Forgotten Cartoon Memories?

[rainchip]

Some friends and I were chatting last night about forgotten cartoon classics. Since most of us are Millennials or right in that Gen Z bracket that basically grew up on the same stuff but just missed the cutoff. You know, the 4Kids era and all that.

We started tossing out old shows, and man, some of them were real blasts from the past. Like Cubix and Ultimate Muscle for example. LMAO. Anyone else got any they’d like to throw in?

The Uncs. The Aunties. The Old-heads, if you will.
The Elder Ones???

 

[Racosharko]

 

[LeilaniOtter]

Quite possibly the greatest animated series of the 70s; had the highest ratings of any kids show at the time.
And yet Paramount Pictures forced its demise so that it could expand its "Happy Days" cartoons - one being "Laverne and Shirley in the Army"

And they called me crazy...

 

[CharlesEBrown]

My fondest early memories of cartoons were Kimba the White Lion and Speed Racer (watched in black and white... usually grainy, snow-filled black and white). Most of the truly great cartoons came out a generation before I did so I saw them in reruns - Woody Woodpecker, Underdog, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Deputy Dog and Friends (The Mighty Superheroes, among others), Mighty Mouse, The Pink Panther Show (included Atom Ant among others), The Funky Phantom, Secret Squirrel... A lot of them were "revived" in the 70s for the Laff A'Lympics.

Thundarr's popularity triggered a bizarre "Conan the Adventurer" - a Conan who didn't kill. Much. On screen. It was ... well, better than it deserved to be - that's the most that can be said about it, good or bad, I think. Sadly, the same bean counters who thought this was brillaint seemed to come back a decade later to put out one of the worst animated series I've ever sat through (and I've watched several episodes of the wretched Captain Planet - if you're making a message show, stick to the blasted message, make it make sense, and don't keep adding to it... unless your message really is "We should all be vegan nudists living in caves or all natural shelters and using technology only to make and watch more bad cartoons and nothing else - and beat up anyone who says otherwise") - Highlander: The Animated Series. Just freaking AWFUL... High point is listening to the guy playing Ramirez trying to impersonate Shaun Connery mixing his native Scottish accent with a Spanish one (for a character who's supposed to be Egyptian)... The occasional giggles this would elicit were the only enjoyment this show provided.

 

[LeilaniOtter]

My fondest early memories of cartoons were Kimba the White Lion and Speed Racer (watched in black and white... usually grainy, snow-filled black and white). Most of the truly great cartoons came out a generation before I did so I saw them in reruns - Woody Woodpecker, Underdog, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Deputy Dog and Friends (The Mighty Superheroes, among others), Mighty Mouse, The Pink Panther Show (included Atom Ant among others), The Funky Phantom, Secret Squirrel... A lot of them were "revived" in the 70s for the Laff A'Lympics.

These were my go-tos before school - for some reason, my channel showed these at 6:00 AM, so I got a good dose of Kimba.

Thundarr's popularity triggered a bizarre "Conan the Adventurer" - a Conan who didn't kill. Much. On screen. It was ... well, better than it deserved to be - that's the most that can be said about it, good or bad, I think.

I say here and now, Thundarr the Barbarian triggered the 1982 Conan movie with Arnold. *^^*

Sadly, the same bean counters who thought this was brillaint seemed to come back a decade later to put out one of the worst animated series I've ever sat through (and I've watched several episodes of the wretched Captain Planet - if you're making a message show, stick to the blasted message, make it make sense, and don't keep adding to it... unless your message really is "We should all be vegan nudists living in caves or all natural shelters and using technology only to make and watch more bad cartoons and nothing else - and beat up anyone who says otherwise") - Highlander: The Animated Series. Just freaking AWFUL... High point is listening to the guy playing Ramirez trying to impersonate Shaun Connery mixing his native Scottish accent with a Spanish one (for a character who's supposed to be Egyptian)... The occasional giggles this would elicit were the only enjoyment this show provided.

Captain Planet had the right idea - a better world, addressing climate change, okay, beautiful concept, strong actors as the voices, billionaire-produced, it's a hit.

No, it's not, because the writing was horrible. In the quest to alert kids how to take better care of the planet, they decided, "Well, let's create all these weird bad guys trying to harm the planet in different ways"; and that was the LAST thing these kids needed to see.

