What A Batch Of Cartoon Cartoons!

In 1995, Hanna-Barbera premiered their What A Cartoon/Cartoon Cartoon show on Cartoon Network. At that time, CN was still showing reruns of their old school classics. These new cartoons were mostly pilot films, but only a handful went on to become animated series.

I refused to watch "Dexter's Laboratory," "Dial M For Monkey," "Justice Friends," Johnny Bravo," "Cow And Chicken," "I Am Weasel," and most of the pilot films, mainly because I considered both the animation and the humor too crude for my tastes. But I was easily hooked on "The Powerpuff Girls."

I began following the crimefighting adventures of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup from their first two pilots practically all the way to the end. I even saw "The Powerpuff Girls Movie" back in 2004. I was more than a little pleased as I watched them contend with Mojo Jojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins, The Gangreen Gang, and others. The only villain I felt bad for was the talking cat who mind-controlled people into loving their cats. Sure, he did it in an evil way, but his intention may have been to get people to stop abusing their pets. For I learned that abused pets very often don't trust humans completely. And when he got himself stuck in a tree, and began calling for help, I thought, "As bad as he was, someone should get him down, and give him a nice home. Maybe then, he'll reform."

Like most others, I thought the greatest episode of all was "Meet The Beat-Alls." Here, Mojo Jojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins, Him, and Princess Morbucks joined forces against the little heroines. There were direct Beatles references throughout the episode, and I liked it so much, I got myself a copy of the DVD. So you go, Powerpuff Girls! By the way, a new version of the show is due to premiere in 2016.

So now, I've covered all my thoughts on H-B animation. There will be closing thoughts tomorrow.

Trivia Question 4: Who was Fuzzy Lumpkins chasing off his property when he went ballistic on Townsville?

Answer: A squirrel.

I can tell you a lot about these cartoons--although I didn't start watching a lot of them until I was in middle school. I got Cartoon Network back when I was in second grade--although some of these cartoon characters looked familiar to me because I had seen them as an ad in one of my Looney Tunes magazines. (Amusingly, I remember referring to Johnny Bravo as being a "fat boy" at the time as a first grader.)

Anyhow, as you may already know, I am a huge Powerpuff Girls fan. It was one of those shows that contained likable female superheroes without being overly cute--in fact there was a lot of great adult humor that I understand now that I didn't then. I never saw the movie--although I read the transcript--which seemed a bit dark for an origin story--not that there haven't been dark episodes but for a film meant for a young audience, it did not seem as light and cheerful as most of the series was. I have the entire DVD series. Amusingly enough--the talking cat from "Cat Man Do" did appear in one of the PPG comics in which he ends up in an animal shelter and brain washes a little girl into taking him home. He then battles against the Talking Dog who has a movie coming out by framing him for a few incidents and then ending up famous. Of course, this all goes downhill for him.

As for episodes, my favorite in particular is actually "The Powerpuff Girls' Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever" where the girls play themselves at home on a rainy day. It is downright adorable and gives us a reminder of how they are little girls after all despite all those superpowers. Yes, "Meet the Beat-Alls" is also high on my list--it just gets funnier and funnier as an adult due to all the Beetles references. "Girls, I read the news today, oh boy!" I also have a liking for a very dark episode called "Knock it Off" featuring a villain called Dick Hardly (Yes, really) who was the Professor's no good, slacker college roommate who creates and mass produces his own Powerpuff Girls as if they were a commodity. When I first saw that episode, I was relieved to watch Ed Edd 'N Eddy afterwards. (not a Hanna Barbara product, but a really good cartoon all the same) Now, I really like it for the creepiness. Also, my favorite villain was Sedusa--due to a lack of female villains, I thought she was the coolest one with her Medusa-like hair and a tendency to almost come out on top.

I don't know what to say about the new series coming out in 2016--it could be good, it could be bad. I'll just have to wait and see. I hope it's better than that "Dance Pantsed" special, which while cute, really didn't need those redesigns, and paled compared to the original series.

