cartoon characters
November 22nd 2007 04:34
I grew up with many of the famous Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbara cartoons; Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, Looney Tunes, and Hong Kong Phooey were frequently watched after school shows. I also had an obsession with the Japanese show Battle of the Planets featuring G-Force and the villian Zoltar, although it was dubbed in American voices, so as an impressionable boy I had no idea it was an early Asian Anime creation, all I knew was a had a crush on Princess and pretended I was the genetically-created Keyop (“Brrrr-toot-toot!”).
On Sunday afternoons there was an odd, and unintentionally creepy, cartoon called Clutch Cargo, which featured a unique optical technique called Synchro-Vox, which enabled the animators to superimpose real human mouths onto the faces of the cartoon characters, who were often motionless. It was this special effect which kinda creeped me out as a boy, as well as the use of intense cliffhanger endings to the five-minute long episodes.
As I moved through puberty my affections for G-Force’s Princess moved to Archie comics’ Veronica Lodge. I harboured a secret infatuation for the rich-bitch leggy brunette, and felt jealous of Archie, especially since he could have Betty White any day, and leave Ronnie for me. It amuses me that spunky Sydney-based pop-rockers The Veronicas named themselves after Ms. Lodge.
As an adult I was seduced by the late night black comedy of Dr. Katz, professional therapist and the extraordinary Ren & Stimpy show; there hasn’t been another cartoon duo like them; outlandish, subversive, scatological adult humour in the guise of an irreverent madcap children’s domestic cartoon. Outrageous entertainment!
Still, there’s a handful of cartoon characters I still champion, ever since my youth; those underdogs, always suffering at the hands of Murphy’s Law, or their own stupidity, but possessing more personality chutzpah, witty perspective, and dark sardonic edge than South Park could ever hope to muster (that’s right, I’m not a fan of Matt Stone & Trey Parker’s creation, never have been, never will). I’m talking about Sylvester the Cat, Daffy Duck, and all-time favourite, Wile E. Coyote.
So many favourites here, so many fond memories! From the burger lovin' nonchalance of Jughead and Wimpy to the surrealism of Samurai Jack. But if I had to nail it down to a Top Three (oooh, I just thought of another cartoon character I enjoyed; Top Cat!), it would have to be: Wile E., The Pink Panther, and, um, errrrr, dang it, Sylvester, no, wait, Calvin & Hobbes! But wait, I've completely forgotten Donald Duck! Ooops! Sorry Donald! I do love ya!
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