Saturday Morning Cartoons - Winter Laff-A-Lympics

Remember Laff-A-Lympics? They were not quite prestigious sporting competitions officiated by Hanna-Barbera, which would air (and re-air) in the 1970s and 80s - sometimes conveniently during the years when a similar series of games would receive television coverage. I can't recall the name of that event, but apparently it has Greek origins.

What bothered me about Laff-A-Lympics (other than the blatant spelling errors and the fact there isn't really a "laff" to be found in the whole series) is the fact that barely any of the competitions took place in the winter! The only winter-themed events that were held included...

Downhill Skiing, Ice Skating and Toboggan Race  (Swiss Alps - 1977 / Winners: The Scooby Doobies, 105 pts)

Hang The Bell On The Abominable Snowman and Climbing Mount Everest  (The Himalayas - 1977 / Winners: The Scooby Doobies, 90 pts)

Get Your Man Contest and Dog Sled Race  (Canada - 1978 / Winners: The Yogi Yahooeys, 85 pts)

While typing this, I sometimes get the sense that other countries view winter sports as a bit of a joke.

To largely ignore these winter-based Greek sporting competitions (note to self: research actual name of event) is a major faux pas here in Canada. #WeAreWinter, after all!

That said, today I thought I'd highlight a TRUE Winter Laff-A-Lympics, and expand the playing field a bit by introducing a few non Hanna-Barberathletes into the mix!


SKI JUMPING - MEN'S LARGE HILL IND.

Goofy from Team USA easily claimed gold in ski jump (and most sports in general), as showcased in this clip from The Art of Skiing. This is nothing new to Goofy though. Honestly he could probably do this kind of event in his sleep.

Claiming silver and bronze respectively (but only due to lack of competition) is a bear and Popeye, a Ski Jump Chump if there ever was one.

SKIING - MEN'S DOWNHILL FINALS

Popeye fared much better in (and starred in better cartoons relating to) alpine and downhill skiing. Early in his training, it wasn't uncommon for Popeye to construct his own skis, as you can ski see in 'I-Ski Love-Ski You-Ski'.

SKIING - MEN'S FREESTYLE QUAL RUN 1 / LADIES' AERIALS QUAL 2

Popeye also inadvertently created his own skis in 'I'll Be Skiing You', while trying to keep up with Olive Oyl. He fared well, but the sailor-turned-skier was later disqualified for illegal spinach use.

According to this cartoon, Popeye and Olive may have fared better in...

FIGURE SKATING - PAIRS' FREE SKATE

Jerry and Nibbles got off to a shaky start, but ended up dominating the competition with their routine called 'Mice Follies', set to Tchaikovsky's waltz from "Sleeping Beauty". Bonus kudos for the pair's ability to do their own lighting. It would not be enough for gold though, due to low scores from the feline judge.

SPEED SKATING - MEN'S 1,000 METER

That same judge proved to be quite formidable at speed skating, and showed true sporting spirit as he sustained a major injury to his abdomen, yet still continued the program. Amazingly, he was also able to incorporate luge into his performance at the 2:00 mark.

ICE HOCKEY - MEN'S QUARTERFINAL

At first I thought it was Goofy of skiing fame who took to the ice (and the stands and the coaching bench), but it was in fact Icebox Burtino, Fearless Ferguson, "Clean Game" Kinney, etc. At press time, the score was 342 to 329 - too close to call.

FIGURE SKATING - LADIES' SHORT PROGRAM

Peppermint Patty pirouetted past some audio problems to prove quite the crowd pleaser in this performance from 'She's A Good Skate, Charlie Brown', set to Puccini's "O mio babbino caro".

FIGURE SKATING - MEN'S SHORT PROGRAM

Mickey Mouse also skated a fine program 'On Ice', but will likely receive point deductions for hitting that barrel.

Goofy, who once showed such promise on the rink and slopes, tarnished his good name on the pond by forgetting that the 'Lympics have been tobacco-free since 1988.

