Your favorite cartoons of yesterday and today?

[mouser]

A DC member turned me on to one of my favorite new cartoons, Rick and Morty:


I'd say it's an adult cartoon, vs a kids cartoon. Full episodes can be legally watched online here: http://www.adultswim.com/videos/rick-and-morty/

Hilarious and surprisingly faithful to the science behind some of the absurdity.


I was just reading about how the era of Saturday Morning Cartoons for kids has ended.. That's pretty sad.  I have very fond memories of waking up early on saturday mornings and planning out what cartoons to watch.  There were some wonderful cartoons back then.

• http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/30/saturday-morning-cartoons-are-no-more/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday-morning_cartoon
• http://www.inthe80s.com/saturdays.shtml <-- schedules from the 1980s
• http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000946691/

What are your favorites?

[TaoPhoenix]

One suggestion from that Washington Post article I'll disagree with is the "cartoons went away because of Quality Time". I still remember way more clearly than anything else from that period, that Sat AM cartoons came on *early*, sometimes as early as 6 AM. So though my Dad has always been an early bird, Sat AM cartoons were a great little thing to keep us amused to give Dad time to catch up on his chores or the bills while Mom slept until about 10.

I wasn't aware of the FCC angles though.

[TaoPhoenix]

I just remembered! I had forgotten about them!

There's a band called Toehider that does modern covers of all the old cartoon theme songs, *terrifyingly well*.


He/they really respect the source, just like the spirit of this thread, instead of snootily looking down for a cheap "let's go kiddie retro for ad clicks".

Here's a couple links:
Ulysses 31
(Interesting take on "It's me Nono, small robot you know..." - he cranks the energy up even more!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERDUOH4ParI

M. A. S. K.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCqOTIsjK8c

And lastly, the one that haunted my childhood forever - Spartakus
First, an unusual live version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFORjmZGs64

Elsewhere on his albums there's another version. I forget how it all worked this many years later, but some/most of them were free in whole/part for varying amounts of time. I'd have to search my comp and my email to unravel it all.

[superboyac]

I'll have to check out Rick and Morty.  I love cartoons.  I've loved them my whole life, probably a little too much.

Here's my list:
Tom and Jerry.  Brilliant all the way through, hilarious, violent.  The music, oh man.  Animation excellent.  Classic, vivid scenes that are etched in my brain forever.

Looney Tunes.  Also brilliant, same goes for the music.

Batman the Animated Series.  Also brilliant.  The mood is correct, the characters are probably the best of any media.  The stories were adult enough to enjoy in adulthood.  Good music also.  Widely considered to be the best Joker ever...freaking luke skywalker of all people.  No offense to Heath Ledger, but he didn't quite "get it".

Animaniacs.  I loved it at the time, hasn't quite stood the test of time for me now.  The animation is amazing though.  

Home Movies:  this is one of my favorite shows of all time.  bad animation, hilarious stories, and some of the funniest characters.  Coach Mcguirk is sooooo funny.  H Jon Benjamin...he has one of those once-in-a-generation voices.

Archer: my favorite current cartoon.  It's just bad.  The animation techniques are amazing from an efficiency/budget point of view.  Blew my mind actually.

Ricky Gervais Show: this is basically the old popular podcasts from Gervais animated.  I've had some of my hardest laughs the past few years because of this show.  Pilkington animated can't go wrong, it's just too bizarre.  They animate Ricky laughing, which is also very very funny.

[mouser]

Ricky Gervais Show: this is basically the old popular podcasts from Gervais animated.  I've had some of my hardest laughs the past few years because of this show.  Pilkington animated can't go wrong, it's just too bizarre.  They animate Ricky laughing, which is also very very funny.

Agreed, great stuff.

H Jon Benjamin...he has one of those once-in-a-generation voices.

Agreed. He plays the son in the long running comedy cartoon series "Dr. Katz" and he plays one of my favorite characters of all time.  Laughed so much listening to him play Ben, the still-living-at-home-son.

