Saturday, March 17, 2012

Old School Lane presents Kevin's Top 100 Animated Shows (89-80)

Welcome to the continuation of my top 100 animated shows of all time. I already posted my first couple of cartoons, so let’s continue, shall we?
89. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005)
One of the keys of having a good animated show is having interesting characters that you can relate to, love, or have never seen before. Bryan Konietzko and Micheal Dante Dimartino gave us characters that we were each very unique. The story involves a 12-year-old Airbender named Aang who is an Avatar. An avatar is a master of the four elements; water, earth, air, and fire. He’s also responsible of bringing balance to the world and sustain peace and tranquility. Not to be confused with the blue monkey-like alien creatures from James Cameron’s movie. Aang was frozen in an iceberg for 100 years and finds himself with a world corrupted with war from the Fire Nation led by an evil ruler named Fire Lord Ozai. With his friends Katara and Sokka, they work hard to get Aang to finish his training to master the elements, defeat Fire Lord Ozai, and stop the war from happening.
Each episode puts you into an adventure that our eyes have never seen before. Avatar: The Last Airbenderstands out from the rest of the Nickelodeon shows because at times, it can be funny, but also very serious. With an great voice cast, this show is one of this generation’s greatest animated series. I have high hopes for theAvatar: The Legend of Korra, the followup to Avatar: The Last Airbender. One more thing to mention, avoid the live action movie at all costs. 
88. Gravedale High (1990)
Gravedale High tv show photo
Universal movie monsters. Rick Moranis, and Hanna Barbera. This interesting mix equals one great show. The story involves with a teacher named Max Schneider who dedicates his life to teaching monsters their basic teachings and life lessons. While Gravedale High didn’t last very long, it gave me an amazing impression on what these monsters would be like if they were kids. I had not seen anything like this since Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School. The show may be dated, but it definitely takes you on a trip towards memory lane. Rick Moranis is as good as a voice actor. Jackie Earl Haley from Watchman and the Nightmare on Elm Street remake is hilarious as Gill Waterman, a surfer Creature from the Black Lagoon. They didn’t release any memorabilia from the series, but I remember the McDonald’s Happy Meal toys.
87. South Park (1997)
What has not been said about South Park that has already been said? With its crude and blunt humor and its satire of today’s pop culture by poking fun of celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Snooki and The Situation from Jersey Shore, and Kim Kardashian, this show is a staple of TV animation. The show, similar toThe SimpsonsFamily Guy, and even Hey Arnold ,have an array of townspeople that no one can forget. Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and even Butters, are the poster boys for kickass characters. With clever humor and well thought out stories, this show is a must watch and I’m so glad that it’s continuing in its 16th season.
86. ThunderCats (1985)
In the 1980’s, there were several superhero shows. Some based on comics, some based on toys, and some based on imagination. The original ThunderCats is a staple of 80’s animation in which animorphic humanistic cats led by Lion-O fights off against the evil Mumm-Ra. Mumm-Ra was just as good as any 80’s villain such as Skeletor, Shredder, Krang, Gargamel, Megatron and the Boogie Man from The Real Ghostbusters. The show was filled with action, suspense, and the most craziest drawn creatures that anyone had ever seen before. While it is the pinnacle of many jokes for Robot Chicken, the remake isn’t half bad, and the CGI or live action movie that is currently in limbo, the ThunderCats will always remain as one of the best 80’s cartoons ever. Also, they had an incredible toyline being re-released again. If you have a son and daughter who is into the new series, I strongly recommend to introduce them to the original. 
85. Inspector Gadget (1983)
One of the things I loved about Inspector Gadget was the amazing theme song and great music throughout the series. While the music is uploaded on YouTube, this song is something that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to have in my iPod. The story involves with a robotic detective name Inspector Gadget who stops the plans of the M.A.D. organization led by the evil Dr. Claw. Inspector Gadget is clutsy and goofy, but loveable. He was voiced brilliantly by the late Don Adams. I loved the running gag of never seeing what Dr. Claw looked like, however if you remember the 1992-1993 toys, we actually got to see what he looked like. I was very disappointed.
