If you were to ask me what my favourite cartoon of all time is, I would immediately say 'Tom and Jerry'. This animated cat and mouse duo really needs no introduction; I can say for the moment that the original shorts were one of the building blocks of my sense in humour, and I can say without hesitation that its Hanna Barbera's strongest work. It was also one of the earliest cartoons that people have been making money out of, however, very few incarnations could hold a candle to the original. With that said, there has been a trend in the past decade in which Warner Bros would put Tom and Jerry with various properties. One of their attempts to rejuvenate the franchise was to combine the cat and mouse rivals with classic stories like Sherlock Holmes, The Wizard of Oz, Robin Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk to name a few. Now I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with mixing a cartoon with classic stories, as a matter of fact, this is something I used to do whenever I drew Tom and Jerry as a child. The problem is that for some, they don't think of their own versions, but they remake existing film versions to animation and just insert Tom and Jerry characters.
Just to clarify, they were T&J crossovers that do have their own takes (like the ones with Robin Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk). But even then, they're derivative as they already did this with 'Tom and Jerry Kids' (which has a place in my heart). What Warner Bros doesn't understand is that we don't want to see T&J needlessly shoehorned into classic movies or stories; we want to see the characters assume the roles of such literary characters, or just have them work off the same settings. Much like in the original shorts. Is there really a big enough demand for these crossovers to exist? Well, there must be an audience for them, considering they keep making them regardless if these ideas make sense or not. I'm serious, there's one that has T&J meet up with Jonny Quest. Oh what, just because they were both made by the same duo, that automatically makes them similar? Now some of these movies are not poorly made in of themselves, but some were really not necessary. It doesn't help that I'm not even a fan of the Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone designs for these characters, though they're some that I find more entertaining for their novelties. However, the crossover with 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' was the straw that broke the camel's back for many people. I think the backlash for that movie was so notorious, that it made Warner Bros realise that we don't need any more of these random crossovers. And as far as I know, there hasn't been any word or sight of a new movie since then.
I don't know if this means no more T&J crossovers if it is then is it too soon to assume that they are just a trend? For me, these direct to video crossovers were at best, recycled renditions of well-known stories and characters, and temporary bumps in the road at worse. What do I mean by this? Well we shouldn't act like these crossovers are ruining the franchise, Tom and Jerry have hit low points in the past, and they've managed to get themselves out of them. Hopefully, movies like the Willy Wonka one will be the last infamous T&J related things we'll have for a long time. After nearly 8 decades, they're still recognised and cherished to this day. I'll still look forward to what's to come for this hilarious cat and mouse in future variations, for better or for worse. And maybe someone will actually combine them with various types of source material, and do it the right way. So what are your thoughts on these T&J crossover movies, I would like to know?
Hello bloggers of Blogger, I just want to apologize for the lack of activity on this blog. The reason for that is because I want to focus on my artistry other than writing reviews and top 10 lists; another thing is that I've been mostly focused on posting my artwork or other various products on Tumblr lately. Finally when I come to writing a review on something I want it to be as perfect as possible. I'm not saying you shouldn't expect much on this blog, but as an artist, I tend to focus on my own artistry than others. Now that's off my chest, time to focus on the first top 10 list in ages.
Cartoons, everyone loves them I love them there's no denying that. They basically shaped my perspective on the art of animation and entertainment in general, they're more than just moving images, they're pieces of imagination that fills our childhoods with joy, characters and heart. This and much more are the reasons why cartoons have become a part our culture and our childhood memories, which is why many regard the cartoons of yesteryear as some of the greatest the industry had to offer. But it's also the reason why people assume that cartoons nowadays are bad, whatever decade you grow up in you're always gonna assume that the cartoons from the past were much better; it's a rite of passage really. But when you take off the rose coloured glasses, you'll see that the past had bad cartoons too. Much like everything else in history, there was always crap along with the gems, animation was never a flawless medium and we should accept that.
These are the animated shows that either don't hold up very well or have always been bad. I know there are other list online much like this, but I want to show my own list of the Top 10 Worst Nostalgic Cartoons. 10. My Gym Partner's a Monkey
Now there was a period in my life where I lost interest in any new material from Cartoon Network, and My Gym Partner's a Monkey is partly the reason for that. Now at first glance, this cartoon would not deserve this distinction but when you actually watch one episode or hear about it's "quote on quote" plot; you'll see why. One of the major problems with MGPAM is the premise, a human preteen named Adam is sent to an all animal school due to a computer mistaking his surname as "Lion" instead of "Lyon". From saying that sentence alone, you could already see the problem with this program, did the writers and the people who green-lighted this really think that a lot of good comedy would come out of this; (or even read the premise out loud) No and the execution of it all is proof why.
While I happened to like shows based on school life at the time this came out, this show lacks any of
the wit those other shows had. The stories simply have no focus, they can range from being completely obnoxious to just plain lowest common denominator, as well as being mean spirited at times. So does the comedy that relies too heavily on toilet humour. Both the human and the animal characters are stereotypes, and most of them are moronic. One example is the monkey Jake who is just a walking "butt joke" because the writers think that all monkeys are obsessed with smacking their bums and nothing else. The main protagonist Adam is the only tolerable character on this being the voice of reason, too bad his purpose is to be abused. Visually this is one of the most unappealing animated shows I've ever laid eyes on, now Cartoon Network is known for showcasing versatile and unique animation but this show lacks anything that makes it watchable to me at least.
