The Little Mermaid (1992)

And…we’ve come down.

Off an extreme animation high, that is. Prior to this series Disney made hit after hit cartoon, and Goof Troop truly was the last great cartoon they managed to pump out during their prime years in television animation. All good things must come to an end though, and every company hits a snag now and then. Disney’s hot streak came to a halt with the premiere of this series.

That’s not to say The Little Mermaid, which premiered on September 11, 1992 on CBS, is a bad series. I just don’t have too much to say about it, and reminds me of The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh in the sense that I never really thought much of this program. It doesn’t “fit in” with the rest of the crew – it was the first series not to be associated with The Disney Afternoon and never aired in the block. It was also the first Disney cartoon that was based off a previous successful theatrical film, and acts as a prequel to the movie of the same name which was released in 1989. It follows Ariel’s adventures as a mermaid living under the sea with her father, Sebastian and Flounder. Various episodes highlight her relationships with her friends, father and sisters, and usually involve her foiling the attempts of various enemies that intend to harm her or her kingdom.

The Little Mermaid premiered in prime time with the episode “A Whale Of A Tale” before being moved to Saturday mornings. It ran for a paltry 31 episodes, airing its last episode on November 26, 1994. Whereas many Disney cartoons before had major merchandising and published comics, there was minimal material for this series. I never saw much of a fandom grow from this program, and there’s not too much production information about it anywhere. I’m sure it was enjoyed by some kids back in the day, but personally I can’t recall even watching this series once all the way though.

A notable episode is “Metal Fish”, in which Ariel saves a human character named Hans Christian Andersen who is based on the real life author of the original fairy tale The Little Mermaid. The encounter inspires the character in the episode to “write” the story of The Little Mermaid. A voice-over at the end of the episode talks about the real Hans Christian Andersen, while the image on screen shows Ariel sitting on a rock in the style of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen harbor. If this is to be chronologically accurate, it places the time frame in which this series takes place around 1836 when the story was first written, or shortly before 1837 when the story was actually published.

The last time this red-haired mermaid and her friends were seen in Canada was on Family Channel – when, I have no clue. It’s been a while though; I don’t think it’s aired since the late 90’s. I couldn’t find any episodes up on Youtube, which is another good indication that it wasn’t a really popular series. The Little Mermaid, I think, broke a long line in tradition – every Disney cartoon before had an upbeat, awesome opening and ending theme song, with lyrics. The opening theme song to this show was a combination of the songs “Part Of Your World”, “Under The Sea” and “Kiss The Girl” from the movie. And to make matters worse, it was the first Disney show to have a theme that was just instrumental. Boooooring.

Goof Troop (1992)

Premiering on September 7, 1992, Goof Troop was Disney’s eight venture into television animation, and the fourth show to revive old classic Disney characters into a new era, whilst adding new characters into the mix. The show is based on several classic 1950’s Goofy cartoon shorts which depicted him as a father to a mischievous, red-haired son. Additionally, prior to this series Goofy had already enjoyed an illustrious career in cartoons, playing many roles over the years, sometimes eclipsing Mickey Mouse with his outwardly loveable and “goofy” personality. In this series Goofy is still true to his old self, with a tinge of modernization for the current time. Producers picked up on the basic themes of his career and put Goofy as a single father, raising his son Maximilian “Max” Goof, who move back to their hometown of Spoonerville where Goofy becomes neighbours with his longtime friend/foe Pete (a classic Disney villain), who is married to his high school sweetheart Peg and have two children, P.J. (Pete Junior) and Pistol (all original characters).

The show establishes itself well with its portrayals of modern suburbanized life, and was pretty much the first Disney cartoon to do so. While shows like DuckTales, Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck were indeed placed in a contemporary time, Goof Troop reflected its timeframe (the early 1990’s) in a truly genuine fashion, and didn’t mix elements of a classic time period or fighting villains into its setting or stories. It was basically a show about working-class people and families in everyday life. The series had a great mix of stories, meaning each and every character got a lot of screen time as different episodes focused on different things. Max and P.J. become the best of friends and do practically everything together. Max is dealing with the early onslaughts of puberty and growing up in the shadow of his goofy father. All the while Goofy reveals many facets of his personality, blissfully enduring Pete’s personal grudge against him. A large portion of humor from Goof Troop comes from Goofy unintentionally screwing up Pete’s plans (usually something to do with money and getting more of it), as well as Max’s relatively normal personality sharply contrasting with that of his father’s.

