Back in the good ole days' those of us in our 20's, 30's, and maybe even early 40's enjoyed some great cartoons back in the 80's. There might be a Saturday where we long for some of our old cartoon companionships on a dreary rainy or snowy morning. When we were children, we woke up early in the morning, just so we could begin the day with our favorite pals.
Now as the years have passed, and watching some of the newer and futuristic cartoons, we long for the familiar. Where have some of our old favorite cartoons gone? Will we ever get to see them again? With the great birth of the internet, it could be possible to see some of our old friends and possibly even introduce them to our own children.
One of the old popular cartoons was the Smurfs. They aired on television from 1981-1986, and some channels even carried some reruns as well. Actually, for the year 2008, the Smurfs are celebrating their 50th anniversary on their website. Fans of the Smurfs can purchase figurines to celebrate the special occasion. You can also catch the celebration at Happy Smurf Day on the internet too. While the Smurfs aired as cartoons in the 80's, their first appearance was actually on October 23, 1958. They were featured in a story of Johan & Peewit in "Le Journal de Spirou". They were also just secondary characters. After being in the story, then the Smurfs appeared in a film called The Magic Flute with music that was written by Michel Legrand. While the cartoon may have aired long ago, the Smurfs are still widely popular. Their books, figurines, and toys are still the most popular in the world, and their cds have sold 10 million copies in the last three years. For those who long to see episodes of the Smurfs, you can purchase the video collection in a dozen different languages and also in story-cd's as well. Also, you can watch free episodes on the popular video website, youtube.
Another popular series was the almighty, "She-Ra, Princess of Power." Young girls all over wanted to be powerful and beautiful just like the princess She-Ra. Shera was a spin-off cartoon from the He-Man series. Girls longed to wait for her to change over to She-Ra as she withdrew her sword into the air while a wild pop music tune played as she announced that she was yet, "Shera-Princess of Power." Her long flowing blond hair danced in the wind as she road upon her horse to go save the world and rescue those in need. And her brother He-man she stayed loyal and true, as they fought on the same side with the good trying to put evil in its place. Season one began with its first episode, Into Etheria Part , which aired September 9th, 1985. She-Ra-continued on through 1987 with over ninety cartoon episodes. Along with the airing of the cartoon, popular figures and toys were released during the period. Some of these toys can now hardly be found and are now considered rare items. For those who want to relive the Shera days, DVD collections of the show were released in 2006 and 2007. She-Ra: Princess of Power, Season 1, Volume one was released in November of 2006 and Season 1, Volume 2 was released April of 2007. Old episodes of She-Ra can also be watched at youtube.
One last great cartoon to watch on Saturday mornings was a cartoon about a family of little people who lived in people's homes. It was called "The Littles." There were William and Willa Little, the children, Tom and Lucy, and Uncle Pete. The Littles had some amazing adventures and viewers would even get a little nervous when these little gals found themselves in some trouble or danger. The Littles became friends with the young boy, Henry, whose home they lived in. Henry was one of the few who really knew about the Littles. The Littles were always running away from the evil scientist, Dr Hunter, who was always trying to capture this little family. He wanted to try and catch them so that he would become rich and powerful. The Littles aired on the ABC network from 1983-1985. Some of the shows even reaired on the Toon Disney network from 1998-2002. They have also been in syndication from 2003-2007. So there is a chance that you might have even caught this widely popular cartoon show.
If you are craving some of the non-stop action adventures of the Littles Family, the entire series from 1984 can be purchased at amazon for $35.99. If you want to relive some parts of the cartoon, there are videos of the Littles found at youtube.
So if you find yourself craving some of the old cartoons from your childhood, remember, that our favorite best friends aren't that far away. There are dvd collections,books, cds, and even memories of them distributed across the world wide web. While we might have thought that we had lost that part of childhood, they were still never really that far away.
Who is your favorite cartoon family? It's not an easy question. Is it? When I ask it of myself I am reminded immediately of The Simpsons. Other ideas that pop into mind are The Family Guy family and some from South Park, like Stan's. Let's take a stroll through these classic depictions of suburban life in the 21st century and see what they have to say about us today. They are actually more telling than anyone would know from first glance.
The Simpsons burst onto the scene very strongly in the late 1980's. No one would ever be able to forget the rebellious Bart, the symbol of every little boy who just wants to have fun - and not do his homework. But their cartoon family as a whole is very broad and even. For instance, Lisa balances out Bart by being a hard-working, saxophone-playing do-gooder. And Homer's crack up antics as a lazy nuclear plant employee contrast endearingly to his wife, Marge's awareness of her family as a whole. She is always effortlessly taking care of her baby Maggie. It's just great.
Then with The Family Guy we again see some similar dynamics. For instance Peter the dad is a whole lot like Homer, without being so annoying. And he also has his trustworthy wife Lois. The kids are a little weirder though. I don't really get what's going on with their older boy.
And finally with South Park we see some hilarious American family stereotypes playing out. From white trash Kenny's family, where his mom is always wearing her "I'm With Stupid" t-shirt to Stan's Jewish family, it's all so over the top that it's hard to take offense. There are many funny cartoon families at play here.
But what do these all say about us? Well, since they are caricatures they really highlight a lot of the silly things we assume to be true on a daily basis. But in the Simpsons in particular there is always some sort of an uplifting moment at the end of the episode. This ties it all together so nicely that you almost accept our imperfections as being endearing. So be it. We're not God after all.