Missing the Old Skool Cartoons

The other day my three-year-old grand daughter was watching Saturday morning television.  It’s hard to resist a sweet little toddler when she says, “Papa, don’t you wanna sit with me?”

 I gotta tell ya, cartoons are certainly not the same as they were back in the 1960’s!  Back in the 60’s we had real cartoons, not that Japanese anime crap they call a “cartoon”.   Back in the day, Saturday morning cartoons featured top-name talent with the likes of Wally Cox, the great Arnold Stang, plus the best cartoon voice-overs who ever lived including Hanna Barbera’s Daws Butler, and Jim Messick.  But the King of King’s was none other than the immortal Mel Blanc.

As with every kid from the 1960’s, we all had our favorites.  Among mine were “The Adventures of Lancelot Link and the Secret Chimps.”  This live-action show starred real life chimps with human voices overdubbed.  They acted out spy spoofs interspersed with pop songs sung by the “Evolution Revolution”.  It was pure entertainment featuring Lance and Mata Hairi, secret agents of A.P.E. (Agency to Prevent Evil) headed by their gray-haired leader, Darwin.   The highlight was seeing the chimps in leather jackets riding around on motorcycles with training wheels.   That’s great T.V.!

“How much is that Gorilla in the window?”  Ask Ogee, the little girl who wants to buy him, or Mr. Pebbles, the pet show owner who can’t wait to sell the troublemaking Ape!   We’re talking Hanna-Barbera’s “Magilla Gorilla”! The show also had other recurring characters, including Punkin’ Puss & Mushmouse, and Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long.   

My other favorites from the 1960’s included “Beany and Cecil”, “The Beatles Cartoon”, “George of the Jungle” and “Wacky Racers”.  There were some odd shows, most prominently from the creators Sid and Marty Kroft.    Their shows “H.R. Pufinstuff”, “The Bugaloos” and “Lidsville” proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Kroft brothers dabbled in recreational drugs.

By the 1980’s, the popularity of Saturday morning TV started to wane.   You started to see animation with looser standards hit the tube with shows like “Transformers”, “He-Man” and the increasing popularity of imported Japanese anime.   The popularity of home video, cable TV and channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network also made quite an impact.

When it’s all said and done, nothing will ever replace the likes of “Deputy Dawg”. “Atom Ant”, “Top Cat” and “Underdog”.   “When criminals in this world appear, And break the laws that they should fear, And frighten all who see or hear, The cry goes up both far and near for Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Speed of lightning! Roar of thunder! Fighting all who rob or plunder! Underdog! Underdog”!