Animation (No) Shame
I've never tried to hide it, I love animation. Movies, TV shows, shorts on the internet, traditional, CGI, stop-motion, anime, love 'em all. While not big, my DVD collection is probably at least half animated features, and smaller portion is animated TV shows.
I don't know why, exactly, but something about them seems more "real" to me in some ways. I love how there are no constrants in terms of what can be done, except by the skill of the or limitations of the animator. While it's always nice to see great special effects in live action films, too often they're held back by their budget in what they can do. Other times, when the film could easily go so much further, it holds itself back for practical or budget reasons. Animation, however, can defy reality ten times over and give us stories and images that might've only been seen in our heads. And style; there are no doubt styles in live action, due to lighting, staging, angles, so on and such. But animation wraps that again and again in it's presentation.
I bring this up, because lately I've been on a nostalgia kick and have been combing Youtube to find intros and sometimes full episodes of shows that I forgot I remember very well. It's a mixed bag, some where just cracktastic (Denver the Last Dinosaur, Count Duckula, Pac Man) while others were trying to captialize on what was precieved as a hot moment (Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (??), The Karate Kid (yes, it was a cartoon)) and some just followed forumla (The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Bionic Six, Snorks). There were some classics that I didn't know weren't American (Maya the Bee, Adventures of the Little Koala, Voltron), and of course everything that was made to sell toys to kids (My Little Pony, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Dinosaucers). There were the sitcoms (The Jetsons, Wait Til Your Father Gets Home) and there were the ones that kinda defied a set catagory (The World of David the Gnome, Daria). My personal favorites (Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego, Cybersix, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) And the countless action series and Disney spin-offs.
Often, the best part of the entire show was the opening intro and theme song. This is what hooked you, and often had the best animation of the series. And the first song you heard needed to glue you to the screen, and keep your butt planted in your seat, and many times it did its job. No matter how bad what followed was, you damn well remember that opening score.
Strangely, what I've found, and remember, is that some of the best stories that came out of those early animation boom came from two sources; Disney and the action toy lines.
Disney was fucking amazing back in the day when they still gave two shits about what they showed. Adventures of the Gummi Bears; who would've thought that that silly premise would become the epic that it was, and is still considered by many as the highlight of what Disney story telling could do for children's television. Ducktales, Tailspin, the whole Disney Afteroon block was wonderful. They took ideas that even compared to what came from the Seventies were weird, and turned them into things that could hold your imagination for 22 minutes at a time and make you come back tomorrow. Look at the Aladdin series, there probably never would have been any sequels (until the dreaded Disneyquel plague came in the 2000's) had that not been as captivating as it was. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
The toy series are the most surprising, when you think about it. They were cartoons made specifically to sell a physical product. They needed to be good to sell the toys, mind you, but what the writers came up with were often incredibly thought out. Characters would have backstories and depth, when all the company many cared about is if they fit the stereotype that character was created to fill. Many lasted only one season, long enough for the toy to either sell well or bomb, and long enough for the next development to be put together. But the ones that stood out are the ones that are the most fondly remembered and making their return in one form or another.
All this is pointless when I tell you what's got and been holding my facination lately; the girls cartoons. These are ones that usually didn't do very well, because most cartoons needed to pander to either everyone under age 7, or boys 8 to 12. Girls got the short shift in many cases. But there were a few that popped out, She-Ra leading the charge. Only a gender shift of the flag-bearing He-Man, it was still a first in that a female was leading the charge and kicking butt. And while directly marketed cartoons for girls are on the short list, many I find I want to see redone today. None were marketed at me, and back in the day if anyone asked if I watched it I'd claim to have no knowledge of it's existance, but come Saturday morning I'd be on the couch with my cereal, making sure I didn't miss the intros.
Do you remember Wildfire? That show would kick so much ass today under todays budgets. The concept might need tweaking, but overall not a lot would need to change. Get some butt-kicking girls back on screen! I don't know why, but this series has a hold on me right now. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to watch, but there's just something about the premise that keeps me glued.