Bottom line I can see why My Gym Partner's a Monkey is the butt of jokes about modern CN shows (no pun intended); which is a shame because they managed to get some good people on board. How it won an Emmy Award, I'll never know!
9. Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels
If you knew my taste in television, you know I'm not particularly fond of 70s tv. Some of them have the silliest concepts when you look back on them, however, that doesn't mean some creativity didn't come out of them; Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels is still dumb in its own right. As an animation fan, I think Hanna Barbara were at their weakest in the 70s, and Captain Caveman solidifies that in my opinion. I may have had some fun with this show when I watched it as a kid, but as an adult, it's really corny and just as dated as Captain Caveman himself.
This series contains a lot of gripes I have with what Hanna Barbera was doing at the time; from the fact that it's a Scooby Doo clone, it's cheap animation, the fact that it relied on what was popular at the time instead of being timeless, the unfunny comedy and the un-interesting cast of carbon cut-out characters. Now I will give this show credit for Mel Blanc's performance as Captain Caveman (God rest his soul) I mean it's flipping Mel Blanc, but even he wasn't enough to save this trash. Like other HB cartoons from the 70s, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angel may have been fine at first, but it suffers from being primitive (to say the least).
8. Bangers and Mash
Oh god not this, anything but this. As a child, I remember the teachers used to show the other kids this, and I seemed to have been the only one who didn't like it. Based on a series of reading books, the show was about the lives of two chimpanzees named after a British dish (so it's another monkey show). While it's not an atrocity in and of its self, it suffers from being corny. Nothing about this show is in any way is appealing to adults, the stories isn't for adults, the designs isn't for adults even the theme song isn't for adults. I never liked Bangers and Mash then and looking back I understand why, and I bet the other kids in my school who liked it back then probably hate it now too.
7. Pet Alien
To all the previous shows credit at least they had good intentions, I don't know what the people behind Pet Alien had in mind but it resulted in a toon fart. For those who don't remember this show (and be grateful for that) Pet Alien was a mid-2000s CG cartoon that revolved around a group of aliens who accidentally crash land on an island; there they live with Tommy who has to put up with these creatures making his life hell. What works in Space Goofs, Jimmy Neutron and E.T is poorly executed here, the writing is obnoxious (see the pattern here) the animation is ugly and over the top and the characters are weird just weird. Looking back I can see why this was passed from channel to channel like a hot potato. Though at the time I did find where it was trying to be decent; but now I see that it has a lot of elements makes the overall show an embarrassing part of my childhood. Nothing about Pet Alien is out of this world in a good way, my only recommendation is if you want to lose some brain cells this will definitely do the trick.
6. Mighty Man and Yukk
Not many people are aware of Ruby Spear's Mighty Man and Yukk, which is for good reason. The problem with the animation company Ruby Spears is that their resume consists of uninspired Hanna Barbera knock offs, and this show solidifies that notion. The problem with this show is not just because it hasn't aged well but because the premise is weird as hell. Try saying this with a straight facial expression, tiny sidekick who teams up with the world's ugliest dog to fight crime; what drugs were these writers on when they came up with that!
It also doesn't help with the predictable writing, poor comedy relief, flat characters and to top it all off is the generic suito realistic character designs that animation studios were using at the time. However, all that does not compare to how downright stupid and drug-induced the show is. Mighty Man and Yukk may actually be the worst 70s cartoons I've seen so far, as I expected.
5. Clutch Cargo
There's a fine line when something creative is made with the little materials an artist has and something that's so cheap and awkward looking that it becomes unintentionally hilarious. Clutch Cargo is one of those things that closes that line to the point where you wouldn't believe this exists.
OH GOD NO! SWEET HEAVEN OH MIGHTY! NO! WHAT IS THIS! I DON'T KNOW, FOR THE LOVE OF HANNA BARBARA HOW COULD THIS EXIST! HAHAHAHA! SOB SOB SOB SOB!
That pretty much sums up how I feel about.......this. I think most people would recognize this from how it's been used in other artistic media (mainly Pulp Fiction). Unless you're blind, you may notice Clutch Cargo's animation is infamous for having the budget of a rock; i.e the lips are (I kid you not) live-action lips on a still image. I could understand if the studio who made Clutch Cargo had to cut their budget, but seriously by today's standards, the animation just looks jarring and awkward.
As for the stories and the characters, I just don't freaking care! I'm so put off by its unintentionally awkward animation I can't even see the charm in it anymore. I personally think this would be good source material for a parody or mash ups, here's a good example.
