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| The rare "X-men vs. Depth Perception" mini-series |
Funnily enough, in a world that is rapidly changing, it seems the Saturday morning cartoon is an enduring tradition.
What were your favorite Saturday Morning Cartoons, growing up, and do they hold up, now?
(Cartoons do not, necessarily, have to air on Saturday morning to be discussed)
I was a big "Power Rangers" / "Transformers" / "Anything with giant robots punching each other" kind of guy, but was naturally enamored with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Preschool. I found some love for "Animaniacs" as a kid, but really didn't understand their pure genius until college - instead tossing my hat in with "Hysteria!" which I think I've brought up before.
So what are your favorite cartoons and what are some underrated gems. I'd like to point out that "The Spectacular Spider-man" is probably my favorite incarnation of the wall-crawler to grace animated TV.
Cartoon are for children!
ReplyDelete#CarryingOnTheMessage
I enjoyed Voltron (lion version) quite a bit but man that did NOT age well.
ReplyDeleteVehicle Voltron has more rewatchability as an adult. Plus, Drule Commander Hazar is the most fascinating character in that entire series.
ReplyDeleteBatman TAS
ReplyDeleteX-Men
Animaniacs
I watched Rugrats, Doug, and Nicktoons like that when I was young.
ReplyDeleteVoltron was the first cartoon that I can remember watching. Then He-Man and Transformers. For some reason Centurions and Bravestar stick out to me. TMNT obviously. X-Men was awesome, and I did a bit of Batman TAS too, but I never liked Batman as a character (no super powers) so skipped that one more often. Tiny Toons and Animaniacs both got a lot of play in my house too.
ReplyDeleteThen I would watch Pokemon and Dragonball with my little bro sometimes but I was a teenager by then and though that they were both pretty lame for my own sake. Especially Dragonball.
I mean, loads of others too, but those are the ones that stick out.
Oh great, 90s nostalgia. Now I feel old AND we're turning into Buzzfeed.
ReplyDeleteThe only REAL Saturday morning cartoon lineup was NBC in the 80s. Scientific fact.
http://www.retrojunk.com/article/show/2948/80s-saturday-morning-cartoons
There you go.
I'm probably on the older side of people here, but I loved MASK. In fact, I wasn't that big of a Saturday morning cartoon guy (I pretty much played sports as my free time activities), but the MASK toys and cartoons were neato. They were like Transformers for people without enough patience to transform them. Right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteOk, did I dream this up as a kid, but was there an episode where Voltron actually LOST? I just can't find any confirmation of it online.
ReplyDeleteWould you like some Trix?
ReplyDeleteMUPPET BABIES!
ReplyDelete80s cartoons make 90s cartoons look like a puddle of puke.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, and every single one of these.
ReplyDeleteExcept Snorks. I have no memory at all of Snorks. I've seen ad's in old comics that they were part of a lineup that I definitely do remember, but somehow I was completely unaware of Snorks.
Gummy Bears was the bomb yo.
ReplyDeleteI dug MASK, but it was early and I don't remember it well. I had one of the bad guy figures.
ReplyDeleteGreat show, never will get released on DVD due to all the live-action movie stuff in it, though.
ReplyDeleteRocko's Modern Life was the shit, yo.
ReplyDeleteI hate what has happened to Saturday morning cartoons. There are very few shows and, if I'm not mistaken, they are all anime based. No wonder the kids in this country suck now; they weren't taught to have imaginations.
ReplyDeleteI grew up watching 80s cartoons but objectively quality-wise 90s cartoons were better. That does not take away my enjoyment of 70s and 80s cartoons but the writing and the animation of 90s cartoons were better for the most part.
ReplyDeleteSpoiler Alert
ReplyDeleteIf you want a good example of how to book a face turn over a period of time Vehicle Voltron is a good show to watch.
When I was about 5/6 I was into Masters of the Universe, Thundercats and Muppet Babies. Later on I got into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Garfield and Friends was also a show I really liked. By the way, how much of a mindfuck was it when Cartton All Stars came out? That was awesome although ultimately it didn't keep me from doing the pot.
ReplyDeleteWhen they came out Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs were perfect for my age, 9/10. Freakazoid too. I liked Nicktoons as well like Rugrats, Doug and of course Ren and Stimpy. I really am the perfect age to hit on all those great cartoons at the right ages.
