Old School Lane presents Kevin's Top 100 Favorite Animated Shows (39-30)

Hey everyone, welcome back to my list of my top 100 favorite animated shows of all time. Wow, we’re almost finished with this list. Time goes by so fast when you’re taking a trip down memory lane…or Old School Lane. Am I right? Heh heh heh! Okay, that was bad! Moving on.

39. Hong Kong Phooey (1974)



When it comes to classic Hanna Barbera cartoons, this one doesn’t seem to be mentioned in a lot of people’s conversations as one of their favorites and I don’t know why. While it only lasted 16 episodes, each episode had our hero Penrod “Penry” Pooch working as a janitor who works at the police headquarters with Sargeant Flint and Rosemary, the phone operator who has a crush on Hong Kong Phooey. Whenever trouble comes about, he jumps into his filing cabinet and becomes Hong Kong Phooey. However, similar to Inspector Gadget, Hong Kong Phooey is a terrible martial artist who always screws up his chances of saving the city. But luckily, his faithful (and more qualified) sidekick Spot always assists Hong Kong Phooey without anyone else knowing and helps save the day.

Hong Kong Phooey had a great opening theme and each episode was packed with with action and humor. Check it out.



38. Toonsylvania (1998)



Pop Quiz: When someone brings up the topic of Steven Spielberg and cartoons, which ones in particular pop in your mind? If you said either The Land Before Time, An American Tale, Who Framed Roger Roger Rabbit, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, or Freakazoid, then you would be correct. But when mentioning about the cartoon Toonsylvania, many people either don’t remember it or have never seen it before. It’s such a shame because for people who love watching horror movies like me, both classic and B horror, then this cartoon is definitely for you.

It involves with Dr. Vic, his assistant Igor, and their Frankenstein monster Phil. One of my favorite characters was their next door neighbor Seth Tuber, who was an homage to Norman Bates from Psycho. Similar to Animaniacs, Toonsylvania had different cartoon series in each episode like “Night of the Living Fred”, “Igor’s Science Moment”, and “Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals”. Each one of them were funny and had interesting life lessons to learn. However, the show wasn’t popular and it was cancelled after 19 episodes. Toonsylvania was Steven Speilberg’s last cartoon series that he had any involvement in, however it wasn’t his best. But if you fancy yourself in watching an underrated cartoon that spoofs the horror genre, I cannot recommended it enough.

 

37. The Berenstain Bears (the 1985 and 2005 versions)



Before I say anything, I first want to give my condolences to Jan Berenstain, the co-writer of The Berenstain Bears book series. She had passed away on February 24th of this year after continuing the book series alongside her son Michael. What she left behind is a great book series that will be remember for many generations. Everyone at some point had read the books and had seen the cartoon series based on them. I couldn’t decide which one was better, so I chose both.

With the exception of minor differences, both of the cartoon adaptations are pretty much the same. It follows the lives of Papa, Mama, Brother, and Sister Bear living their everyday routines of school and family life while learning lessons along the way. All of the characters from the book series such as Cousin Freddy, Too-Tall and his gang, the grandparents, and Lizzie were there and were fleshed out really well. Even after being around for over 50 years, The Berenstain Bears are timeless classics that are great to both read and watch.



36. Life with Louie (1994)



Life with Louie was a great animated sitcom from the 90’s. It was based on the childhood of comedian Louie Anderson growing up in Wisconsin with his family and friends. Each of the characters were very funny, especially Louie and his angry father. The episodes dealt with Louie’s everyday life and it made me wonder how much of it if the majority of the scenarios actually happened in real life. If it did, then Louie had a very interesting childhood. Not much to say, but I say check it out sometime for crying out loud!



35. Toxic Crusaders (1991)



Based on the Toxic Avenger movies, mostly the sequel, Toxic Crusaders seemed to have combined the movies with Captain Planet and the Planeteers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to make a great cartoon. It had all the things that I love from a cartoon that came out in the 90’s. It has classic animation, nonstop action, lovable characters, and wonderful life lessons. But the cream of the crop for me are the jokes. For a kids’ show, it had a lot of adult jokes that I didn’t remember hearing when seeing it again. They also had a great toy line that I will consider purchasing real soon. However, some of the figures are rare and expensive, but if I can get the original 1983 He-Man action figure, then anything is possible.



Overall, although it only had 13 episodes, Toxic Crusaders was a blast to watch again. I highly recommend it.



34. Jonny Quest (1964)



By breaking the tradition of a typical Hanna Barbera cartoon at that time, Jonny Quest involved with action, adventure, and characters that were realistic and relatible. The story involved with a young boy named Jonny Quest traveling all over the world with his dad, Dr. Benton Quest, an intelligent scientist, Race Bannon, their bodyguard and pilot, Hadgi, an Indian orphan who’s Jonny’s best friend and an adopted son to Dr. Quest, and their dog Bandit. In their adventures, they confront zombies, monsters, robots, dinosaurs, and a slew of evil villains. It’s up to the Quest Team to save the day with their strength, intelligence, and even magic. It was a fantastic show that was groundbreaking for its time and is still praised today influencing shows like The Venture Bros.



