Cartoon theme songs – Volume 3

##~~ Ren & Stimpy – 1991-1996 ~~##

(Couldn’t find an intro video, but I found the theme song)

The nonsensical adventures of a chihuahua and a Manx cat inspired by the Golden Age of American animation, e.g. Tex Avery and Bob Clampett.

I really don’t remember that much about this cartoon as it was made slightly before my time. But I do remember that it was surreal, violent and dirty, and that I loved it.

##~~ Top Cat – 1961-1962 ~~##

God I miss this cartoon. All these alley cats wanted was to cheat people into giving them food, money and a better life. But instead they got their show cancelled within 7 months, having only aired 30 episodes, and never got a revival series like others cartoons of the time (The Jetsons, Jonny Quest) did.

##~~ Pinky & The Brain – 1995-2001 ~~##

Originally a series of sketches inbetween episodes of Animaniacs, laboratory mice Pinky and Brain are hell-bent on dominating the world overnight. Well, Brain was. Pinky just tagged along and didn’t really care what they did, as long as they were having fun.

Why didn’t this cartoon get revived? Or get a straight to VHS/DVD feature film? It was so good due to it having the same charm as Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures. But hey, I guess the world can only take so much amounts of awesome that it has to stop eventually. Damn you, World.

##~~ Cubix 2001-2003 ~~##

The adventures of a boy and his robot in the year 2044 where robots are for everyone.

I actually had no idea that this cartoon was made in South Korea. I guess my childhood mind didn’t realise that none of the character’s lips matched what they were saying and that their voices were horrifically dubbed into English.

##~~ Spider-Man – 1994-1998 ~~##

Every generation has their Spider-Man cartoons. This one was mine, and it rocked my 5-year-old socks off.

##~~ Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries – 1995-2002 ~~##

Imagine Scooby-Doo but with Sylvester, Tweety, Hector and Granny. It lasted quite a while thanks to it having the same classic writing, animation and voice acting as the original Looney Tunes had and unfortunately came to an end along with all the other Looney Tunes spin-offs.

Speaking of Scooby-Doo…

##~~ Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! – 1969-1970 ~~##

How could I forget this gem from Hanna-Barbera? The cartoon that started Scooby-Doo’s legacy, spawning countless spin-offs and two live-action films. Yes, Scooby-Doo was magnificent back in the day. In recent years he’s had a few good hits but none really held a torch to the original series.

##~~ Tom & Jerry – 1940-1958 ~~##

Where do I begin?

Slapstick comedy revolving around a cat and a mouse as they do battle in terrorising each other in the funniest ways possible. An absolute classic.

Just don’t mention those God-awful films…

##~~ Looney Tunes – 1930-1969 ~~##

Oh. My God. WHERE DO I BEGIN? In fact, I don’t think I can…

Well, basically, Looney Tunes are the best cartoons ever created by the human race and none shall ever top them. They’ve inspired so many great cartoons since their creation and are still going strong today even though they’re no longer being made. Now that really is something special.

Cartoon theme songs – Volume 2

##~~ Taz-Mania – 1991-1993 ~~##

There was just something about this cartoon that made me smile. I don’t know whether it was the lyrics to the theme song, the colourful animation, Taz’s crazy family or just Taz himself, but it made me smile. And laugh myself silly.

##~~ Tiny Toon Adventures – 1990-1995 ~~##

From the creators of Animaniacs, only 3 years earlier. Inspired by the original Looney Tunes, Tiny Toon Adventures was set in a “looniversity” where cute and adorable little fury animals learnt how to become child entertainers.

The show shared the same amount of charm and finesse as Animaniacs as well as many of the same voice actors. Not a lot of people remember it as Animaniacs did a lot better, but Tiny Toon Adventures should be watched and enjoyed by everyone. Especially Animaniacs fans.

##~~ Dexter’s Laboratory – 1996-2003 ~~##

A boy genius who has a secret laboratory in his bedroom, who’s older sister (who always manages to get in, somehow) is constantly destroying his creations.

Sure, this wasn’t the most realistic of cartoons. There’s absolutely no way a laboratory of that scale would fit inside such a small bedroom, but who the Hell cares? It’s a cartoon! A very funny, well written and rather clever cartoon and I miss it terribly.