It wierds me out, looking back that Rocko worked at a phone sex line.
ReplyDeletePlus it only seems like the CW has them now.
ReplyDeleteThe animation being better doesn't mean the shows were better.
ReplyDeleteBut we still have the VHS's that we can convert into DVD's.
ReplyDeleteAnimaniacs was good stuff.
ReplyDeleteBut my Saturday morning (well, afternoon) TV watching will be the Sox/Yankees game starting in 50.
I remember watching show growing up like Power Rangers, Cubix, Recess, Transformers Beast Wars was good. Never liked School House Rock.
ReplyDeleteThe absolute best cartoons (Saturday morning or not) came in the 1980s, baby. Transformers, He-Man, Muppet Babies, GI Joe, Voltron and RoboTech. Thundercats! I could keep going and going!
ReplyDeleteThis^^
ReplyDeleteTrue but my main point is that as a whole the writing was better as a whole. Of course there are exceptions to everything.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part yes but weren't Animaniacs and Ren and Stimpy 90's cartoons?
ReplyDeleteI have to, frustratingly, head to work soon, so I'll be listening to John and Suzyn for this game.
ReplyDeleteAs for kids shows that were live action. Saved by the Bell (duh), You Can't Do That On Television, Clarissa Explains It All and Double Dare to name a few.
ReplyDeleteSee also, video game graphics vs game play.
ReplyDeleteOr today, online bullshit/DLC vs game play.
ReplyDeleteTransformers Beast Wars and the DCAU are the only things that kept me watching cartoons in high school. Beast Wars was one of the best stories I remember following along in cartoon form.
ReplyDeleteCartoon Network
ReplyDeleteBoomerang
Was Duck Tales and the Disney Afternoon late 80s or early 90s? I'm having trouble remembering and am too lazy to use Google-Fu.
ReplyDeleteI'm agreeing with Dougie AND Vince? Holy shit, we're in the Bizarro BoD today. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, both of you NAILED it. Good looks does not make a good cartoon/game/etc... it can make a good one great, but a bad one will remain bad.
Batman TAS
ReplyDeleteUgh, off brand cartoons. As someone else mentioned NBC is supposed to be the standard bearer, with the occasional gem on ABC or CBS. Now that Fox is a player, they would be acceptable too. Just like with sitcoms.
ReplyDeleteThe Beast Wars finale is wonderful.
ReplyDelete*Duck Tales, WHOO - HOO!! "
ReplyDeleteBoth, IIRC. Ducktales, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Rescue Rangers,... damnit, why am I forgetting something(s)?
ReplyDelete(Not Goof Troop... I wasn't too big on that one.)
Cartoon Network has pissed me off with its treatment of the new DC cartoons. Green Lantern and Young Justice were both great and they were unceremoniously pulled and cancelled.
ReplyDeleteWiki puts Ducktales from Sep 87 to Nov 90.
ReplyDeleteWow, I thought they were a little later. Jam up show though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I would have guessed a 1989 debut.
ReplyDeleteThe Nostalgia Critic just made a video about "Disney Afternoon" a few weeks ago. I'm too lazy to link it, but it should be easy to find.
ReplyDeleteGargoyles?
ReplyDeleteJam up needs to be used more frequently in peoples every day vocabulary
ReplyDelete80's kid here. Super Friends all the way on ABC. Saturday Supercade on CBS with video game characters like Pac-Man, Kangaroo, Q-Bert, Frogger, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong, Jr. Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends on NBC. Early morning you would have Rocky & Bullwinkle, Underdog, Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
ReplyDeleteCartoons fucking suck now.
Did you not just see how I said I was being lazy?!? Geez, man!
ReplyDeleteFuck the Snorks!
ReplyDeleteThat's one show.
ReplyDeleteAnime fucking sucks also
ReplyDeleteI see your laziness... And I raise you *MY* LAZINESS. NOW FOLD!! (which you will, because you are lazy)
ReplyDeleteCheck out Akira sometime.
ReplyDeleteI totally read "Smarks" there...
ReplyDeleteThe best part about Tiny Toons and Animaniacs is that they stayed true to the Warner Brothers and Looney Toons tradition of making cartoons that kids would like while not boring the shit out of adults.
ReplyDeleteEven as a teenager, I loved Animaniacs and Tiny Toons.
HA! I wouldn't go THAT far.