Also, seasons 5 and 6 episodes--with a few exceptions lacked Craig McCracken's cleverness--at the time he had gone on to work on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. So most of those episodes just weren't as good--although Season 6's "Aspirations" is a terrific episode in which the Gangreen Gang commit some brilliant crimes on behalf of Sedusa--and "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey"is a great rock opera episode--which never aired in the U.S. I will share my feelings on the other Cartoon Cartoons you mentioned later.

Since I have seen the other shows you mentioned--I will tell you what I know. Keep in mind, a lot of these I revisited through youtube a year or two ago or through college, as aside from Powerpuff Girls and Edd Ed 'N Eddy, I generally did not watch these shows unless curious, bored, or the last few minutes before another show.

"Dexter's Laboratory" A show with a rather simple premise--Dexter is a boy genius with a secret laboratory hidden within his room. Unfortunately, his older sister Dee Dee is aware of this and will often come in to wreck havoc. It really wasn't a bad show--however, stick with seasons one and two--most of seasons three and four are pretty bad as they lack Genndy Tartakovsky's input as he went on to work on Samurai Jack. I do like "Comic Relief"from season three where Dexter makes a life-like superhero comic--with his sister as Deestructra, who wishes to detroy his lab. The comic book designs are clever.
Good classic episodes include "Monstory" in which Dexter accidently turns Dee Dee into a monster and eventually becomes one to battle her. "Dee Dee Locks and the Ness Monster" in which a sick Dee Dee tells Dexter a very strange bedtime story. "A Boy and His Bug" in which Dexter creates a termite who eats metal instead of wood which helps him get rid of what his sister wrecks. "Got your Goat" in which Dexter's latest experiment has somehow ended up in South America preying upon goats. (Yes, Dexter created a Cupracabra, which was how I first learned of the creature, and thought the show itself had created until I learned it was an "actual" mythological creature.) "D and DD" in which Dee Dee becomes the gamemaster to Dexter and his friends' roleplaying game much to Dexter's displeasure and his friends' delight--Dexter was a ruthless gamemaster while Dee Dee was much better at it. "Doll House Drama" Dexter shrinks himself to spy on Dee Dee, but winds up in a really weird soap opera starring Dee Dee's dolls Darbie and Ben. "World's Greatest Mom" in which Dexter's mom gains superpowers, but has absolutely no idea--yet is really good at using them during her day. "Changes" in which Dee Dee and Dexter transform one another into every single animal under the sun. and " The Parrot Trap" in which Dexter creates a parrot that repeats everything--which is NOT a good thing. (This is the infamous "Dexter's a cookie" episode)

Also, yes, I have seen "Rude Removal" the banned episode that they finally showed on Adult Swim last year. This is the one where Dee Dee and Dexter have their rudeness removed from them, making them super polite. (in other words, British) However, the rudeness takes the forms of themselves who are mean and swear. I will admit, when I finally saw this one, I thought the rude clones were going to swear a lot more than they did--I also had originally thought the episode was going to be uncensored, which was supposedly why it was banned in the first place. However, the episode itself is still very funny, and a lot tamer than the title card makes it seem.

The Justice Friends and Dial M for Monkey were actually segments on Dexter's Lab. Most of those occurred during the first and second seasons of the show, although some episodes had some crossovers between them. I actually liked Justice Friends better than Dexter's Lab, and would have loved to have seen more episodes centered on them. The laugh track actually worked for the series, hitting all the right parts. Valhallen, the viking god of rock, was my favorite of the trio. "Rat Man" a Batman parody, "Valhallen's Room" and "Can't Nap" were my favorite episodes.

Dial M for Monkey, I did not have much interest in, although I did like that Monkey never actually talked, and was a pretty good superhero. "Peltra" in which a Cruella Deville like villainess wishes to have Monkey's pelt was a decent episode I enjoyed, with Agent Honeydew kicking butt in order to literally save Monkey's skin.

