Saturday Morning Throwback
Apparently, Saturday morning cartoons are not quite what they used to be.
I spent considerable time thinking about this over the last couple of days. Kidzilla and I have matching sinus infections (lovely) and so we all took it pretty easy this weekend. On Saturday, all Zilla really wanted to do was curl up and watch TV. OK by me.
But seriously, when did Saturday morning cartoons stop being cool? When I was a kid we had greats like Josie and the Pussycats, Speed Buggy, and Super Friends with their Hall of Justice. Now that was cool TV.
OK, there are a few current kid shows that we think are pretty decent. Little Einsteins, for example. Tasty tidbits of great works of art and music? No problem. A show that has the nerve to suggest smart, literate children are cool? Even better. And besides that, a rocket ship with a personality? Awesome.
Kidzilla is particularly fond of one called The Octonauts. It features a crew of eight little critters who live in an octopod and have fun little undersea adventures. It’s kind of like Star Trek meets Jacques Cousteau meets short fuzzy animals. It’s fun.
Disney’s newest little princess series, Sophia the First, is mildly entertaining. Rather than the traditional “my life is so drab and dull until my prince comes along and makes it wonderful” spin, we have a young lady trying to adjust to life as a princess because her mother married a King. OK, whatever. It’s cute.
Doc McStuffins is also kind of sweet. The little girl wants to be a doctor like her mom. She has a magic stethoscope that enables her to talk to dolls and stuffed animals. She spends her time helping these little friends feel better when they are ill. Toss in a little advice each episode about staying healthy and it’s educational, too. Very nice.
But there were one or two that flew by during our Stay Home Sick Marathon that I just really didn’t quite get. For example…
Gaspard and Lisa is about a pair of anthropomorphic dogs living in France. These BFFs wear kicky little scarves and enjoy adventures around Paris. OK, it’s artistic and all, but they interact comfortably with humans in their neighborhood and it’s just…odd. None of the characters seem to think so, however. Can’t explain it, but something about these strange and stiff-looking little dogs bopping around Paris just doesn’t work for me. Maybe it was the episode where dog Gaspard wants to get a pet puppy. That just didn’t seem right.
But the weirdest show we saw this weekend was – by far – Small Potatoes. Imagine if you will a singing group comprised of four potatoes. Yes, potatoes. As in spuds – something that would be delicious mashed up on my plate right now. (But I digress…) Anyway, these talented little spuds are from Idaho – OK, no surprise there. But they speak with British accents. Now that just doesn’t make sense. Perhaps the strangest part is the fact that they play musical instruments but don’t have any hands. Hysterical. Fab Hub was more bothered by the fact that they switch styles from disco right to punk with no warning and no apparent logical motivation to do so. Zilla loves music and so she thought the whole thing was pretty cute, though. At least she’ll come away from it with a sampling of many different music styles.
For me? I’d say there is nothing quite like the memory of a Saturday morning where it was all cartoons, all morning and you dreaded seeing the clock move to 1:00 PM because then the animation stopped and the weird monster flicks started.
Those were the days…
What are your favorite cartoons? Your least favorite?
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I loved Josie and the Pussycats! Worst show ever: Caillou. That stupid bald whiner.
Ooh, Caillou is a bad one. The kid’s voice makes me nuts.
I’m sorry about your sinus infections. I hope you feel better soon! I loved it when Josie and the Pussycats guested on Scooby Doo.
Oh, they did! That was awesome – Josie and the Pussycats and the Scooby Doo gang together. Doesn’t get much better.
Ohhhh, your Saturday morning cartoon memories are the same as mine. Speed Buggy and Super Friends? Yes, please.
My kids are onto Cartoon Network these days, so while I can appreciate the humor of Regular Show and Incredible Crew, I kinda miss Calliou and Max & Ruby, Bob the Builder and even the Backyardigans and the Wonderpets with their operatic styles. Sigh.
Wasn’t Speed Buggy the best show ever??? That was my absolute favorite.
Know who else is fun? Handy Manny. So cute. Zilla liked the dancing tools song when she was very small, then we didn’t see it for the longest time. Housebound under blankets this weekend, we rediscovered ol’ Manny. I’m still singing the tool song…
Scooby Doo was definitely a favorite. But what I really wanted to see didn’t appear in the tv guide at all: Schoolhouse Rock! I’m taking a grammar class now, and the songs keep on coming back to me. “Conjunction, Junction, What’s your function?”
I’ve only seen modern morning cartoons once (I don’t have cable or kids so no real need, and I don’t think we are counting “Archer” in this discussion) while babysitting the nephews, and “Sponge Bob Square Pants” and something else that immediately followed it made no sense at all.
Why do I have the sudden need to shout, “Get off my lawn!”?
I don’t get Sponge Bob, either. Schoolhouse Rock was, is, and always will be completely awesome. Where else can you learn all that cool stuff with a snappy tune? I can still rattle off the entire preamble to the Constitution and nobody ever has to know I’m singing it inside my head…unless, of course, I break into full song. Which I do. 🙂
I didn’t know that Saturday morning cartoons were still around. I guess there are networks that show cartoons all the time now so having them on Saturday mornings still happens then.
The one Saturday morning show I remember most is Saved by the Bell. I think I’ve seen every episode at least once. So bad, but so much fun at the same time.
As far as cartoons go, I liked watching Scooby Doo. The original series was one of my favorite cartoons, but I would watch whatever Scooby show they would have on Saturday mornings.
I seem to remember watching the Super Friends, but I can’t remember if it was Saturday mornings I saw it or if I saw reruns after school. I was a little young then. But I loved that show growing up. You can’t go wrong with that show as a kid.
Cartoons are around, Steve, but not like they were when I was growing up. You’re right that it’s more like all cartoons all the time on particular channels. Somehow that kind of kills it for me – there was something special about Saturday morning shows. They were just different somehow. Scooby Doo is a classic. The Saved by the Bell kids? Mostly mid-thirty-somethings now. Hard to believe that!
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