Here’s another oldie but goodie someone needs to start re-airing:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PnpRS0bjiCg
Why are there no cartoons like this anymore? Seriously, I dare any nine-year-old out there to compare a present day cartoon/show to the classics (Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K, Thundercats, He-Man, Voltron); heck, even some of second tier cartoons were better than anything on today (Ghostbusters, Dungeons and Dragons, TMNT, Go-Bots).
And you didn’t even mention the Smurfs! Even if you don’t like the Smurfs, you can agree with what you’ve written. Cartoons today
Though it’s hard to argue with your list of classics, I will say that there are some good kids cartoons out there, though you’ve gotta be willing to give them a try and not write them off just because they’re not of your generation: Jimmy Neutron, for one, is brilliant and loaded with tons of 1980′s pop-culture references that are lost on my daughter but keep me howling. (Case in point: There’s an episode that’s a DEAD ON spoof of Jaws, with all the right quotes from Quint and Brody.) Ditto for Fairly Oddparents.
(….by the way, I guess I should have typed, “of OUR generation.”)
I think our generation was one of the most influential/influenced when it came to cartoons (maybe outside of our parents’ generation). Think about it, Adult Swim has created programming just to appease us in our older years.
Richard-
Good point on Smurfs. I was just talking about this with my parents the other day. It was funny to discuss because there was an outcry among some parents that it was into wizardry…kind of like Harry Potter is viewed today.
And yes, I did like the Smurfs. There was this one episode that really scared the crap out of me as a kid. It was the one where if they get bit, they turn a color (red I think?) and then infect others….it really messed with my head.
What other cartoons are there? I remember the Amazing Spider-Man. And there was one where there were these two cars…Pole Position? And what about the one where the kid turned into the car? But if he got wet he turned back? Help me out here.
-Burger
OK, here’s a couple more that I remember, from my (barely) older perspective:
The kid that turned into the car was Turbo Teen (lame) – he was on when my younger brothers were little.
I remember absolutely loving “Star Blazers” and “Battle of the Planets” (everyone seems to remember this one as “G-Force,” but that wasn’t the name of the show).
Thundarr the Barbarian and his “just barely-not-a-Wookiee-so-Lucas-won’t-sue-us” sidekick, Ookla the Mock.
The Superfriends.
Turbo Teen was lame? I don’t remember that. In fact, YouTube backs me up:
Then again, I liked Gummi Bears.
You know, I also liked ShirtTails. Is that bad? I think I can get a pass b/c they flew in a ship and had talking t-shirt technology. Can I get a verdict here?
Sorry, fellas. I’d like to add two cents in here, but I was busy watching live action. “The Incredible Hulk”, “The Dukes of Hazzard”, “Buck Rogers of the 21st Century”. My cartoons redlined at “He-Man” and “Transformers”.