Why not just introduce kids to all the bad things happening to our world, and show what WE are doing to it - not what these mixed up villains are doing. WE ARE THE VILLAINS here! Make it about THAT. But nope, writers didn't take this concept into mind and "poof", gone.

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

He-Man and the Master's of the Universe, She-Ra, TMNT, Garfield, The Magic School Bus, Loony Tunes, The Old Disney shorts of donald duck mickey and goofy.

Honerable mention to The Muppet Show, Waldorf and Statler are still legends to this day in my mind.

Oh speaking of puppets.

"This is the song that doesn't end, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they will continue singing it forever just because. This is the song that doesn't end..."

Your welcome, from Lambchop

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

gargoyles

 

[Ellieporter]

 

[Racosharko]

gargoyles

 

[CharlesEBrown]

These were my go-tos before school - for some reason, my channel showed these at 6:00 AM, so I got a good dose of Kimba.

Ah, they were early afternoon shows in my market. Replaced by reruns of Davey Crockett (which led to me changing the channel and discovering Lost in Space).

I say here and now, Thundarr the Barbarian triggered the 1982 Conan movie with Arnold. *^^*

Never thought about it but you may be right

Captain Planet had the right idea - a better world, addressing climate change, okay, beautiful concept, strong actors as the voices, billionaire-produced, it's a hit.

No, it's not, because the writing was horrible. In the quest to alert kids how to take better care of the planet, they decided, "Well, let's create all these weird bad guys trying to harm the planet in different ways"; and that was the LAST thing these kids needed to see.

The bad guys were the show's biggest problem - only two had even remotely plausible motivations; one wanted to harvest rare animals for his collection, one was an alien who survived on filth. All the rest were just "guys who want to destroy the environment. Why? Who cares, they're BAD GUYS..."

to The Muppet Show, Waldorf and Statler are still legends to this day in my mind.

That show spawned one of the few cartoons my brother really loved - Muppet Babies. I think that was the only comic book series he ever bought too. A weird Australian import called "Bananaman" and the Pac-Man cartoon were the only other ones I remember him getting into at all. Oh, and the British Danger Mouse, but half the time he had to have me explain the jokes (like "It's a time machine." "Of course - it's a grandfather clock." "No, I mean a machine for traveling in time." "Cor! Like that Doctor?" "Who?" "Precisely!")

 

[LeilaniOtter]

The bad guys were the show's biggest problem - only two had even remotely plausible motivations; one wanted to harvest rare animals for his collection, one was an alien who survived on filth. All the rest were just "guys who want to destroy the environment. Why? Who cares, they're BAD GUYS..."

I just don't get the concept. Why would a villain try to ruin a world they LIVE ON. *^^*
Unless they have a rocketship on hand to take them off the planet, they're fucked with the rest of us, yes? ?

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I just don't get the concept. Why would a villain try to ruin a world they LIVE ON. *^^*
Unless they have a rocketship on hand to take them off the planet, they're fucked with the rest of us, yes? ?

Well, one of them DID - but he used it to escape his world and make ours more like it...
Though the biggest failing, for me, was there was exactly one time the hero seemed to be even challenged, let alone threatened - when the villains somehow (seriously - how did Luten Plunder NOT just kill the rat-guy to add to his trophy room, for example) got together, forged their own rings, and created "Captain Pollution"...

 

[Racosharko]

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Heard of that one but never saw it (much like, on, Biker Mice From Mars, MASK or a few others).
Ones from that general era I do recall:
The Bionic Six.
Inhumanoids (one of THE darkest "children's" cartoons ever released in the US)
Centurions

An older one that I've seen exactly one episode of was (and that was grainy) 8-Man. The second or third Japanese cartoon to be dubbed for American audiences (Mega Man was the first one, then Speed Racer and Kimba) ... and then there was a bit of a draught where only collectors saw any "Japanimation" until Battle of the Planets (aka Gatchaman, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, G-Force, and, unfortunately, Eagle Riders) paved the way for Robotech - and then Golion, better known as Voltron, Macron One, Tranzor Z and a slew of others.
8-Man had a movie reboot, 8-Man After - kind of a sequel, kind of an update, and the "special cigarettes" that charged the original were now glowing USB-type sticks (that he still inserted into his mouth but didn't have to smoke)

 

[Racosharko]

 

[RepresentingCaution]

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

YOU DID NOT JUST CASUALLY DROP WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR MONTHS LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!!!

THANK YOU!