Goof Troop was a big hit with audiences, so much so that 78 episodes plus one Christmas special (basically 79 episodes) were produced, placing the series in third place behind Darkwing Duck and DuckTales for the most episodes in a Disney cartoon. I have no confirmed date as to when the last episode aired, because some sources state the series aired its last regular episode on December 5, 1992 (oddly enough the same day Darkwing Duck aired its last episode), others say December 5, 1993. The Christmas special was not aired until 1993. Like many Disney cartoons before it, Goof Troop was previewed with an hour long two-part special (serving as the show’s pilot) before the series itself premiered, with the episodes “Everything’s Coming Up Goofy” (Forever Goof Part 1) and “Good Neighbor Goofy” (Forever Goof Part 2) airing on September 5, 1992. The show’s first season, made up of 65 episodes, aired in syndication as part of The Disney Afternoon block. The second season, made up of 13 additional episodes, aired Saturday mornings on ABC (whether it was the fall of 1992 or 1993 I’m not sure at this time). The series was kind of aired like Darkwing Duck, with the next season aired on another network; although with the case of Goof Troop episode order was never messed around with.

Where many Disney cartoons failed, Goof Troop proved successful enough to warrant a full-length motion picture, produced by DisneyToon Studios who had worked on DuckTales The Movie: Treasure Of The Lost Lamp. Perhaps centered on the fact it was a modernized cartoon that displayed a good working model of a father/son relationship, Disney picked Goof Troop out of many other cartoons to have a theatrical film, as young viewers and their parents could relate to Goofy and Max. While Goof Troop has the honor of being the second Disney cartoon to be blessed with a theatrical movie (from Disney’s prime days of television animation), it really stands out by itself as unlike the DuckTales movie, this movie features characters from the television series Goof Troop but is not canon to the series. Peg, Pistol, the family pets, Goofy’s old house and car are gone, and it’s not known if they are still living in Spoonerville. A Goofy Movie was released in 1995, and overall was a successful film. So much so that in 2000, a direct-to-video sequel to this film titled An Extremely Goofy Movie was released, and faired good in sales. In these aspects, the Goof Troop franchise ended up being more successful than DuckTales, and to date has not been topped by any other Disney cartoon.

Goof Troop got the standard merchandising – Happy Meal toys, plush figures, books, stickers, coloring books, and videogames. Comic stories were featured in the magazine Disney Adventures from 1992-1996 as well as the Disney Afternoon comic book published by Marvel Comics. It’s worthy to note that the town of Spoonerville was named after layout artist J. Michael Spooner, who designed many of the background layouts for the series. Pete’s wife Peg is a play on “Peg Leg Pete”, one of Pete’s characters in the classic Disney shorts. Likewise, his daughter Pistol is a play on another such name, “Pistol Pete”. The most pressing question in the series however, is what happened to Max’s mother/Goofy’s wife? The fan theory is that she had died; this issue was never touched on in the series (but could be related to Goofy and Max moving back to their hometown at the beginning of the series), leaving many fans to draw their own conclusions. Goof Troop was also the first Disney cartoon to have more original animated clips in its opening credits other than just the title card – prior to this other shows just used clips from the episodes matched to music.

The last this goofy pair were seen in Canada was on Family Channel in September 2005; at time of its removal it was the oldest cartoon airing on the network (13 years), and was the constantly longest running premiering in September 1996 (9 years) airing twice a day. For me, Goof Troop is the one – it is my absolute favorite show from Disney’s classic days of television animation. I love this series, and really like the character of Max and how he was able to grow during the run of the franchise. It was my favorite show as a kid, and when I started regularly watching episodes on Family Channel in my late teens, I liked it even more. It aged well, albeit with it being so modern at the time it’s dated in areas (look at Max’s clothes for example, yikes!) but overall is still a strong performer in 2008. It’s hard not to like a program like this. Moreover, I feel Goof Troop was the ending on an era for Disney – it was their last great show from their superior years where they dominated television animation. Some say it was the last best thing to happen to The Disney Afternoon before it started to go downhill. By 1993 other networks were catching up with them in terms of popular shows, and Disney was slowly going in a different direction with their cartoons.

Another trait I feel Goof Troop had was a strong voice cast; it featured the best names in the business. Bill Farmer, who had been voicing Goofy (and still does) since 1986, Jim Cummings as Pete, Rob Paulsen as P.J., April Winchell as Peg, Nancy Cartwright as Pistol, and Dana Hill as Max. These fantastic voice actors gave much life to their respective characters. Sadly, Max’s distinctive voice would be lost forever come July 1996, as actress Dana Hill died from suffering a massive stroke related to her diabetes.

A DVD of the show was released in 2006 with a paltry three episodes and horrible box art – I don’t even acknowledge its existence, it’s that bad. One Youtube user has uploaded most of the series for viewing online. Of course the opening theme song (and ending theme) are awesome and have a great beat. Another merit to Goof Troop being a “hip for the time” series – the theme song has a heavily influenced hip-hop/rap feel, and back in the early 90’s it seems not even cartoons could escape the explosion of hip-hop/rap during this time. The song, its lyrics and clips are well placed; as usual, the singer is unknown.

Darkwing Duck (1991)

By this point and time, Disney could do no wrong with their cartoons – many of their shows became hits with viewers and fanbases grew rather quickly. They had created a perfect formula for creating great shows. Disney was on a hot streak of finely produced animation – and this success continued with a crime fighting duck who proclaimed himself to be “the terror that flaps in the night”.

