driven, that are still semi-traditional in their animation, the all seem to be conforming to the same flat style.  The 2D cartoons that we all love have become just that, 2D, in look and feel.  Nothing that makes me think the characters could hop off the screen and move in real life.  The Renaissance is definitely over, it seems now like we’ve entered into a new dark age.  It’s not all bad, but there excitement and optimism of the 90‘s seems to have gone away.

All this rambling brings me back into my own head.  I want to be in the animation business so bad.  I want to create shows that will appeal to all audiences.  I want to make real animation.  I don’t just want to ship it off to some other country and be satisfied with whatever comes back, I want to give it a certain flare that I know only I can put into it.

Here’s a clip from the episode of Ren and Stimpy, “Sven Hoek”.  This is perhaps one of the greatest pieces of animation ever done:

I could do a whole article on why it’s so damn great, and one day I just might, but in short, this is the kinda thing I want to do.  I want my characters to have personality, to be able to act like real people would.  I want to put some humanity back into animation, but I’m scared I wont be able to it.  The thought of me not being able to create the show I want to because it might not be trendy, or some douchebag exec who can’t even grasp the complexities of a stick figure just “doesn’t get it”, terrifies me to no end.  Is this the real future of animation.  Souless, corporate driven, carbon copied?  I’d love to be able to get some experience working on some of these shows, but I don’t want to be doing other peoples visions for my entire career.

I know in order to survive in this business, you need to be flexible, you need to learn how to pick your battles, and you can’t always get exactly what you want.  But I don’t know how much I’d be willing to give up.  Would I have to change my entire style, my entire way of thinking to fit some trend that’ll ultimately burn out and be forgotten in time?  Or will I catch that lucky break?  The hopeful dreamer in me thinks that one day soon, we’ll get some studios that want to take a chance again and do something different, and hopefully, I’ll be ready when it comes.  Until then, I can only watch and learn.

A Celebration of the Unsung Talents that Helped Shaped the Childhoods of Millions and Put Most of Hollywood to Shame

or

My Top 10 Favorite Voice Actors

Hey there sports fans!  Wait, you guys aren’t sports fans.  HOW DARE YOU DECEIVE ME!

All kidding aside, I’m back folks, where I’ve been is too horrifying to reveal here, but here I am ready to dive back into the world of animation. For this new entry I’ve decided to take a minute to shine a light on one of the most important aspects of animation, and one of the most misunderstood…voice acting.  A lot of people, like most Hollywood studios, seems to think voice acting is nothing but rolling up to a mic and reading off a script, sometimes in a funny voice.  Those stupid, misinformed, little people.  The “acting” part of voice acting is too often forgotten.  A lot of special craft goes into creating the voice of a character.  The voice has to reflect the character’s look and personality, they have to be able to convey the characters in all sorts of emotions, it has to make the character sound unique and original, and make the character come alive.   Think back to some of the most famous cartoon characters in history, what’s the first thing that stands out about them?  Their voice.  What would Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the Looney Tunes be without Mel Blanc?  What would Popeye be without Red Pepper Sam?  Yogi Bear, Homer Simpson, and Spongebob would’nt be half as well remembered without Daws Butler, Dan Castellanetta, and Tom Kenny respectively. A strong, recognizable, and unique voice is key to an animated characters success and today I’m going to pay special tribute to my top ten favorites.

Keep in mind I said favorites, and not who I’d consider the very best.  Otherwise greats like Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, June Foray, Paul Winchell, Don Messick, and Gary Owens would dominate this list.  This is a list of voice actors who I’ve grown up listening to.  Their voices are etched into my most precious childhood memories…all those years I spent not going outside and watching non-stop cartoons.  These ten are all extremely talented and deserve to be bigger than they are, though I think most of them prefer to be low key.  A lot of great names ended up getting left of my ten, greats like Tom Kenny, Kevin Michael Richardson, Cree Summer, Frank Welker, James Arnold Taylor, Debbi Derryberry, Candi Milo, and Christina Cavanaugh, but nonetheless, I’m quite proud of this list.  So let’s begin.

