Strollerderby : cartoons

The Voice of Mickey Mouse is Silenced

Amy Kuras — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:01:00 GMT

Rest in peace, Mickey Mouse. No, the little animated Disney icon isn’t being killed off – but Wayne Allwine, the man who gave him his voice for the last 32 years, died Monday of complications from diabetes. He was 62.

He was only the third person to voice Mickey, the other two being Walt Disney himself and Jimmy McDonald, who was Allwine’s mentor and chose him to continue the tradition.

He can be heard on “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” daily on Disney Channel, along with his wife, Russi Taylor, who is the voice of Minnie. Yes, Mickey and Minnie were married in real life, for 20 years. Pretty much anything Mickey since 1977 had Allwine’s voice behind it, including the theme parks, movies, and TV shows.

According to the Associated Press, “Roy E. Disney, director emeritus for The Walt Disney Co., said Allwine did more than give Mickey a voice. He "gave him a heart and soul as well."

"He did an incredible job of bringing emotion, humor and appeal to the character, and superbly carried on the tradition originated by my Uncle Walt, and later by sound-effects wizard Jimmy Macdonald."

Allwine is also survived by five children from a previous marriage: Erin, Alison, Peter, Christopher and Joshua.

A Really Graphic Homebirth

Madeline Holler — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:01:00 GMT

Christen Clifford -- you may remember her for her pumping breastmilk on the subway antics -- has joined with cartoonist David Heatley to bring you the cartoon version of her daugther's birth. At home.

Not a single lit candle or Enya-pumping iPod appear in any frame. But there is a butternut squash. And this:

Ken sets up the tub and soon after the midwives show up. Then there's anger. Big, big anger.

Read the rest at Smith Magazine.

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Images: Smith Magazine

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles No Longer Teenaged

JeanneSager — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:21:00 GMT

Dude! Our kids are watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and we were around when they came out. Cowabunga, we're old.

The TMNT were on top of the Empire State Building this past week because apparently that's how turtles celebrate their twenty-fifth birthdays.

Wait, twenty-five? I know! Somehow, this one is really getting to me. It's only a quarter of a century, but I distinctly remember being sucked into my baby brother's TMNT sword fights (I was always April O'Neil, the grown-up, wisecracking reporter . . . go figure, huh?) and trying desperately to return the TV to something more my speed after he'd commandeered the VCR with yet another showing of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with an as yet relatively unknown Sam Rockwell.

A prankster to this day, his first "joke" came when he was three - about a turtle talking on his turtle-com. So unfunny it can ONLY be the stuff of family legend, it was rooted in his love of all things green and half-shelled.

So check out the picture gallery over at the Best Week Ever, and call in your kids. They'll be impressed when you can name all four . . . and their favorite food. Throw in a "cowabunga, dude," and you might even earn some serious street cred.

Image: Best Week Ever

Beyonce Shines on Wubb Idol

JeanneSager — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:01:00 GMT

Forget Sasha Fierce. Beyonce's got a new alter ego - and she's blonde-haired and blue cheeked.

The songstress is lending her voice to a new character on Noggin's Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and can we just say she shines in the role?

We've gotten a look at a sample cut from the show, set to air May 1 at 1 p.m. on Nick Jr. followed by a prime-time appearance Sunday, May 3, at 7 p.m. on Noggin. Heading up a three-part girl group (sound familiar?) Beyonce stars as "Shine," the lead singer for the Wubb Girlz as Wuzzleburg gets its sing on.

She'll debut the new "Sing a Song" on the show as part of Wubb Idol, the Wubbzy-ied version of American Idol.

Want a sneak peek? Call the kids over and click here (this will launch your Windows Media Player, don't be alarmed - that's what it supposed to do).

NBA's Eddie House and Son Hoop it Up at Cartoon Network

JeanneSager — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:59:00 GMT

Think being a celebrity gets you all the cool perks? Try being his son.