Or Jem and Holograms? This is a personal guilty pleasure, mainly because of the music. Yeah, it was bad 80's synch pop, but think about what they did; they wrote, recorded, and animated on average three new songs for every episode. Even if it lasted only one season (I believe it went for at least two), and on average that's about 26 episodes (back in the day, a single season could somehow wrap itself into 65 episodes, regardless of quality) that's still at least 78 songs lasting 1 minute to 1:30, not counting opening intro, that they needed to write; not to mention the songs themselves were usually part of whatever was going on in that episode, like a bad half-hour musical. Damn! Again, I would love to see this show made again today, with the music theme kept in tact. We have American Idol, I don't see why someone wouldn't want to hook the younger kids who someday aspire to step on stage and be ridiculed.
There are a few others, Sky Dancers and Princess Gwenevere, but they're not as memoriable; still, they were aimed at the female demographic, and thus a good try. I mention them, but both had distaff counterparts aimed at boys, but they at least were the ones that got the cartoons.
I look at what's out there today and just cringe; Adventure Time. The Misadventures of Flapjack. The goddamn Spoonge Bob. It's not that there aren't good ones out there, but so many are either pandering to the lowest common denominator, or are being rushed out with cheap computer animation or lack luster stories. Granted, I'm not growing up with these cartoons, so I don't share that mindset anymore, but still it seems like things got dumber along the way. Lazy too.
I'm not saying everything was gold way back when. Often, shows would last just a single season (though as I said, how long a season was could vary incredibly) and never be heard of again. Animation quality was a big hamper, with multiple studios pulling double or triple duty to keep up with company production schedules. And, as I said, often the most money was thrown at the opening, both animation and music. What followed too often never lived up to the wonder that hooked you the first time.
And there were so many, it wasn't surprising kids didn't attach to the show, because of over stimulae. How you do connect, when there's something so similar just two channels over? How often did you see something and say, "Waitaminute, this is just like [x], only with [y] instead of [z]." Originality lasted only as long as the concept, once it got to script, it often came down to searching for episodes you did for the last show you worked on, or even using rejected scripts you failed to pitch last time.
Still, I look back and see a lot of potential. Maybe not the best of origins for some, but many could, and still are, good cartoons and great stories. Some sucked, but seemed to be less of those; a lot in the mediocre middle, but they could carry a tune. Looking at what's put on today, it's a wonder the good stuff even manages to surface through so much crap. Or that the crap is what seems to be selling the best.
Good god, I've become the old man on the porch who starts everything he says with "Back in my day..." But it's true, you little bastards! My cartoons were better! Nyah!
I don't know why, exactly, but something about them seems more "real" to me in some ways. I love how there are no constrants in terms of what can be done, except by the skill of the or limitations of the animator. While it's always nice to see great special effects in live action films, too often they're held back by their budget in what they can do. Other times, when the film could easily go so much further, it holds itself back for practical or budget reasons. Animation, however, can defy reality ten times over and give us stories and images that might've only been seen in our heads. And style; there are no doubt styles in live action, due to lighting, staging, angles, so on and such. But animation wraps that again and again in it's presentation.
I bring this up, because lately I've been on a nostalgia kick and have been combing Youtube to find intros and sometimes full episodes of shows that I forgot I remember very well. It's a mixed bag, some where just cracktastic (Denver the Last Dinosaur, Count Duckula, Pac Man) while others were trying to captialize on what was precieved as a hot moment (Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (??), The Karate Kid (yes, it was a cartoon)) and some just followed forumla (The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Bionic Six, Snorks). There were some classics that I didn't know weren't American (Maya the Bee, Adventures of the Little Koala, Voltron), and of course everything that was made to sell toys to kids (My Little Pony, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Dinosaucers). There were the sitcoms (The Jetsons, Wait Til Your Father Gets Home) and there were the ones that kinda defied a set catagory (The World of David the Gnome, Daria). My personal favorites (Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego, Cybersix, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) And the countless action series and Disney spin-offs.
Often, the best part of the entire show was the opening intro and theme song. This is what hooked you, and often had the best animation of the series. And the first song you heard needed to glue you to the screen, and keep your butt planted in your seat, and many times it did its job. No matter how bad what followed was, you damn well remember that opening score.
Strangely, what I've found, and remember, is that some of the best stories that came out of those early animation boom came from two sources; Disney and the action toy lines.