10. Phil LaMarr

You may remember him from Mad TV, but Phil’s voice acting debut was in the Mr. T cartoon as Woody, but he’s ore memorable from him roles in Justice League as Green Lantern, Grim and Evil as Hector Con Carne, Virgil Hawkings/Static in Static Shock, Hermes Conrad in Futurama,, Wilt in Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and the title role in Samurai Jack.  Phil’s background in improv lends itself well to the world of voice acting. Phil has a great sense of comedic timing and is an amazing impressionist.The Weekenders was probably the first I recognized him from and I remember how much he made me laugh in the role, and it’s that same humor that makes every one of his comedic roles so great, I dare anyone not to love his Red Foxx as Blacula as Dracula in Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.  On the flip side, Phil can do serious really well.  He’s played characters like Samurai Jack, Green Lantern, Kit Fisto, Aquaman, and Vamp in Metal Gear Solid and in each he brings a level of strength and power that puts him on par with the best of the best.  Here’s a little example of that…

9. Tara Strong

Tara is just awesome.  Tara Strong started her career in voice acting in the late 80’s and early 90’s on shows like Care Bears, Hello Kitty Fury Tale Theater, and the Beetlejuice animated series, but her breakout roles came in 1998 as Baby Dill Pickles in Rugrats(she also voiced the older version of the character in sequel series All Grown Up) and in Powerpuff Girls as Bubbles.  As Bubbles, Tara could be cute and, well, bubbly, but could flip into vicious and hardcore at a moments notice, and it was excellent.  From there she’s had starring roles in shows like Xiaolin Showdown as Omi, Filmore as Ingrid Third, Teen Titans as Raven, Batman the Animated Series as Batgirl(taking over the role from the late great Mary Kay Bergman), Ben on Ben 10, and of course, Fairly Oddparents as Timmy Turner.   She made a radical departure from the kid friendly roles on the Comedy Central series Drawn Together as Princess Clara and Toot Braustien, and she delivered two more phenomenal performances.  And it was just hilarious to hear all the vile,dirty, racist, sexist, homophobic, lines come out of the same mouth that voiced a rugrat.  In addition to her acting skills, she’s a great singer, and she’s even put those skills on display, like in  Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea as Ariel’s daughter Melody. 

8. Charlie Adler

Charlie Adler is hands down one of the best voice actors to ever live.  He’s been every cartoon you could think of and has voiced a wide array of characters, from the evil record executive Eric Raymond in Jem and the Holograms to heroic Chance Furlong (aka T-Bone) in Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron.  Charlie can act more with his voice than most people can with their entire bodies. Growing up in the 90’s, Charlie was a staple of that era’s cartoons.  The Bigheads in Rocko’s Modern Life, Ickis in Aaahh Real Monsters, Buster Bunny in Tiny Toon Adventures, I.R. Baboon in I.M Weasel, both the title characters in Cow and Chicken and also the “Red Guy”, Professor Monkey for a Head in Earthworm Jim, Mechanicles in Aladdin, Mad Dog in TaleSpin, it was impossible NOT to hear him.  Charlie has an amazing vocal range and isn’t afraid to go over-the-top with his performances when it calls for it.  He can be smarmy, he can be sarcastic, he can be energetic, he can be subtle, he can do it all, he’s that damn good.  He was also Starscream in all three Transformers flicks, but due to how little the robots were featured in those movies you could barely tell.  What a waste of great talent.

7. Jess Harnell

At first glance Jess looks like a aging rock star, but he’s really one of the most talented guys working today.  His breakout role is one any child of the 90’s would recognize him from, the goofy, ever-hungry, and often flatulent Wakko Warner in Animaniacs.  He hasn’t had as many lead roles as the other actors on he list, but that doesn’t make him any less amazing.  He was able to channel Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man to voice the character Sewer Urchin on the Tick, he was Hunter the leader of the Road Rovers, Captain Hero on Drawn Together, Secret Squirrel in the 90’s Super Secret Squirrel cartoons, and he portrayed the characters Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon in multiple games of their respective series, as well as roles in games like Ratchet and Clank and Kingdom Hearts.  Jess is just as funny on camera as he is off, and he proved that in Mark Hamill’s Comic Book the Movie were you can hear him do dead on impressions of Albert Brooks, Ozzy Osborne, and all four Beatles.

 6. Billy West

YOU EEEEEEDIOT!  Those two words helped make Bily West one of the most notable voice actors today.  As if you didn’t already know, he made a name for himself as Stimpy in The Ren and Stimpy Show, and later took over as the voice of Ren as well.  At same time he was doing that he was also staring in another Nicktoon, Doug as title character Doug Funnie and the bully Roger Klotz.  Since then, Billy has been all over the map doing major and supporting roles in shows like CatDog, Project GeeKeR, Queer Duck, and Mad Jack the Pirate, as well as movie rolls like Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Joes Apartment, and Space Jam where he played Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.  But what’s really made him a household name is is work on the hit series Futurama is Fry, Dr. Zoidberg, Prof. Farnsworth, Zapp Branigan, and multiple incidental characters.  Oh, and did I mention he’s also the Red M&M.  Yeah, he’s good.   Really good.