Johnny Bravo--a show about a guy who was trying to get lucky with the ladies--but failed miserably. Truth be told, Johnny was for the most part an unlikable idiot--although he did have his moments where he was a nice guy or actually smart(!) at times. I recall one episode where Johnny actually uses some spy gadgets properly in order to set Jane Bonda and himself free from the villain's clutches. Earlier episodes were written by Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) and Butch Hartman (Fairly Odd Parents, Danny Phantom)Some episodes were downright weird such as one in which Johnny must pretend to be married to a moose--and both are supposed to be elephants because the moose is under a witness protection program--she thinks the mob is after her. Other episodes were clever such as one featuring a crossover with Scooby Doo, and another one with the Flintstones in which Fred saves a prehistoric Johnny's life, so Johnny tries to make it up to Fred--and yes, Johnny is seen flirting with a teenage Pebbles--which Fred does not at all like. Another episode was a parody on School House Rock called "The Sensitive Male" in which a man teaches Johnny how to woo a woman--complete with School House Rock-esque songs. Then there was "Run Johnny Run" a parody on the 1998 German film "Run Lola Run" which I had to watch in one of my college classes. If I knew about this short then, I would have mentioned it. Basically "Run Lola Run" is a movie in which three different results to the same problem are shown--two tragic, one happy based upon the character's actions upon various situations that seem unimportant but are actually linked to the main plot . In Johnny's case, he's attempting to make it to his date on time. Unlike Lola, there is no ultimate happy ending for Johnny. Finally "Witchaay Woman" is my absolute favorite in which Johnny is turned into a woman by a ticked off Gypsy and he'll only change back once he learns his lesson. Johnny actually looks like a pretty woman--not merely himself in drag, and it makes clever use of a female voice actress (I don't know who) voicing him which he thinks with his own voice. Of course, watching "Jenny" get hit on by men is hysterical, and she eventually learns that "Girls are smart." Of course, this breaks the spell, and Johnny does not seem to have learned his lesson after all, as he immediately attempts to flirt with all the women--but it turns out to all be a dream--or was it? There was also another segment called Jungle Boy--which featured a little boy dressed like Tarzan--but there were only two episodes with him--one featured Johnny Bravo. It was a shame, because Jungle Boy was pretty cute and not at all a bad segment. I'd have liked to see more of him and King Ramon--an evil ape who was voiced by Mark Hamill.

Cow and Chicken--I think this was Cartoon Network's answer to Ren and Stimpy. The humor was raunchy and the designs were ugly. I did enjoy "The Cow and Chicken Blues" episode where the duo learn about the blues from their neighbor Blind Man Johnson--who may have been voiced by BB King--or Greg Eagles-- I unfortunately do not know who actually voiced him. The songs are catchy. The other episode I liked had the Red Guy as a Mountie hunting down Cow and Chicken--in their father's office. I actually felt very uncomfortable watching this show as a middle schooler--mainly due to the humor and jarring designs. So I only watched it when I was bored. Charles Addler at least did a great job voicing the titular characters as well as the infamous Red Guy--who is clearly the devil--and is admittingly the funniest part of that show--and of I Am Weasel--which started off on Cow and Chicken and later became it's own show. Also, the banned episodes "Buffalo Biker Gals"(for lesbians) and the pilot "No Smoking"(for the use of Hell, and smoking) are actually quite funny--especially the former one for all the innuendo in it.

I actually kind of liked I Am Weasel (now that I am an adult and have watched it online while in college) -- Mainly because the characters were a lot more likable than the ones on Cow and Chicken. Also, I .R. Baboon was hysterical--and the addition of the Red Guy as an adversary helped make the show pretty funny. Also, the theme song is really catchy.

There you have it--I really did not enjoy Cartoon Cartoon pilot shorts for possible cartoons, (didn't see too many of them) most of them were pretty lackluster--and gross. Especially those George and Junior shorts--yuck. Also, Courage the Cowardly Dog's pilot short "The Chicken from Outer Space" was pretty creepy to me as a middle schooler. Oh but "Larry and Steve" was actually pretty funny. It was basically a Seth MacFarlane short in which Seth voiced both characters which were predecessors for Peter and Brian. Both had the exact same voices as the later characters would.