CURLING - MEN'S FINALS

Team Canada suffered a major upset to Mexico!

And at the end of the day, the current front-runner in the standings is...Inspector Gadget. 

In the first episode of his TV series, Inspector Gadget proved a triple threat in skiing, bobsledding and hockey, and took to the podium to give a lecture and receive a gold medal in "best demonstrating the Olympic spirit". (The Olympics! That's what the event is called!)

Upon review of the tapes though, there's a controversy fuelling rumours that it may not have been Inspector Gadget participating at all, but Powdered Toastman in disguise! We'll have more on this breaking story 4 years from now!

Saturday Morning Cartoons - Man-Child At The Movies (The LEGO Movie)

If you're going to appreciate this movie on any level, you first have to be prepared to "LEGO" of the notion that you're about to watch a giant toy commercial.

It's called The LEGO Movie, for goodness sake. You must have known what you were getting into. But trust me, you'll be surprised at how quickly you forget about that trepidation.

Let's get the bad out of the way first. This movie's theme song has been stuck in my head for 7 straight days. And I know I'm not alone out there. Every kid and his/her parent leaving that theatre last Saturday was singing this on their way out to their car. What was cute and fun for the whole family then, is now probably the cause of great dysfunction. My girlfriend, growing weary of her own incessant singing, sat in a dark room for an hour, listening to Mellow Indie on Songza in an effort to numb that relentlessly optimistic techno beat!





The sweet irony of having that song stuck in your head, is the fact that The LEGO Movie is about a conformist city of brainwashed little LEGO guys, who by decree of President Business (played by Will Ferrell) can only listen to one song over and over again - that same song you listened to above. The whole audience that morning became the city of Bricksburg. But hopefully later in the week they were all able to move on, like Emmet, the hero of our story.

Emmet, voiced by Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt, is a real dullard at the start of The LEGO Movie - complacent and brain-washed by a society that discourages individuality. That is until he is spiritually awakened by (and totally crushing out on) the mysterious Wyldstyle, played by Elizabeth Banks. Wyldstyle is under the impression that Emmet has the power to change the world as a Master Builder, and recruits him to join her freedom force, which also includes wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), Metalbeard the pirate (Nick Offerman), Benny the 1980's space guy (Charlie Day), a Ninja Turtle, William Shakespeare, half-unicorn, half-kitty Uni-Kitty (Allison Brie), futuristic Abe Lincoln (Will Forte), Superman (Channing Tatum), Green Lantern (Jonah Hill) and brooding boyfriend, Batman (Will Arnett) - just to name a few. This is the kind of ludicrous world The LEGO Movie builds for you, and you're okay with that.

The only reason I even considered watching The LEGO Movie is the film's directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Phil and Chris had a hand in both Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs movies, and both 21 and 22 Jump Street. They also created cult cartoon series, Clone High. They have great comedic sensibilities, and in the case of the Cloudy movies, made me reconsider the way I felt about CG animation.

The LEGO Movie has both an irreverent sense of humour (as has been pretty consistent with the brand, if you've seen any of the other LEGO parody films or video games) and a great, unexpected visual flair. There's a lot of texture to this movie. It always feels like something a nerd could've made in his/her basement, even when you have no idea how it was accomplished. Explosions are made out of LEGO! Ocean waves are cascades of rippling LEGO. Every detail of the film appears to have been practically made by Master Builders. The shower scene with Emmet is particularly inventive.

Most of the movie is CG, while a small percentage is stop-motion animated, keeping in the spirit of the countless fan-made "brick films" on-line that helped to inspire it. Animation director Chris McKay spoke to the reasoning behind that decision in an interview with IO9.

"You can't create a movie like this, with this level of detail and ambition and scope, in stop motion. Or, at least, if you're going to do it, it would be very expensive and take a very long time to produce.