4. My Little Pony
Like many boys who grew up in the last century, I avoided My Little Pony like it was a necessity, and
I can see why. G1 My Little Pony is a pure example of a show created for marketing reasons, just everything about G1 embodies everything pandering and stereotypical about entertainment that was aimed for a female demographic. Not only are the visuals cheap, too sugary sweet and bright but the stories are lacklustre and generic despite the elements of fantasy, the characters lack so much personality that the only way you can tell the ponies apart is their colour. What makes it worse is how the next 2 generations are just as pandering if not worst. You can tell that the older My Little Pony variations were/are just for little girls and no one else.
The only good to come out of the success of this show is Friendship is Magic. I can ensure you that G4 is one of those rare occasions where a reboot surpasses its predecessor in every way shape and form. With how much better the animation and stories are and how the ponies here have actual personalities; I can see why Friendship is Magic has gained a following among adult men. So please avoid the previous generation of My Little Pony and just check out Friendship is Magic; so you can draw your own conclusion of the whole fad.
3. The Littlest Pet Shop (1995)
Unlike My Little Pony where the crew didn't try and only wanted to please one demographic; I'm sure the people behind The Littlest Pet Shop tried with this one but it's execution resulted in this being one of the worst shows based on a toy line. After seeing this mess again, I can see why this crap faded into obscurity. Everything about this show feels heartless and unoriginal, the writing has no sense of comedic effort or logic that it comes off as a cheap Tiny Toon Adventures knock off. The characters are either rip-offs or obnoxious (with the exception of Chloe). Also, the animation is ugly, choppy and unlike the Badly Drawn Brothers from Avenger Penguins where they have the distinction of their design being intentional, this is a real step backwards compared to other animated shows that came before it. This doesn't deserve to be associated with the likes of Tiny Toons because it's simply a pandering cash grab only made to sell the toys they're based on. But what's really sad is that I kind of see where this could have been a hilarious series; if they had a cast who actually know how to do their flipping job it could have been something. But instead, we got an uncreative, unfunny toy advertisement that is best left forgotten. This was a giant waste of my time and brain cells and I hope not to see anything related to it again.
HOLY CRAP!
2. Scooby Doo
Okay before you start writing angry hate mail, burn down my house, beat me to death, nail my corpse to a cross and feed me to vicious sharks. Just calm your knickers and listen! As much as I respect people's view on this cartoon and regard it as their one of their favourite cartoons of all time, I'm just gonna let it out..............here we go..............I Hate Scooby Doo. I consider it one of, if not the most overrated cartoon of all time! and here's why
Now don't get me wrong, as a child I used to watch Scooby Doo all the time and I liked it; but as I grew older I realised that was all mass hypnosis. When my taste in animation developed and matured I began to see Scooby Doo as one of Hanna Barbera's worst works, watching it again it has so many flaws that make it an embarrassing part of my childhood. The story is the same repetitive, formulaic hippie garbage that we've seen so many times, that someone who's been living under a rock knows about it. The writing is horribly executed with cheesy humour and grating dialogue, the characters have the personality of a wooden plank and the animation is cheap and unappealing. But what makes it worse, in this case, is how popular it has been for the past 4 decades and how greedy executives have been milking money out of these meddling kids with knock offs (like I mentioned before) and variations that are as bad if not worse than the original. I would forgive Scooby Doo if these variations weren't so corny and/or dreadful; one big example is the atrocious live-action movies!
For 4 decades, 4 decades Scooby Doo has written the book on how to be a cliche of its self for all these
reasons and more. But what makes this cartoon even more frustrating for me, is the fact that many Scooby Doo fans can't handle a negative opinion of this franchise (I'm talking to you whoever is ticked off here). Because they won't listen and let their love for the cartoon get in the way, I feel afraid to criticize it. Let's be mature here Scooby fans, everyone has a right to their opinion, it's fine if you don't like something a majority of people do like. Don't pretend that there aren't people who don't like Scooby Doo; my mother hates Scooby Doo so there's a chance I got it from her (with that I apologize for making her endure this when I was younger). If you can't accept one person's opinion, then why should I except yours.
And that it is why I genuinely hate Scooby Doo, it was good when I was growing up but now I don't think there's anything redeeming about it. I just think whatever those meddling kids and their dumb dog are trying to offer to animation has been better executed in other tv shows. If you like it that's fine, just don't act like I murdered your family cause I don't.
And the number 1 Worst Nostalgic Cartoon is.........................hold on give me a minute.....................................................................................................................
1. Bobinogs
I not only consider this the worst Nostalgic Cartoon, I consider Bobinogs to be one of the worst animated shows I've ever seen. You think a show about an animated band wouldn't be that bad, hell you would think it be great. But what boils my blood about Bobinogs is that everything about it is executed in the worst most half-assed way possible, in my mind this is pretty much on par with the Garbage Pail Kids movie it's that bad. There are so many reasons why this piece of crap is forgotten and why I made fun of it so many times in the past. The writing is underwhelming in its execution, instead of standing out among other kid's shows it goes lowest common denominator by copying every cliche you see in every other kid show. It might as well been written by a 5-year-old, but even that's unfair because I bet a 5-year-old could write a better script. But the dash of salt to an open wound is how the main characters solve their conflict, by looking at children doing stuff through binoculars (that turns everything live-action). My issue with this gag is that it completely distracts from what little story it has. This sort of thing is handled much better in Beavis and Butthead because they knew how to balance a coherent narrative with music video commentaries; it works because you're interested to know what music video Beavis and Butthead are gonna comment on. With this, however, you're not interested in seeing what some kids are doing, nor are you invested with the character's commentary; what's the point in this gag existing? It's not clever and it's not consistent!