Premiering on September 8, 1991, Darkwing Duck was Disney’s seven venture into television animation, and the third show made up of entirely original characters. It was a spin-off from the massively popular DuckTales series, and like the TaleSpin concept originally, Launchpad McQuack was slated to be the star. For whatever reason this was not meant to be, and he was demoted to the role of siderick for this series.

While the show establishes its own originality, it’s largely regarded as an affectionate satire on superhero mythos and lore. Darkwing’s costume, gas gun, and flashy introductions are all direct references to superheroes such as the Crimson Avenger and The Green Hornet. The fictional city of St. Canard, Darkwing’s rouges gallery, and the relative darkness of Darkwing compared to other Disney heroes reflect Batman and Gotham City. A few James Bond parodies exist as well, such as the villain Steelbeak, whose beak makes him similar to the Bond villain Jaws.

Darkwing Duck was another homerun hit for Disney, so much so that 91 episodes were produced, placing the series in second place to DuckTales for the most episodes in a Disney cartoon. The series aired its last episode on December 5, 1992. The two-part episode “Darkly Dawns The Duck” originally aired as an hour-length special on September 7, 1991, serving as the show’s pilot. After its initial airing the film was edited for time for the launching of the series and aired as the show’s first regular episode the following day. It features Tim Curry, who does an excellent job voicing the super-villain Taurus Bulba. Seasons one and two were aired simultaneously on different networks when the show premiered; season one in syndication as part of The Disney Afternoon block, and season two syndication aired Saturday mornings on ABC. This screwed up the chronological order of the episodes, and I wonder why Disney would choose to confuse fans by airing the series this way.

What’s even more puzzling is for the type of show Darkwing Duck was – why was there never an official conclusion to the series? Surely it was planned; Taurus Bulba’s abrupt exit in the episode “Steerminator” was, indeed, meant to ultimately lead into his return (and inevitable defeat) in a series finale that never came to be with the cancellation of the show following the last season, meaning this plot line would never be resolved. Why was there never a fourth season? Why did episode production stop at 91 episodes, an odd number for any series, and not continue to 100 full half-hours perhaps concluding the series within the last nine episodes? Surely Darkwing Duck deserved a full-length motion picture movie; it would have raised the elements of the show to a whole other plateau and given it much more of an edge. If not this, than a television special structured similar to the pilot so the series could end properly, all neat and tidy with all loose ends tied. All of this however never came to be; I’m not sure if fans every discovered why Darkwing Duck was left basically on a cliffhanger.

Darkwing Duck got the standard merchandising – Happy Meal toys, plush figures, books, stickers, coloring books, videogames, plus a special four issue comic book based on the pilot. Subsequent comic stories were featured in the magazine Disney Adventures from 1991-1995 as well as the Disney Afternoon comic book published by Marvel Comics. The series was also Emmy-nominated as well. The character of Darkwing Duck appeared occasionally in the series Bonkers, and Gosalyn appeared in the series Raw Toonage (although I never remember this happening). It should be noted that Darkwing Duck was the first Disney cartoon, that I can recall, broke the fourth wall where the characters of the show portrayed actors of the show they were in – this was showcased in the episode “A Star Is Scorned”.

The last time this masked crime fighting caped crusader and his crash landing sidekick were seen in Canada was on Family Channel around 1999/2000. Darkwing Duck is one of my favorite shows from Disney’s prime days of television animation. While I watched it a lot as a kid, I came to find I liked it even more with age. I ended up watching many episodes of the series online in late 2007 for the first time in years, and can say Darkwing Duck is a show that has aged well as I still found it plenty entertaining. It has many funny moments and has amusing stories. Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard is an awesome character; you got to love his over-inflated ego coupled with his lack of common sense, all wrapped together by the lively voicing of Jim Cummings. Gosalyn is another favorite character of mine, always full of sprit and wanting to go on adventures. Christine Cavanaugh did an excellent job voicing her in the series and I don’t think she gets enough credit for that. It makes one wonder why she retired from voice acting and all but disappeared from the industry, as she was a talented actress. DVD’s of the show first started coming out in 2006, but one Youtube user has uploaded the entire series for viewing online. Of course the opening theme song (and the ending theme) is etched in the mind of anyone who watched this show; it has a very early 90’s pop sound to it, matched with good lyrics and clips. As usual, I have no idea who the singer is.

TaleSpin (1990)

Spin it!

Premiering on September 9, 1990, TaleSpin was Disney’s sixth venture into television animation, and the third show to revive old classic Disney characters into a new era (not technically true as the series is set in the mid to late 1930’s), whilst adding new characters into the mix. The name of the show is a play on “tailspin” meaning “the rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral”. The “tale” in the name originally referred to the series DuckTales because one of its characters, Launchpad McQuack, was originally going to be the main character of the show, but was replaced by Baloo from Disney’s 1967 film The Jungle Book. The series show’s its roots from the movie, having the role of Mowgli the wild boy supplanted by the young bearcub Kit, and features King Louie and Shere Kahn in supporting roles.