"We said, "Look, we're going to make this movie with a certain set of limitations." Because the biggest problem with CG is there's no rules. You can do whatever you want. We wanted to create something that felt like it was grounded in reality.

"I worked in stop motion on Robot Chicken and Moral Orel. There is something about being physically on a set in an 8-inch scale, animators getting their hands on - there's a real charm to that. We wanted to try to make this movie feel like that. There's a charm to those brick films. I think part of that comes from the heart and soul of the filmmaker who comes to the table and wants to create something that is probably beyond their scope. There's something about trying to achieve that thing, that big gigantic thing, on this tiny little scale and format. With these charming little guys. To me, there's something really sincere and sweet about that."

"We wanted the movie to feel like that. We wanted to take what could have been the most fucking cynical cash grab in the world, and turn it into something warm and beautiful and charming [that] takes itself seriously in the right ways."

I hope Michael Bay reads this interview before he completes his next soulless Transformers train-wreck.

The screenplay is also part of The LEGO Movie's charms. Grounded deep in reality, it dares kids to be creative, but shows them the benefits of practical thinking in a group dynamic. It scolds adult LEGO-maniacs for never straying from the manual. It shows a world where everyone has a place, if we learn to better understand each other. Not bad for a toy commercial, right? And of course it's pure nostalgia, invoking those memories of your own LEGO builds when you were a kid. I had one of those 1980's space guys, and his helmet was cracked in the exact same spot as the one in the movie!

The LEGO Movie is a treat for both kids and adults. There are so many layers to the backgrounds and the humour is subtle and subversive enough to warrant repeat viewings. I'm sure my niece and nephew would agree, as they sat silent and slack-jawed like their uncle for the entire 100 minute running time.

The LEGO Movie is better than it has any business to be. And that's why you won't mind singing that damn Tegan and Sara song, as you gleefully drive to Toys "R" Us to buy your kids the Cloud Cuckoo Land playset.

Everything is awesome, indeed. See you in 5 years for The LEGO Movie 2!

Saturday Morning Cartoons - Watch And Learn

Last week, I posted about the wonderful Wizard of Oz cartoon that I used to watch as an 80's kid growing up in small town Manitoba. Each cartoon episode was only about 5 minutes. I know multiple episodes aired together as a 30 minute show, but I also seem to recall individual cartoons airing as filler between other 30 minute programs.

It reminded me of another filler piece that used to air between Canadian cartoons at the time. Who remembers this?

Max, The 2000 Year Old Mouse (1968-1969) lived a great life. But don't let that interesting point and title fool you. He is a dreadfully dull and uninteresting little rodent. In fact, he barely even told the stories he purportedly lived through. He just rambled on in his annoying tone, until the voice over guy had to be brought in to lend credibility to the educational material being crammed into our ear and eye-holes. If you know the series, you won't be surprised to learn it was paid for by Encyclopedia Britannica. 

Coincidentally, I was thinking about these shorts, as I was reading a book that my friends, Russ and Amber, gave to me for Christmas called, "Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi". Wouldn't you know it, that Bakshi, animation pioneer and legend, was behind this unappealing little mouse dropping. In fact, there was a shocking amount of other talent being wasted in these films, which I'll get to.

The connection makes sense, and I can't believe I didn't pick up on it before. It was a Krantz Films production, based in Toronto. You may recall me recollecting fondly over the infamous Bakshi/Krantz Spider-Man (Spiderman?) series in Season 3, which a lot of people hated and I rather enjoyed. Spider-Man at least had a semblance of entertainment value during that time. Max, The 2000 Year Old Mouse was a boring lecture, but it still had a lot of similarities to Spider-Man. 

I'm afraid you may have to watch another one of these to know what I'm talking about...

The theme song itself gave plenty of hints. Look at how off-model the mouse is compared to what he looked like in the show, even from episode-to-episode. It wasn't uncommon for Spider-Man to appear similarly inconsistent throughout.

