This is a subject that we all have been exposed to over the years. I have some personal favorites. In the beginning, it was Looney Tunes from Warner Brothers. This was when they would play a cartoon before every movie at the theaters. I used to really like that. The animation was great in all of the Looney Tunes cartoons. There was Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Tweety, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck, Donald Duck, Yosemite Sam, The Tasmanian Devil also Marvin the Martian. I looked it up and these actually started before I was born in the 1930’s. There have been other characters over the years. I have a feeling that because Elmer Fudd had a speech impediment it probably wouldn’t pass all the PC people because it was kind of making fun of the speech impediment. That was a little on Looney Toons.
My next one was Rocky and Bullwinkle. This started in 1959 and ran through 1964. It was actually very adult humor disguised as cartoons. I loved all of it. Rocket J. Squirrel, Bullwinkle the Moose, the narrator who was always present, Boris Badinov and Natasha, Dudley Do-Right, Sherman and Peabody, Mr. Big…great stuff. It has been in reruns for many years. If you are not familiar I am sure episodes are on You Tube…isn’t everything. Some of this stuff is extremely hilarious. I used to watch this each morning before going to school.
Then finally there was Sponge Bob. OMG…this became my new Rocky and Bullwinkle. Again the humor was very adult for a cartoon. This came on the scene in 1999. You had Sponge Bob Squarepants, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Gary, Sandy Cheeks, Plankton and Patrick. Of course Sponge Bob was a short order cook making the Crabby Patty for Mr. Krabs who is all about the dollars. Sponge Bob won the award for Employee of the Month literally every month. Then when Mr. Krabs had to name a new manager he looked beyond Sponge Bob the obvious selection. They have made several Sponge Bob movies that actually aren’t bad and all of this stuff takes place in “Bikini Bottom”. If you are not familiar with this take a look. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
I want to mention that I was on a flight and there were two girls talking about Sponge Bob and sharing stories and laughing. I couldn’t stay silent and pointed out that what they were talking about they misremembered. I quickly corrected their errors and got the story right. I am sure they were surprised and probably annoyed. I was thinking that I might have earned some respect for knowing about this stuff. It was a short interaction. Being right was not that important in the grand scheme of things. Oh well.
I could go on about all three of these cartoon series. I enjoyed each of them over the years. If you have any memories feel free to share them. Looking back I think the one I liked the best was Rocky and Bullwinkle. I think the writers were a little ahead of their time. Which makes it even better.