[Renegade]

+1 for Archer. Great show.

South Park. Just brilliant stuff. This is hands down my favourite cartoon with nothing else coming close.

[mouser]

I *BEG* you not to make this thread on cartoons into a discussion of racism, political correctness, etc.

[Renegade]

Sorry. That wasn't my intention. It just happened that Tom & Jerry was in the news recently and I thought it was of interest. I've deleted it.

[mouser]

Thank you.  And thank you for understanding where I was coming from despite the rudeness of my post.

It just happened that Tom & Jerry was in the news recently and I thought it was of interest.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not that it wasn't of interest, on the contrary I often find such discussions of political correctness quite interesting -- it's just not the right place for those discussions.  I want to keep this thread happy and funny.

[mouser]

Some Saturday morning cartoons that I used to watch when i was young:

• Superfriends
• Fat Albert
• Scooby and Scrappy Do
• Wacky Races
• Bugs Bunny / Road Runner Show
• Richie Rich
• Smurf
• Snorks
• Dungeons and Dragons
• Garfield
• Winnie The Pooh
• Inspector Gadget
• The Littles
• Beatlejuice
• Heathcliff
• Magilla Gorilla
• Top Cat
• Josie and the Pussycats
• Speed Buggy
• Hong Kong Phooey
• Jabberjaw
• The Herculoids
• Plastic Man
• Captain Cavement

[Shades]

When I was a kid I dropped anything and everything to watch 'Battle of the Planets'...unfortunately, it doesn't stand the test of time for me. I always liked the Looney Tunes better than Tom &Jerry. Especially Wiley E. Coyote. If there is one cartoon character that will teach you about determination...

I'll even admit, here in public, that I have a pluche/stuffed doll of that character on my desk (20 years and counting...). Went a lot of times to the W.B. amusement park in Germany. Loved that park, its roller coasters, the ambiance there in general. Much better than DisneyLand Paris in my opinion.

From the Disney stable there is nothing that surpasses 'DuckTales' for me, although 'Darkwing Duck' wasn't far behind. Everytime something breaks in my computers I can't shake the term "What is your major malfunction!!!" from the gym coach of 'Beavis and Butthead'.  However, I lost interest in cartoons not too long after that. Regular TV soon followed. Now I don't even own a TV...sure don't miss being woken up (by the way too commercially driven) 'DragonBall-Z' after accidentally falling asleep behind the TV.

'The Simpsons' are the only and last cartoon still on my radar, though.

Wait...I forgot to mention 'Ren and Stimpy', 'Cow and Chicken' and 'Happy Tree Friends', dark to very black humor. 

[rno2]

Mine that a lot of people forget about are:
Pink Panther
Woody Woodpecker

[nosh]

Ren & Stimpy - I loved those maniacs! 

[TaoPhoenix]

I had to do a page search to be sure.

Transformers hasn't made the list yet!?


3rd level runner up Voltron.

[Renegade]

When I was a kid I dropped anything and everything to watch 'Battle of the Planets'...unfortunately, it doesn't stand the test of time for me. I always liked the Looney Tunes better than Tom &Jerry. Especially Wiley E. Coyote. If there is one cartoon character that will teach you about determination...

Battle of the Planets was a favourite here also.

And Wile E. Coyote - hands down my favourite character from Looney Tunes.

Oh - another good show -- Count Duckula! It does seem to stand the test of time even.

[x16wda]

Looney Tunes definitely. Written on two levels, nothing like today's abysmal stuff. Animaniacs were good too, although they were a little young for me at the time. :-)

[techidave]

Most of the ones on this list, I used to watch Cartoons of the 60s

Particularly these: 1-6, 16, 25, 42, 46, 64, 70, 75, 79, 81.  too numerous to mention by name.  I couldn't find the road runner and Wiley e coyote on the list, maybe that was later. 

[Renegade]

Most of the ones on this list, I used to watch Cartoons of the 60s

Particularly these: 1-6, 16, 25, 42, 46, 64, 70, 75, 79, 81.  too numerous to mention by name.  I couldn't find the road runner and Wiley e coyote on the list, maybe that was later. 