The narrator (Bernard Cowan, who was also an announcer for CBC) is the same voice occasionally used for voice-overs on Spider-Man.

And similar effects at the 8 second mark in Max's strobe-heavy theme song could be seen in the equally trippy Spider-Man cartoon series.

While I was shocked to learn that Bakshi had a hand in this, I just became downright depressed when I learned who else had been dragged into it. 

Shamus Culhane was a director. Culhane had a hand in animating the classic "Heigh-Ho" sequence in Disney's Snow White and The Seven Dwarves, and you may recall me singing his praises as an under-appreciated renegade at Walter Lantz's studios. Shamus had semi-retired by the time he was working on this series, and to have it book-end such an interesting career is disappointing to say the least. But a guy's gotta work, right? 

Paul Soles, the voice of Max, was also the voice of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, and also memorably portrayed Hermes, the misfit elf in Rankin/Bass's Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Here, as Max, it seems like he recognized there was no point in even trying to be funny. Why would you give this unlikable blowhard anything but an incredibly unlikable voice?

We know, we know, Max! You're 2000 years old! Christ, it feels like you've told us this 2000 times already!

My own, more reliable mouse, tells me via the Interweb that there were 104 (!) episodes of this series! I could watch 3, maybe 4 "max". But somebody must have enjoyed them, to motivate Shamus Culhane in continuing this trend in 1970, as director of a similar series called The Wonderful Stories of Professor Kitzel.

I also remember seeing Professor Kitzel in 5 minute bits on Canadian television. This time around, Paul Soles is the narrator. And the format, while still preachy, is much more entertaining than Max. Professor Kitzel and his parrot are far more appealing than that braggart pipsqueak. Could we train this parrot to eat mice?

Wikipedia says there are 106 episodes of this series! Can that be accurate? Seems excessive, despite our liking it.

Steve Krantz also continued to educate in 1971 (after parting ways with Ralph Bakshi over a Fritz The Cat fall-out), and continued to make short educational films for Encyclopedia Britannica.

Wow, I think I kinda "max'd" out when it comes to education. Let's forget everything we've just learned, and remember guys like Ralph Bakshi, Shamus Culhane and Paul Soles in better times, celebrating their prouder moments and contributions to cartoons.

Smartest thing I've done all morning!

Saturday Morning Cartoons - Totally Oz-some!

I just learned that legendary Canadian cartoon voice actor, Larry Mann, passed away a couple of weeks ago.

Larry had great pipes. You hear his work and wonder how he could've voiced anything beyond a couple of days. That screeching, scratchiness made you think he may have smoked 80 cigarettes a day - which would've been surprising considering he lived into his 90's.

Larry is best known for his work as Yukon Cornelius in the Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer special.

But that's not his best work. His finest moments can be found in an under-appreciated animated gem called Tales Of The Wizard Of Oz.

If you're Canadian of a certain age, you will undoubtedly remember its catchy theme song.

Tales Of The Wizard Of Oz originally aired in 1961, but it wasn't uncommon for me to watch this early Saturday mornings in small town Manitoba during the 1980's. Several 5 minute shorts would get lumped into half-hour installments. It was Can Con, you see - presumably a cheap way to meet necessary Canadian TV standards. But at the time, I didn't know any better and quite enjoyed it. Still do, in fact.

Oz's Canadian connection came from Crawley Films, an Ottawa-based animation house. The American company that received title credit was Videocraft International. Prior to Oz, Videocraft had released a stop-motion program called The New Adventures of Pinnochio, which never really caught on in the States at the time, but also found new life 20 years later on Canadian TV. (you may also recognize its catchy theme song)

Tales of The Wizard Of Oz never really caught on at the time either. And Videocraft International wouldn't find success until later, once they were renamed Rankin/Bass Productions and became synonymous with holiday classics like Rudolph, Frosty The Snowman and more.