Jaelen House's dad Eddie is the back-up guard for the 2008 World Champion Boston Celtics. Like seven-year-olds everywhere, Jaelen is also a big fan of the Cartoon Network.

Now the two are coming together - Jaelen House is getting his own Cartoon Network show about being the son of Eddie House and living the day-to-day life of a sports superstar's son. One of House and wife Charlsie's three kids (including a set of twins), Jaelen is a regular on the sidelines at Celtics games, cheering for his dad, who serves as back-up guard to Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. House was a member of the championship winning team last year, coming off the bench to help boost the team. He scored nine points in the crucial game 4 comeback that helped the Celtics secure their victory.

According to Turner Broadcasting, which owns Cartoon Network, My Dad is a Pro is "the first series of the recently announced multifaceted partnership between Cartoon Network and the NBA." The channel will also be launching extensive basketball-related content on its Website.

The kid's eye view of the game sounds like it will help launch a new generation of fans, but we won't know for awhile what the Jaelen-Eddie dynamic will do for mini point guards everywhere. My Dad is a Pro will begin airing this fall.

Image: Boston Celtics

Jack Black Drops In on Yo Gabba Gabba

JeanneSager — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:05:00 GMT

You either love Yo Gabba Gabba or you detest the H&R Puff N Stuff out of it.

Kind of like Jack Black, the over the top, goofball star of . . . pretty much EVERYTHING these days.

When we at Babble heard the two were coming together, we just had to have a look. Want to know what happens when Jack Black runs out of gas and lands in Gabbaland?

First, if you're a Jack Black fan, you're going to love the show on April 3. And if you're not, you might still love it. A surprisingly subdued Jack - with some equally surprising blonde highlights (what's that all about Jack?) limps his unleaded motorbike into Gabbaland to find the inner workings of DJ Lance Rock's boombox deserted.

Creeped out, Jack hops around like only a chunky guy with total and complete self esteem (and I mean that in the very nicest of ways - I dig his confidence) can, singing about the possible dangers lurking. Basically, kids, he lets you know it's OK to be scared, but Toodee, Plex, Foofa and the whole gang don't let scared last for long. They're inviting Jack to parties (outside of the tummy) and exchanging dance moves (think Travolta and do the disco roll).

This one should shut down the doubting Thomases who think the show tries too hard to play funky and misses the kid friendly mark. You can't go wrong with singing, dancing and solving real kid problems. Throw in the guy who voiced Kung Fu Panda, and you've got them hooked. Since we all know YGG plays it to the adults too, here's a few things to watch out for - 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer and Human Giant's Paul Scheer tell the knock knock joke of the day (which I refuse to spoil for you).

Oh, and Jack Black in DJ Lance's orange jumpsuit? PRICELESS.

Get a look at clips of the show over at EW and tune in to Nick Jr. at 1:30 ET/PT on Friday, April 3 to catch the whole thing.

Four Creepiest Animals Turned Adorable Kids Characters

JeanneSager — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:05:00 GMT

Just the thought of the scene when the rats converge in the kitchen in Disney's Ratatouille gives me the willies. They're (shudder) rats. Uggggh.

Becoming a parent, I quickly learned, was setting myself up for dozens of movies/tv shows featuring the world's creepiest animals thrown onto a screen in the attempts to make kids think they're just as cute and cuddly as your average puppy.

Who are they trying to kid? Rats, spiders and cuddly tigers? Oh my.

Remy in Ratatouille: He can read! He can cook! Gotcha - but he's still a rat. And rats don't belong indoors, not to mention in a restaurant kitchen mixing up French delicacies. Since this comes from the folks at Disney, I can't help but ask, did they take a look in their archives? I hold the rat scene from Lady and the Tramp wholly responsible for my residual rodent revulsion.

