Hello, and welcome, my friends! Welcome to the inaugural article of... well, of mine!
After reading several articles on why newer cartoons are horribly inferior to older ones,
I've decided to use my wordspace to talk about some (five, to be exact) of my favorite
older programs, and some (again, five) of my favorite newer viewings that
make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, broken into two articles dedicated to each,
respectively. Being twenty years old, I'd like to think that I've been around long enough
to have enough exposure to these things to have an informed opinion. So sit down,
make sure the lap-bar is secure, and keep your arms inside the car at all times!
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"The Real Ghostbusters" was one of, if not the, absolute favorites of mine, because I've
been a fan of Ghostbusters since before I could walk. Though different in most ways than
the movies due to licensing rights, the fundamentals were all there: Peter, Ray, Egon, and
Winston used their proton packs and ghost traps to trap spooks, spectres, ghosts, and
even the Boogie Man on occasion. There was even an episode where they took down the
demi-god Cthulhu (if you don't recognize the name, a quick Wikipedia search should do you
some good). Also, I didn't realize until later that Peter Venkmen sounded exactly like Garfield
because Lorenzo Music voice both of them. Too bad he died before the Garfield movie came
out.



Speaking of Garfield, "Garfield and Friends" was another one of my eye-sponge staples. Though
the plots often involved little more than Garfield and food, that was all that was ever needed
because that was all that was ever expected of Garfield. And the you-know-it's-coming booting
of Odie. After that came a segment on the farm, where the "and Friends" comes in, featuringOrson, a pig who bears a resemblance and vocal similarity to John because he's voiced by
the same guy. Although Wade the Duck (a cowardly fellow with an innertube that matched his
emotions) was always my favorite.


Transition to next paragraph, "Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers" hit me like a sack of bricks
hitting a six-year-old, and I was hooked. I'd already known about Chip and Dale from their
exploits in old Donald Duck cartoons, and the new characters were charming and Gadget.
Monterey Jack and Zipper rounded out the protagonist cast in a figurative and literal sense.
The episodes were captivated, the plots silly, and the Rescue Rangermobile was the cooleset
tiny sort-of-airplane thing ever. Period.

The "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" started out as a comic book, but I'm too young to
remember that. All of my Ninja Turtle fix was provided through the cartoon and first two
movies. The cartoon was fanciful, but at the same time fulfilling. Shredder and Krang
were, in my opinion, awesome villains in that they were formidable, but not so much so
that you ever thought the turtles would really lose the game. Other characters, such
as April O'Neil, were--looking back--wonderful eye-candy even if I was still too young to
think girls were anything but icky. Even more cast, such as Leatherhead, the Rat King,
and Bebop and Rocksteady etched out niches for themselves in my heart and the hearts
of millions.



"Spider-man: The Animated Series" is not quite as retro as the other four on this list, but
I think it's worth mentioning as it introduced me to two important things: the webslinger
himself and, more importantly, Venom. Venom is my favorite comic-book character ever,
but I digress. It also gave me insight into the Marvel Universe such that I had never had,
having only seen the X-Men cartoon (also excellent). I learned about the Punisher, Daredevil,
the Fantastic Four, and so many other heroes and villains during my tenure with the show.
Such were the days of my youth. And, after soon-to-be-three movies and a ridiculous
MTV-run full-CG, Spider-Man love lives in my heart.

So, there's my run on five of my favorite elder cartoons. They were chosen because they're
easily identifiable as hallmarks of the industry (at least, in my eyes), and because they all
have deep meaning to me as they made me the person I am today. Soon I shall have
prepared my next article in which I hail the merits of several newer cartoons, and explain
why everything recent isn't necessarily repugnant. Until then, may all your popsicles be chilly
and all your Kool-Aid be red.