The original concept of the series was embodied in the introductory television movie (or pilot) “Plunder And Lightning” which was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 1991, and later was edited into four half-hour episodes for syndication. Many of the show’s concepts seem to be based on the 1982 ABC series Tales Of The Gold Monkey, including the main concept of a cocky flying boat cargo pilot and his rocky relationship with his girlfriend, his scatterbrained mechanic sidekick, the era and designs of the aircraft and costumes, the Pacific Islands setting, the secondary character relationships, and even the visual appearance of the lagoon. The protagonists of both series fly planes named for waterfowl (Cutter’s Goose and Sea Duck) and are regular denizens of taverns named “Louie’s”. The relationship between Baloo and Rebecca is closely patterned after the television sitcom Cheers – in both shows, a buttoned-down businesswoman named Rebecca takes the reins of a struggling company, then hires its previous owner (a fun-loving but irresponsible slacker) to do most of the work for her.

TaleSpin became another hit show for Disney, running the standard 65 episode amount. Its premiere also marked the launching of Disney’s new block The Disney Afternoon and was the first series to debut in the block (the three prior series had all debuted years before). I can’t give an exact date for an ending episode, as two different sources state two different things. One states the series aired its last episode on August 8, 1994; for whatever reason new episodes stopped airing in 1991 and didn’t resume until the end of 1993, which therefore stretched the actual length of the show despite its standard amount of episodes. Why Disney would have delayed new episodes for almost three years is unknown, but in reality the show would have more than likely ended new episodes in 1991 or 1992 if it had continued normally. The other states this in fact was the case, and the show aired its last episode on August 8, 1991. So who’s right and who’s wrong? The show’s last new episode, “Flying Dupes”, was not intended to be the last episode; a second season was rumored but never happened. Also, that same episode was banned in the US for its terrorist theme and was never re-aired following its original broadcast, although it was always aired in Canada (the show was off the air here before the 9/11 attacks, and if still airing that episode more than likely would have been banned here as well). There were also issues with the episode “Last Horizons” due to its World War II satire.

TaleSpin got some merchandising as well, such as Happy Meal toys, a board game, plush figures, books, stickers, coloring books, and videogames. A monthly comic book based on the show was published by Disney Comics in 1991 that ran for seven issues (eleven if you count a four-issue mini-series based on the series premiere). The comic’s early cancellation, which is unknown, terminated several planned stories that would have revealed pieces of background for the main characters. Issue seven even had a preview for the eighth, never printed comic. Subsequent comic stories were featured in the magazine Disney Adventures from 1990-1995 as well as the Disney Afternoon comic book published by Marvel Comics. Like other Disney cartoons at the time, TaleSpin was a deserving candidate for a feature length film, but it was never proposed. It’s worthy to note TaleSpin was the first Disney cartoon to have major use of CGI to create the perspectives of the planes and 3-D backgrounds. Oddly enough I couldn’t find any good production art from the series.

The last time these high flying bears were seen in Canada was on Family Channel around 1999/2000 – that’s a guess mind you, it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen any of the episodes. I don’t remember much of it, but I know I did watch it a lot as a kid, and I wonder if I sat down and watched the series now would I still like it or have grown out of it? It looks more watchable and exciting than Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, and I like the character of Don Karnage – his voice actor Jim Cummings makes him a joy to watch. DVD’s of the show first started coming out in 2006, but one Youtube user has uploaded the entire series for viewing online. Of course the opening theme song (and the ending theme) is unforgettable, and this mambo/Latin jazz flavored tune makes you want to get up and dance. I found the various action scenes and editing very face paced for this theme and matched up with the music well – it keeps your attention all the way through. Again, I have no idea who the singer is.

Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers (1989)

Premiering on March 5, 1989, Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers was Disney’s fifth venture into television animation, and the second show to revive old classic Disney characters into a new era, whilst adding new characters into the mix. Its concept was loosely based on the feature films The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under, and featured Chip ‘n Dale who were originally created in the 1940’s as troublemakers for Donald Duck and Pluto in Disney’s classic cartoon shorts.

Initially though, it wasn’t planned like that. When the idea first came up for the Rescue Rangers series, Chip ‘n Dale were not part of the show. The original idea centered around a group of animals as a team, which included a chameleon, an earlier draft of Gadget, and Monterey Jack (with a different name). The main character was an Indiana Jones type mouse named Kit Colby who sported a fedora and a fluffy collared leather jacket. When the show was proposed in a meeting with Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the idea was well received except for the character of Kit Colby. At Eisner’s suggestion, he was replaced with the chipmunk duo to give the show some established Disney characters to work with. While Chip ‘n Dale were well-known characters, to bring them into the series only their general appearance and broad personality traits were kept. Unlike their appearances in Disney shorts, in the Rescue Rangers the chipmunk duo are very verbal – audio processing was used to speed up the voice recordings and give the voices a higher pitch, particularly Dale’s. The pair were also given clothes, with Chip given Kit’s original concept clothing, while the goofier Dale was incidentally modeled on Magnum, P.I. with his Hawaiian shirt.

Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers became a huge success for Disney, despite only running 65 episodes. It eventually became syndicated and became part of the Disney Afternoon line-up, and aired its last episode on November 19, 1990. It’s no surprise that when Disney first started to release DVD’s of their old cartoons in 2005 that Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers and DuckTales were the first ones out of the gate. They are arguably their most successful shows with the biggest fandoms. But out of the two, and all the other old classic Disney cartoons, I’ve never quite seen such a long lasting fandom than what I’ve seen from Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers. Numerous websites, fanart, fanfiction, articles, and music videos (thanks to Youtube) have been posted over the years. Nearly twenty years after premiering the show still has an active forum called The Acorn Cafe (which itself is already ten years old) where fans, who like to call themselves “Rangerphiles” can reminisce and discuss this old program. There’s even a RangerWiki for cryin out loud!

And why did the fandom for this show grow to be so huge? I’d say its the show’s characters and group dynamics – Disney gave a great set of characters to work with, but as with usual kids programming they were limited to tell certain, more mature stories. This is where fanfiction comes in, and how many fans built off what they were given from Disney to create more intense and satisfying stories. One character in particular was the main reason to write about, a trait some cartoons have where a single character becomes so fascinating with fans they nearly take over the entire fandom (a topic I’ll cover later on). Gadget Hackwrench – a cute, blond, smart, female mouse. People love to add layers and layers onto her background and make romance stories between her and Chip ‘n Dale. One of the most electrifying fan comics I ever came across was Chris Fischer’s Of Mice And Mayhem. Makes me wish other cartoon fandoms had a dedicated fan like this – because the time spent on the artwork and story are phenomenal.

Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers spawned perhaps the most merchandise for any Disney cartoon I’ve ever seen thus far. Videogames, puzzles, a line of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, coloring books, a board game, stickers, stamps, posters, plus many other items. A monthly comic based on the show was published by Disney Comics in 1990 that ran for 19 issues, as well as comic stories featured in the magazine Disney Adventures from 1990-1995. In 1990 in was reported that a theatrical feature film based on the series was planned for a 1991 release, however the film never happened possibly due to the lackluster performance of DuckTales The Movie: Treasure Of The Lost Lamp. The show also has the honor of having the most production art I’ve ever come across for a Disney cartoon series. And it’s not cheap looking either – it’s of high quality, something you never see anymore in production artwork.

The last time these problem solving critters were seen in Canada was on Family Channel in the spring of 2004. I watched this show when I was younger, and I remember trying out some episodes when it was last on. I don’t know how well this show has aged, but for me the characters and some storylines came off as boring. Gadget’s consistent use of the word “golly” becomes and annoyance after a while. Various episodes are up on Youtube if you want to watch them. Of course the opening theme song (and the ending theme) is timeless in their glossy 80’s fashion, and in fact two themes exist both for the opening and ending credits, while the opening credits have two difference arrangements of visuals. I’ve linked the one that I remember seeing the most and was the best, sound effects included. Its known that 80’s pop group The Jets sang the opening theme song as you can see in the show’s official promo music video (don’t you wish all your favorite cartoons had these?). But the arrangement of the song and vocals sound different from what is actually played in the program. So it could still be left to wonder who sings on the original one minute version.

The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh (1988)

Premiering September 10, 1988 on ABC, The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh was Disney’s fourth venture into television animation. Inspired by A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories, the cartoon is a continuation of the series of “Pooh” short films released from Disney from the 1960’s till the 1980’s.

For whatever reason, I never really thought much of this program. It kind of stands out in what Disney was putting out at the time. While other shows were reviving old characters with a modern twist, this series was more of an extension of the previous “Pooh” films and therefore involved a different type of storyline. I always thought of this show to be more preschool-ish than anything else, and that’s why it stands out in Disney’s list of animated television programs (excluding the list of shows intentionally aimed at preschoolers). While Pooh merchandise has always sold well for Disney, I never saw a big fandom surrounding this show. This is more than likely why I can’t find too much production information about it. Nonetheless, it was enjoyed by many kids for many years. Personally, I never really got into this program and didn’t watch it that often. Perhaps its storylines in the 100 Acre Wood set in a classic time just didn’t interest me. I haven’t watched the show in years and have more than likely grown out of it now. Despite this, the series boasted quality animation with original songs and scores.

The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh ran for 83 episodes, the last one airing on October 7, 1991. A Christmas special entitled Winnie The Pooh And Christmas Too based on the series aired on December 14, 1991. Oddly enough reruns of the show continued to air on Saturday mornings on ABC until the fall of 2002 – therefore The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh holds a record for being the longest Disney series to be broadcasted in reruns on the original network it premiered on, and no other Disney cartoon since then has come close to airing that long on its original network of debut. Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger also appeared in the 1990 drug prevention video Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue.

