The Dark Knight

Note: It's going to be difficult to talk about my favorite cartoon of all time without jumping on the "Batman is the greatest super hero ever!" bandwagon, but I'm going to try as hard as I can.

Saying that Batman: the Animated Series is dark would be an understatement. It's dark in every sense of the word. The plot threads are dark, the villains are dark, the visuals are dark, the music is ominous (and dark). The reason for this is that every incarnation of batman, from the comic books, to the recent "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", has at least attempted to delve into the darker parts of the human psyche and show the viewer the thin lines bridging sanity and insanity as well as good and evil. For this post, we're going to break down the elements that made Batman: The Animated Series such a hit.

Batman: The Animated Series was aimed at a more mature audience than many cartoons of the 90's. Where most cartoons airing during that time had characters use laser guns (believed to be a more child friendly alternative to actual firearms), Batman villains almost always used actual guns. Despite the heavy number of shots that were fired, only Police Commissioner Gordon was actually ever shown to actually be injured by a bullet. The show also frequently showed blood and had its fair share of sexual innuendo. Batman was unafraid to browbeat information out of his captives and in more than one instance actually watched as they met their demise.

I would be remiss if I forgot to mention show's the unique sound animation styles. The show uses an interesting art style heavily influenced by art deco. The world could best be described as how an American living in 1920's New York would picture the world 80 years later. It combines 20's era architecture with modern aesthetics and technologies to create a truly unique feel. The visual individuality is increased by, as I mentioned in the introduction, how dark this world is. This was accomplished by starting with a black canvas and adding light to the scene, as opposed to most cartoons which start with white canvasses and add darkness. As for the music the main theme was written by Danny Elfman, who is most known for his musical direction in many of Tim Burton's films, including the 1989 film adaptation of Batman.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Batman is his particularly intriguing cast of villains. While Batman has always had a healthy supply of villains to fight, ranging from perfectly sane mobsters, to psychopathic killers, and from the small time thieves to supernatural beings from other dimensions, the animated series put a strong focus on the more feasible and mentally unstable criminals. The rouges focused on by the show are often portrayed as once well meaning individuals who were either consumed by their obsessions or felt wronged by the law. Poison Ivy, for example, was once a simple botanist, but now believes herself to be a valiant defender of the oppressed. She fights for the good of plants, no matter how many humans she might kill or injure in the process. Baby Doll possesses an aging disorder that causes her to appear as a young child, even well into her 30's. While she makes the best of her situation as an actress, she is upstaged by an actual child, and, as a result, years later she holds her former cast mates hostage and forces them to act as though they were the actual characters that they used to play. This leads to my personal favorite moment in the entire series:

Villains such as these, while simply colorful and sinister characters to the younger viewer, cause older viewers to question their own views on morality. They emphasize the idea that morality is objective, and that just because one believes they are in the right, doesn't mean they actually are.

Then, there's the Joker, Batman's long time arch-nemesis. Seldom is there written such a perfect foil for a character; where Batman is dark, mysterious, and brooding, the Joker is playful, extravagant, and downright psychotic. The two share a similar origin in which they were mentally damaged by the world around them and attempt to change that world as a result. However, the key difference between the two is that, while Batman accomplishes this by relieving the cause of the evil in the world and pursuing types like the ones responsible for his suffering, the Joker claims to attempt to alleviate the symptoms by spreading both joy and madness (although its apparent that he's very well aware that he's not the "good guy"). I could spend an entire post talking about the different Jokers through the years and their relationship with their respective Batman, but instead I'll show you with my personal reason for thinking that The Animated Series' Joker is the best:

That laugh. That bone chilling, blood curdling, hair raising laugh. No amount of words or in depth analysis can sum up what the Joker is all about quite like Mark Hamill's laugh.

In short, Batman: The Animated series took a good number of risks, nearly all of which came out in the creators' favor. They introduced many elements that were eventually incorporated into Batman's "official" universe. This series kept the true nature of the Dark Knight alive for all children growing up in the 90's.

This time, we're going to take a look at another amazingly succsesful cartoon subscribed to the cartoon logic school of thought. Hot on the heels of their succsess with Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs was creative collaboration between Stephen Spielberg and the Warner Animation Studio. The show aired from 1993-1998, with a grand total of 99 episodes and one full length film. The episodes were in sketch format, with a cast of recurring characters, who usually appeared in sketches with either one or two consistent counterparts. The plots themselves were equally as random as other cartoons of the day (such as Ren and Stimpy), but were considerably more witty and catered to slightly more cultured audiences.