Charlotte in Charlotte's Web: Another reader, with a talent for writing, Charlotte is the true hero of the movie and E. B. White's book that bear her name. She's still a spider! With big buggy eyes and larger-than-life chompers. And did anyone catch the tail end of the Dakota Fanning version, with the egg sack full of thousands of little spiders just waiting to scuttle off and settle in the corners? See Also: Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends.

Alvin, Simon and Theadore in Alvin and the Chipmunks: I will always remember the day a contractor left a door open at my parents house and a chipmunk snuck in. Total. . . and complete . . . pandemonium. Followed by plenty of cleaning up of little pellets of poop in my bedroom. Ewww. Another member of the rodent family, chipmunks carry disease and are best-known for storing their food in their cheeks so long they come close to bursting, followed closely by their "chirpy" chipmunk calls. Ever said, "say it, don't spray it," when your kid spoke with a full mouth? Try telling that to a chipmunk . . . or to the three singing sweethearts who hanker for hula hoops? That Dave lets these little guys live in his house and eat of his cereal bowls is giving me flashbacks. . . to poop cleaning.

Oswald: With the disarming voice of a Savage brother, how could anyone dislike the bright blue resident of Big City who tips his bowler to everyone he meets? Maybe the fact that octupi have been known to kill sharks, detach one of their eight legs to escape predators and shoot bright clouds of ink at anyone who gets in their way? Fish may be friends, not food, but the octupus is not the friendliest member of the ocean community.

Images: Disney, Flixster, Amazon, Parent Previews

We Hate Kids' Shows Too; Really

JeanneSager — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:31:00 GMT

One of my favorite celeb quotes ever came from Jane Pauley - back in the nineties. I'm paraphrasing here, but the newswoman once said of Barney, "where's an asteroid when you need one?"

Don't tell me you didn't snicker at that one. Barney and Friends got what for in a scathing article in the London Times over the weekend, along with a score of other kiddie favorites.

Most of the shows featured were British, and I've never seen them, so I can't weigh in on just how evil they really are. And I'm sadly not as vitriolic about Bob the Builder as the mom who wrote "Can we fix it? No we can't. Not ever." Although I had to laugh when she points out he never seems to make an honest woman of that Wendy.

Not hating on Bob, Scoop and Dizzy doesn't make me a model mom. I save my complete and utter loathing for Max and Ruby (or, as my husband has renamed it, Max and Doody - which my unwitting daughter has picked up on). Is there a better example out there of a reason NOT to have two kids? A worse spokesbunny for big sisters everywhere? The show is based on the books of Rosemary Wells, who has a few I've actually purchased for my daughter and LIKE - so where did this controlling bitch come from? And when is her little brother going to grow some bunny balls and stuff a box of Bunny Scout cookies down her throat?

Somebody tell me I'm not alone. What shows do your kids love and you wish an asteroid upon?

Image: LondonTimes

Bart Simpson-Scientologist

Brett Singer — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Telemarketing is annoying. Robocalls, telemarketing via robot, even more so. But a robocall that promotes a cult using the voice of a cartoon character popular with kids?

Very very bad.

Nancy Cartwright is the voice of Bart Simpson. She is also a Scientologist who reportedly gave more than $10 million to the religion/cult in 2007. (Wow. Voice acting pays better than I thought.) If she wants to give her money to an organization that promises to rid her body of aliens (or whatever it is that Scientologists believe), that's her right.

Nancy, however, wants more people to realize the benefits of Dianetics and giving your money away. Listen to this:

First I have to say that I have no idea what the hell she is talking about (man). "I'm now auditing on new OT VII." "OT" doesn't mean "occupation therapy"; it stands for "Operating Thetan." Which is "a spiritual state above Clear." Which means... you know what? I'm going to stop there because I don't even want to know. This stuff makes my brain hurt.

