SOHB SALUTES NON-JAPANESE ANIMATION

Hi-Ho,



I've noticed a trend as of late.


More and more loyal, card-carrying nerds are stepping out from the shadows and admitting(often with a twinge of embarrassment)that they don't share the popular geek obsession with all things Anime.


Our own Joltess recently penned an article on this subject, and others have voiced their agreement, so I thought it time I threw my hat into the ring:

I've got nothing against Anime--I've greatly enjoyed some of it, though granted what I've liked is mostly old-school titles like Speed Racer, Gigantor, and Star Blazers. And, indeed, some feature-length Anime would be appealing to anyone who enjoys good movies(Akira, for example).

I suppose the main objection comes from two sources:

One--More and more the twin forces of Anime and CGI are dominating the animation universe, leaving less and less room for the kind of toons I grew up on.

And two--Anime fandom is becoming synonymous with the nerd community, to the point that those of us who neither know nor care to know anything about the genre are feeling just a tad alienated.


But I didn't write this to curse Anime or bemoan the state of modern animation. Instead I thought I'd throw a few well-earned accolades to my personal heroes in the cartooning game.

This isn't an exhaustive study of the careers of these men, nor is it my attempt to rank them and determine the "World's Greatest". Nope, just a few kind words and a smattering of clips--anyway, let's kick things off with:



GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY

Creator of Samurai Jack and the original(and far superior)Clone Wars cartoon, Mr. Tartakovsky will forever live in my memory as the man who gave us half an hour a week of pure wonderfulness in the form of Cartoon Network's first original show: Dexter's Laboratory.











RALPH BAKSHI

Arguably the father of modern animation, Mr. Bakshi scandalized the cartooning world with his profane, sexually explicit, drug laden cult classic, Fritz The Cat.

But it's his brilliant and innovative revitalization of Mighty Mouse in 1987 that first brought him to my attention.











JOHN KRICFALUSI

John Kricfalusi(coincidentally, a protege of Ralph Bakshi)was part of a group of talented young cartoonists hired by Nickelodeon to make their original Nicktoons. The idea: Return to the days of creator-controlled toons before Hollywood studios and toy companies ran the show.

Thus, Nickelodeon gave Mr. K just enough rope to hang himself, and he gave millions of diehard fans the magic that is Ren and Stimpy. When Nick finally decided that John K's brand of creativity was too much for a "kid's network", they gave him the axe and allowed his marvelous creation to linger on for two or three miserable, humorless seasons.

A few years ago, Spike TV offered him the chance to once again make Ren and Stimpy cartoons, this time with no restrictions or censorship whatsoever. It just wasn't the same. Half the fun of Ren and Stimpy was seeing what the writers were able to get away with each week. In short--Where's the fun in being a rebel when there are no rules to break?

(Yeah, I know way more about this guy than all the others put together)




Is there anything more awesome than Gary Owens saying "Cling tenaciously to my buttocks!"?

JHONEN VASQUEZ

The mad genius creator of sick and twisted underground comics like Johnny The Homicidal Maniac and Squee also gave the world probably the coolest toon of the past decade: Invader Zim

Like John K. before him, he was cut off in his prime by Nickelodeon(you'd think they would've learned their lesson the first time)but still has a fanatically loyal fan base.

We can only hope that cartooning has not seen the last of Mr. Vasquez.

(to anybody who groans at the video clip I chose: Fuck you, it's funny)






MATT GROENING

One needn't be a nerd or an animation buff to know the creator of pop-culture juggernaut and longest running comedy in television history: The Simpsons.

But 'round these parts we prefer to think of Mr. Groening as the co-creator(with David X. Cohen) of Futurama, The Simpsons' smarter, funnier little brother.

(Think of it like this: Futurama is to The Simpsons what The Kids In The Hall was to Saturday Night Live)

Anyway, since finding a clip that isn't a horribly doctored and re-edited fan film is nearly impossible--here's a reasonably cool salute to the Robot Devil:



VOLTAIRE ROCKS!


TEX AVERY

Without Plato, we wouldn't have Aristotle--

Without Socrates, we wouldn't have Plato--

And without Tex Motherfuckin' Avery--we wouldn't have any of the artists in this piece. PERIOD.

There really isn't any other way to do the man justice than to present one of his most famous works: Ladies, Gentlemen, Nerds--I give you, Red Hot Riding Hood.
Enjoy!





Thanks folks, for joining me in honoring these men of genius.

Until next time,

Scootzarro

REMEMBERING YCDTOTV: A study in preadolescent agitprop and a little polite drooling over grown-up Marjorie

Allo,

Since it's come to my attention that a few of my regulars have an affection for this show, I thought I'd dust off one of my very first SOHB articles for your education and amusement

(plus, it gets me out of having to write a new article! just like when sitcoms do clip shows!)