5. Tress MacNeille

A true icon in the voice acting world, I would call her my generation’s June Foray if June Foray still around then.  Tress has a tremendous vocal range and a tremendous amount of comedic talent.  Tress has a huge list of credits under her belt, all of witch are favorites of mine.  Dot in Animaniacs, Babs Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures, Daisy Duck, Chip and Gadget on Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers, Angelica’s Mom on Rugrats, Dorris on the Critic, Callie Briggs on Swat Kats, Colleen on Road Rovers, as well as numerous roles on both the Simpsons(Agnes Skinner, Dolph, Crazy Cat Lady, Lindsay Neagle, Cookie Kwan) and Futurama(Mom, Crazy Old Lady, Ndnd, and Tinny Tim).  Tress’ voice can be heard in literally hundreds of cartoons and animated movies and she’s absolutely brilliant in every one of them.

4. Jeff Bennett

Jeff Bennett was a VA I never was able to recognize until much later.  As a kid the only things I knew him from were Gargoyles as Brooklyn(and as I later found out, Owen Burnett and the Magus) and Mighty Ducks as Duke L’Orange, both my favorite character on the respective series.  But as soon as I learned how many roles he’s done that I recognized, it blew my mind.  Dad in Dexter’s Laboratory,  Cowlarado Kid in Cowboys of Moo Mesa,  the title character in Johnny Bravo, Lord Bravery in Freakazoid, Blitz in Road Rovers, Bud and Stereo on Space Goofs, and 3/5 of the Gangreen Gang on Powerpuff Girls.   Nowadays I can pinpoint his voice more easily, but that doesn’t change how talented the man is.  I know I barely scratched the surface with his credits, but those are the ones that are the most special to me.  I thank you, Mr. Bennett.

3. Maurice LaMarche

Maurice LaMarche has done a voice in pretty much every cartoon you grew up with, if you grew up in the 80’s and 90’s that is.  Formerly from the world of stand-up, Maurice brings an amazing and dynamic vocal range and a knack for impressions to this field.  He’s most notably The Brain in Pinky and the Brain, but let’s not forget some of his other roles.  Squit of the Goodfeathers in Animaniacs(Best Ray Liotta impression ever), Egon in Real Ghostbusters, The Chief in Inspector Gadget(and later Inspector Gadget himself), Apache Cief, Fred Flinstone and other characters in Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Dizzy Devil in Tiny Toon Adventures, Big Bob Pataki in Hey Arnold, not to mention his numerous roles in Futurama, including but not limited to, Kiff Kroker, Morbo, Lrr, and Calculon.  And of course, his dead on Orson Wells impersonations.  They made for some of the best moments on The Critic.

2. Jim Cummings

A true god amongst gods.  Jim Cummings is a phenom.  He can act, he can sing, he can be goofy, he can be powerful, he can do it all. It’s hard for me to encapsulate his talent in words, so it’s best to just let his credits speak for themselves…The title character in Darkwing Duck(as well as his arch nemesis Negaduck), Bonkers D. Bobcat and Lucky Piquel in Bonkers, Don Karnage and King Louie in TaleSpin, Pete in Goof Troop and Kingdom Hearts, Fat Cat and Professor Nimnul in Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers, Zummi Gummi(taking over for Paul Winchell) in Gummi Bears, Dingo in Gargoyles, Winnie the Pooh AND Tigger in New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and most of the Pooh movies, Nessus in Hercules, Ray the firefly in Princess and the Frog, Razoul in the Aladdin series, Ed the Hyena in The Lion King…and all that’s just his Disney work!  He was also Morroco Mole in Super Secret Squirrel, Taz in Taz Mania, Leatherhead in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(as well as an alternate voice for Shredder), Mayor Manx in SWAT Kats, Dakota Dude in Cowboys of Moo Mesa, Dr. Robotnik in Sonic: SatAM,…*whew*.  Yeah, and there’s still a lot more to go.  The man is amazing.  Fun fact: During production of The Lion King, Jeremy Irons'(Scar)  vocal chords ended up blowing out while recording the song “Be Prepared”, the song where Scar explains his master plan of killing Mufasa and Simba.  He couldn’t finish the song so Jim Cummings was brought in to finish it.  Listen to the song as see if you can hear where it becomes Jim singing.