Oz was Rankin/Bass's first foray into traditional cel animation, and at the time, it was a big deal for Canada. It was viewed as a stepping stone for us to enter the international animation mainstream, as this 1961 article from the Montreal Gazette trumpeted. Still, despite those high regards (as you can tell by the photos), the crew and surrounding digs were rather modest.

CBC Radio recently conducted an interview with some of the original show staffers, including Barrie Nelson, Blake James and Sandy Crawley, who also hinted at less-than-luxurious working conditions.

Larry Mann, who I mentioned above, played both Rusty Tin Man and The Wicked Witch - with seemingly painful exuberance. What a great voice to animate! No wonder those guys loved doing the Witch-centric episodes! 

As I looked at Larry's photo above, I thought it ironic he didn't voice Socrates Strawman, who at times sounded like a different Larry - the one from The Three Stooges. Strawman was voiced by Alfie Scopp.

Rounding out the voice cast was Paul Kligman, who played the cowardly Dandy Lion ("Ma-Maaaaaa!") and Carl Banas as The Wizard, who was basically doing an impersonation of W.C. Fields. It's unknown if this was a knowing jab at the film version of The Wizard of Oz, which was originally supposed to star W.C. Fields as the Wizard. 

This wonderful voice cast is what really made the show. But I also enjoy the UPA-style of design in the characters (limited animation with appealing use of solid colours) and abstract backgrounds sometimes consisting of nothing but a colour swatch. 

Check out the scenery in 'The Golden Touch'. Aside from a few interactive furniture items, there's nothing else really there but the marble colour scheme.

I also loved the colourful title cards, with that great font that did whatever the hell it wanted to. 

I shouldn't have alluded to the fact that Tales Of The Wizard Of Oz was a failure. It had moderate success at the time. It had its own toy-line and a comic tie-in, for example. There was even an hour-long special released on NBC in 1964, 3 years after the cancellation of the series, called Return To Oz, which reunited the original cartoon cast with their respective voices and show-runners. Still, Oz would never attain the globally recognized status that Rudolph would.

Oz is far more specific in its source material. It doesn't have the benefit of built-in backing from one of the most popular annual holidays. Hell, kids nowadays wouldn't even know The Wizard of Oz as a movie! And even if they did, they may not even make the association with the characters anymore, which were altered ever-so-slightly so as not to offend MGM copyright lawyers. (notice for example, that's it's the Strawman - not the Scarecrow)

But I think there's a group of Canadians out there like me, who grew up on this and still regard Tales Of The Wizard Of Oz as a minor classic - even if they didn't have any particular fondness for the source material. True, it's easier to enjoy a show when you only have 2 or 3 channels to choose from. Do you think The Littlest Hobo could've endured in an over-saturated TV line-up like today? Doubtful. Whatever the case, I think we just recognized a great theme song and a funny voice when we heard it. So let's not over-analyze it, and get back into some actual cartoons, shall we? R.I.P. Larry Mann. Canada rules. So on and so forth.

In this first episode, Socrates somehow ends up fighting a kangaroo under the tutelage of Rusty in 'Boomer Rang'. When Rusty gets crusty, I can't help but compare him to Futurama's Bender.

Here's a great showcase for Larry Mann's The Wicked Witch in 'The Count'. There's an air of South Park to Larry's voicework as The Witch, isn't there?

The Witch is almost over-shadowed though by the hilarious voice of The Count himself! 

Larry also steals the show as the (such a stupid!) mayor of Topsy Turvy Town in 'An Optical Delusion'.

The Wizard further establishes himself as quite the crackpot, as he accidentally discovers 'The Sound Of Munchkins'.

If there are any comparisons to be made to the film version of The Wizard of Oz, you won't find it in this random, meandering episode called 'The Cultured Lion'.

You likely wouldn't have watched 'Chowy Mein' in the 1980's, as people started to realize how horribly racist they had been 20 years earlier. That said, we probably shouldn't be watching it now either.