When the characters aren't bland, they're moronic, we get it the Bobinogs are brain dead, they can't do the simplest things we get it! I mean what's the point in having stupid characters if you're not gonna do anything comedic with them; are you saying that the Bobinogs can play instruments yet they don't know the basics of life (granted the Bobinogs can't make music to save their skins but still). Soccer moms complained about Derpy Hooves, but they got off scot-free what! The animation may not be hideous looking but it's still bland, it's so dated it looks like it was done on Go Animate. Now I'm aware that this is one of the first cartoons to be made in Flash, and I understand that no one really mastered the software at the time. But Mucha Lucha came around the same time and it's flash animation still holds up much better. Finally, the musical numbers are awful, they're so generic that they make Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black sound angelic by comparison.
Now you're probably saying "Why are you watching something that's made for babies and little kids you dork?" the fact that this was made for our youth is sickening. If you want to create a show that can be remembered, you have to make it where it appeals to all ages otherwise you get crap like Bobinogs. As you may know, entertainment that's aimed for a younger audience has a hard time being taken seriously; what Bobinogs does is enforce that negative stereotype and gives people the impression that all kid's shows have to pander and be condescending to their audience like they're idiots. And as long as the targeted audience has no sense of quality, the makers can put no effort into their work; this is why animators like Danny Antonucci, Edd Gould and Pen Ward would've never done that. I don't know why I've bothered to rant on this garbage again, because it deserves to disappear into the dark pit of obscurity. And I'm grateful that it has and it should stay that way. I feel sorry for those who grew up watching this disgrace to animation, let's pray for their sake that they eventually grew out of it. Bottom line the Bobinogs can just Get Bent!
And that's my list of the Worst Cartoons of the past, as much as we criticize newer cartoons nowadays; never forget the past had bad cartoons too. And these shows are proof of that. So please tell me if you agree with my list, and tell me what nostalgic cartoon do you hate. Now if you excuse me I'm gonna erase all traces of the Bobinogs from the internet.
"The last time we saw the reviewer he gave a positive review on an animated show that surprised him in quite a pleasant way. But wait! it seems our hero has come in contact with another animated show he overlooked! Will he find this particular show to be just as entertaining? or will he regret his decision from encountering something he knew was bad in the first place?"
We get it! now can you let me narrate please!
"Sorry"
Superheroes seem to very popular, over the years these bold heroic titans have become staples of not
only justice but to the comic industry. But as long as superheroes have existed there have always been superhero parodies; since Mighty Mouse many cartoonist and comedians have taken this serious concept and make fun of it. The idea of more cartoony superheroes is very interesting, many cartoons and sketch shows use this formula, representing the action genre while also satirizing it just to make us laugh. As someone who is personally not a fan of superheroes, I turn a blind eye for this concept because to be honest they are some good superhero parodies that take advantage of the fact they're comedies. But then they are some that are not funny and the show I'm talking about falls into that category unfortunately, and that is Pet Squad.
As a fan of the animation genre I believe that cartoons were much funnier in the old days, however since the course of the new decade I've noticed quite a few good cartoons that have lots of effort put into them and are well received among audiences alike. Sadly Pet Squad is not one of those newer animated shows I've been invested in, and after looking at it I could see why. Now when this show came out in 2011, I avoided it for the same reasons other people my age did. But then I thought was not seeing the signal in the sky, or did I make the right choice for the sake of the world, well To the Blog!
The premise can pretty much be explained in the theme song, a scientist's pets a dog named Dodge, a cat named Sheeba and a guinea pig named Bingo are being chased by a crazy goose when suddenly they end up in the professor's machine that gives the animals (as well as every animal in P Town) super powers. So the 3 pets become Pet Squad and its to them to save P Town and the world from the clutches of the goose who has become a super villain called Mother Goose. Now a premise this crazy would normally have a good execution but in this case, the stories of Pet Squad really fall flat and loses all its powers.
Now think of a cartoon like TUFF Puppy, Bolt and Underdog, remove all originality and charm and this is what you get. For a show where anthropomorphic and humans exist with each other through a lab accident, the plots are very generic and not very interesting. To me it follows the superhero formula in a basic way without any creativity or spontaneity whats so ever. They go like this, the pets live mild mannered day with their scientist owner, they turn into their superhero egos, they go on their mission, fight the villain and go back to their regular pet lives. But the unfortunate part with Pet Squad as a whole is that it doesn't seem to make the plot interesting by adding anything new or unique. Well even if there is an attempt at that I feel there's a lot of missed opportunity, I feel like there were some interesting ideas but they were not executed well.