1. Rob Paulsen.

Even with greats like Charlie Adler and Jim Cummings on this list, hands down my favorite voice actor of all time in Rob Paulsen.  No other voice actor stands out the most in my mind.  No other voice actor had the most impact on my childhood.  Rob Paulsen is an immense talent.  His charm, his wit, his likability, his quickness, all through the roof.  Rob started his voice acting career in the 80’s doing minor roles,even voicing Hadji on The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, but his big break came in 1987 when he voiced the sai-wielding, quick-witted, fourth wall breaking Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles *squee*.  From there, his career took off.  Rob would go on to make a huge name for himself by voicing Yakko Warner in Animaniacs, and the dim-witted Pinky in the spin-off series Pinky and the Brain.  Those two became the signature roles of his, showing off the best of Rob’s abilities.  Rob continued to make my childhood awesome by voicing characters like Throttle in Biker Mice from Mars, Arthur in The Tick, PJ in Goof Troop. Steelbeak in Darkwing Duck, Hard Drive in SWAT Kats, Antoine in Sonic SatAM, and the title character in Mighty Max.  Rob also played Carl Weezer in Jimmy Neutron and Planet Sheen, an took over for Jim Carrey as the voice of Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask in The Mask the Animated Series, an was better at it in my opinion. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet, but as far as I can tell, Rob is the nicest guy in the world, he does a lot for work for charity, offers vocal coaching sessions, and always has time for his fans.  His new podcast, Talking Toons with Rob Paulsen is just a peak into the life of this amazing talent.  Rob Paulsen is an icon to me, and I can’t help but smile every time I hear his voice in a cartoon.

At the time of writing this, The Smurfs has recently come out in theaters.  It’s another example of my growing problem with animated movies and studios going for any celebrity they can get rather than actual voice actors.  Why the need for Jeff Foxworthy, Anton Yelchin, and *ugh* George Lopez in Smurf roles when Jeff Bennett can do half those voices himself.  Katy Perry is completely unnecessary when voice actresses like Grey DeLisle and Tara Strong exist.  The voice actor community is filled with extremely talented and versatile actors and actresses, and it’s long past time they be given their due.  And now to take us out, Rob Paulsen showing us why he’s one of the best, preforming live the song “Nations of the World” by his Animaniacs character Yakko Warner.  Enjoy.

JJ and his amazing friend Michael continue the countdown to episode 100! The pair drift into some geeky water this week, better bring those water-wings. If you are sensitive to spoilers regarding Blackest Night, Brightest Day, Star Wars Novels, or maybe even a bit of Peter David’s X-Factor you have been warned. But you will be missing all the fun…

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Two Pieces of Great Foreign Animation that put most of the Good Ole U.S. of A’s Stuff to utter Shame.  Or, My Reviews of The Secret of Kells and Dead Leaves.

Here in America, CGI has become the dominate media for animated films.  Some utilize it to great effect like Pixar and Blue Sky, and some…well…don’t.  I wont name names of course *cough*Dreamworks*/cough*.  Point is, it’s always interesting when an animated film comes along that’s stylistically different from the rest, and takes bold new approaches to animation.   But you’re not going to find it here, studios and most audiences fear and reject change, no, we must look to other countries for new exciting animated films.  Today I’m here to review two such pieces, both very different from each other, yet equal in level of quality and fun.  2009’s The Secret of Kells from Ireland and 2004’s Dead Leaves out of Japan. Both offer quality viewings, each in their own unique ways.  So let’s dive in.

The Secret of Kells (2009) directed by Tomm Moore

The Secret of Kells was a film I was very vaguely familiar with.  I had only heard about it when I read that it was nominated for Best Animated film at the Oscars.  I hadn’t seen any clips or images of it, and I remember being disappointed that it was nominated and Ponyo from Hayao Miyazaki got snubbed.  It wasn’t until earlier this year (2011 for all you people in the future reading this, hope your alien/robot/Sasquatch overlords are treating you kindly), that I decided to sit down and watch the flick…I was blown away.

The story is set in 9th century Ireland and tells the fictionalized story behind the Book of Kells.  The main character is a young boy named Brendan, an apprentice illuminator who works with a famed illuminator Brother Aidan to complete his manuscript, The Book of Iona.  But his uncle, Abbot Cellach, a former illuminator, wants Brendan to follow in his footsteps and help him finish construction on a wall around their village to protect them from invading Vikings.  The creation of the Book is the framework of the story, but the true core of movie is Brendan growing up and reaching out from his sheltered existence and discovering the world past the walls.  The story is easy to relate to and very emotional.  The main characters each have their own charm and could very well be real people.  The classic archetypes are well represented and they don’t feel forced or one-dimensional like in other stories.  Brendan isn’t annoying or whiny like most kids in animated films, he’s adventurous, creative and kind-hearted.  Any of us who’ve ever felt like we’ve been smothered or sheltered can see ourselves in him, he’s someone longing to discover new things and doesn’t want to be forced into the shadow of someone else.  Abbot Cellach could have easily have come out a typical oppressive figure for our hero with no real motivation for being a dick other than being a dick, but instead he’s portrayed as someone who cares, both for his nephew and his people, but has become grizzled and hardened over time, losing his hopefulness in favor of realism.  He’s so focused on protecting everyone it actually blinds him both from the outside world and his nephew’s plight. He’s a very multi-layered character, he doesn’t yell, he’s very calm, rational, and intimidating, and his arc and relationship with Brendan is one of the strongest aspects of the movie.  Brother Aidan is the stark opposite of Cellach.  He’s optimistic, easy going, and imaginative.  He’s the one to encourage Brendan to open his eyes to the world around him.  He’s kind of like that fun Grandpa who takes you to the zoo, and gives you money, and takes you to candy factories run by Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp.