ReplyDeleteI'm only folding because I have already gotten up, gone to the gym and am I now getting ready to go in to work on a fucking Saturday. Clearly, I'm not THAT lazy.
ReplyDeleteChildren of the 80s on the Blog of Doom unite!
ReplyDeleteI'm neutral on that one.
ReplyDeleteNever watched much of that one. Didn't they have the TNG cast do a lot of the voices or something though? Maybe I'm imagining that.
ReplyDeletePlanning to pop in on the Blog for any baseball talk this afternoon?
ReplyDeleteGot some work to finish (or keep procrastinating on), which I'll do in front of the game.
I didn't watch it very much, either, but most people my age swear by it as an amazing show.
ReplyDeleteOh, believe me, once I get to my office, I'll have the blog open. I'll be the only one there.
ReplyDeleteClassics. I saw the Finger Prince Animaniacs clip the other day somewhere randomly. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteCheck Fist of the North Star and Death note.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I never got into that. Some of our cartoons were based on Japanese ones, but were Americanized enough.
ReplyDeleteAnd in other breaking news, the sky is blue and both of us need to cut back on our drinking.
ReplyDeleteHe-Man bitches.
ReplyDeleteFrakes, Sirtis, and Mulgrew (Voyager) are the only Trek actors on the cast. And the show ran from Oct 94 to Feb 97.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEE53i0wNNA
ReplyDeleteDiving back further into what's left of my memory, I think that the Get Along Gang was my probably my earliest show.
ReplyDeleteThe guy who wrote the old Duck Tales comic books is a Savant, by the way, He predicted like Inception and a bunch of other popular stuff. http://www.cracked.com/article_19021_5-amazing-things-invented-by-donald-duck-seriously.html
ReplyDeleteI found that odd at the time.
ReplyDeleteNice gonna watch this later.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the Wiki page does list a fair bit of guest actors from Trek... hell, it got it's own section.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really fun watch. Too many nostalgic feelings. :(
ReplyDeleteI admit the anime industry had a quality breakdown.
ReplyDeleteYeah, my cartoon days were waning by that point so I never saw it much. I knew there was a Star Trek connection though.
ReplyDeleteNot a cartoon but does anyone remember that show Ghostwriter?
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother's dog had the same name as He-man's pet.
ReplyDeleteEver go to the F1 race you guys have down there? I'm playing Autódromo José Carlos Pace in the video game right now.
ReplyDeleteNope.It's not a popular thing in here,it was with Senna.
ReplyDeleteThose dudes doing those reviews are weird. They're not really..."good" but they're decent and really the first group of folks to do this sort of thing with that level of polish, etc. I wish they'd cut down on all the gags, but I get why they're there. Fuckin' kids.
ReplyDeleteSeriously check out Akira, it's absolutely insane, it's a really great story without being too over the top, and does some things you can really only do in that medium unless you had a 100 million dollar budget.
ReplyDeleteNascar is big up here, but no one really gives a shit about F1. Still, one of these years I have have to go to the Canadian GP. Montreal is a hell of lot closer than Texas.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice.
ReplyDeleteNostalgia Critic screams way too much.
ReplyDeleteI've seen plenty of anime including Akira, my brother is really into that shit, but I just can't do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge anime guy but I do like that movie quite a lot. I hear good things about Cowboy Bebop too. I'm picky though, I don't like, over the top kinda whiny stuff, and the zany nature of some of the more popular series kind of irks me, and if you ever attempt to engage a fan with it prepare to get like 6000 words and phrases and squees you've never heard before.
ReplyDeleteDid I tell you how fascinating History is? I'm so happy study this in college.
ReplyDeleteBTW,you're WM prediction was wrong D-BRY won the title.
Also, time to see who's worthy on here.
ReplyDeleteLaff-a-lympics, which team was yours? Then: Scooby Doobies. Now: Really Rottens (they wuz jobbed!)
Yeah. Not sure your thoughts on AT4W but that's a fun show that kind of makes you feel a little stupid when they do the over-arching plot lines and stuff. The host dude takes that show VERY seriously, which makes it good, but also makes me a little uncomfortable when he reviews something like the Man of Steel and goes a little over the top emotional about it, because I can't tell if he's being serious or not, and that's my gimmick, damn it.
ReplyDeleteCheck out Fist of the north star,it's basically Mad max+ Bruce Lee kung FU movies.