Why even write about this? Because it annoys me that Cartwright is using a character that kids might identify with to promote this nonsense. Personally, I think Scientology is a cult. But even if you give them the benefit of the doubt and call it a religion, it's still wrong. Obviously she thinks that using Bart's voice on the call is the equivalent of a kid running for student council president putting "Free Beer! Now That I Have Your Attention..." on her posters. (Which I think was something Homer did in a Simpsons episode.) Who is likely to be intrigued by hearing that voice? A kid who likes The Simpsons, right? "Hey dad! I just heard that the lady who does Bart Simpson's voice is going to be appearing someplace. Something about aliens. Sounds cool. Can we go?"

Is this line of thinking overwrought? Maybe. But Fox disavowed the call, so they clearly saw something wrong with it. I don't know if they can do anything to Cartwright; she didn't release a video with Bart's image or something else that was obviously a copyright violation. I hope that somebody sits Nancy down and explains to her that she's entitled to believe whatever she wants, but when she starts using Bart's voice to convince other people to believe in the same thing, she may find out that there are a lot of actors who can do a damn fine Bart Simpson impression.

(For lots of reasons why people think Scientology is not only creepy but dangerous, check out this site.)

Source: Gawker , Village Voice

Image: The Sun

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Cartoon Violence Gets Gory!

SunnyChanel — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:32:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the violent and angst filled cartoons of yore took it to that next bloody level? Well the artist James Cauty and his fifteen-year-old son certainly have pondered it and have executed, quite literally, their conclusions of the cartoon chaos. At the Aquarium L-13 Gallery in London, the father and show present their show “Splatter” which “aims to look at violence and death from the perspective of cartoon characters”. Witness Sylvester after he’s eaten Tweedy Bird, Tom cutting up Jerry, or Bugs shooting Daffy’s head off.

For more blood and gore you can go here!

The Smurfs Turn 50

Brett Singer — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Here's my "I feel old" moment of the day: the Smurfs are celebrating their 50th anniversary.

Yes, the Smurfs. Those little blue creatures that live in a village with one elderly man and one female. They always say things are "smurfy", which means both nothing and anything. Some bizarre full-size man and his cat always want to eat them. This was a hugely popular Saturday morning cartoon in the early 80's (who could forget such classic lines as, "Nature Smurf, this time your love of animals has gone too far.") The toys – mostly immobile hard PVC figurines – were a major collectible among the under 10 set.

The 50th anniversary is of their first appearance in a Belgian comic strip called 'Johan et Pirlouit', or 'Johan and Peewit' in English. Eventually the cartoonist, Peyo, "introduced a new set of characters" to the strip called " Schtroumpf". They eventually became known as The Smurfs. In honor of the 50th anniversary, European celebrities have designed their own Smurfs, which were auctioned off for Unicef, which is, of course, a very smurfy thing to do.

Also of note is the fact that there is much speculation that the Smurfs were (are?) anti-Semitic communists (just like Obama! Kidding). I can't bring myself to summarize this theory, but you can read more about it here if you are interested.

If you want to show your children what you used to watch, you can get the cartoon on DVD. Or you could just wait for the film, which I hope will never actually get made.

Here's the intro to the cartoon if you don't remember it, never saw it, or just need some smurfs in your day:

For some real silliness, here's the SNL bit, "The Smurfette Show" featuring Anna Nicole Smurf. Verrry smurfy.

And here's some Smurfy video of the smurfy auction. If it doesn't smurfing embed, click here.

Sources: MSNBC, Smurf.com, Wikipedia,Happy Smurf Day, and other smurfy sources

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Disney movie to feature black princess

Brett Singer — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:00:00 GMT

This would belong in the "who cares" pile except that this is the first time that Disney has had an African-American princess in one of their films.

The folks at Yahoo! Shine are pleased, but have this to say: "We somehow doubt there was a woman named Tiana living in 1920s New Orleans, where the story is set, but we’ll let that slide as we have a bigger issue with the new trailer: the toothless narrating firefly. Yeah."

"The Princess and the Frog" is due in 2009. Here's the trailer. What do you think?

