Saturday Morning memories thread

[Redsonga]

They were always ultra-colorful... Worse than a Skittles commercial... and fluffy and happy. I really shouldn't talk so much... I honestly, for one reason or another, wasn't able to watch things like Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, or any other girl-oriented cartoon when I was little, so my comments could be completely unfounded.

I've always loved color though..honestly I don't think being linked to being colorful is a bad thing at all, and I love happy go lucky as long as it has a plot, which even SSC did She kicked the baddies as much as anyone and had cute animals to boot... Rainbow Brite was based around giving all the world the bright wonderful colors we know in nature and not letting anything stop her in doing her job, which I thought not only made her a good character, but was an interesting modern myth storyline within itself. Colorful or not you hardly find little kids cartoons that put as much thought into their characters own worlds within worlds anymore, most of them are just boring 'our world but a tiny bit different' settings...

I just want a choice in girl-oriented programs. Can't girls have something a little.. I don't know... darker? Tomboyish without really being tomboyish?

I think good cartoons should focus on telling a good story before anything. Sugery or not most of my favorites 80's cartoons always had plots that were a matter of life or slavery or world saving and did a good job of things. If more cartoons were to take their characters bodies and minds out of the mall and what dress to wear and out there doing something character growth would naturally follow IMHO .

You know, I keep hearing how girls lack a strong cartoon female role model, and I just can't help but think that Pepper Ann was an underrated show. It was billed the kid's equivalent of Ally McBeal (though I thought it was much much better than that little catty lawyer show). it was like Doug's female counterpart. And even a dude can enjoy it too. Characters like Milo, Deter, and the Principle (who was voiced by none other than Don Adams) really spoke to me...

I liked Pepper Ann, but I only got to see a couple episodes, she reminded me of a girl version of Doug. Another newer show I loved and watched all the time was As Told By Ginger. I thought it was very realistic and she reminded me of me when I was that age...It is a shame that the 'ending' had to get as soap operaish as it did, but that is what school was like for better or worst IMHO

 

[Baby Gonzo]

I think good cartoons should focus on telling a good story before anything.

I agree. Nowadays story seems to come last in many cartoons. Then again, many old cartoons never really payed much attention to story either.

 

[Redsonga]

I agree. Nowadays story seems to come last in many cartoons. Then again, many old cartoons never really payed much attention to story either.

In the big picture I think many older cartoons at least tried harder and had more episodes with memorable storylines, if not great ones. I watch most of the new shows and I can't even remember what happened an hour later. A lot of them seem to lack any true emotion to, which is one of the reasons I first got into anime (when I realized a lot of the 'cartoons' I love when I was very little shared that new fancy label everyone was suddenly talking about)

 

[Baby Gonzo]

It depends. There are lots of old cartoons that look like they didn't try hard at all... Those Scooby Doo clones from the 70s for example. Scooby Doo didn't even have a strong story. Heck... Every episode followed the same story line. And while I'm not here to talk about how bad Scooby Doo was, I can't say anything about story there.

 

[CensoredAlso]

As Told by Ginger was good, but I still couldn't identify with the girls. The bossy popular girl was funny though and I liked how she kinda liked Ginger, but couldn't admit it too much.

But yes, in general cartoons used to have deeper storylines. And even if they weren't always deep, they were clever (i.e. Scooby Doo).

 

[Redsonga]

As Told by Ginger was good, but I still couldn't identify with the girls. The bossy popular girl was funny though and I liked how she kinda liked Ginger, but couldn't admit it too much.

But yes, in general cartoons used to have deeper storylines.

I think it is one of those things like any other character, not everyone is going to fit into the shoes of everyone. But Ginger really was me at that age to a T and because of that I could see more of her depth I guess...

And I agree with the clever part...It seems like even when shows try to make jokes now they are the 'hip but actually never was cool' type that have been used a million times, and they never really admit it or make fun of themselves . At less Scooby Doo knew it was campy (In a good way)

 

[Baby Gonzo]

At least to me, Scooby Doo Where Are You was enjoyable because of the characters... and I mainly mean Scooby and Shaggy. Though I don't really see it this way now (I understand the characters more) but when I was little, I thought everyone else was about as fun as watching paint dry. When I was younger, I couldn't care less who the person in the ghost costume was. The most prominent theme, mystery, just didn't matter to me... Especially because I knew it was always going to turn out the same way. Don't get me wrong... I watched it just the same but the story was a bore to me. I actually enjoy those movies from the 80s way more than the cartoon series. At least the monsters and ghosts were real! And I also remember liking the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo as well... even though that wasn't a very popular series either.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I think it is one of those things like any other character, not everyone is going to fit into the shoes of everyone. But Ginger really was me at that age to a T and because of that I could see more of her depth I guess..

Yeah that makes sense. To this say I have trouble identifying with women on TV. April O'Neal was great, but I'd rather be a turtle, lol. The closest for me was Daria, loved her.

And I agree with the clever part...It seems like even when shows try to make jokes now they are the 'hip but actually never was cool' type that have been used a million times, and they never really admit it or make fun of themselves . At less Scooby Doo knew it was campy (In a good way)

Yup, they need to stop being afraid of looking silly and go for it.

 

[Redsonga]

At least to me, Scooby Doo Where Are You was enjoyable because of the characters... and I mainly mean Scooby and Shaggy. Though I don't really see it this way now (I understand the characters more) but when I was little, I thought everyone else was about as fun as watching paint dry. When I was younger, I couldn't care less who the person in the ghost costume was. The most prominent theme, mystery, just didn't matter to me... Especially because I knew it was always going to turn out the same way. Don't get me wrong... I watched it just the same but the story was a bore to me. I actually enjoy those movies from the 80s way more than the cartoon series. At least the monsters and ghosts were real! And I also remember liking the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo as well... even though that wasn't a very popular series either.

My all time favorite Scooby was A Pup Named Scooby Doo, I loved it's running gags and how it was more comedy based. It is a big reason why even now Velma is my favorite character and as adults I ship her and Shaggy in my mind .
And yes, I know the history of Scooby Doo and its roots for characters, but I think it has grown into something a bit more now.

Yeah that makes sense. To this say I have trouble identifying with women on TV. April O'Neal was great, but I'd rather be a turtle, lol. The closest for me was Daria, loved her.

I always pretended I was Mona Lisa, Raphs one episode girlfriend. But then, I always had a thing for him^.~

Yup, they need to stop being afraid of looking silly and go for it

Now that I think of it it seems like many cartoons are victims of the same sort of peer pressure their target age group faces everyday. They are afraid of taking a risk and making honestly funny or true danger facing fantasy series like back in the day because of ratings and parents. So they end up making 'safe' cartoons that are as interesting as eating glue (I never did that but I think it must be pretty boring^.~)

 

[Baby Gonzo]

I liked Scooby was A Pup Named Scooby Doo as well. I loved the cartoony style and the exaggerated personalities of the characters. It was an overall cute, funny show.