ReplyDeleteSpike Lee was on that!
ReplyDeleteThe only anime memory I have was butchering a show's intro... the original version was saying a lot about "No one... knows blah blah blah" stuff about a character.
ReplyDeleteSo smart-ass me chimes in at the end with "And no one... knows her bra size."
I remember weekdays before school GI Joe would be on. Then at lunch time Transformers (our school let us out for lunch, especially if you lived a block from the school). After school would be Go-Bots and Robotech. I'm not one for anime, but Robotech was cool, and one episode led into the next, so you better not miss and episode.
ReplyDeleteI missed out on Robotech. That's with the space planes that turn into space robots, right?
ReplyDeleteNever heard of AT4W.
ReplyDeleteI was a Scooby-Doobies guy, even if they won all the time, because they were the more "modern" characters, even though they were obscurities by the time I started watching the show regularly.
ReplyDeleteMy cartoons: Dexter's lab,Samurai Jack,Courage the cowardly dog,Power puff girls(yeah liked that one),Scooby-doo OG,Speed Racer,Every Spider-man cartoon,DCAU,X-men evolution...
ReplyDeleteMy BoDMania prediction was right though.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, history is awesome. Only class I made sure I showed up for in high school, though it helped that my teacher was fine as hell, she worked as a model to pay for college.
Oh man. Hold on.
ReplyDeleteHis review of ASBAM: http://blip.tv/at4w/at4w-all-star-batman-and-robin-1-2-2846998
His History of Power Rangers: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=History+of+Power+Rangers+episode+1+AT4w&FORM=VIRE4#view=detail&mid=442E76FC136357CA73C7442E76FC136357CA73C7
I still want that electrified steel cage match.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but Robotech was so much more than that. Recommended viewing for any fan of that particular genre. Although I still not really into the middle Southern Cross portion.
ReplyDeleteI lied, here's HOPR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbPvtgf9CZc
ReplyDeleteYeah, I just looked it up to remind myself. I believe the Macross Saga was the one I was really into.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to show him Nicolas Cage month.
ReplyDeleteI'm down, I ain't scared.
ReplyDelete::Top 20 secret handshake::
ReplyDeleteThose were the old Uncle Scrooge comics that predate Duck Tales by a couple of decades.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I liked The Tick on Saturday mornings but man, it's a whole other level of awesome watching it as an adult. That show is so underappreciated.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's not a cartoon but I miss the Rap City countdown on Saturday mornings. I used to flip between that and WWF Superstars
I liked Cowboy Bebop, it's the only Anime show I've ever really liked.
ReplyDeleteNot a show but does anyone is fan of Beakman's?
ReplyDelete2-time member of the top 20 club over here.
ReplyDeleteI rewatched RoboTech on Netflix a couple years back. Such a great show.
ReplyDeleteAT4W is tremendous. I wish he did History of Power Rangers more often. At this point he cranks them out once a year.
ReplyDeleteTransformers Generation 1, Batman the animated series, GI Joe
ReplyDelete... How can we forget the Mario cartoons? Incuding Captain Lou doing live action Mario for the first one...
ReplyDeleteI have at least parts of all three main series (Super Mario Super Show, Super Mario 3, Super Mario World) on DVD now
Garfield & Friends, mutherfucker.
ReplyDeleteAlso dug X-Men, Batman TAS, Looney Tunes hour, and now that I think of it, a shitload more that would take me forever to name. But those always stick out first.
I watched too many cartoons as a kid
ReplyDeleteLoved the nickelodien stuff like Spongebob and Fairly odd parents. Danny Phantom was cool
The anime contingent with Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-gi-oh, Etc.
Other randoms, Old Scooby Doo cartoons, courage the cowardly dog, Teen Titans was the shit. I grew up on the grittier TMNT of the early 2000's
I feel I'm barely scratching the surface...
I love the Hannibal lecter references with Anti-Cosmo.
ReplyDeleteCartoons aren't all bad now. There are a good handful that are hilarious and/or worth watching. I dig the new Ninja Turtles, for instance, and Phineas and Ferb is great stuff as well. Never did get SpongeBob, even though that's also supposed to be one the grownups can enjoy.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as a Nintendo fanatic, those shows have NOT aged well.
ReplyDeleteThat's being nice about it.
ReplyDeletespeaking of Duck Tales, anyone else think the theme song sounds like "You make my Dreams Come True" from Hall and Oates?