Watching the show when I was young, I had always wanted the computer book that Penny had. When I was a baby, whenever I watched the show, I would pick up thick books, opened them and pressed on them like buttons the same way Penny did. Inspector Gadget is a brilliant show, overall. The 12 inch Inspector Gadget doll/action figure based on the show is worth a ton of money, but I will own it someday. Oh, and don’t get me started on the 1999 live action movie…I forgive you, Matthew Broderick.
84. Space Goofs (1997)
This is the show that is very obscure, to say the least. It was part of the FOX Saturday morning lineup. The story involves five aliens who crash land on Earth after their ship was hit by an asteroid. They take shelter in a house preventing humans from moving in while trying to find a way to get back on their home planet. It was an alien version of Ren and Stimpy. The characters and the animation were so trippy that when watching it, I had to make sure that the sugar from my cereal wasn’t going into my brain. But truth be told, this show holds a special place in my heart. It had a catchy theme song, sung by Iggy Pop, how cool is that? Space Goofs is one of the weirdest cartoons that you have to check out.
83. Richie Rich (1980)
Althought that Richie Rich was based on the Harvey comics, the animated show was different to say the least. The show was joined with Scooby Doo on Saturday mornings. While Richie Rich looks somewhat like his comic book counterpart with his red sweater with an R, blue jeans, blue bow tie, and white sneakers instead of a black suit, blue shorts, red bow tie, and white boots. The show meshed wonderfully with the Hanna Barbera take. I loved Irona, she was a kickass maid and the best robotic maid since Rosie from The Jetsons. A robot with heels? Interesting.
P.S. Loved Richie in the Metlife commercial where he escorted Daphne and Scooby Doo out of the limousine. 
82. Fantastic Max (1988)
A lot of people don’t remember this show very well. Like Inspector Gadget, both the theme song and the music were awesome. The show involved a talking toddler named Max traveling around outer space with his toys. I loved his catchphrase, “Dirty Diapers”, which I still said after the show was cancelled. I loved FX, his pull string rubber alien doll and A.B. Sitter, the robot who was made of blocks, who made the show what it was. I wish they had made dolls for them. The show had a great villain and had a perfect 80’s feel to it. The show was its hayday of Hanna Barbera shows. I always like it when Fantastic Max made a sand sculpture of his baby bottle brought to life by FX and I loved the music for when it was brought to life by his ears. One of my favorite episodes was when a female scientist had captured Max and was going to cure the world from talking babies. That brought realism to the show, which I loved. Rocket and Roll!
81. Fanboy and Chum-Chum (2009)
Fanboy and Chum-Chum is one of the few recent Nickelodeon shows that I love to watch.  David Hornsby and Nika Futterman, the voice actors of Fanboy and Chum Chum have great chemistry. Although Jeff Bennett voices Boog, Hank Mufflin is my favorite. Character of their striking resemblance bears the main character from Invader of the Body Snatchers. The show does not take itself seriously, which it shouldn’t. It plays on several gross themes that was an homage of several classic Nickelodeon shows such as Ren and Stimpy. It also referencess classic animated shows like Voltron, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It also referenced movies such as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. I’m debating on whether to get the action figures of Fanboy and Chum Chum. What do you think?
80. CatDog (1998)
One of the biggest questions everyone asks on CatDog is how do they go to the bathroom? Well, you’re going to have to ask the creator for yourself. Jim Cummings, Tom Kenny, and Carlos Alazraqui are brilliant as CatDog and Winslow. One of my favorite characters was Mr. Sunshine, who could be best friends with Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh and Charlie Brown. CatDog went on many adventures, no matter how zany they were, it was still fun to watch. One of the few late 90’s cartoons on Nickelodeon before they entered a new era of mostly crappy cartoons. I loved CatDog’s appearance of Figure it Out. I always wanted the CatDog hand puppet. Another catchy theme song, which was a country song that the creator himself wrote. I’m glad that this show is getting a proper DVD release by Shout Factory.
Do you have any fond memories of these cartoons? Post it in the comments and let me know. Expect more great cartoons real soon. Hope to see you around the Old School Lane soon. Take care.
-Kevin

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