Check out these 1980s cartoon title sequences. They're pretty indicative of what you were going to find after school or early Saturday morning circa 1983. There's not a lot of innovation going on in these. Just a bunch of repetition. Here's the basic formula:
1. Pick a subject everyone already knows. (celebrities and video games work best)
2. Steal a formula from an already successful show. (crime fightin' was the preference, crazy adventures came in a close second)
3. Crowbar a wacky pet in there. (preferably one that can talk)
4. Only pick subjects that you can make into toys.
For example: Hey, everyone knows Mr. T, right? And since Mary Lou Retton just won a fistful of Olympic gold metals, let's team Mr. T up with a van load (ala Scooby Doo) of gymnasts and have them...what else...fight crime!
Good thing they remembered to throw in a dog with a mohawk! Wacky pet, check! Here's another classic:
Popular character? Check! Darth Vader looking bad guy? Check! Stupid lookin' pets? Check! We've got a winner here, folks. Hmm, what other popular brand name can we exploit? Oh, I don't know...How about...
Or maybe...
Do you guys even remember Happy Days? Ever think to yourself, "You know what this live aciton sit-com about grouwing up in Miwaukee in the 1950s is missing? A time machine!" And did you notice Fonzie's dog, Mr. Cool? He IS cool! We're not done yet...
Remember now, Star Wars was pretty popular at the time. So get yourself a Chewbacca-looking dude, a princess, and a guy with a lazer sword. You know what else was popular? Transformers! And if it ain't fixed, don't break it...
Did you notice the robot? He's an R2-D2 rip-off PLUS a wacky pet! We in the cartoon business call that a two-fer! I also love it how the helicopter turns into an airplane. Like you would need that to happen. Like you're chasing a guy in your helicopter, but the chopper ain't gonna cut the mustard, so you up the ante with some wings...
Here's one that doesn't make any sense whatsoever...
I don't know what's crazier - the solid gold space station; the airplane with the olympic size pool that doesn't spill when the plane banks; or the way the girl can swing from a rope upsidedown by just pressing her ankle bones together. Wow.
You know, watching that video for the, I don't know, millionth time, I just realized something. It's pretty much the Paris Hilton story. Only Goldi Gold's life seems to make more logical sense. Anyhow. This next one came out in the early 90s, but it still has that cheesy 80s feel...
Can't get enough, huh? How about some Chuck Norris and Hulk Hogan?
Even girls got cartoons in the 1980s!
So did ultra-violent, R-rated movies!
Don't get me wrong. As corny as this stuff was, I loved it as a kid. Couldn't get enough. This next one was probably my favorite. Check out the wicked rotoscoping on the spaceship...
In 1991, however, something happened that would change the world of television cartoons forever. It was a game changer, and things would never be the same. The Nickelodeon channel did something no other cable channel had ever done before - they actually made original cartoons for their network! See, up until then, Disney and Nickelodeon merely played old cartoons that already existed. But now, under their 'Nicktoons' label, Nickelodeon came out with three cartoons, playing on a Sunday morning block. Rugrats, Doug, and Ren and Stimpy.
If you're wondering which is my favorite, the answer is easy - Ren and Stimpy. And here's a classic. "Space Madness." One thing you'll notice about Ren and Stimpy in general is the filmmaker's love and respect for all of the cartoons that have come before it. It's a great mix of 40sm 50s, and 60s animation wrapped up with a modern sensibility. (Note: It runs 11 minutes, so make sure you get the rest of your work done before you watch this one. Thanks.)
Watch Space Madness in Animation | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Since these three cable-made cartoos aired, network cartoons have pretty much gone goodbye, and cable cartoons have become big business. Goodbye Superfriends, hello Jimmy Neutron.
I love some of the old cartoons. I remember watching Rugrats when I was younger and some the other cartoons you had listed. I was also a big fan of the shows on PBS kids. Another cartoon I really liked that I don't see on television any more was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (I also loved Power Rangers- but that is still on today). Yes some of them (especially the 80s) are really cheesy, but they are fun. Strawberry shortcake- its a really weird story, seriously a girl revolves around strawberry cake, but im pretty sure that i've watched it before. But even before the 80s and 90s, I really liked watching reruns of the old cartoons like Popeye, Bugs Bunny (and then they made looney tunes which was awesome! it has those talking pets), etc. I also enjoyed the late 1990s and early 2000 cartoons that they don't show anymore either. And those were great as well. I grew up with them. I feel like todays cartoons crude and not as enjoyable as those were. I saw wall-e with my friend and her younger siblings in theatres and the messages to me seemed ridiculous. I assume that the message intended on having a good point- but i think a lot of people got this: We are all going to die of being fat because we polluted the earth and enjoyed our lives a little too well in space. Really I think the message was meant to say that we should take care of the earth and ourselves, but the way it was presented just gave me a totally different idea. With the old cartoons, you just sit down, relax and watch it. There may not be as much technology that was put into it, but its still entertaining
ReplyDeleteTo tell you the truth Mr. Cowlin the Ren and Stimpy cartoons use to actually scare me and gross the heck out of me because they were so weird and when they would do and show you so many gross things on the tv show. For example when they gave you the close up on Ren and Stimpy's face it would always show their boils, hair and boogers and I was like "why do I need to see this?" and it totally grossed me out and so did multiple other things that I really cant remeber because it has been so long but when watching this Ren and Stimpy cartoon after seeing them so long ago they remind me of another gross and weird cartoon that I actually watched some times and I believe it was a nickelodeon cartoon, it was called Aaahh! Real Monsters. It was about these monsters who lived in the sewer and went on crazy and gross adventures sometimes they would end up out of the sewer system into a random toilet somewhere in the city above and all they would do to go back home was to find another random toilet and flush themselves. It was a really weird cartoon and the characters themselves were outrageous especially the one who held his eye above his head. But my very favorite cartoons were ones that involved action that is why I am bummed I never really got to watch any of these old boy TV shows because they were all almost action cartoons. I really would have liked to watch the MR. T cartoon, Robocop and the MASK cartoons because they look so action packed and like they are full of tons of adventure, my kind of cartoons. I was into those action cartoons like Johnny Quest and Star Wars cartoons, they were the best!
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