# What Happened To Your Favorite Cartoons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468 "2003-07-28T17:33:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/21 "2003-07-29T20:09:26Z")
Well, _Family Guy_ got cancelled, _Daria_ got cancelled, and _Simpsons_ went all crappy. Sigh. Never got into _KotH_ or _Futurama_ that much - they were good shows, but both just kinda lost me at some phrase. Not to forget _Pinky and the Brain,_ that went all… Elmyra. What were they thinking? > [@](#): > > Man, I hate Hanna-Barbara cartoons. The only one I can stand is “The Flintstones”. That cartoon had a laughtrack innit! That’s kinda abominable. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/22 "2003-07-29T20:51:41Z")
Chalk up another for **Jem and the Holograms** ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/23 "2003-07-29T21:07:12Z")
Waa, I can’t believe I forgot Dexter!!! Dexter’s Lab and Powerpuff Girls are two of the best American-made cartoons EVER. They’re just so twisted–you know, I’m not even sure kids get the humor. Yeah, I gotta second the sentiments on old-school Hanna-Barbera cartoons (except Smurfs, cause they’re so damn cute)…they’re just dull to me. Dull, humorless, and badly drawn. I even hated Scooby-Doo…(running, dodging shoes) I kinda liked Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, though, and still don’t mind them–it’s more intelligent, and there are actually a lot of jokes in them that you really wouldn’t get as a kid. But Pink Panther, was that Hanna-Barbera? Pink Panther was a pimp. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/24 "2003-07-29T21:30:39Z")
I forgot to mention _Invader ZIM_. I miss that show so much. [sub]Awww, my bees.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/25 "2003-07-29T21:35:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kantalooppi \* > \*\* > That cartoon had a laughtrack innit! That’s kinda abominable. \*\* Better than if they had tried a live audience. ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/26 "2003-07-29T22:12:52Z")
Ye-gods, I watched a Transformers rerun the other day. It’s really aged badly hasn’t it? Same with Thundercats and Dungeons and Dragons. I hold Danger-Mouse is a special place in my heart. I’ve really gotta find the DVD of that sometime. Same with The Tick. ---
**Author:** ![BlackLabel1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e5b9ba/32.png) [@BlackLabel1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackLabel1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/27 "2003-07-29T22:12:59Z")
I would say my fav when I was litte was He-Man. It was tops but the others in that category were Transformers, Silverhawks, Thundercats, and who could forget the almighty G.I. Joe! More recent ones that I miss are Animaniacs and the mid 90’s Xmen and Spiderman (thought the new Spiderman on MTV is pretty sweet). Most loved cartoon EVER: gotta be the Simpsons and Family Guy! ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/28 "2003-07-29T22:16:16Z")
Favorite: _Duckman_ Least favorite: All those 80’s cartoons that were little more than toy commercials. \* GI Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Care Bears\*. It’s strange that people are getting old enough to be nostalgic about that crap. ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/29 "2003-07-29T22:28:55Z")
Other Dopers take note: the very first cartoon mentioned in the first reply is _Dangermouse_ - the best cartoon, ever. **Lobsang** , **Tearoses** , **Marley23** and **Rabid\_Squirrel** all share impeccable taste. 🙂 “_What Happened To Your Favorite Cartoons_?” - they were recorded onto VHS, so I’ve got over thirteen hours of Dangermouse sitting on my shelves. [trivia] Dangermouse was produced by Cosgrove Hall Productions, and Count Duckula was, indeed, also produced by them. In one episode of Count Duckula, a bus goes past the characters very quickly and it’s possible to see a sign on it saying, “Visit Cosgrove Hall”. [/trivia] Here’s an old favourite: _Rhubarb and Custard_. Anyone remember that? Oh, and _Hong Kong Fuey_ (sp?) - it had one of the best intros and songs that I can remember… “_Henry, the mild-mannered janitor? …could be!_” ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/30 "2003-07-29T22:29:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fern Forest \* > \*\* (Chuckie making “Heart of Darkness” references) \*\* The Hora! The Hora! ---
**Author:** ![TeaRoses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@TeaRoses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaRoses)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/31 "2003-07-29T22:31:14Z")
Least Favorite: Superfriends. I was talking about it with my husband the other day and he reminded me of all this other rotten stuff in it I didn’t even remember. Anybody else remember Star Trek Animated? 'Course you do. I’d watch that Yesteryear episode again if I could, though the animation does look kind of cheesy these days. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/32 "2003-07-29T23:01:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kantalooppi \* > \*\*That cartoon had a laughtrack innit! That’s kinda abominable. \*\* Hey! I said I could stand it…“barely”. 😃 Didn’t a lot of Hanna-Barbara cartoons of that era have a laugh-track? “Scooby-Doo”, and “Josie and the Pussycats” (as well as “The Flintstones”) come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/33 "2003-07-29T23:36:26Z")
Does no one remember Tom Terrific and Manfred the Wonder Dog and the villain Crabby Appleton (Crabby Appleton! Rotten to the core!) who appeared on Captain Kangaroo in the 1950s? No one? ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/34 "2003-07-30T00:43:33Z")