##~~ 2 Stupid Dogs – 1993-1995 ~~##

One of Hanna-Barbera’s classics. I don’t remember that much about it as I was under the age of 5, but I do remember the 2 dogs spending probably 2-3 minutes arguing over who was going to chew a old toilet they’d found in an alley way. Then in another episode, they met up with Little Red Riding Hood in a slightly different version of the children’s fairytale of the same name. How… random…

##~~ Courage the Cowardly Dog – 1999-2002 ~~##

I have never seen another cartoon like this one. Wikipedia lists it as a Black Comedy, Comic Science fiction and Horror.

A cowardly dog, ironically named Courage, is found by an elderly couple living in the middle of Nowhere. That’s with a capital “N” as the place in which they live is literally called “Nowhere”.

Every now and then, strange things happened in Nowhere. It was attacked by a zombified movie director, a psychotic fox wearing sunglasses, an even more psychotic red cat, an evil queen living in a puddle and a barber who’s obsessed with his job. Seriously, the writers must have been on Crystal Meth or something.

##~~ I Am Weasel ~~##

Originally a series of sketches inbetween episodes of Cow & Chicken, later a full on spin-off, the stories of a Weasel and a Baboon living in possibly the craziest worlds ever portrayed in a cartoon. I honestly cannot describe a thing about the show, except that it was a somewhat twisted and sometimes dark take on the “Pop Goes the Weasel” nursery rhyme.

##~~ Jackie Chan Adventures – 2000-2005 ~~##

Like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this aired on Fox Kids. But it still deserves a mention.

The adventures of Jackie Chan living in Chinatown, San Francisco with his niece Jade and his uncle, erm… “Uncle”. I believe that’s all they called him.

The character of Jackie Chan was of course based on the martial artist/actor Jackie Chan and was also voiced by him. In the show however, he was also an archaeologist; and with the help of his uncle and niece he saved the world from evil forces by preventing them from obtaining certain ancient artefacts. Artefacts ranging from talismans with magical powers, portals to demon dimensions and Oni masks that summon the evil warriors – “The Shadowkhan” – who were awesome, by the way.

The final volume will arrive soon.

A star returns

I was watching an episode of Castle the other day (I do love Nathan Fillion) when I recognised one of the supporting cast members:

Does the woman look familiar?

Yep, Carla Espinosa from Scrubs

Judy’s character disappeared along with the show once it came to and end after its 8th series and did not appear in the “9th series” spin-off. She was pregnant with her first child and so couldn’t reprise her role as Carla. Good job too, because that show was terrible without the whole original cast reprising their roles. Thank God it got cancelled after 13 episodes, in fact I’m surprised it managed to get that many.

Anyway, it’s good to see such a talented actress back on our screens. Even if it is just a crazy yet easily forgettable character in an otherwise average crime drama.

Cartoon theme songs – Volume 1

Cartoons. Just about every kid has watched some. They’ve been around for decades; the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and the 00s.

For me, the 90s were the best. And almost every cartoon that I watched in the 90s was broadcast by none other than Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

I remember the days when Cartoon Network & Boomerang broadcast good cartoons. But inevitably, 2004 arrived and it all went downhill from there (excluding 3 shows). In this post I shall look back on my favourite cartoons broadcast by the once brilliant networks along with their highly memorable theme songs.

##~~ Animaniacs – 1993-1998 ~~##

Ahh, the memories.

This has to be my favourite cartoon of all time. It was funny, charming and also very, very clever. You just don’t see that in cartoons these days.
Following the lives of 3, erm, dog-like creatures: The Warner Brothers; and the Warner Sister, as they cause chaos and mayhem around Warner’s movie studios while desperately trying not to be caught by security and thrown back in the Warner Brothers water tower.
The theme song is so damn catchy it’s like a disease, that gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside whenever you think of this cartoon. The characters were loveable, adorable (especially Dot) and bloody outrageously entertaining. Sadly, it all came to an end late 1998 and never really saw the light of day again. It’s nowhere to be found on TV and only 3 volumes have been released on Region 1 DVD.