And then there's 'Get Out The Vote', which should remain a relevant little skewering of politics for many years to come.

What an Oz-some little show, huh? And there are still about 100 episodes left for us to watch!

I may need to re-title this blog as 'Saturday Afternoon Cartoons' at some point in the future.

Saturday Morning Cartoons - The Voice Of Neeson

I'm not sure why, but I've always had a weird affinity for Liam Neeson.

My favourite movie of all time is Sam Raimi's Darkman (1990), which starred a young Liam Neeson as the title hero. It wasn't based on a comic book, but I still consider it to be the best comic book movie ever made. (although there was a Marvel comic series that followed)  I think that may have set off my obsession. In it, he gives a completely insane, over-the-top performance. Laughable at times, but he stays the course - delivering the voice of the bandaged and badly burnt Darkman with such ferocious instability, you can practically hear his Irish spittle splattering all over the microphone.

It's the voice, man! That voice coupled with the gruff, no nonsense exterior is what has turned Liam Neeson into the 1980's version of Clint Eastwood. In movies anyway. But this persona has also turned him into an unintentional comedy star as well. That no-nonsense gruffness is what makes material like his guest turn in Life's Too Short so fall-down hilarious. And that unexpected comedy is now transcending into cartoons.

Liam Neeson could become the next Mel Blanc. Except Liam Neeson only has 1 voice - Liam Neeson. Maybe it's a forced interest that all actors consider as they get older and the crow's feet start to spread out over the screen in unforgiving hi-def. But I'd like to think that he takes these roles because his friends and family keep urging him to do weird and unexpected things. Because he's Liam Neeson. Whatever the case, I was surprised to learn that he did voice work in The Nut Job, which just hit theatres yesterday. In it, he portrays a raccoon. Because why not? He's Liam Neeson.

I only hope the movie is as funny as this b-roll is.

Three weeks later, Liam Neeson will be heard as Good Cop, Bad Cop in The LEGO Movie, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. I have high hopes for this film based on the fact that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were responsible for making one of the most entertaining CG animated films in recent memory, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. (which you may recall me gushing about last year) 

Just try to suppress your laughter when Liam Neeson pops up at the 1:43 mark in the below trailer.

When did Liam Neeson suddenly become The King of Cartoons? Well, it looks to have started in 2005, when he did a guest spot on an episode of The Simpsons called 'The Father, The Son and The Holy Guest Star'. Neeson, appropriate to his Northern Ireland roots, played Father Sean.

Liam Neeson then did an English voice overdub for Fujimoto, in Disney's 2008 North American release of Ponyo, directed by animation legend, Hayao Miyazaki. (who also directed such classics as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away)  Neeson seems to be a fan.

In 2011, Neeson reprised his role (in animated form) as Qui-Gonn Jinn in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Neeson appeared in 2 episodes, 'Ghosts of Mortis' and 'Overlords'. (PS: That is NOT Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi)

Last year, Neeson could be heard in select theatres in Khumba, a South African film about a zebra who goes out into the world to, literally, earn his stripes. Neeson portrayed Phango, a vicious leopard who terrorizes the other animals of the Great Karoo. 

Next up for Neeson is The Prophet, an animated film by Roger Allers (The Lion King) based on a classic 1923 book of poetic essays by Kahlil Gibran. The movie will be comprised of various shorts done by animation directors from around the world, including Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells), Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville), Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) and Bill Plympton (I Married A Strange Person!) - just to name a few.

I love that Liam Neeson's voice is interchangeable, regardless of whether or not he's playing a good guy or a bad guy. He's just Liam Neeson. That said, I think that's why most people don't really know what to make of him. Maybe that's why it took me so long to release this next clip was a joke.

