Cartoons From Yesteryears

 

I recently wrote an article about my favorite childhood memories from school for Children’s Day; which got me thinking, about how growing up, we had a string of amazing cartoon shows, that we used to watch religiously every day. This of course was the pre-cable era, where we only got two channels, Doordarshan and DD Metro; where the cartoon listings used to appear in the newspaper every day; where we only got a limited 30-60 minute slot to watch TV provided we finished our homework on time… And yet these daily 30-minute cartoon shows were the highlight of our day, and life was awesome back then. With the introduction of cable channels like Nickelodeon, Disney, and Cartoon Network (the 90s version) life only got better! Back then, we only received the episodes of most American shows, after the series had ended there. And yet, we were grateful. Here’s an attempt (and list) to relive a few of those shows. Do let me know which one of these was/is your favorite too!

#1 DuckTales: Multi-billionaire Scrooge McDuck, and his grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, went on various adventures, which either involved seeking out treasure or blotching the efforts of a variety of villains seeking to steal Scrooge’s fortune and his Number One Dime. While there were 4 seasons with about a total of 100 episodes, several spin-off series and movies were created later.

#2 Dexter’s Laboratory: The cartoon follows Dexter, a boy genius with a secret laboratory, which he fills with his ahead-of-time inventions. In the show, he is seen constantly battling his sister Dee Dee, who always manages to gain access to his lab, despite his best efforts to keep her out; and engaging in a bitter rivalry with his neighbor and fellow genius Mandark. There were 4 seasons with about a total of 79 episodes.

#3 Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers: Chip and Dale are chipmunks who start a detective agency, called Rescue Rangers. They solve crimes for clients (other animals) along with their friends Gadget, Monterey Jack, and Zipper. Their two arch-villains: Mafia-style tabby cat Fat Cat and mad scientist Norton Nimnul are behind most of their crime-solving adventures. There were 3 seasons with about a total of 65 episodes.

#4 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy Rogers—and the Great Dane named Scooby-Doo; travel in their Mystery Machine, solving mysteries involving local legends. While there were only 2 seasons with about a total of 25 episodes, several spin-off series and movies were created later.

#5 Tom and Jerry: Clearly, an all-time favorite for most of us, it centers on a rivalry between its two main characters, Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse, and many recurring characters, based around slapstick comedy. About 114 short animated cartoons were created, and with time, several spin-off shows and movies were made. The series where Tom & Jerry were given human voiceovers, was however a complete dud.

#6 Courage the Cowardly Dog: The animated horror comedy television series, followed Courage, a cowardly dog living with two elderly farmers in the middle of nowhere; who were frequently thrown into bizarre misadventures, often involving the paranormal/supernatural. The series known for its dark, surreal humor and atmosphere, ran for 4 seasons with about a total of 52 episodes.

#7 Aladdin: Aladdin, his fiancee Princess Jasmine, his pet monkey Abu, Magic Carpet, Iago the greedy parrot, and his best friend the semi-cosmic Genie roam the streets of Agrabah finding adventure and solving mysteries. There were 3 seasons with a total of 86 episodes.

#8 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Prince Adam, of Eternia, holds the Sword of Power aloft and proclaims “By the Power of Grayskull!” and gets transformed into He-Man, who happens to be the most powerful man in the universe (with special powers, obviously). Along with Battle Cat, The Sorceress, Teela, Man-At-Arms, and Orko, He-Man uses his powers to defend Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor, whose main goal is to conquer the mysterious fortress of Castle Grayskull. It ran for 2 seasons with 130 episodes.

#9 The Little Mermaid: The cartoon follows Ariel’s adventures as a mermaid still living under the sea with her father, Sebastian the crab, and Flounder the fish. It had 3 seasons with 31 episodes. The TV series in itself was a prequel to the movie of the same name. Several other movies were also made, with the same plot.

#10 The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Depicting the everyday lives of Christopher Robin and his companions Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, and Gopher; episodes dealt with strong messages about honesty, responsibility, persistence, cooperative effort, friendship, and caring. It ran for 4 seasons and had 50 episodes in total. Several spin-off series and movies were created later, and even before this series.