However, do not watch The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. It’s not as good as the original. In fact, this show is terrible.

 

33. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1990)



Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was one of the first Saturday morning cartoons that premiered on the Fox Children’s Network. Similar to Toxic Crusaders, while the title says Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, it takes ideas from that movie, but it mostly ideas from the sequel Return of the Killer Tomatoes. All of the characters from the movies were there, including some new ones such as The Censor Lady, who was similar to Dana Carvey’s character “The Church Lady” from Saturday Night Live. Each episode has at least one joke where it pokes fun of the TV show or the movies, which is always a treat to listen to, especially if you know them. Again, similar to Toonsylvania, if you’re a fan of cartoons based on B horror movies, check this one out. It’s always fun to watch.



32. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969)



What can be said about this classic Hanna Barbera cartoon that hasn’t been said before? It involves with a team of 4 teenagers Fred, Shaggy, Velma, and Daphne, and their dog Scooby-Doo called Mystery Inc. solving mysteries in haunted houses, castles, amusement parks, and ships with creepy ghosts, monsters, zombies, mummies, and witch doctors. In the end, it always end up being a person with costumes and masks trying to accomplish an evil scheme. This show became one of Hanna Barbera’s best shows that is still as popular today with many movies, spinoff shows, guest appearances in other TV shows, toys, and more.



31. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972)



One of the most influencial animated shows ever created, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was created by Bill Cosby’s stand up stories. This show was one of the first shows that not only had a large cast of African American teenagers, but they were the main characters of the show. Each episode had Fat Albert and The Junkyard Gang learn wonderful life lessons that taught kids about stealing, racism, vandalism, smoking, and drug use, which was huge at the time. It’s always amazing to look back on this show and see how ahead of their time they were. I give major props to Bill Cosby for creating this groundbreaking cartoon.



30. Home Movies (1999)



This is a show that is very close to my heart. Home Movies involves with a boy named Brendon Small who makes movies with his friends Melissa and Jason. Although that most of the movies are really crappy, Brendon has a passion of doing them regardless of the struggles that occur. Similar to South Park and Rocky and Bullwinkle, although the animation doesn’t look appealing, it makes up for it with its clever and well written stories and amazing characters, especially Brendon, his crazy mom, and the drunken Coach McGuirk. I can relate to Brendon with having a love of making movies at a young age and not having a father figure around. This show has a cult following and it makes me proud to own the DVDs so I can watch it over and over.



Do you have any fond memories on any of these cartoons? Post it in the comments and let us know. Hope to see you around Old School Lane real soon. Thanks for reading.

-Kevin

Old School Lane presents Kevin's Top 100 Favorite Animated Shows (49-40)

Hey everyone, welcome back to my list of my absolute favorite animated shows. Patricia and I are hard at work rewatching Nicktoons and SNICK shows for our tribute to Nickelodeon for this summer, which means that I should finish this list. Let's get to it.

49. Betty Boop (1930)



Created by Max Fleischer in 1930, Betty Boop was one of the first animated sex symbols, but that's not what makes her so memorable. She is super quirky, funny, and gets into a lot of fun adventures alongside her boyfriend Bimbo the Dog and their friend Koko the Clown. Watching the majority of the episodes is so amazing to watch as it has influenced a lot of animation history with its amazing drawing designs, surprisingly adult storylines, and quirky humor. It's such a shame that many, many people don't seem to know that.



One of the major moments for me was when Betty Boop made a cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, it was great that she was able to appear twice in the movie. One of them was when Eddie Valliant sees Jessica Rabbit for the first time.



However originally Koko the Clown and Bimbo the Dog was supposed to be in Who Framed Roger Rabbit as well. There was a scene in which it was Marvin Acme's funeral and Koko and Bimbo was crying over Acme's casket, but it was cut from the movie. That's a real shame. I would have loved to see them in the movie.



48. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988)



Due to the popularity of The Muppet Babies, we were seeing a ton of younger or baby versions of our favorite characters. One of my favorites was A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. Taken place in Coolsville, their hometown, our five companions take on ghosts and monsters which end up being bad guys in masks. It was very similar to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? except that the tone of the show was much more lighter and goofier, which to me was always fun to watch. Casey Kasem and Don Messick would return voicing Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, but this would be Don Messick's last time voicing Scooby-Doo before he would voice other characters until his death in 1997.



Another thing to mention is that Tom Ruegger was the developer of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo before he would be one of the co-creators of Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Histeria, and Road Rovers. He was also the one who wrote the lyrics for the main opening theme. Pretty neat, huh?