Saturday Morning Cartoons - Powerpuff Piece

Not long ago, I left an issue of IDW's The Powerpuff Girls comic book sitting on my desk at work. A puzzled male employee picked it up and informed me that I was an 8-year old girl. "Not so", I declared, skimming to page 20, where I referenced a panel that depicted arch villain Mojo Jojo quoting the lyrics to Canadian singer Lawrence Gowan's "Criminal Mind". The still puzzled co-worker than referred to me as a 50-year old senior citizen. "That's better", I said.

I've received many a concerned look over my love of The Powerpuff Girls. But unfairly so. To those who don't know them, their name invokes comparisons to Strawberry Shortcake or Holly Hobbie. But while being very appropriate for that young female demographic, it's also one of the most colourful and clever cartoons ever produced - for men, by men! I mean, they do jokes about Canadian classic rock, for chrissakes!

The Powerpuff Girls were originally called The Whoopass Girls. Creator Craig McCracken debuted them on a birthday card to his brother in 1993, and then later showcased them in a short that ran in underground animation festivals called 'Whoopass Stew! The Whoopass Girls in: A Sticky Situation'.

Even in that original form, most of the show's familiar elements were in place. The Girls (though more gaunt) were very similar to their eventual, more-streamlined forms. The narrator (though differently voiced) set up the episode like all future instalments would. And the stylized violence (though less extreme) enhanced the puns, but still maintained a sense of cuteness for some reason.

Obviously, to expand this world beyond the festival circuit, Cartoon Network needed to ensure certain safeguards were in place. For example, "whoopass" wasn't the most kid-friendly term out there (their origin source of power also had to be re-imagined), so their title was changed to The Powerpuff Girls.

They were first featured as one-offs in the mid-90's. According to Wikipedia, the first short from 1995, called 'The Powerpuff Girls in: Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins', wasn't well received by test audiences, and plans for a series were postponed in order to put another Cartoon Network classic on the air, Dexter's Laboratory, which Craig McCracken also worked on. Despite that workload, McCracken made another Powerpuff Girls short in 1996 called 'Crime 101' .

Not long after, in November 1998, The Powerpuff Girls'  full-length series premiered to huge ratings, which continued for 6 seasons until 2005. Craig McCracken left the series in 2003 to work on a new series, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, but the show continued on without him - 78 episodes in total. There was also a Christmas special, a 2002 theatrical feature film (and surprising box office dud) called The Powerpuff Girls Movie and countless merchandising tie-ins, most of which I purchased. Because I'm an 8 year old...I mean, 50 year old senior citizen!

Let me show you a few of my favourite episodes to try and make known my very manly and mature tastes. My absolute favourite episode is called 'Octi Evil', because it introduced one of the most disturbing villains in animation - HIM. Basically he (or she?) is the devil. But probably a more effeminate version than you'd expect. It's as if Satan was a cross-dresser, crossed with a lobster. Whatever he she it is, there's no possible way you can watch this and still be under the impression it's meant solely for 8 year old girls. Hell, that's his/her blood spattering all over the opening credits!

How about destructive, break-dancing robots? You don't see that in any episodes of My Little Pony!

What about rock operas? Are those still popular with the kids? I'm surprised there wasn't a Gowan reference in this!

Actually, this episode was banned in the US and wasn't aired. The internet gives several reasons for this - depictions of communism, comparisons to cults, seizure-inducing visuals. Not sure what the real, official reason was, but that infamy makes this episode even cooler. Originally, this was intended to be the series finale, but was instead (supposed to be) released in the middle of the 5th season.

And I just dare you to try and add up the Dick jokes to be found in 'Knock it Off'?

Damn it, this could be the manliest cartoon of all time!!!

There isn't a misstep to be found in the entire 6 seasons. It's one of the greatest TV cartoons ever made. And the reason I'm telling you about it today, is because it's being resurrected later this month, which I'm a little uneasy about.

Craig McCracken actually resurrected The Powerpuff Girls once already in 2009, in a TV special called The Powerpuff Girls Rule!. It can be found on The Complete Series DVD set that came out that same year. Said to be based on one of McCracken's unreleased Whoopass shorts, it's considered to be the official finale to the series.