#5 - Davey and Goliath - isn't a cartoon. It's stop motion. But if we include those, I'd add in Shaun the Sheep as a fun one!

Oh, and #80 - Fractured Fairy Tales - great stuff! 

#12 on that list (Spider-Man (1967)) is fantastic! The original "we all friggin' dropped acid" show. That was my first exposure to seriously trippy drug-art. 

[techidave]

whoops.  Didn't mean to include Davey and Goliath although I used to watch them. 

By the time 1967 got here, I was almost in high school, thus no more cartoons until the kids started in the late 70s.

[superboyac]

man, i didn't realize i overlooked so many good ones!  south park is great.  beavis and butthead!!  totally forgot about that, lol, need to go check those out again.  man, we would die laughing at those.  ren and stimpy!! oh man...that guy is awesome too, John K.

[TaoPhoenix]

... beavis and butthead!!  totally forgot about that, lol, ...

I have to say, B&B is the single toon that annoyed me most in all of time. I barely get its like nihilistic humor, sorta Waiting for Godot for the 90's, but for me even horrifically badly written anything is better than that particular style of humor.

But I do get that you can't knock someone who gives people what they want. Mike Judge is certainly clever, and I liked King of the Hill a bit. I just didn't care for B&B. People get to be people.

[40hz]

• For Oldies:
• • Rocky & Bullwinkle
  • Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies - especially Daffy Duck as 'Duck Twacey' in The Great Piggy Bank Robbery. And Elmer Fudd in What's Opera Doc?
  • Fractured Fairy Tales
  • The Pink Panther - the original 'no dialog' ones.
  • Top Cat
  • Popeye - the old B&W episodes.
• • Koko the Clown - as a kid, I used to be terrified of clowns in general. Watching Koko was like watching a horror movie when I was 4-years old.
• Here's an example of Koko. Pretty heavy watching for a little kid. Amazing what they used to show kids back when:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtLExAHefjc
• For newer:
• • Aeon Flux - the original animated series. Also The Maxx, plus and pretty much everything else on MTV's Liquid Television series.
• [attach]

[Edvard]

I remember Saturday mornings spent at my Grandmother's watching cartoons and eating Cheerios, then my Grandma would switch on her game shows after the cartoons were over, and after an hour or two she'd fall asleep in her easy chair, then my brother and I would switch it to "Mystery Theater" which showed all the old black & white Japanese monster movies (Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, etc, etc,).  I loved those days...

Some Saturday morning cartoons that I used to watch when i was young:
...

How about Grape Ape, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Tennessee Tuxedo, Mr. Magoo, and don't forget those mainstays the Flintstones and the Jetsons... oh, how I miss those days!
Also don't forget the cartoons that were in-between Pink Panther episodes, like the Ant & the Aardvark, Misterjaw, and the Texas Toads.  Ant & the Aardvark had some killer one-liners that still crack me up today. ("Hey ant, you're pretty good... you'd be even better with jelly on toast!")

And don't forget those classic Krofft Brothers' live-action shows.  Maybe not cartoons, but there they were on Saturday morning with the rest of them; H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, the Krofft Supershow (Elektrawoman and Dynagirl were my first crushes), Land of the Lost, Far Out Space Nuts...

* Edvard lapses into a temporary coma of reminiscence...

I'll have to confess there were some that I hated with a purple passion.  I hated the Smurfs and all the clones (Snorks, Trollkins, etc), I couldn't stand Scrappy Doo, and when the networks started in with the "Junior" versions of classic cartoons (Pink Panther & Son, Muppet Babies, Pup Named Scooby-Doo, etc, ad nauseum), I was done.

[Renegade]

The Star Wars cartoons are pretty darn good. The new series "Rebels" is also starting really strong.

Actually, I'm a bit surprised that nobody has mentioned them yet.

[techidave]

Mr. Magoo, hasn't he been around like forever?

oh Magoo, you've done it again!