However the kryptonite of Pet Squad's writing is the lack of humor. You think for a show like this, at least they would have made an effort in the humor, but sadly they didn't. It seems this show is missing the all important element that makes a superhero parody work and that's it's humor, sure there's an attempt but it's not funny to the older audience. The reason why Sheep in the big City works is because the humor was well executed and it appealed to both children and adults, Pet Squad on the other hand feels often forced and extremely mediocre, I'm serious I watched a few episodes and not once did I laugh, chuckle or smirked. While I wouldn't say the writing and humor is awful I just think it could have been funnier.
Another thing in Pet Squad that doesn't appeal to me the least is the animation. Now I know that not
all animation has to be Warner Bros quality, and that every animator has their own style. In fact many animated shows like Beavis and Butthead, Regular Show, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Salad Fingers and South Park relay more on humor more than visuals and it works because it translates it to the crude design. However because Pet Squad doesn't have that distinction than the animation becomes a big issue. As it stands the animation hits like a middle ground to me, it feels like it want's to be cartoony but the designs goes for a crude style that would again only work if the comedy was more mature. The best way to describe it is imagine you made a kid a coffee cake for his birthday, but the cake didn't have enough flavour so it wouldn't please everyone. I'm not saying that the designs are bad but on it's own I can't seem to get into it. The animation may not be super but at least it's not 12 Oz mouse.
But a cartoon isn't a cartoon without the characters, so shall we. As you know Pet Squad consist of 3 members and their robot, Dodge is the stereotypical beagle leader of the group with the same heroic mannerisms that we've all seen, Sheeba the feline-female (or fefe) member who obsesses for cat stuff and "shiny stuff" and she sounds like Rainbow Dash's generic cousin, Bingo the Guinea Pig who's the fat one. Their character traits remind me of another forgotten cartoon series what was it, oh yeah "Patrol 03" anyone remember that? Only difference is Pet Squad has a robot assistant name Pepe who is just being lighthearted and whimsical for the sake of lighthearted whimsey. There's Professor Eureka who's a living cloning experiment of every cartoon scientist ever.
The main villain Mother Goose is a psycho gone even more psycho who...........
OF COURSE!
wants to take over P Town, it's enough that I'm not invested in her schemes but her voice is off-putting to me. It's like they wanted to give her an American accent but with how lackluster the script is it sounds pretty pretentious to me, even I could do a better voice. While I wish her henchducks were funny enough, but like everything else they weren't. There are other characters like the Mayor, the Chief and the supporting villains but they're just stereotypes that you see in any other cartoon.
"So reviewer what is your opinion on this work of animation"
Well sir, all I can say is that while Pet Squad may not be the worst cartoon I've ever seen I still don't think it's that good. Even if there are still talented people working in the animation industry; Pet Squad proves otherwise. For a show with surreal and scientific elements Pet Squad lacks any creative stories, humor, characters and animation. I could understand the direction they were going for but there's nothing that catches me off guard or makes me turn a blind eye, well maybe it was trying to do so but the final project wasn't executed well that's all. If you're looking for an animated kid's show that's also appealing to adults, this is not the one, but still watch Sheep in the Big City it has better comedy and more original animation. Or if you're looking for a recent cartoon series with animal heroes, check out TUFF Puppy. That aside I give Pet Squad a 2/5.
"Well thank you young reviewer, once again you've cooked us a delicious sandwich of thought provoking speech and opinions"
I'm honored, I guess
"Of course you are, "toon" in next time when our reviewer takes on the task of looking at the most cheesiest, cheapest, stupidest, most horrifying thing he has ever seen in his entire life!"
Hola amigos, boy do I have a treat for you but first let me just say I love cartoons. I mean who doesn't love to watch a good cartoon once in a while whether it's funny, charming or dramatic; one cartoon that gets over-looked and receives quite a bit of hate from animation fans is Mucha Lucha.
Created by Eddie Mort and Lil Chin in 2002, Mucha Lucha was a show set in Mexico, the landmark of mask wrestling. It centres around the adventures of Rikochet, Buena Girl and The Flea destine to become famous wrestlers at the Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha while also fighting for Honor, Family, Tradition..........and Donuts. Critics consider this to be one of the worst cartoons of the 2000s but let me ask "....why...." Why in the name of broken bones is the show so hated? Granted the animation is tamed and the writing wasn't exactly Shakespeare but it gave us something fun and original, I enjoyed it as a kid and still find enjoyment out of it even now. So let's take a look at Mucha Lucha and see why it deserves more respect......LUCHHAAARRRRAAAANNNNN!!!!!!!........
Like I mentioned before The show centres 3 young wrestlers; Rikochet who dreams of becoming a famous luchador like his father and his grandfather, while he's bravest and the most confident he does get himself into the most conflict and does get stress whatever situation he's in.
Buena Girl, the smartest of the group and the most loyal, she plays the honour student role as she fights for what is right. She also believes in the Code of Mask Wrestling (which is like the bible of lucha libre) which she uses to keep her friends in order. While she is more likely to lose it from time to time she still keeps her standing ovation a luchador. The Flea who is the comic relief of the 3. While he's disgusting and not the brightest he still has a good heart. While he's the one who breaks the rules in order to get his own ways (or that he doesn't care much at times) But still he tries his best to fix things in the end.