ReplyDeleteScooby Doo Where are You? was a big one for me too. Reruns though, it ended its run before I was born.
ReplyDeleteRunning here and there and everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Milli Vanilli ep.
ReplyDeleteMASTER T!
ReplyDeleteNo they have not.
ReplyDeleteI was also pissed whenever they ended an episode without using a special power.
Quiet, you...
ReplyDeleteI watched a bit of Beast Wars.
ReplyDeleteNo love for Real Ghostbusters? :( I would put that as a top tier favorite along with the original Ninja Turtles & Batman TAS. Also liked the 90's X-Men & Spider-man shows. And speaking of Ghostbusters, I also dug that other "Filmation's Ghostbusters". If for nothing else, the intro was catchy.
ReplyDelete"He-Man bitches"
ReplyDeletehe sure does
"why do i have to hide my true identity?"
"why wont teela go out with me?"
"is it so wrong that i have thoughts about she-ra?"
Same here
ReplyDeleteForget the Attitude Era, I want to go back to the era of 90s hip hop.
ReplyDeleteDANGER MOUSE
ReplyDeleteThe only Scooby Doo series I liked was The Thirteen Ghosts of Scooby Doo. I don't remember them tracking down all 13 ghosts though.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my Saturdays aren't the same without Young Justice.
ReplyDeletei used to watch "belle and sebastian" every morning before going to school
ReplyDeletetrue story
YES to Death Note, although the second half of the series was VERY tacked-on.
ReplyDeletei always remember when they had guests like the harlem globetrotters and abbot & costello
ReplyDeleteevery notice that the duck face on wade the duck's inner tube always mimicked whatever facial expression wade himself had?
ReplyDeleteprops!!!
ReplyDeletethe toys were awesome, too, of course
That was the one with the boy and his dog? I sorta remember that. Also, The Little Prince.
ReplyDeleteCOUNT DUCKULA
ReplyDeleteSAME UNIVERSE STUFF RULES
ReplyDeletei love how pac-man sounded like a grizzled blue collar dude from jersey
ReplyDeletethat was the one
ReplyDeletenever watched little prince, but i do remember it now that you mention it
Lets toss out some Nick Jr. love while we're at it. Eureka's Castle, Blues Clues (I was bit old for that but caught it through osmosis due to having a little sister), David the Gnome, the one with the elves or fairies who went skinny dipping once (It was weird!), and there's probably a bunch more I'm forgetting.
ReplyDeleteFairly Odd Parents was pretty good in a 'turn off your brain for a hangover" kinda day. Also Kablaam! Was a good time, those stop motion cartoons with the alien and the cave man were excellent.
He-Man (the 80s version, since we seem to have some young-uns here who grew up on the 2K one), which didn't hold up well at all (for the most part). Dungeons and Dragons , Thundercats, and Silverhawks, the former 2 did hold up well (in my mind), and I haven't watched Silverhawks in 30 years, so I have no idea if it did or not (though I'm thinking probably "no" -- even back then, I could tell it was kind of goofy).
ReplyDeleteLoved the lion version of Voltron. Though I still like the show, the animation seriously didn't hold up. Loved Superfriends too. Except for Aquaman sucking, it's still an awesome show.
Strangely enough, I was never a big fan of G.I. Joe or Transformers, so neither of those held up for me because I didn't care about them to begin with.
What's funny is that when I was 9, I moved the the boonies in Georgia. So, while I should have continued to watch cartoons, we couldn't get them on our 2 fuzzy channels. Anyway, when I was 14, we moved to California and got cable. I got back into watching cartoons big time (my friends thought I was weird, but I was all "screw you! I haven't gotten to watch much of this for 5 years!")
Anyway, I ended up liking TMNT, XMen, and Batman: TAS before finally petering out on watching anything but Married with Children, the Simpsons, and In Living Color.
Remember The Mask / Ace Ventura cartoon cross over?
ReplyDeleteif we're gonna go all sat morning, then lets not forget ONE TO GROW ON and PICTURE PAGES
ReplyDeleteWONDER TWIN POWERS, ACTIVATE!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember Picture Pages. One to Grow on was for real though.
ReplyDeleteThe Mario ones didn't age well (though my daughters still like them), but I though the Zelda ones held up OK -- they're a bit goofy, but still fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteAnother one I enjoyed was Captain N.