The true highlight of the movie is the visuals.  They’re in a word, phenomenal.  The movie combines traditional and digital animation.  The look of the movie is very flat, meant to give the illusion of a storybook, however the flatness works in the film’s favor.  It allows the animators to play with depth and perspective in a way never before seen.  The characters and environments all appear two dimensional but the characters freely move around the world as if in three dimensions, to see it is mind-boggling.  The use of colors is absolutely astounding, looking so rich and detailed that it rivals even hand painted backgrounds.  The colors enrich the emotional beats of the movie.  The use of bright blues, yellows, and greens for the seen where Brendan and the fairy, Aisling, give a sense of wonder and magic, while the powerful use of blacks, grays, and dark reds in the Viking scenes add to the dread and terror.  The music is done by Bruno Coulais and it is beautiful.  The animation was done by three different studios in three different countries.  Cartoon Saloon in Ireland, Vivi Film in Belgium, and Les Armateurs in France, all three at the top of their game here.

Looking at the film it reminded me of one of my favorite animators, and on I’ve spoken of many times here, Genndy Tartakovsky.  The flat imagery and dynamic cinematography and very reminiscent of his work on shows like Samurai Jack and Clone Wars, and that’s a very good thing.  I cannot recommend this film enough, I’m embarrassed it took me this long to see it.

And now, onto an animated film of a completely different nature…

Dead Leaves (2004) directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi

Remember all those fast paced, high energy, and nonsense cartoons of the 90’s?  Well, they got nothing on Dead Leaves.

Done by the animation studio Production I.G., Dead Leaves is a crazy, balls-to-the-walls animated action spectacle that trades in plot, character development, and emotional depth in favor of insane visuals, intense cartoon violence, and the crudest of crude humor.  And believe it or not, that’s a good thing.  The movie focuses on two characters, Retro, a hyperactive dim-wit with a TV for a head, and Pandy, an ass-kicking femme fatale.  They wake up naked on Earth with no memory of how they got there, and after and wacky violent encounter with the cops, they end up in a prison colony on the moon where their memory begins to return.  All the while people get killed horribly, things get blown-up, and some sexin’ goes on.

This movie makes absolutely no sense and it’s awesome!  It knows exactly what it is and delivers on every level.  It’s extremely fast paced, and rarely, if ever, slows down long enough for you to catch your breath.  The characters, while lacking any true depth, are all in their own way, charming, and you find yourself getting attached to them, if only it’s because their all funny.  The humor is about as childish as you can get.  Sex jokes, poop jokes, penis jokes, they’re all there.  Hell, there’s a guy named Dick Drill, and it’s exactly what the name implies.  Yet for all the immaturity you can’t help but to laugh and feel good for doing it.  The violence is insane.  Think of the crazy anime fight scene you can picture, it pales in comparison here.  It’s like The Matrix on 12 pounds of sugar and crack, bullets and blood fly everywhere.  Ancillary characters get killed left and right while the main characters are left magically unscathed. It’s hard for me to even really describe what goes on here, you just have to see it for yourself.

The animation in this movie is sick.  Unlike the elegance of Secret of Kells, this movie features heavy shadows, sharp designs, and extreme exaggeration.  It’s seems cluttered and chaotic but there’s really strong construction in it and features excellent staging. It’s like a Fleischer Bros. cartoon if the Fleischer artists were Japanese and on heroin.  The rock soundtrack only adds to the energy of the film.  I’m a little late getting to this one, but I’m glad I stumbled across it, the smile I had on my face while watching it had to be surgically removed.

So there you have it, two great animated films, from two great countries for animation, both using traditional techniques in combination with modern advancements to create astounding visual epics.  People, I’m saying it again, check out Dead Leaves and The Secret of Kells, you will absolutely not regret it.  As for animation studios here in America, I can only say this, STEP IT UP!

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JJ and his amazing friend Aaron welcome both the New Year and the new home of Mars Needs! The pair are a bit punch drunk and have a difficult time staying on point, so they discuss body modification, finding your best side, self loathing, and sizing up celebrities. Somehow they even manage to talk of exciting future projects. Happy New Year everyone, and Helllllllllllllo Doom!

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By Colin “Ballsmonkey” Hill”

Part 1: Step right up and come on in, here’s where the fun begins.