47.Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959)



If people were to look Rocky and Bullwinkle for the first time, they probably wouldn't be too impressed with the animation. While it's true that the animation doesn't look as polished, colorful, bright, and good compared to many others, the characters, the witty adult humor, and the pacing of the stories make up for it. Similiar to DragonBall Z, it always leaves you at a cliffhanger wanting to know about what happened next, making it addicting to know what happens next. The characters were extremely memorable, the writing of the stories were done very well, and it's still just as fun to watch as it was over 50 years ago. I highly recommend that you watch this show again if you haven't seen it in a while.



One more thing to note: don't watch the movie! It's terrible!



46.Wacky Races (1968)



Another great cartoon done by Hanna Barbera, it involves 11 racers competing to win the title of "World's Wackiest Racer". While all the racers had their own vehicles and personalities, my absolute favorite was the villain Dick Dasterly and his companion dog, Muttley with their vehicle Mean Machine 00. Each time I see them, I can't help but always laugh out loud everytime they try to cheat to win the races. However, they never win and their plans never work, which is a shame since I would have loved to see what would happen if they won. It only had 17 episodes, but the show was successful enough to release two spinoffs:The Perils of Penelope Pitstop and Dasterdly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.



45. The Woody Woodpecker Show (1957)



This great cartoon show starring our favorite crazy woodpecker was a big hit when he was first introduced in 1940 by Walter Lantz. This cartoon not only has Woody Woodpecker, but also many other characters like Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, Buzz Buzzard, Wally Walrus, and more. Each episode was always funny to watch as Woody causes mischief to anyone he comes across. Also, you can be able to get Woody Woodpecker dolls in Universal Studios, which is great that this character is anything but forgotten.



44.The Fairly Odd Parents (2001)



The Fairly Odd Parents is indeed one of the best shows that Nickelodeon ever released. Not to mention, it's one of the longest running shows of Nickelodeon releasing over 100 episodes. The story involves 10-year-old Timmy Turner and his fairy godparents Cosmo and Wanda granting Timmy's crazy and extreme wishes while not letting his parents, his evil babysitter Vicky, his friends, or his crazy teacher Mr. Crocker of his secret. Created by Butch Hartman, the show has funny humor, great characters, and an interesting concept. I wish that I have fairy godparents! That would make life so much easier.The Fairly Odd Parents was one of four cartoons that debuted in Oh Yeah, Cartoons! as shorts before getting its own TV series. It's still a great show that you must watch if you're a Nickelodeon fan.



43.Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983)


Alvin and the Chipmunks was one of the best cartoons that came out in the 80's. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore Seville are three chipmunks who are a singing group singing classic songs and popular songs of the time. Dave Seville, their adopted father and manager, was a great character who loved the Chipmunks as his own sons, but would lose his temper whenever they caused trouble, especially Alvin. Also, I love the female trio, the Chippettes, Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor. They were a great rivals to the Chipmunks and were their on-and-off girlfriends. However, they were nothing more than female versions of the Chipmunks, so it was a tad bit of a letdown.

One of my all time favorite episodes was when Alvin, Simon, and Theodore's birth mother reunited with her sons. It was one of the few TV moments that made me cry a little. If you have children who only know about the Chipmunks from those crappy movies, show them the animated show instead. It's much better in every way.



42.The Smurfs (1981)



Originally from Belgium, this Hanna Barbera cartoon was very unique in every single way. The Smurfs are little blue creatures who live on a village with houses made of mushrooms, led by the leader Papa Smurf. The Smurfs live pretty much normal lives, until an evil sorcerer named Gargamel and his cat Azrael tries every scheme to capture the Smurfs and eat them. Each episode was always fun to watch. It's also very fun to ask some of the most dire questions when watching this: If there are so many Smurfs in the village, why is there only one female there? Why do they say "Smurf" or some variation in their vocabulary? Why does Gargamel want to eat the Smurfs? What do they taste like? Euugh! I don't even want to think about that!
Overall, it was a fantastic 80's Hanna Barbera cartoon that you should watch again if you haven't in a while. I beg of you to not watch the movie! Although, I've never seen it, it looks shitty. Originally, Nickelodeon was going to do the Smurfs movie that involved with the origins of the Smurfs and it was going to be have a more darker, serious tone. Why didn't we get that but instead got this?!



41.Freakazoid (1995)



This animated cartoon created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, the same creators of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, produced by Steven Spielberg, and written by Tom Ruegger and the majority of the Animaniacs writers. It involves with a geeky 16-year-old named Dexter Douglas getting his superhero powers from a computer bug that absorbed all information from the Internet. At least the early 90's Internet. Similar to The Tick and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Freakazoid may be a superhero, but he doesn't act like one. It involves with silly humor, fourth wall jokes, brilliant satire to cartoons that were showing at the time, worldly events, and comic book heroes. This cartoon was definitely for adults in contrast to Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, that's what made it great.