Source: Yahoo! Shine

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The Banana Splits are back, sort of

Brett Singer — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:15:00 GMT

Clearly, my Babble List has had tremendous influence on the entertainment business. How else do you explain the news that the Banana Splits are coming back to television?

Well, they're sort of coming back. The Cartoon Network will show "1½-to-2½-minute comedy shorts…Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m." So its not exactly appointment television, and the kids will be in school (hopefully) when the shorts air. HOWEVER, another component of this re-surfacing of the Splits is the website, bananasplits.com. There you can find tons of videos and music, including what the press release calls, "one of the catchiest theme songs in television history." I think the kids will like it, and they'll also like these jokes (please note that the side comments are mine):

"What do you call a song you sing while you're parents are driving?"

(Annoying?)

"A car tune!"

(Oh. Right. Of course.)

"What do you call a cow from Alaska?"

(Must… not… make… Sarah… Palin… joke…)

"An eski-mooo!"

(Phew! I did it.)

Anyway, all of this Split stuff brings enough nostalgia to the table that I might share it with the kids, which is really the goal. I do wonder why they bothered re-recording the theme song. It's more modern, sort of, but it lacks some of the energy of the original. I'm not sure if I'll run out and buy the music and DVDs that are also available, but if nothing else, the website is a fun diversion: very colorful and, dare I say it, "groovy." (That's their word, not mine.) Check it out for yourself and see what you think.

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7 Classic Kid's TV Shows Clearly Conceived on (Bad) Acid

Cole Gamble — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:00:00 GMT

As we often noted before, we here at Babble find the people who create children’s entertainment are frequently deranged people. Fortunately, most of the time these mentally ill folk are able to suppress the demons long enough to make TV shows that are only slightly bizarre, like Blue’s Clues. But then again, sometimes these creators let loose the swirling vortex of crazy that lives in their heads (possibly liberated with some good drugs) and unleash their sideshow of horror upon all the precious children. Here are some examples of “kids” TV shows made by people who clearly were off their nut.

Slim Goodbody

Mr. Goodbody wants kids to learn about health by flashing his innards. Dear Mr. Slim, the average exhibitionist at least has the decency to travel in a trench coat. Okay, so maybe Slim Goodbody isn’t a pervert, he’s just a nude superhero.

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters

Take a look at this picture. Scared yet? Okay, you’re an adult, but imagine these things coming to life; what would your four-year-old’s reaction be?

Little Sigmund here looks like the contents of a salad bar dumpster come to life, and that’s not his only problem. The beginning of every episode reminds us that poor Sigmund received death threats from his abusive family in the prologue. Sweet. And this is all brought to you by Sid and Marty Krofft, the pair who’ve been gleefully bringing drug-addled nightmares to children since 1969.

The Osmonds

Follow the wacky adventures of a bunch of a family of globetrotting, horny Mormon boys. No, I’m not kidding; that’s the premise.

Check out the rest.

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5 reasons it's a good thing I had boys

Brett Singer — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:05:00 GMT

I was going to say, "I'm glad I have boys" but that didn't sound quite right. That is, I would love girl-children just as much as I love my guys. But there are a few ways that having boys has made my life – mine, specifically – a little bit easier.

1. No pink ponies: It doesn't seem like having a Y chromosome should automatically mean that one is interested in superheroes, videogames, and action figures inspired by superheroes and videogames. But experience says otherwise. While there are definitely girls who love trucks and boys who follow the Frasier and Niles Crane path – a love of opera, Broadway and snappy clothing – my guys are way into Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Pokémon, Wii, Playstation 2, and so on. If I had to learn whatever there is to know about My Little Pony, I think my brain would crawl out of my ear.