Those were the words that introduced a block of cartoons that never failed to enlighten and entertain every kid in the 1990’s, The Disney Afternoon. The Disney Afternoon ran from 1990 to 1997, and featured a myriad of cartoons that delivered all the action, adventure, and comedy we needed growing up. This group of shows re- invented such classic Disney characters as Uncle Scrooge, Goofy, and Chip ‘n Dale, as well as introducing us to a whole cast of new ones like Launchpad McQuack, Max Goof, and Gadget Hackwrench. If you’re like me, this block of shows helped define your childhood. The DA was just as big a part of my developing years as Ninja Turtles, Batman, and Power Rangers. It was both kick ass and family friendly, proof that studio driven cartoons can be good when done right. Today in this article, I’m bringing you a Disney Afternoon.

The Disney Afternoon officially came into being on September 10, 1990, though three of its shows (Adventures of the Gummi Bears, DuckTales, and Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers), had debuted some years prior. The three already popular cartoons were repackaged and grouped with TaleSpin, the first cartoon original to the block, and thus the legend was born. The Animation was done by the Australia-based studio Disney Toon Studios (now Walt Disney Television Animation and relocated to Burbank, California). The first four DA shows featured more conservative and soft traditional Disney animation, though later series would be more energetic and cartoony. Also notable among the shows were their incredible theme songs. Each was very catchy, they fit the tone of the show, and did what every theme song should do, get you pumped for the actual show. From Gummi Bears’ majestic and harmonious score, to the jazzy and noir-feel of Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers’ theme, to the mind-bogglingly quirky and freakishly addictive theme that preceded DuckTales, these songs were well constructed and made sure these shows stuck with you for a long while. Also common among the shows was their robust and incredibly talented voice casts. Such greats as Jim Cummings, Bill Farmer, Tress MacNeille, Christine Cavanaugh, Russi Taylor, Rob Paulsen, Jeff Bennett, Corey Burton, and late, greats like Paul Winchell and Dana Hill gave life to the amazing and loveable characters.

In 1991, Darkwing Duck made its debut, pushing Gummi Bears off the line-up. This would become a common practice in this line-up, whenever a new show was added, the oldest show would be bumped off and the rest would be moved up one, a system that looking back was very fair and logical. Goof Troop’s addition in ’92 would move DuckTales off, and 93’s Bonkers would go on to replace Rescue Rangers. Other shows to make their way onto the line-up in one form or another included Gargoyles, Aladdin the Series, Quack Pack, Timon and Pumbaa, The Schnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show, Mighty Ducks, and 101 Dalmatians the Series. The Disney Afternoon would continue to air in syndication until the Fall of 1997 when it was removed from the air and its shows played sporadically on Toon Disney. In its run, the block’s individual shows spawned toys, video games, and soundtracks, two feature films, and even a whole attraction and rides at Disneyland.

With that bit of history aside, let’s now look at the individual shows themselves and what made them so damn good.

The Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985): The first of the DA shows before DA even existed. Gummi Bears, indeed inspired by the candy of the same name, told the story of a group of mystical and anthropomorphic bears called Gummies who drank a special elixir known as Gummiberry Juice that gave them the ability to bounce like rubber, as well as giving super strength to any human that drank it. Thought extinct, a group of seven Gummi Bears (Zummi, Gruffi, Grammi, Sunni, Cubby, Tummy and later Gusto) live in secret and protect the medieval kingdom of Dunwyn from the evil Duke Igthorn and his army of Ogres. Gummi Bears was a breath of fresh air in the dark decade of animation known as the 80’s. It featured an engaging and surprisingly deep story with believable characters. The Gummi’s themselves talked and acted like real people, and had their own unique quirks. Gusto Gummi was my favorite. He was wacky, quick witted, and hilarious, thanks in part to the vocal stylings of Rob Paulsen. The show was rich in fantasy and created a world of wizardry and gadgetry, a world where anything was possible, and served as the inspiration for another show on this block that we’ll get to later. It even had a proper series finale, which sent the series out on a hopeful note. Why this show never spawned a movie I’ll never know.

DuckTales (1987): Life is like a hurricane, here in Duckburg. All it takes is those words to get that horribly addictive theme song stuck in your head. DuckTales was based off the Uncle Scrooge comics by Carl Barks. It told the adventures of Scrooge McDuck, the richest Duck in the world, as he hunted for treasures and such with his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and his pilot Launchpad McQuack. DuckTales combined the spirit of Indiana Jones with the whimsy of Disney. Scrooge was a great lead character, crusty and greedy, but honorable and fair. Huey, Dewy, and Louie served as very resourceful sidekicks. But the clear breakout star of the show was Launchpad. A jack-of-all-trades with a million dollar heart and nickel head, with the ability to crash any plane he flies, a skill which he was proud of. DuckTales took us all around the world from African jungles, to the deserts of Egypt, to European country sides. The show was unintentionally teaching us geography while thrilling us with adventures. The show featured a great cast of supporting characters like the inventor, Gyro Gearloose, the superhero Gizmoduck, the bumbling burglars the Beagle Boys, and the nefarious Magica DeSpell and was a staple of kids programming, even spawning the excellent movie Treasure of the Lost Lamp. If the show had one failing, it was that during the final season Launchpad was removed (then starring on Darkwing Duck), and the focus was moved to Scrooge’s accountant Fenton Crackshell and his heroic alter- ego Gizmoduck. The show really lost what made it so good and sadly ended on a low note. Thankfully, the adventures of Scrooge and company continue in the Uncle Scrooge comics which have been rebranded to incorporate the whole DuckTales universe. Everything comes full circle.

Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers (1989): Disney’s chipmunk duo had until then been pretty bland and one-note. Who knew that the key to revamping Chip ‘n Dale was to stick them in a fedora and Hawaiian shirt respectively? CDRR grouped the chipmunk duo with three new characters; Gadget, the bubbly and absent-minded inventor of the group, Monterey Jack, the boastful and seasoned adventurer with a cheese addiction (who was voiced by Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen), and Zipper, Monty’s loyal fly sidekick. Together they served as detectives who helped any animal in need, and on occasion came up against Fat Cat, a kitty crime boss, and Professor Nimul, a mad scientist as well as their only human enemy. Rescue Rangers was a fun show all around. The characters all had a great dynamic and played off each other perfectly. Chip ‘n Dale made a great duo, with the former as the serious and straightforward leader and the latter being the playful goofball and the resident comic relief. Also great was the duo competing for the attention of Gadget who was always comically unaware of their affections. The show was great at combining the feel of a 40’s noir detective movie with a 70’s TV cop drama, granted the stories were for kids, but they never felt dumbed down. Another quirk was due to the Rescue Rangers being chipmunks/mice, they used common household items like thimbles, detergent bottles, and rubber bands to make things like planes, televisions, and cars. It was creative and always fun to see, and it was that little quirk that inspired the Gadget Go-Coaster at Disneyland, which, as of time of me writing this, is still there today. CDRR was recently revived in comic book form, its first issue debuting this week. It remains to be seen how well the series will stay true to the source, but I have high hopes.

TaleSpin (1990): TaleSpin was originally conceived as a starring vehicle for DuckTales’ star Launchpad McQuack, but was quickly retooled to feature the characters of the Disney movie The Jungle Book set in the 1930’s with an aeronautical theme. The end result as a show filled with adventure and heart. The show centered on the adventures of Baloo, an ace pilot who works for the air cargo service “Higher for Higher”. Each episode would feature Baloo and his sidekick Kit getting into various adventures, discovering new worlds, and eluding the sky pirates led by the evil Don Karnage, all while trying to deliver their cargo. The show was like DuckTales, with the emphasis on travel and adventure, though the tone of this show was very different, more reminiscent of a 30’s and 40’s adventure serials that came before the movies. It did a good job of utilizing the Jungle Book characters in new roles. King Louie was now just Louie, the owner of a tiki bar/pit stop for pilots and Baloo’s best friend. Shere Khan went from being a ruthless killer to a ruthless, yet somewhat honorable, businessman. Mowgli was replaced by Kit as Baloo’s young companion and surrogate son. Baloo himself remained largely unchanged, still laid back and fun loving. The show also had a strong family aspect with the main characters (Baloo, Kit, Rebecca, and Molly) having a strong bond that gave the show a certain charm the previous shows didn’t have. Not the best show of the line-up, but still genuinely fun and exciting.

Since this one is running long, I’ll continue my look back next time with Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, Bonkers, Gargoyles, and the rest. Until next time kids…

By Colin “Ballsmonkey” Hill”

In 1996 I went to see a movie called “Space Jam”. Trailers for it made the movie look like a fun, nutty, adventure that teams Michael Jordan, the greatest Basketball player of the time, with the Looney Tunes, the greatest cartoon characters ever created. I must have seen that movie three or four times, I loved every minute of it. Why? Because I was young and dumb. Space Jam was a complete bastardization of everything Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleing, and Robert McKimson worked so hard to create. It took the characters that made them famous and turned them into a 90-minute long Nike commercial, hiring writers who have obviously never watched a cartoon in their life and had them rip the very soul out of Bugs Bunny and the crew and present us with pale imitations of their former selves.

Space Jam is a prime example the studio executives have no business handling cartoon characters. Sadly it wouldn’t be the last example…enter Yogi Bear.