Then there's El Ray Rikochet's talking action figure, now before you get confused by the added Toy Story like character El Ray is very likeable. Not only is he Rikochet's friend but he's his mentor as well. He didn't appear much, but when did he offered so much to the story. Oh did I forget to mention Mask Dog, he's cool.
The show had a good range of supporting characters, whether there were other luchadors or just regular people. Each wrestler had a different personality that matched their outfits, there were even different races of wrestlers in the show giving it more equality. Like I mentioned earlier the show revolve around these 3 characters as they attend the Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha, there they have matches against other students to test their ability (and they say you can't fight at school) As well as having different personalities, each wrestler had different fighting moves (i.e Rikochet's Super Sonic Pinball)
this gave the show more action along with the comedy as well as some creativity in the animation.
Speaking of animation, it looked slick and original for its time. Considering this was the first animated tv show to use Flash (which was mostly used in web cartoons back then) the animators really used it to a better potential. While critics say it looks dated and choppy; I respect that opinion very much but I must say that the flash animation in Mucha Lucha really fits in with the style and humour. There were times when it was used very creatively for its time. The people who worked on this show eventually went on to work on other shows like "Buzz on Maggie" and "El Tigre" which unfortunately had a shorter run.
Another thing about the animation was that the characters had fun and original designs to them, especially on their masks. But may I just say this about the character design, don't you think they look pretty similar to the Cramp Twins? I don't mean that in a bad sense but both shows have similar-looking characters. A big example of this is the designs of the 3 characters, Señor Hasbeena, Mr Midcarda and The Headmistress, I mean The Headmistress looks like Mrs Cramp, Señor Hasbeena looks like Mr Parsons and Mr Midcarda looks like Mr Winkle. I know it's a coincidence and I know it happens with a lot of cartoons but that's what I've thought as a child I'm sure you would say the same thing if you saw both shows growing up.
What made the show fun to watch was the clever and adventurous stories it had to offer. While there were some episodes that took a spin on situations most children were dealing with growing up, episodes where one of the characters would get into a certain situation like betraying a friend but would be resolved so that character would learn a lesson at the end. There were also episodes where Rikochet and his friends would solved mysteries, one episode had the gang search for a missing page from the Code of Masked Wrestling, another had the gang investigate who was accusing the students and teachers for crimes they haven't committed. It turned out to be a student named "Timmy of A Thousand Masks" who uses other wrestler's masks to get away with just about anything.
There were also episodes that were very surreal. Like there was an episode where The Flea had to fight the Evil Masked Toilet, and there was an episode where the gang awaken a Slamazonian mummy and have a fight with her. But the weirdest episode is where The Flea doesn't wash his hands which cause a giant doughnut to come to live and destroy the city. Okay, okay people do say this show went too far with it's surrealism to the point where it didn't make sense anymore; but it was a cartoon about masked wrestlers!........Get With It People!
What also made this show great was it's awesome theme song just have a listen and you'll see
Sadly despite being a success Mucha Lucha ended with just 3 seasons; while it has gained a cult following this show hasn't got it's own season box set and can only be seen on YouTube and other sites. However the show actually still airs re-runs in the UK on Kix. If this show still airs in re-runs in your country please let me know.
Overall Mucha Lucha was a fun cartoon with likeable characters, stories that you could sink your teeth in, I only wish people would treat this show a lot better. Looking back it's not as grand as I remember it, but it gave us something hilarious and enjoyable. Mucha Lucha may have not been the greatest cartoon ever made but it's definitely a lot better than most cartoons today. If you didn't like it, then that's okay I just consider it a great childhood show. If you watched it, go watch it again and tell me what you thought of it, if you haven't watched it, go check it out if you want. I give this show a rating of 4/5. I like to talk more but for now Adios Muchacha!
Quite recently I've looked at a cartoon that is very over-looked and I can see why; if you guessed "Naughty Naughty Pets" than you're obviously human. Now I wasn't at all bothered when it actually came out infact I never really heard of it until now; it was really the art style that caught my attention because of how it remained me of the Cramp Twins a little bit; so I checked out the names of the producers assuming they would have worked on that same show. It turns out this show was based on a series of characters by illustrator/graphic designer Wendy Ann Gardner who started off creating her own plush toys in the same style; eventually she opened her own company where the plush toys would spawn into picture books and other merchandise. So it only made enough sense to give them their own cartoon series, I thought the right thing to do was to watch a hand full of episodes to see if these creatures are worth keeping as pets or putting down.
Lets start with the plot; the show is about this young girl named Wendy Woo (who is based on the creator herself) that has a part time job tending to a bunch of freaky pets that live in a hotel which hardly makes much sense but it's a cartoon so who's complaining. Anyway each episode would center around an animal character whether it's Sir Leo Licks a Lot, Dig Ivan Dig In, or Pretty Princess Vicky, Marty Cohen, and so on and so on; the pets would cause a lot of mischeif and havoc (well because they're called the "naughty naughty pets" after all) so the pets become a hand full for little Wendy. While the premise isn't all that great and theres not that much variety it's just one of those cartoons about anthropomorphic pets who get into many misadventures that we've seen a billion times before, but while those other shows are funny this isn't, maybe it is to kids but to an adult there isn't much to it.