It brings a tear to my eye that a cartoon this charismatic has been forgotten by so many people and never been seen by children of any other generation. It’s just zaney to the max.

##~~ Cow and Chicken – 1997-1999 ~~##

Oh, my, God. This cartoon was so fucking weird. In a good way.

Family based antics of a cow and a chicken, who are somehow siblings owned by a group of humans who appear to have no upper torsos, being pursued and constantly aggravated by a naked, homosexual devil. Seriously, I’m not making that up.

##~~ Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy -1999-2009 ~~##

The adventures of 3 best friends, all named Edward, as they scam all the local kids in the neighbourhood out of their hard-earned cash to buy Jawbreakers.

A simple premise, but a fantastic cartoon. Hilarious one-liners, great characters, old-school animation and a 10-year legacy to boot. This is the longest running cartoon that Cartoon Network has ever had and they’re idiots for letting it go last November (2009).

I guess we’ll never know what was underneath Edd’s hat or what Ed’s middle name was.

##~~ Johnny Bravo – 1997-2004 ~~##

All-round cool guy, Johnny Bravo, trying to score women. Again, a simple premise, but one of Cartoon Network’s best. Unfortunately though, it disappeared in 2004 along with Cartoon Network.

Every boy in the playground wanted to be this guy and every girl hated his guts, but couldn’t resist his egotistical charm and wit.

##~~ The Powerpuff Girls – 1998-2005 ~~##

Created from sugar, spice and “everything nice”, the Powerpuff Girls were 3 fingerless superheroines fighting crime against the forces of evil in “the City of Townsville!”

Absolutely adorable little things, the Powerpuff Girls. Each with their own set of special skills and personalities. 1 of 3 of the only cartoons on Cartoon Network to make it past 2004.

They even got their own movie…

…unfortunately, it sucked.

Very clichéd writing; although I guess it was aimed at little kids, good characters and quite possibly one of the creepiest villains ever created…

##~~ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 2003-2009 ~~##

Okay, so this never actually aired on Cartoon Network or Boomerang. It aired on Fox Kids, a network that now no longer exists. Sadly.

4 genetically mutated turtles living in New York’s sewer system who fight crime, train to be warriors and enjoy a good ol’ slice of pizza!

Screw the 1987 series and those God-awful live-action series from the late 90s. The 2003 series of TMNT was awesome. Just listen to the theme tune and you’ll see why. I only ever saw the first series of this show as I inevitably grew up and forgot about it, but I will definatley get round to watching the rest of it one day.

##~~ Ozzy & Drix – 2002-2004 ~~##

Based on the 2001 film “Osmosis Jones“, Ozzy and Drix are a white blood cell cop and a cold pill side-kick who live in the City of Hector (the body of a boy called Hector) who fight crime in order to retain peace in the “city” and ultimately keep Hector alive.

Massively underrated, hilarious, educational and a timeless classic.

More themes coming soon.

“You Can’t Hate George Lucas Anymore”

Yes I can. I’ve hated him ever since he released Attack Of The Clones back in 2002. Not a single thing that he’s done after that has changed my mind and nothing ever will.

But wait! He’s giving half of his money to charity! Now we must worship him again!

That’s right, half of his money, to The Giving Pledge charity owned by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett (whoever he is). I don’t know how much money that would be, but I bet it’s a lot.

This still doesn’t change the fact that he’s disappointed me and countless other Star Wars fans since 2002. Some might even say 1999. But I digress.

Dodgy internet / Guestbook

The lack of updates/activity is no doubt due to my schizophrenic internet. It keeps turning off and on again whenever it pleases, leaving me very small windows of time to actually get something done. I don’t wanna jinx it but right now, it seems okay. However, it’s been like this for 3 days straight. So there’s obviously something awry. I’ll be contacting my internet provider/phone company momentarily to ask them what the Hell’s going on and threaten to leave them if they won’t do anything about it. The delusive, kniving, swindlers that they are.

In other news, my about page (located at the top of any page on this blog) has been updated with a guestbook. So if any visitors wish to leave feedback, make a request for a review/rant/opinion, or wanna throw abuse at me, they can. Please not that the guestbook will be filtered, so watch what you say.