This cinematic bile is the latest in a string of live action/CGI hybrids based off famous cartoon characters. Why not just do them in regular animation like they should be? Because audiences don’t wanna see that crap! Why look at appealing, well constructed, and unique cartoon characters when we can watch horrifying, mutant, abominations against God for two hours. Seriously, I don’t know what these dingbats are thinking but here’s a newsflash, not everything translates well into live action. Alvin and the Chipmunks, Garfield, Scooby Doo, not a single one of them bear even a resemblance to their animated counter parts, instead they look like the end result of a doomed lab experiment to create a new scent of Axe deodorant.

Hollywood has tried for years to pull off cartoon characters in the real world, and it’s always failed. They try to make the characters and tweak them with real world proportions and sensibilities, but they always come out looking like a hideous, shambling mockery of they once were. One look at them and you don’t wanna hug them, you wanna kill them fire (see Alvin and the Chipmunks, Garfield, Dino in the Flinstones movie, and Transformers for prime examples). With 2000’s Rocky and Bullwinkle they tried to keep the classic cartoon look, but in the end it just looked awkward in the real world background. Look, the reason these characters work in animation…is because it’s animation! You’re creating this world for these characters to exist in, and you believe it, because there’s nothing off putting about it. Trying to take those characters and adapt them to the real world will always result in failure because they weren’t meant for this world. Even human characters tend to look awkward and bland, like the Flinstones, they take the creativity out of them and just make them look like everyone else. It’s just not fun. With the Yogi Bear movie it looks like they didn’t know whether to go fully real or cartoony and the end result looks like an acid trip by Joe Barbera.

Speaking of which, if Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera were alive today, what would they say about this? They’d say they love it and fully support this because around the 1970’s thy really stopped caring. That presents another problem, there’s no one around anymore in a position to step up and say no. These beloved characters are sadly forever at the mercy of soulless monkeys-in-suits who have made it their mission to destroy imagination and originality and profit off of the remains. While he couldn’t stop them, I at least applaud Chuck Jones for not supporting that travesty that was Space Jam. Now who’s left?

I really don’t know why people pay to see these movies, (and by the way, I put most of the blame on the audience, because it’s your fault Hollywood is making these, you’re demanding them, you’re paying for the tickets, you’re not telling them to stop, you’re just as much to blame). They can’t think their getting the same thing they would watching the cartoons, because they’re not. What they’re getting is a writer’s twisted idea of what these characters are like, and worse, these movies go on for over an hour. How the hell do you take a six minute cartoon, stretch it out into an hour, and expect to get a good result? By the look of the trailer I can’t make out a distinguishable story, it just looks like a bunch of gags strung together, which isn’t really a bad thing, the Yogi Bear cartoons were just a series of gags, but the clear difference, the cartoon wasn’t over an hour long! And a certain point, that stuff will get old, and without an interesting story to hold the viewers interest, they’ll give up on it midway. But that’s beside the point.

Look, I like that Warner Bros is utilizing it’s large back-lot of cartoon characters and getting them back into the mainstream, but this is the worst possible way to do it. Kids back in 1996 weren’t seeing the Looney Tunes when they watched Space Jam, they were watching this unfunny, obnoxious, fake cartoon characters that were trying to pass themselves off as cartoon characters. Kids that went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks weren’t seeing the Alvin, Simon, and Theodore we grew up loving, no, they were seeing three little autotuned mutants. Alvin didn’t even wear his trademark red hat for christsakes. These characters are being put in the hands of writers and producers who don’t know dick about what it takes to make a cartoon work. Sad part is there are plenty of people today that do, but aren’t being given a shot. If Warner Bros wants to bring back the Hanna Barbera characters, there are better ways. Guys like CraigMcCracken and Gendy Tartakovsky are perfectly capable of making something truly worth seeing. They’ve successfully taken Hanna Barbera’s original system and molded it into their own, and have made truly amazing pieces of animation with it. Give them Yogi Bear, give them the money, give them the go-ahead, and they could produce a series of new, funny, beautiful looking Yogi Bear cartoons that kids can watch.

Make no mistake about this series, though, when you start reading it. No character is safe and you’re going to need quite a lot of comforting after some of the more gruesome points. You have been warned.

Yogi Bear won’t be the last to be tarnished by these monsters. Tom and Jerry are next up on the chopping block, and George Lopez and Mike Meyers are all ready to leave their wretched unfunny marks upon Speedy Gonzales and Pepe Le Pew respectively. Not even the greatest cartoon star of all time, Bugs Bunny, is safe. People, there’s a simple way to stop all this, just don’t go. Don’t take you kids to see it, don’t go out of curiosity, and don’t even go for the sole purpose of mocking it. If you stop watching it, they’ll stop making it. But alas that’ll never happen. Kids are stupid; they’ll eat this stuff up, and then realize later what a mistake they made. At this point I’d rather the characters just sit in the WB vaults and collect dust rather than be exploited like this, at least in the vaults they’d keep their dignity.