Now we're done with the premise lets talk about the animation; I'll be truthful the animation isn't certainly the best I've ever seen but it's certainly not the worse. To Garder's credit the character designs are very original but there's something about them that looks kind of ugly in a way, they look more like side character for The Cramp Twins if you ask me. But with shows like "Beavis and Butthead", "South Park" and "Three Friends and Jerry" artistic integrity doesn't matter very much to people. Than again the colours really match the drawing syle perfectly. Also the movement of the characters come off stiff and choppy but at least it's more abstract than in Bobinogs.
Now to prove to you that I have watched the show i'm gonna talk about the episodes i have seen one by one. We'll start with the first episode I saw "Too Much of a Good Thing" Wendy goes to the kitchen to get Mitchell with a Twitchell Bunny a carrot only to find another bunny in the room so while she gets another carrot the two bunnies get to second base and multiply in a blink of an eye. This becomes a problem for Wendy as she literally gets a truck load of carrots to feed them. Soon the bunnies take up population of the whole world and the universe. The episode than ends with Wendy singing a diddy of how too much can not be always a good thing.
The next episode I watched was "Ivan digs Hamlet" which about Ivan digging in his room to find a skull 0-0 he holds the skull and does what most people would do if they picked a skull; quotes the famous line from Shakespeare's Hamlet...and that's it.
While I did like the idea being a shakespeare fanboy myself, I felt it wasn't really much to turn it into a whole 3 minute episode so it was very basic really.
The last episode I watched was "The Dog who Cried Wolf" it starts with Wendy opening a can of cat food for one of the pets. but then another pet named Jacques Rock Star informs Wendy that Marty Cohen has gotten into an accident, while Wendy's gone Jaques eats the can of food which turns out to be really spicy for him, so he goes in such a frenzy to get some water. Eventually he drinks from the toilet like most dogs but then he flushes himself by accident...charming.
So here are my thoughts on the episodes that i've watched of "Naughty Naughty Pets" and if you ask me the show is very meh to me!
Like I said it's definatley not the best cartoon I've ever saw but it's not by far the worst I ever saw. The animation isn't much eye candy but it has charm right? The characters feel rehased they dont seem to bring more to the show and so does the writing of each episode but to the producer's credit at least they tried!
Yeah it's pretty bad but it's certainly not god awful or unbearable, while I wouldn't recomend this to kids; at least they could enjoy it more then adults, especially ones who enjoy the books and own the plus toys. I do appreciate how the producers were willing to give value to something that had very less value at all. Overall Naughty Naughty Pets gets a 2/5 from me.
Hello there, guess what I decided to make another top 10 list but before we can start counting down I just want to explain some thing about television. We all watch tv don't we and there's always a show we watch that becomes apart of our past time, so it's such an inconvinience when a certain show ends too early. As there are shows that bid the viewers farwell there are some shows that just end without warning or a big season finale, there are even those shows that end on cliffhangers. I have had a grudge with this sort of problem for a long time now which is why I'm counting down the top 10 shows that were left unfinished. Oh BTW I'm not counting Dexter's Laboratory because that show actually had a series finale and a movie; it just that it had 2 seasons afterwards that took place before the finale.
10. Santo Bugito
For those who don't know, Santo Bugito was a cartoon series about a Mexican town filled of talking insects, it revolved around these 2 married bugs called Paco and Carmen. The show was extremley under-rated and only lasted 13 episodes, to be truthful it's a very good show but I can see why it only lasted a few episodes but anyway it's still a forgotten gem worth checking out.
9.Stupid!
Just to let you know this show was from the UK which is where I'm from, so some of you would probably be baffled. The show took place in this mythical world where emotions are controlled by a different monarchs; in this case the main characters were the King of Stupidy himself and his annoying gremlin butler Goober. The premise of this show was about how King Stupid would control the actions of innocent people using his advance computer system to make them do utterly idioctic things which cut to a series of sketches of the unfortunate victims. For example there would be a girl who think she's a lawer, or a boy who thought he could turn invisable, there was also one were a Scout Master who would make his campers get back at his ex-wife's new boyfriend (or Fancy man as the scout master calls him) and who could forget the Devil Finger sketch where a 11 year old boy thinks his finger is pocessed by the forces of evil. The sketches were either recurring or minor.
This show wasn't really one of my favourites so it doesn't hold up for me but it did have some funny moments right? So why is it on the list? The most controversal episode in my opinion was the last epsiode.
When a young girl actually makes a discovery of king Stupid, the king become concerned so he makes her act silly just to keep everyone from believing her. Later King Stupid transports her to his universe where she records everything that King Stupid does with her phone; with that she tries to mail the data to the news crew but King Stupid fights for the phone and the episode ends with the data being sent to the media leaving the viewers to wait for the next episode. Unfortunetly the show was cancelled after that making this the last episode; what's really annoying about this show is that it ended on a cliff hanger which is another reason why I don't like this show that much. Anyway for a show that lived up to it's name, Stupid was just a show that ended way too soon.