The last time Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends were seen in Canada was on Family Channel in the summer of 2007; at the time of its removal from the network it was the oldest Disney cartoon airing on the channel. No episodes are currently on Youtube and the series has no DVD releases as of yet. It goes without saying – the opening theme song (and the ending theme) from this show is flawlessly crafted to sing along with and will surly evoke childhood memories within seconds of listing to it. The singer kind of sounds the same from the DuckTales theme but I can’t say that for sure. These oldschool Disney themes are a mystery when it comes to who the singers are.

DuckTales (1987)

If the success of Adventures Of The Gummi Bears was any indication of what Disney could accomplish in an animated television series, than their next series about Scrooge McDuck and his nephews in Duckburg surely wiped away any doubt in what they could achieve.

DuckTales, which premiered on September 18, 1987, was a straight shot out of the park for Disney and much like Adventures Of The Gummi Bears, set the standard for what a cartoon at the time could really accomplish. Entertainingly funny with interesting characters and rich storylines, tied together with good animation – DuckTales was a step up from most other boring cartoons offered at the time. It was also the first show to revive an old, classic Disney character and catapult them into a new era, whilst adding new characters into the mix. This template would be exercised in many more Disney productions to come. The series was loosely based on Carl Barks’ comics, and has been a unique vehicle for bringing many comic-related characters to the small screen such as Gyro, Magica, Gladstone, the Beagle Boys, and the Phantom Blot which successfully translated from comics to the cartoon, albeit with some modifications.

DuckTales is notable for being the first Disney cartoon to be produced in syndication, and paved the way for many future Disney productions. If not for its success it would be hard to question where Disney would have gone with their television animation department. DuckTales was successful in an attempt to create high quality animation for a television series, and Disney invested a far greater amount of money into the series than had previously been spent on animated shows of the time. It was considered a risky move because at the time animated television shows were generally considered low-budget investments. In the end it was a risk that paid off well. Disney gambled on the idea that a larger investment into quality animation could be made back through syndication – a concept that worked well with live-action television reruns, but which had only been used with inexpensive cartoon shows that either recycled theatrical shorts from decades past or only featured limited, low-budget animation.

Disney has yet to top the success of DuckTales after its premiere two decades ago, and it still holds the record for the largest amount of episodes of any Disney cartoon at 100 half-hours. The first season consisted of 65 episodes, the standard length for a Disney television cartoon. The second season included 35 episodes adding new characters such as Bubba Duck and Fenton Crackshell a.k.a. GizmoDuck. Along with them came stories that generally shifted away from the globetrotting plots of the first season, and revolved primarily in the contemporary setting of Duckburg. The final episode of the series is disputed to have aired either on March 11 or May 6, 1990.

The popularity of the show even launched a full-length motion picture in 1990 called DuckTales The Movie: Treasure Of The Lost Lamp – a somewhat rare occurrence back then to have a feature-length theatrical film based on a current cartoon series. This gamble however did not pay off as hoped and the film was not a success finically, which more than likely caused other proposed feature films based on current and future television cartoons to be scrapped. There were plans for there to be several DuckTales movies following this film, but these were all shelved as well. I have a feeling if this franchise had been around in current times, the movie would have been a hit. Several television cartoons now adays have made great transitions over to film. But in 1990 animated movies weren’t the big money makers they are today.

Not only does DuckTales hold the title for most episodes and the only television production to have a feature-length film thus far, it also spun off two other series – Darkwing Duck and Quack Pack. In 1989 Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers was paired with DuckTales in an hour long syndicated block through the 1989-90 television season, and in 1990-91 the block was expanded another hour to create The Disney Afternoon which would see success for many years to come. DuckTales therefore has another merit of being one of the early flagship cartoons in the block. Huey, Dewey, and Louie all appeared in the 1990 drug prevention video Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue, while Scrooge and Launchpad appeared in Disney’s short-lived series Raw Toonage. As for merchandise, there were two series of comic books (one ran 13 issues from 1988-1990, the other 18 issues from 1990-1991), as well as comic stories featured in the magazine Disney Adventures from 1990-1996.

The last time Scrooge McDuck and his nephews were seen in Canada was on Family Channel in the summer of 2003. I watched this show when I was younger, and I remember trying out some episodes when it was last on – at the time I was 18. It didn’t really capture me to stick with watching it, or maybe I just needed to give it a chance. Or maybe I had grown out of its characters and stories? In any case episodes are currently up on Youtube if you want to relive those childhood days without paying for the DVD’s. Of course the opening theme song (and the ending theme) from DuckTales is one of the most remembered cartoon themes not only from the Disney catalogue, but from the 1980’s as well. As stated in my previous post, anyone got any leads on who the singer is?

Adventures Of The Gummi Bears (1985)

Disney’s second venture into television animation ended up doing much better than their previous offering that only lasted one season. Although by premise the show sounded as weird as The Wuzzles was – a bunch of brightly colored anthropomorphic bears living beneath a pond, guarding a secret recipe for a juice that makes them jump higher. Adding to that, it also took place in medieval times.

