What is it about nice people that attract total idiots?Nice people are martyrs. Idiots are evangelists.

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Monday, January 18, 2016

The coolest cartoon characters!

With nothing like the M50, no big Martin World News list, and no disasters at work worth having fun with (although our inventory last week was just this side of apocalyptic), I came up with something off the beaten path (for me) to do today.

I was thinking about a list of the coolest cartoon characters- the smooth, suave, the hero unnoticed from our (read: my) childhood.  Who is the coolest of the cool, the guy you loved to watch?  Feel free to add your choices in the comments, but here are the dude's I picked.

10 (tie)- Inspector Gadget



The first time I watched this (under the influence of cannabis), and we got to the closing credits, and you heard the child's voice give the company's name, "Dic", I said, "No kidding."  But this rather unique hero with his "Go go Gadget" catch phrase earned a spot on my list, because I know how truly hard it is to be inept and make yourself believe you're cool.

10 (tie)- Curly Neal of the Harlem Globetrotters


Though Meadowlark was the leader and the star of the show, it was Curly that always had to do the "crap" jobs for him.  He took the cocky edge off Meadowlark and stood out doing it.


9- Hong Kong Phooey



Come on, how do you get cooler than being voiced by Scatman Crothers?  And he sung his own theme song!

8- Brian from Family Guy



How do we love Brian, let me count the ways: 1- A dog named Brian?  Really? 2- A martini-drinking dog... 3- An INTELLIGENT, martini-drinking dog; and 4- A dog with an Oedipus complex.  And he still fetches!


7- Fillmore



Not only one of the last Saturday morning cartoons, but one of the best.  Each character on the show had some level of deep character development, despite the utter silliness of the premise, and none more so than the star of the show, field leader of the X Middle School Safety Patrol.  The last cartoon I made a concerted effort to watch every week.  And that was as a 40-year-old.



6- Roger "Race" Bannon


Sidekick of Dr. Benton Quest on the old Johnny Quest cartoon, Race did the heavy lifting for the team and had the coolest name on Saturday Morning.  Johnny and Hadji would no doubt have lived a dull life if not for him.


5- Baloo the Bear



He stole the show in The Jungle Book movie.  Every child's dream of the perfect adult- ready to fight if needed, but content to let life roll happily by.


4-  Riff Raff



The only bad guy on the list, and how not?  With little more than a flower in his lapel and a cigar in his mouth (and a bunch of guys with tommy guns behind him), he stood toe to toe against the super powered Underdog- and looked dapper doing it.  You could see Danny DeVito playing him.




3- Mr Peabody





Did you really think an intelligent dog with a time machine wasn't gonna make my list?  What I loved best about him was the unflappable, dry sense of humour.


2- Sugar Bear



And yes, he had his own cartoon show with other cereal mascot characters, from 1964 until the government decided in 1969 that somehow having a cereal mascot star in a show for kids in which his cereal was advertised was a horrible thing.  It was like having Bing Crosby save the day every Saturday.


And who could possibly be the coolest of the cool except....


1- Bugs Bunny




The snarkiest of the snarky, the master of breaking the fourth wall, I cannot imagine that Bugs isn't the ultimate cartoon character.  Think about it.  Name one quote that you can remember from Mickey Mouse.  I use Bugs' quotes  all the time (my favorite being, "Well, if it's the 'Captain's Mess', let HIM clean it up!").  And there's a zillion of 'em, like:

-I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque!

-Do you happen to know what the penalty is for shooting a fricaseeing rabbit without a fricaseeing rabbit license?

-I wonder what the poor bunnies are doing this season?

-Of course you realize this means war!

-Ah, your brother blows bubble gum!

-Gee, ain't I a stinker?

-It's shameful, but...ehhh, it's a living.

And of course- Eh, what's up, doc?



15 comments:

  1. Great idea for a post, Chris!

    I'm showing my age by admitting that I never even heard of half these characters. (When I was young, cartoons were carved on rocks!)

    (BA-DUM-BUMP)

    In fact, the only cartoon characters in this post that I have ever seen before are Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Sugar Bear and, of course Brian Griffin, a semi-regular on SDMM:

    http://shadydell.blogspot.com/2011/04/announcing-new-direction-for-this-blog.html

    Me likey Brian. He reminds me of me. For years I have dreamed of dancing with Lois Griffin's leg.

    (BA-DUM-BUMP)

    I'm sure you heard that Meadowlark Lemon died a few weeks ago. Circa 1964, my dad took me to see Meadowlark, Curly Neal and the rest of the Harlem Globetrotters play an exhibition game (all of their games were exhibition games). I was basketball obsessed at the time and was in my glory watching their ball handling hijinx and shooting capability.

    Thanks, Chris!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shoot, the readership is getting so young around here, I'm just glad I got somebody to remember the older ones! I fear some of my readers might be stumped past Brian and Bugs!

      You know, I hadn't thought about it, but your profile pic is a lot like Brian...

      As to your rimshot, I was just commenting on another blog that while I remember being taught how to write a proper letter, we wrote them on stones or papyrus.

      I just wonder how long it'll take before someone mentions that I forgot about Snoopy...

      Delete
  2. Chris:
    You and I seem to have a varied view of what constitutes a cartoon "favorite", although you DO have some CLASSIC greats on the list.
    ---Race Bannon...fantastic choice!
    ---Brian? A freaking card-carrying LIBERAL? What were you thinking?
    Although he does make a good "foil" at times.
    ---RIFF-RAFF...forgot about him.
    Another great choice!
    --MR PEABODY - Oh, yeah...and we actually LEARNED stuff (sorts).
    ---SUGAR BEAR - Yeah, it as like Crosby saving the day (without Danny Kaye).
    ---BUGS...One of THE best characters EVER created. Mel Blanc: PURE GENIUS!
    ---As for the rest, well, let's say I wasn't into them, although Curly Neal would make a good also-ran.
    I might have to do a list of my own, now. I see a gauntlet at my feet...LOL.

    Very good post.

    Stay safe & warm up there, brother.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brian- forget the politics, a dog with a martini is funny!

      If you do a list, I wanna share it here!

      Delete
  3. I totally forgot sugar bear existed.

    Harley Quinn was and always will be my favourite.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What? No "Top Cat?" No "George Of The Jungle?"

    And there was a segment on the Bannana Splits hour called "Arabian Knights" that had a guy who would say "size of a lion" and clap his hands and turn into a lion (or whatever he wanted). He was pretty cool.

    But Race Bannon was a good choice...although Bandit was pretty cool, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Top Cat would have been a good choice for what I was shooting for... And Bandit was one of the better dog sidekicks. Didn't have to talk or have a stupid laugh.

      Delete
  5. Some I agree with some I don't know and some I think are a waste of time bothering with, but guess what I am not going to tell which is which, why because I am a big ole meanie

    ReplyDelete
  6. You put a lot into each entertaining post, CW, and this one is my favorite! Well done! Remember the episode when Brian marries...what's her name? The mom? It was so frikkin amusing and disturbing. I loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Inspector Gadget was so cool but my favorite as far as cartoon graphics go was Scooby Doo.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yea, so I don't think I ever actually enjoyed watching any of those shows. The sugar bear guy is making me want to eat some cereal though, thanks for that!

    ReplyDelete