8. Robotboy Now I'll be honest this show didn't really leave much an impact on me but when it first aired,it was good to watch right? For some reason not many people liked this show but like I said before it was good when it first aired so it wasn't exactley bad. It was about 10 year old Tommy Turnball who is given the invention of famous scienctist Professor Moshino, RobotBoy to keep safe from the evil scienctist Dr Kamikazi who wants the robot to take over the world (Bison: OF COURSE!)
So it's up to Robotboy to save the world from Kamikazi's crutches.
Now the show's last episode wasn't much of a finale because it was just about Kamikazi seeing his grandma nothing special really; I mean couldn't they've had a big series finale like in Dexter's Lab. But I digress this show didn't last that long and it shows really.
7.Clone High
I've only started checking out this series on You Tube more recently and I got to say it's quite good. The show was about a high school of teens who are genetic clones of famous people in history like Abraham Lincoln, Cleopatra, Joan of Arc and so forth. The series was basically an animated sicom for more older and more mature viewers. It was made by the same duo who would later make the film adaption to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The reason why it's on the list is because it only lasted for one season and it ended on a cliffhanger but that doesn't mean it's gaining a cult following. In case you're wondering why it's so low on the list well like I said I only started seeing it recently and although it's not one I would sink my teeth into; needless to say Clone High is an experiment which would have lasted longer and actually worth looking at.
6.Sonic the Hedgehog (AKA Sonic SatAM)
Unlike the wacky and surreal Sonic cartoon, Sonic SatAM was an edgy gripping cartoon series that put everyone's favourite hedgehog in a more darker post-apocalyptic setting with lots of action to boot. One of the problems this show had was that it too ended too soon on a cliffhanger. I think this sort of thing that happens to most cartoons based on video games but it would later spawn new shows revolving Sonic (although most people don't like the later shows as much) So anyway Sonic SatAM is a show worth checking out even for those who are not Sonic fans.
5. Dungeons and Dragons
I think alot of people remember this show it was about a group of kids who get sucked into the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons by taking a ride on an amusement roller coaster. So it's up to the kids to find their way back to the real world by fighting mystical creatures and going through dangerous quests. The show wasn't much to me but alot people liked it though. The biggest upset to this show is that the children never went back to the real world they just stayed in the realm forever; though there was originally gonna be a forth season and prehaps a big season finale but unfortunetly the show got canned so pretty much the kids got screwed.
4.Hihi Puffy Ami Yumi
What can I say about this show, it was retro, it was colourful and it was alot of fun. Based on Puffy Ami Yumi the real japenese rock/pop group this show had a variety of style and stories to keep us entertained which made it one of the last good shows on Cartoon Network. However the show was canned after only 3 seasons, there were final episodes made but they never aired them. Despite this Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi was a good show that faced the music too soon.
3.Sheep in the Big City
Sheep in the Big City was about a sheep simply named Sheep for runs away from his home on the farm to live in the surburban city street. While there he faces strange episodes as he tries to hide from the milatary, a little girl and Lady Richinton. This show was filled lots of hilarious gags and was an homage to tthe Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Although the show never had a great season finale to let the series go off with a bang Sheep in The Big City will always be one of the baaaest cartoons of the 2000s, which would have had a better ending.
2. The Cramp Twins
Again I'm putting the Cramp Twins on my top 10 list but I'm a Cramp Twins fanboy so there shouldn't be any complaining. I already mentioned why I like this show a few times in my blog so it shows. But if theres any thing that ticks me off about this show was that it didn't last very long, there was no season finale to explain any of the aspects that we wanted to know which makes me wonder why shows like this get cancelled so quickly. I quess originally there was originally going to be a finale called "Goodbye to Lucien and Wayne" (or something like that) which would have been a epic episode but nooooooooo! Alike all these other shows Cramp Twins was a show that deserved more respect from the network which resulted in it being layed to rest. I hope people will remember this show for what it was; maybe someday someone will be inspired to create a reamke of this.
And the #1 that was yet to end is.....................................................................................................
1.Samurai Jack
Now everyone watched this show at one point in their childhood and enjoyed it and so did I. Filled with action packed thrills, timeless animation, a catchy theme song and a great main character Samurai Jack was simply a show you wouldn't want to missed. Looking back at this show it was top-notch for it's time but if theres anything that this show didn't have; it was a big series finale. When the show got cancelled we never saw Jack return to the past so the fans had to figure that one out on their own. However with a Samurai Jack movie coming out there might be a chance to see the epic conclusion we've been waiting for.
So there you have it, all ten tv shows that were either cancelled in the middle of a climax or just were just canned for no apparent reason. Now I dont think low ratings were the reason for these show ending so soon, I guess it wasprobably due to complications. While I do say out all these shows Stupid, Dungeons & Dragons and Robotboy were my least favourites but even the least likable shows needed a finale or something to set the record straight. Lets hope in the future a show will not end on a cliff hanger or something like that and instead let it end on something to remember.
.jpg)
