I’ve always loved cartoons. That’s hardly an earth-shattering revelation though, is it? Who doesn’t love cartoons? I can distinctly recall racing home from school to watch The Super Mario Brothers Super Show! (Any title that contains exciting punctuation has to be good. Although, it only aired for a few months, so maybe I’m the only one who thinks this.) I’d run home, grab a raspberry yogurt–my favorite–and enjoy the adventures of everyone’s favorite plumbers. It was an exciting time in my young life.
I would guess that everyone has fond memories of a specific cartoon. My sister still gets a twinkle in her eye when she talks about the ThunderCats, and don’t even get my father started on Looney Tunes. You will be stuck all day listening to not only his Elmer Fudd impression, but also Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Marvin the Martian, and Foghorn Leghorn. All day. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Of course, it’s not just older cartoons that make me all kinds of nostalgic. Tomorrow is the DVD release of Madagascar 3 – Europe’s Most Wanted, and I’m super excited. Why might this particular cartoon appeal to me, you ask? Madagascar 2 was the very first movie I ever took my nephew to see. We went to the theater, bought a bucket of popcorn that was almost the same size as him, staked out our seats and waited for the adventure to begin.
Once the theater was dark, I no longer existed to my tiny nephew. He only had eyes for Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, and King Julien (a lion, zebra, giraffe, hippopotamus, and lemur, respectively.) I spent a good deal of the movie watching him watch the animated shenanigans on the screen. He held that humongous bucket of popcorn in his lap, just barely able to see over the top, and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was awesome.
After that day, we went back and watched the DVD of the first movie, Madagascar, and have loved those characters ever since. Over the years we’ve seen our fair share of cartoons together: Kung-fu Panda, WALL-E, Hop, even Toy Story & Toy Story 2 as a re-released double feature. But, even though all those movies were fun in their own right, none of them can compare to Madagascar. I guess that’s how memories work. You just can’t beat a brand new experience.
So, I’m excited to see what kind of trouble our zoo friends have gotten themselves in to this time. Do you have your copy on reserve? Call or visit your local SJCPL library branch and put one on hold today. But, if you just can’t wait until tomorrow, check out any of the other Madagascar DVDs–I recommend the television show, The Penguins of Madagascar–or one of the many wonderful animated films available at the library. Start making your own animated memories today!
October 29, 2012 at 11:39 am
Back in my day, Saturday morning was always a cartoon marathon where I had to actually get up early to watch some of the best ones (no videos so you could watch them at your convenience). When American Band Stand (or maybe it was Soul Train?) came on that was the signal that cartoon time was over and it was time to go out and play.
October 31, 2012 at 9:07 pm
Like Theresa said – 3 channels of cartoon fun until Bandstand, which we never watched either…intrigued by the music, repulsed by the thought our parents would make comments on the dance moves.
My brothers and sisters and I got different cartoons than you’ve mentioned – our first run choices included Scooby Doo (first few seasons blessedly without guest stars and Scrappy Doo), Hot Wheels, Josie and the Pussycats, The Archies, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and more. Looney Tunes were on first at some ungodly hour, no doubt because they were ancient history even then.
But of course – I do have a soft spot for those Madagascar penguins. Also Wallace and Gromit, Flushed Away, and the Incredibles (no capes).
There’s a seriously great CD from the 90s with then-current artists blazing through Saturday morning cartoon theme songs. The Ramones do the Spider Man theme, the Reverend Horton Heat does a smoking medley of Jonny Quest and Dastardly and Mutley, etc. It’s available at our branches right now.