40.Tiny Toon Adventures (1990)



Just as I said previously in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, when The Muppet Babies went on the air, many other shows try to captalize on its popularity of creating shows based on the younger versions of cartoon characters. One of the first that came out of the 90's that I used to watch all the time was Tiny Toon Adventures.The show was based in Acme Acres in which Toons like Buster Bunny, Babs Bunny, Plucky Duck, and Haminton Pig are attending a school called Acme Looniversary taught by Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, and more. Each episode has so much humor, wackiness, and memorable characters. It's fantastic in every way! I also watched The Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation. It's a wonderful summer movie!



That's all for now! Stay tune as we finish off the list of my favorite animated shows. Hope to see you around Old School Lane real soon. Take care.

-Kevin

Old School Lane celebrates the 33rd anniversary of...

Alright, this is it. This is really it! The moment you have been waiting for. The reveal for Old School Lane’s summer project. What is it? Well, before we tell you what it is, here’s a little history lesson.



On December 1, 1977, a brand new children’s television program was created on QUBE, the first two-way interactive TV cable system. It was called The Pinwheel Network. It was a network that went pretty much nowhere. The shows that were airing there didn’t catch the attention of a lot of viewers and it was at the point of failure. However, on this day, April 1, 1979, The Pinwheel Network did a huge overall by changing the shows and its name. It will forever be known as…



To this day, Nickelodeon is the #1 children’s program in cable TV. Now, you may be thinking to yourselves, “Hey, didn’t the Nostalgia Critic dedicate a whole month to Nickelodeon?” Well, yes. That’s true. However, he only covered a couple of the cartoons, SNICK shows, one game show, and one Nickelodeon movie. Kevin and I are going the whole 9 yards and dedicating three months to covering almost EVERY single Nicktoon, SNICK shows, TeenNick, movies, video games, and so much more that Nickelodeon has created. Also, expect a few other big surprises in between!



Let’s be honest: Nickelodeon has been a huge part in our lives at one point or another. Some of our favorite programs from our childhood came from this network from Rugrats and Ren and Stimpy to SpongeBob SquarePants and Avatar: The Legend of Korra. We have so much fond memories on watching our favorite cartoons or watching SNICK on Saturday nights. In fact, one of the reasons Kevin and I became best friends when we first met was our love for Nickelodeon shows. He even dressed up as Doug Funnie when he was in the 4th grade! That’s how much our love for Nickelodeon mean to us. What about you? What are your fondest memories of Nickelodeon? Post it in the comments below and let us know. We’ll be starting around June and ending it in September, so stay tuned as we cover the many great and many terrible shows, movies, video games, products, and more that came out of the “The First Kids Network”.

Here’s a song that I know will bring you back.

That’s all for now. Tune in this summer as well as real soon as we wrap up Kevin’s Top 100 Animated Shows, more First Impressions, and who knows what. Hope to see you around Old School Lane real soon. Take care.

-Patricia and Kevin

Old School Lane's Summer Project is...

Well, everyone. This is it! The moment that we’ve been waiting for. After weeks of hints and teases among the blog and Manic Expression, April 1st has finally arrived! Old School Lane’s Summer Project will be revealed today! A TV network that is still popular as of today is celebrating its 35th anniversary. Three months will be dedicated to the shows, the people, the influences, the products, our overall ratings of them, and a few surprises in between. So, what is it, you ask? Well, here it is? Old School Lane’s summer project is…



The World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc! That’s right, you love it, I love it, everyone loves it! Around this time many years ago, the WWE has reached a huge following of more than 13 million viewers around the U.S. alone and has broadcast its hugely popular shows around 145 countries with over 45 languages. Each of the wrestlers have became household names whether you love them or hate them: Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Randy Savage, Chris Jericho, and much, much more!!!! Of course, we all know that each of these epic and violent wrestling matches are all 100% real! There’s no way that it can be fake, I mean, come on.


Can you dig it, brother?!

What better way to celebrate its awesomeness than to check out its brand new TV channel WWE Network debuting tonight where you will have 24 hours of nothing but wrestling, wrestling, wrestling! Only for the hardcore!



If this wasn’t what you were expecting, well, I’m going to quote one of WWE marketing campaigns.



That’s right! If you don’t like it, then go away! GET THE “F” OUT!!! You don’t have to read our posts in our blog. We can deal with it. But everyone knows that you can’t live without us, you’ll be reading our stuff anyway because you just love us so much. So, expect some EXTREME posts this summer as we tackle down on the WWE!

-Patricia

P.S. One more thing to mention before I go!



Hmm, interesting that SpongeBob is here… Maybe he’s…you’ll have to wait and find out!