Luckily for them, Disney’s Adventures Of The Gummi Bears was just what the newly founded television animation department needed – a hit show. It premiered alongside The Wuzzles on September 14, 1985 on NBC. The idea for the show again came from Michael Eisner, and was based on a popular European candy called, of course, gummi bears. Oddly enough he sourced the idea after his son asked him one day for some gummi bear candies, which I guess was enough to convince him he could make an animated program loosely based on them. With better stories, better characters, and better animation, the show lasted five years and 65 half hour episodes – 30 of which were made up of two smaller cartoons, therefore totaling 95 individual episodes. Why the format was changed I have no idea; it’s an odd trait as most cartoons usually stay with one type of episode format for their entire run. The show was also produced by seasons and not in syndication (meaning all the episodes were made first and then all aired), and ran on NBC from 1985-1989, and for what ever reason moved to ABC in 1990 where it aired its final episode on December 8, 1990. I wasn’t aware of this until researching the show for this post, but the series actually had a proper series finale – the last two episodes marking the only time a single storyline followed throughout. For an animated cartoon, it’s a rare thing to have an ending episode, even today. The fact an 80’s cartoon like this ended properly is an extreme rareness, as a lot of cartoons back then were mass produced for a line of toys, and writers could care less about making an “ending” episode to make viewers happy. While the show was popular it didn’t spawn an overly large amount of merchandise; a few comics and books, buttons, and some figurines were about it.

Adventures Of The Gummi Bears exceeded many animated television shows at the time, and with the passage of time is now looked back upon as a show that jump started the massive boom of television animation in the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s. Disney would not only find the same type of success in their next series, but it would grow to overcome Adventures Of The Gummi Bears to become their biggest series ever. The longevity of the show could be attributed to the extremely rich universe it portrays – one which is clearly anchored in a Medieval Europe similar to Earth history, but whose pre-history is underlined not by men, but by the Ancient Gummis. The series also became the forerunner for Disney’s popular Disney Afternoon block when it premiered in 1990. It holds the record for the most seasons of any Walt Disney Television Animation production at six – seasons did not overlap into the following year, but rather each year had its own season. This can be disputed though with Disney’s release of the first three seasons on DVD and the amount of episodes included – I’ll leave you readers to work out the details.

The last time these bouncing bears were seen in Canada was on Family Channel around 1999/2000 – that’s a guess mind you, it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen any of the episodes. I remember finding out the show was back airing, but only on weekends at like 6:30 in the morning. I wasn’t quite old enough to care to program the VCR and I remember getting up early just to watch this show. Of course that was a long time ago, I wonder if I really sat down and watched the series now – would I still like it, or would I have grown out of it? If only I had the time to prove that theory – one Youtube user has taken the time to upload the entire series (among other great Disney titles) for viewing online. Of course the opening theme song (and the ending theme) for this show was nothing short of awesome and is irresistible to sing along with (I couldn’t find a good quality video of just the opening so I linked a random episode). They sure don’t make them like his anymore. The only thing about this opening theme and the other Disney themes to follow is that the singer is unknown – at least to me. Anyone got any leads?

The Wuzzles (1985)

“The hell is this?” That was my first reaction when I came to discover this program. For the longest time when I was younger, I always had the notion that Adventures Of The Gummi Bears was Disney’s first animated cartoon. I was pretty surprised to find a show had been produced prior to that one, as I knew a lot of Disney titles but never heard of this show up until that point I found out about it.

It was more than likely because The Wuzzles was a flop. With only 13 episodes made, it still stands with the lowest amount of episodes of any animated television program Disney has put out thus far. That, and with a long passage of time, has made a show like this almost forgettable. I can’t recall this show ever airing in Canada, and this is the only Disney series I have never laid eyes on. Truth be told, I never even saw the opening credits until I searched for the show on Youtube while writing this entry. I can kind of see why it wasn’t a big hit – because it looks weird. Of course readers who actually saw this series could prove me wrong, as I can’t base any real opinion on it since I’ve never seen any of the episodes.

The Wuzzles premiered the same day as Adventures Of The Gummi Bears on September 14, 1985, with one show airing on CBS and the other on NBC. It was Disney’s first venture into animated television for kids. From what I’ve researched the idea of the show came from then CEO of the Walt Disney Company Michael Eisner, in association with toy manufacturer Hasbro, to create a group of animal characters with a roughly even and colorful mix of two different species of animals. Yes, it’s really that weird. And the theme song mentions “livin’ with a split personality” as a reference to this, which sounds even weirder. And they all have wings on their backs…no I’m not making this up. It gets better…all of the Wuzzles live on the Isle of Wuz. Is this meant to mean “Wuztf?”, because that’s basically all I can say about this cracked “what were they smoking?” type of cartoon. Another reason it failed: while Disney later on would become known for making shows about entertaining kids first with good stories and characters, this series was the opposite. It carried with it the standard marketing ploy of the time to get products to sell, and The Wuzzles were marketed extensively with books, plush toys and a board game, among other things. And while not a huge factor as voice actors can be replaced, one of them who voiced one of the main characters died, which only nailed another nail into the coffin for the series.