Side Note: The new page dubbed My Happy Place is nothing like The Meditation Chamber or The Serenity Parlor. I always go over and read the comments left here when I'm not around--which makes me feel half like an omniscient overseer, and half like a depraved peeper. This time, though, I found a comment directed to me was so wonderful I made it into its own page. Tht way, I can look at it whenever life starts to get me down(I'm also having it carved into my tombstone)

Enjoy the memories,

Rootin' Tootin' Scoot














Much to my surprise I find myself spending a great deal of time on YouTube. Not that I've become an aficionado of farting zoo animals or fat guys rocking out to Romanian boy bands. For me, YouTube has become a digital time capsule chock full of treasured mementos from simpler times. Forgotten music videos, vintage commercials, and old stand-up clips all adorn my Channel (see link at bottom of page). So when I decided to excavate some precious relics from my childhood TV schedule, You Can't Do That On Television was the first treasure unearthed.


Not to alienate anyone, but those of you who did not grow up watching smartass Canadian kids get coated in viscous green glory simply can't understand what this show meant to my generation. It wasn't merely a television program, it was a rallying cry, a flag of anarchic defiance. Finally, if only for a mere 30 minutes a day, we could enjoy a kids show that wasn't trying to:
A. Sell us crappy action figures
B. Teach us how to conjugate verbs, or
C. Explain the difference between "Good Touch" and "Bad Touch"

YCDTOTV was pure, unfiltered, entertainment. No educational content, no hidden morals or messages, no safety tips or sales pitches...no redeeming social, ethical, or didactic value whatsoever. Obviously, we loved it with a passion that could not, barring the onset of puberty, be denied.

Oh, and just in case all that wasn't enough for us to swear our undying devotion--OUR PARENTS DESPISED IT! I mean come on, we had no choice but to adore this show now. Once the parents, teachers, and various other humorless authority figures voiced their displeasure, (with a vehemence that would not be matched until the rise of Beavis And Butt-Head) the deal was sealed. Parents never seem to learn that their hatred may as well be a shining golden stamp saying CERTIFIED 100% AWESOME.


Of course, one might think, "How could adults not revile such a program?" After all, every character on the show over the age of 18 (Christine McGlade notwithstanding) was universally portrayed as inept, inconsiderate, amoral, unprincipled, unjust, callous, cruel, and despicable. But this in itself was nothing new. Children's programming has a long tradition of unpleasantly caricaturing authority figures--it's a staple of cartoons, for example.

Was it the vaunted excessive bathroom humor that caught the ire of the adults, then? Unlikely. Again, it had been done before, perhaps not to the same extent, but YCDTOTV certainly didn't invent fart jokes.

I'd wager that what truly provoked the nation's educators and caregivers is what a show with, as I said, no educational value was actually teaching their children. It taught them something each and every one of them already knew, but none of the shows directed to them had the nerve to say, that is, BEING A KID SUCKS OUT LOUD! 

Most adults have a rather selective memory of their childhoods, and think of them as much more pleasant than they actually were. Even I, who still maintain a vivid memory of an absolutely miserable youth, would go back to being 11 in half a second given the chance. These adults create children's programming based on this rose-tinted memory--shows full of happy, attractive, precocious youngsters who always find a way to overcome any obstacle, who never despair, who inhabit a universe where the sky is always blue, the sun is always shining, and the good guys always win. In other words, a universe which practically no child in the real world can relate to.

In contrast to this picture-perfect vision, the world of YCDTOTV is stressfull, unfair, occasionally bleak, and often cruel. Children here are reminded constantly that they have no rights, no autonomy, no recourse, no independence, and no voice. Adults here make it clear that because they are bigger, stronger, older, "wiser", smarter, and more experienced, they are thus in charge and are free to run things as they see fit.

But the show's not about lamenting the unfairness of an adult-run world, it's about surviving it. It said to us, the viewers: "We know. We understand. It's miserable and unfair and depressing, but you're not alone, if we can make it through this insane world, so can you!" Unfortunately, a certain segment of the adult population would rather force children to conform to their fantasy storybook idea of childhood than see them question authority or face harsh realities, and that, I believe, was the impetus behind the negative campaign against this marvelous show.

Anyhoo, The clip above is of Project 131, made for the fan convention and 25th anniversary celebration Slimecon in 2004, this short film was conceived as a swan song for the series since the show never had a proper finale. It includes classic bits, bloopers, and scenes from the banned "Adoption" episode, all hosted by Brody Osome, A very pregnant Vanessa Lindores, and Marjorie Silcoff who, I have to admit, I had trouble recognizing. I try my best to keep the crazed, hormonal adolescent who still lurks within my being under wraps...but, well, take a look at this:

That's Marjorie circa 1984, This is Marjorie in 2004

Damn.

And she looks even better in the clip, that hairstyle is a bit much.

(MESSAGE FROM "FUTURE SCOOTER" TO HIMSELF: Shit, man! Haven't you ever heard of paragraph breaks! I had to go back and clean up your mess just to make this thing intelligible! I'm very disappointed in me)