A portion of the regular cast

Animaniacs was one of those shows that, although designed for children, is perhaps significantly more entertaining for adults to watch. The show was packed with references to pop culture, classical plays, world leaders, actual events, and historical figures, many of which the target audience would never have heard of, let alone understand. I was, myself, subject to this bias: As a child I only had a mild enjoyment of the show, but watching it again, now that I understand more of the allusions  and appreciate the scores, I find it much more more enjoyable. In one cycle of sketches, Yakko and Wakko reenact various Shakespearean plays, while Dot "translates" the dialogue into witty comments. While scenes like these are entertaining on their own, anyone with an appreciation for Shakespeare's work would find them considerably more entertaining, as they would most likely understand the context of what's being said, thus making the entire scene much more relevant to their tastes.

One would be hard pressed to find a viewer under the age
of 15 who understood this reference to "The Seventh Seal"

I can't possibly talk about the Animaniacs without mentioning its outstanding use of music. Every episode featured its own completely original score, composed to fit every on-screen action. In addition to the 35 piece orchestra required for this, Broadway actress Bernadette Peters was cast in the role of Rita the cat, who had numerous musical solos through the course of the show. Both of these were expensive decisions on Stephen Spielberg's part that paid off in the form of 5 separate daytime Emmy awards in the field of music, and numerous other Daytime Emmy nominations. All of these were well deserved. The musical direction in the show is nothing short of brilliant. So much can be said about the depth that is added, by the way that every time a character so much as moves their fingers or blinks, there is a musical cue to go along with the action. 

Bernadette Peters as Rita

Also worth mentioning is the amount of adult humor that went into the show. Adult humor ran amok in a number of episodes, particularly focusing on innuendos. Just take a look at this exchange in one episode:
Beethoven: I am Ludwig Van Beethoven, World famous composer and pianist!"
Yakko: *taken aback* You're a what?
Beethoven: A pianist!
Yakko: ...Goodnight Everybody!
Beethoven: But that's what I am! A pianist!
Yakko: I think we've heard enough out of you.
Also, these lyrics from the movie "Wakko's Wish":
Yakko:  All of the shop's are closin'.
Dot:      Things couldn't get much worse.
Skippy: All of my nuts are frozen. *holding a frozen block of acorns*
Slappy: Be careful with that last verse!
But perhaps the most notorious instance of this is the following clip. In a recent interview with the creators, it was stated that this scene was intended only to be viewed by the censors, whom it was assumed would remove it, but for some reason, missed it altogether:

Now, those of you who read my last entry are probably aware that I'm not a fan of The Ren & Stimpy Show, on the grounds that it relies on surreal animation and inconsequential plot threads. I feel like pointing out that, while these elements are the basis of Animaniacs as well, I enjoy Animaniacs because it doesn't rely  on these elements. The jokes are witty and often take a while to get, instead of utilizing entirely "gross" humor and visual gags. Celebrety refrences are used in such a way that, even if an individual doesn't know who the person is, the scene is still funny. The score goes miles beyond what the bulk of cartoons of the day were doing, which is to say, recycling variations of the same theme repeatedly through the series. Animaniacs is without a doubt among my favorite cartoons of all time. Every element of the show, from the smallest jokes to the grandest scores, is a work of art on its own, that comes together to create a near perfect animated show.

P.S. Like what I have to say? Disagree with me? Hate my guts? Leave a comment!
P.P.S. I'm looking for ideas for future posts! Feel free to suggest any American animated series that began airing at some point after 1990.

The Ren & Stimpy Show

The Ren & Stimpy show was among the more polarizing cartoons to come out of the 90's. To this day, people either praise it for it's surreal style and inconcequental plotlines, or they chastise it for for its crude and obscene humor. It was created by John Kricfalusi in 1991, ran for 5 seasons on Nickelodeon, and was revived as an adult carton in 2003 by MTV. The plot followed the misadventures of Ren the Chiuaua and Stimpy the Manx Cat. Together, the two had disjointed adventures with plots ranging from simple quests to obtain food to exploring the depths of space.

The show's main claim to fame is not only its unique, surreal animation style, but the controversy that surrounded it at the time of its airing. The show featured a large amount of physical violence, ranging from simple slapstick, to characters getting lobotomized or having their skin torn from their bodies. In multiple episodes, Ren went so far as attempting to kill Stimpy. The show focused a good portion of its humor on "gross" humor, such as the pair eating people's mucus for meals, and titular characters' frequently visible butts.