Disney was fucking amazing back in the day when they still gave two shits about what they showed. Adventures of the Gummi Bears; who would've thought that that silly premise would become the epic that it was, and is still considered by many as the highlight of what Disney story telling could do for children's television. Ducktales, Tailspin, the whole Disney Afteroon block was wonderful. They took ideas that even compared to what came from the Seventies were weird, and turned them into things that could hold your imagination for 22 minutes at a time and make you come back tomorrow. Look at the Aladdin series, there probably never would have been any sequels (until the dreaded Disneyquel plague came in the 2000's) had that not been as captivating as it was. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
The toy series are the most surprising, when you think about it. They were cartoons made specifically to sell a physical product. They needed to be good to sell the toys, mind you, but what the writers came up with were often incredibly thought out. Characters would have backstories and depth, when all the company many cared about is if they fit the stereotype that character was created to fill. Many lasted only one season, long enough for the toy to either sell well or bomb, and long enough for the next development to be put together. But the ones that stood out are the ones that are the most fondly remembered and making their return in one form or another.
All this is pointless when I tell you what's got and been holding my facination lately; the girls cartoons. These are ones that usually didn't do very well, because most cartoons needed to pander to either everyone under age 7, or boys 8 to 12. Girls got the short shift in many cases. But there were a few that popped out, She-Ra leading the charge. Only a gender shift of the flag-bearing He-Man, it was still a first in that a female was leading the charge and kicking butt. And while directly marketed cartoons for girls are on the short list, many I find I want to see redone today. None were marketed at me, and back in the day if anyone asked if I watched it I'd claim to have no knowledge of it's existance, but come Saturday morning I'd be on the couch with my cereal, making sure I didn't miss the intros.
Do you remember Wildfire? That show would kick so much ass today under todays budgets. The concept might need tweaking, but overall not a lot would need to change. Get some butt-kicking girls back on screen! I don't know why, but this series has a hold on me right now. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to watch, but there's just something about the premise that keeps me glued.
Or Jem and Holograms? This is a personal guilty pleasure, mainly because of the music. Yeah, it was bad 80's synch pop, but think about what they did; they wrote, recorded, and animated on average three new songs for every episode. Even if it lasted only one season (I believe it went for at least two), and on average that's about 26 episodes (back in the day, a single season could somehow wrap itself into 65 episodes, regardless of quality) that's still at least 78 songs lasting 1 minute to 1:30, not counting opening intro, that they needed to write; not to mention the songs themselves were usually part of whatever was going on in that episode, like a bad half-hour musical. Damn! Again, I would love to see this show made again today, with the music theme kept in tact. We have American Idol, I don't see why someone wouldn't want to hook the younger kids who someday aspire to step on stage and be ridiculed.
There are a few others, Sky Dancers and Princess Gwenevere, but they're not as memoriable; still, they were aimed at the female demographic, and thus a good try. I mention them, but both had distaff counterparts aimed at boys, but they at least were the ones that got the cartoons.
I look at what's out there today and just cringe; Adventure Time. The Misadventures of Flapjack. The goddamn Spoonge Bob. It's not that there aren't good ones out there, but so many are either pandering to the lowest common denominator, or are being rushed out with cheap computer animation or lack luster stories. Granted, I'm not growing up with these cartoons, so I don't share that mindset anymore, but still it seems like things got dumber along the way. Lazy too.
I'm not saying everything was gold way back when. Often, shows would last just a single season (though as I said, how long a season was could vary incredibly) and never be heard of again. Animation quality was a big hamper, with multiple studios pulling double or triple duty to keep up with company production schedules. And, as I said, often the most money was thrown at the opening, both animation and music. What followed too often never lived up to the wonder that hooked you the first time.
And there were so many, it wasn't surprising kids didn't attach to the show, because of over stimulae. How you do connect, when there's something so similar just two channels over? How often did you see something and say, "Waitaminute, this is just like [x], only with [y] instead of [z]." Originality lasted only as long as the concept, once it got to script, it often came down to searching for episodes you did for the last show you worked on, or even using rejected scripts you failed to pitch last time.
Still, I look back and see a lot of potential. Maybe not the best of origins for some, but many could, and still are, good cartoons and great stories. Some sucked, but seemed to be less of those; a lot in the mediocre middle, but they could carry a tune. Looking at what's put on today, it's a wonder the good stuff even manages to surface through so much crap. Or that the crap is what seems to be selling the best.
Good god, I've become the old man on the porch who starts everything he says with "Back in my day..." But it's true, you little bastards! My cartoons were better! Nyah!