Then last year it was announced that The Powerpuff Girls would return - in CGI form! Frequent readers of this blog know how I feel about CGI, and will understand why I'm incredibly nervous about this decision. Also making me nervous is the fact that creator Craig McCracken had nothing to do with it.

Still, that didn't stop the 5th and 6th seasons from being great. And one of the original show directors and storyboard artists, Dave Smith, is back to direct. Whoever's involved, I will try and put on a brave, manly face - and seek out a suitable torrent to watch it from, after its original airing coming up Monday, January 20th on Cartoon Network.

What are your first initial thoughts on this? I'm not a big fan of the needless character redesigns (which just seems to include scruffier hairstyles), but the hyperactive humour seems intact. And it's always great to hear that original voice cast back behind a microphone.

The mathematician is voiced by Ringo Starr, who also performs an original song called "I Wish I Was A Powerpuff Girl". 

What, Lawrence Gowan wasn't available? 

These older songs are way better! ('Music Inspired By The Powerpuff Girls' - natch!)

Saturday Morning Cartoons - Fitness First!

After all of the turkey, after all of those cookies, after that last bucket of egg nog - now we can finally start talking about thinking about doing something about exercising. And what better motivator to "bring out the tiger in you" than sitting down to a big, heaping bowl of sugar glazed oats and watching a bunch of fictional characters who are more motivated than you?

First of all, I've already burned a few calories in outright anger at the above hack, Tony The Tiger. What happened to you, Tony? You used to be such a stud. Now you're a bit of a...well...puss. And you're completely ripping off the genius of a far more fit comedic icon, namely Goofy, who did that exact same bit over 50 years ago in 1949's 'Goofy Gymnastics'.

Boy, Roger Rabbit was right. "Nobody takes a wallop like Goofy".

Side Note: If you didn't see my Roger Rabbit post from last summer, check it if you want to learn why Roger shouldn't have even been watching that cartoon in the first place. But I digress...

Perhaps we should've begun with something less violent and more educational as a token offering to our weaker and more impressionable subscribers? This will prove a nice warm-up before we get into the even more violent content below.

Popeye has always been a proud purveyor of the virtues of better living. In fact, sometimes I think he may have been downright preachy about it, if you ask me.

But when it comes to good healt', you can't disregard someone with such impressive forearms. The man certainly knows fitness, and it's admirably on display in these 2 cartoons - 1936's 'Vim, Vigor and Vitaliky' and 1950's 'Gym Jam'.

Deputy Dawg is no athlete, if 1959's 'Physical Fatness' is any indication. But he tries hard. Wait, no he doesn't. This was a mistake to include.

Krazy Kat krushes out over Ignatz crushing it at the gym, in this sample of his animated adventures directed by cartoon legend Gene Deitch. This one's called 'Fizzical Fitness' from 1963.

Also gay for the gym is Queer Duck, who you may recall from a 2002 web series from former Simpsons writer Mike Reiss. Here he is ignoring his special friend, Openly Gator, in 'Gym Neighbors'. (get it?)

Super-shredded (but only for short term), this cat and dog duo was first introduced by Disney in 1993's Marsupilami, and then later received their own program in 1995 called The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show. I'll plan to do a separate post about this pair later in the year, but as an intro, here's an episode called 'Weight For Me', which features the pets at their most pumped.

Beavis and Butt-head hope to train us to become better athletes in 'Pumping Iron'. Huh-huh-huh, I said 'anus'.

You know what, why are we even wasting our time with this? My new year's resolution over the past 2 decades has always been to "find the easy way out, faster". And damn it, I'm not going to slow my roll in 2014! So pour yourself another bowl of Tiger Flecks, and let's exercise our right to do even less in the near future! Let's reconvene to share our success stories next Saturday morning, shall we?