Having rescued the Pope, Powdered Toast Man contemplates
the impending fate of a fish.

Interspersed within the show were shorter sketches, such as advertisements for the fictional toy "Log", which is, as the name implies, a simple log. Perhaps the most offensive of these is a sketch known as "Powdered Toast Man", who is a muscular man with two slices of powdered toast for a head, and wears nothing but a pair of briefs and gloves (as well as a clerical collar when in disguise). Within the 10 minute run time of this segment, the hero crashes a jet liner into a semi truck in order to save a kitten (which he promptly throws into traffic), acts as though he is going to spare a villain's life, but then ensures his death, leaves the Pope stranded atop a mountain, and burns both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. This same trend of offensive and obscene humor can be found in the 2003 series revival "Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon". One episode is devoted entirely to the pair's exploits on a nude beach, while another begins with the pair living within the bowels of a passed out drunk.

Now, I understand that the show is unique, and I appreciate the surreal nature of the animation, but on the whole, I was among the group that changed the channel whenever the show came on. I found the nature of the show to be crass and unentertaining. The plots were random, meandering, and were often resolved by bending the rules of the world around them. I understand that this is commonly the nature of cartoons, but it is my personal belief that this is not the sort of thing that cartoons should rely on, but rather methods that they should use to exploit their inherit surreal nature and keep the show entertaining. Aside from slapstick and impossible situations, cartoons should still employ small amounts of logic, or at least character development over the course of individual episodes. In my opinion, The Ren and Stimpy Show, while it truly has a unique and impressive art style, uses only filler elements to keep itself going and is devoid of any meaningful entertainment.


P.S. Disagree with me? Have any input? Express yourself and leave a comment below!

Captain Planet and the Planeteers

“Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart! Gooooo Planet!” “By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!”

Captain Planet and the Planeteers was an edutainment show inspired by Ted Turner, and produced by Turner Program Services and DiC (later to be replaced by Hannah-Barbera) that ran from 1990 through 1996 and is still in syndication to this day. The show featured extremely blunt environmental themes, presented in the form of exciting, but relatively standard plot threads.  

The plot centers around “5 special young people” who have been given magic rings by Gaia, the spirit of the earth. Each ring gives its user limited power over one of the four classical elements (earth, fire, wind, and water) in addition to an extra one, heart, the power of positive and peaceful emotions within the mind. When they use their powers together, the five teens, or “Planeteers” can summon the green mullet-sporting guardian of the earth, Captain Planet. Together, Captain Planet and the Planeteers fight the evil eco-villains, each of which represents a specific way in which human corruption harms planet.  Hoggish Greedly, for example, is an obese pig-like man whose main character trait is his nature to over consume recourses in the pursuit of oil or valuable gems. Another villain, Dr. Blight, represents the inherent dangers involved with irresponsible use of science and technology.

Although as I child, I didn’t normally enjoy shows sporting the 80’s reminiscent style of animation that was promininant in the Hasbro cartoons (like G.I. Joe or Transformers), but I absolutely adored this show. While the characters themselves were about as deep as cardboard cutouts, the extreme polarization between the attitudes of the Planeteers and the Eco-Villains was entertaining on its own. With the exception of a few individual episodes, the Planeteers were always appaled and revolted at the very thought of even the slightest damage to the earth, while none of the Eco-Villains possessed a single redeeming quality. Each episode made sure that its environmental message were hammered home with led hammers.

The show has also had a few far reaching effects as well.  It is the principle idea behind the Captain Planet Foundation, which supports environmental awareness among children and young teens, is still active to this day. The Mother Nature Network has a large portion of episodes online and includes quizzes about each one at the end.

Recources:
Jensen, Elizabeth (2006, April 22) An Aging Superhero Wins a Life Beyond Reruns. Retrieved from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E4DC153FF931A15757C0A9609C8B63

http://www.turner.com/planet/characters/index.html

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to Nostalgimation.

The purpose of this blog will be to educate, edify, or otherwise enlighten you in regards to American animation from 1990 forward. I will look at, not only cartoons that I personally look back on with the fondest of memories or the deepest of loathing, but also ones that set landmarks in both the fields of television and cinema. I intend to analyze each example and determine what characteristics either caused them to soar above the rest, or come crashing down with a visible "WHAM!".

So stay tuned as I bring you a look back on the animation that made the past two decades bright and colorful! (Or in some cases dark and dramatic o_o)