Dr. Katz, another great Comedy Central show that was cancelled for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/35 "2003-07-30T01:37:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > \*\*Does no one remember Tom Terrific and Manfred the Wonder Dog and the villain Crabby Appleton (Crabby Appleton! Rotten to the core!) who appeared on Captain Kangaroo in the 1950s? > > No one? \*\* I do – I wonder if it has aged well I loved it and Lariat Sam. I doubt I would like most of my childhood favorites these days. I mean Space Ghost and The Galaxy Trio, or Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles. I remember loving them, but I know their production and writing were probably awful (same with Birdman). But I lived for all of those shows (Herculoids, I had glow-in-the-dark Gloop and Gleep). Later I really enjoyed Gargoyles initial run. Very smartly written. Rocky and Bullwinkle and the accompanying toons (of Mr. Peabody and Faractured Fairy Tales or Aesop and Son) is still among my favorites. I always enjoyed Tudor the Turtle (Gee, Mr. Wizard, i want to be one of those Astronauts. "Tudor, Tudor, how many times must I tell you: Be just vaht you iz, not vaht you iz not. Folks what does this iz der happiest lot) from Tennesee Tuxedo, which I also enjoyed. Johnny Quest was a fantastic cartoon in spite of network mucking about with it. The revival was pretty awful though. Also, you have to see them unedited. For a long time you couldn’t see people shot, or other violence (like where someone blows themselves up). They were much better and would make a GREAT! movie nowadays. As I mull over all the cartoons (and I really liked the initial run of the New Batman and Batman Beyond, Justice League, which is playing now, Dexter, King of the Hill, Futurama and many others (Animaniacs deserves mention if for no other reason Pinky and the Brain and Slappy the Squirrel). I still think Bullwinkle was way ahead of its time and has worn well in the intervening years. ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/36 "2003-07-30T02:24:49Z")
Time for people to show their age:) My favorite cartoons, which besides Tom and Jerry, are the same as the OP listed. They were destroyed by the GCDMLCSC (Grand Conspiracy to Deprive Me of Laughter to Create Sensitive Children) by not showing the Coyote eating earthquake pills, Tom beating the hell out of Jerry with a frying pan, Blaque Jacque Shellaque shooting himself in the face, or Savoir Faire (who is everywhere) being himself. No cartoons insult my intelligence, but exactly the opposite. When I’m watching cartoons I want brainless laughter. I don’t want to think, follow a story, or get a message. I want to see a mouse and a cat kick each other’s asses with no dialogue. Tom and Jerry is still the ultimate in funny shit for me. I don’t watch prime time cartoons because they are just animated sitcoms that could be done better with real people. I’m an Itchy and Scratchy kind of guy:) The Bugs Bunny squaredance routine still slays me. ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/37 "2003-07-30T02:49:11Z")
I’d like to echo the sentiments of **Harvey the Heavy** about the 30 minute toy commercials of the 80’s. G.I. Joe got to be particularly annoying, because Hasbro kept adding new toys – err, characters – without reason, and the cartoon soon had way too many people in it. And everybody could fly a jet fighter. (This is the Army, not the Air Force, right?) And nobody ever got hurt. Transformers fared a little better, for a while, because Hasbro was limited by the fact that they weren’t creating the toys – just licensing them from Takara (and others.) As for my favorite cartoons from my youth, in addition to the classic WB stuff and Dangermouse (oo 'eck), I’d have to add Starblazers (Yamato) and Robotech (Macross). Even though they were sci-fi anime, they dealt with the reality of combat far better than G.I. Joe. I was so shocked to see Roy Fokker collapsing in Claudia’s apartment, bleeding… And, on a lighter note, _do the Duckman! You get yer down, down, and then you thrust yer pelvis, then you thrust yer pelvis, then you…_ ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/38 "2003-07-30T16:23:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ferris \* > \*\*[trivia] > > Dangermouse was produced by Cosgrove Hall Productions, and Count Duckula was, indeed, also produced by them. In one episode of Count Duckula, a bus goes past the characters very quickly and it’s possible to see a sign on it saying, “Visit Cosgrove Hall”. > > [/trivia]\*\* More trivia: I believe Cosgrove-Hall Productions was owned at the time by Thames Television, London’s weekday ITV network. The company still exists, though not under Thames’ ownership (seeing as Thames is no longer a network, but just a “brand name” of FremantleMedia. Sadly, they no longer use their reflecting London logo.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/39 "2003-07-30T18:10:23Z")
Thanks, **Ferris**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468/40 "2003-07-30T18:30:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Harvey The Heavy \* > Least favorite: All those 80’s cartoons that were little more than toy commercials. \* GI Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Care Bears_. As the self-designated **Transformers** fanbot on this board, I must politely ask you to [meet the folks who disagree.](http://www.otfcc.com/)😉 > [@](#): > > It’s strange that people are getting old enough to be nostalgic about that crap. Isn’t this the modern-day equivalent of one of those “When I was a kid…” cranky-old-man-isms? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-your-favorite-cartoons/191468.md?page=3)