While The Wuzzles was not successful here, it did fairly better in the UK where its pilot episode aired as a theatrical feature. What the show did have was a catchy opening theme, which would become a trademark of many Disney cartoons to follow. There are some random clips of the show on Youtube. I quickly viewed them, and just shook my head at lameness.

Walt Disney Television Animation

I’ve decided to kick off my reviewing of cartoons with the long and vast collection of shows Disney has been pumping out for the past 20 years. You should note that for these reviews and future ones for other shows, I’m going to assume you know a little bit about them to begin with. If you want specific information about characters, setting, and plot, you can find most of that stuff on Wikipedia and fansites. I’d like to hope my readers are well prepared and know their stuff before coming here. It would just take a longer time for me to name off all important characters, where the series takes place, and what the stories usually involve. That being said, for more lesser known cartoons and more so ones that are from Canada that don’t get much exposure anyplace else, I’ll shed more light on those. Who knows, I may just go back on all what I’ve said here if there is enough demand from people wanting to know more about characters/setting/plot for the more popular shows.

Television animation was in a dark state in the first half of the 1980’s. It was mostly used for pushing a popular brand of toys. Stories were drab, animation was horrible, and most of these shows haven’t aged well. The tide started to change by the middle of the decade with Disney – a company that brought us shows based on good stories, solid characters, imagination, and better animation. It wasn’t about pushing a product; it was about characters and their adventures, and entertaining kids first. Walt Disney Television Animation was launched in 1984 and a year later would premiere its first venture into television animation with The Wuzzles.

Since then Disney has come to produce and air a wealthy line of cartoons; to which they could and should be separated into categories. There was an explosion of syndicated television animation from 1985-1992 that revived all the old classic Disney characters with a modern twist. Shows like Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, and DuckTales – these shows brought to life old favorites while ushering new characters into the mix, while other shows from this time like Darkwing Duck and Adventures Of The Gummi Bears were totally original, new ideas. All these shows in this time period followed a strict likeness to each other. Each had a catchy opening sequence that clicked in at a minute long, each used the exact same font in the ending credits text, and the ending credits themselves always had a background picture of scenery to that show’s setting and/or character’s residence. It can be argued, however, that not all of these programs were syndicated and that some were produced by seasons – a trend of back and fourth-ness that has continued to his day with Disney. While I never thought of it to be a separate section, what Disney put out between 1993-1996 differs slightly from what was produced prior, but in some ways you could still consider it a good couple years where they still made decent programs. These years saw more productions based on recent movies like Aladdin and Timon & Pumbaa, while still churning out innovative shows like Gargoyles and The Schnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show.

By 1997 Disney had used up all their old characters, and changed direction with making more original, tween-oriented shows no longer featuring anthropomorphic critters but with “real” people – shows like Pepper Ann, Recess, and The Weekenders. I’d incase 1997-2002 as another chapter in Disney’s animated television history, as some of these shows in this timeframe have grown to become modern classics of their own. They were also part of the popular Disney’s One Saturday Morning block as well. The newest chapter of Disney’s television animation stems from 2003 to current time, which features a mix of anthropomorphic animal characters (Brandy & Mr. Whiskers), humans (The Replacements), and series based on recent movies (The Emperor’s New School).

I’d have to put the golden age of Walt Disney Television Animation between 1987 and 1992, as they put out hit after hit of (now classic) cartoons, and it was a very popular time for their animation block known as The Disney Afternoon. Sure they had shows before 1987, but they didn’t hit their stride until DuckTales became a huge success; which still stands as their longest running series with 100 half-hour episodes. Many of the cartoons during this time were heavily merchandised as well. Animation improved slowly, but it faltered here and there with Disney outsourcing their animation to other companies (a topic to cover for a later date). Between 1993 and 2001 while not in their prime, Disney still managed to make some good cartoons, although not heavily merchandised as the previous ones were (or in some cases not at all). It seems after 2001 the quality of many Disney programs fell fast and hard. No merchandise or hardly anything of value to really buy, boring ideas and repetitive scenarios, ugly character design and average animation, and no popular block to air them in anymore (lets face it, the current ABC Kids sucks and is mostly live-action programming now). This all leads to series closing up shop pretty quickly after beginning, and none of their recent efforts have made it past two years of production.

It’s hard to signify exactly where Disney jumped the shark, as even through a sea of tiresome cartoons they can still come out with a good show once in a while. What Disney currently has in production now is utter crap to what they used to put out; even their shows five years ago were of somewhat better quality. The Emperor’s New School, The Replacements, Phineas And Ferb – these shows just don’t compare. From being a cartoon making powerhouse to not knowing what the hell they are doing, Disney sure has fallen from its once high perch as a great network that made enjoyable animated programs.