2. Miley-free zone: Thus far Things 1 and 2 have shown zero interest in Billy Ray Cyrus' little ~~meal ticket~~ girl, which means I can continue to go through life knowing almost nothing about her. Maybe this will change when they get older, but hopefully by then Miley Ray Hannah Montana Stewart Cyrus will have either pulled a Britney Spears and had a meltdown, grown up and started singing jazz standards, or retired to spend her days sitting on a giant pile of cash gazing longingly at Nick Jonas. OK, I guess I sort of know something about her, but that's just from trying to keep up with pop culture. I have nothing against Miley or the Jonases, but not having to listen to their music or attend their concerts is something I will never, ever complain about.

3. No batting of eyelashes: My wife has pointed out many times that if we had had girls, odds are I would be putty in their hands. I wish I could say I disagree but I think she's probably right. Little girls are so cute, and seeing them cry is much more painful than seeing boys cry. I know that's stupid, sexist, and stupid (did I say that one already?). But I've seen, more than once, little girls who lead their dads around by the nose. It's probably best if we never find out whether or not I would join their ranks.

4. Less irrational over-protectiveness: Again, I am fully aware that this is unfair, stupid and sexist. But if I had girl-children, I would be very tempted not to let them leave the house until they were 30. I guess going to school would be OK, as long as they dressed like those Mormon sect people.

5. No High School Musical: When this monstrosity first started airing on the Disney Channel and the CD went to number one, I tried to watch it out of curiosity. I made it through about 15 minutes before I realized that it would probably be more fun to chew glass. The songs are lame, the characters are dull, the story is… Feh. Anyway, the boys seem immune to whatever charms that thing has, and for that, I am grateful.

image: Amazon.com

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More Kids Stuff I like that my kids don't care about

Brett Singer — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Here's some more stuff that makes my kids say, "Daa-aad!"

1. Old Sesame Street episodes: I detect a theme here. These don't show up on television anymore, but there was a series called "Sesame Street: Unpaved" that ran when my oldest son was born and I taped them. The older Sesame Street episodes have a much more improvised feel than the current version. Big Bird looks thinner and sometimes rambles like he's been imbibing something much stronger than a birdseed milkshake. Hey, it was the 70's, and they were still finding their way. You also get Roosevelt Franklin (eventually cut from the show because people thought he was a racist character) and no Elmo (see below).

2. Grover and Cookie Monster: OK, more Sesame Street, I know. But Elmo and Zoe are just not as much fun as Grover and Cookie Monster. Thing 2 actually finds Cookie Monster to be a little bit "scary", although he seems to be willing to tolerate him for my sake. And there's nothing better than a good Grover sketch.

3. Transformers – The Movie: I rented this 1986 animated big-screen version of the Robots In Disguise and we didn't even get through half an hour before Thing 1 got bored. After seeing the 2007 live action Michael Bay 'bots in theaters, he consented to give it another try and we made it all the way through, somewhat under protest. I was a fan of the cartoon, but had never seen the 1986 film, which is great. Voice talents include Leonard Nimoy (!), Casey Kasem, Scatman Crothers (!!), Judd Nelson (!!!), Eric Idle and even Orson Welles (!!!!!!) as evil and enormous Unicron (um, typecasting? Never mind). It also has the song "Dare to be Stupid" by Weird Al Yankovic, and the original 80's hair metal version of the title song, which is roughly 12 billion times better than the lame-o remake played over the ending credits in the new movie.

image: Amazon.com

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Kid Food Is Mostly Crap, and It's a Little Shocking

Kelly Mills — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:02:00 GMT

I doubt most parents would assume a box of waffles with a picture of SpongeBob on the front was necessarily health food. But what if the box also had a label saying, "high in essential nutrients for growing kids"? Even if you don't consciously think about it, you might soften in your approach to the waffles. Well, I got news for you: That food is most likely junk.

See, researchers in Canada analyzed more than 360 products marketed to children. They did NOT include junk food, so there's nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide on this study. Instead they covered what is sometimes packaged as "fun food", products with cartoon characters and so on pimping the contents, such as prepackaged dinners. And guess what? Nearly 90 percent did not meet established nutritional standards, measured by percent of calories from fat, and the amount of sugar and/or sodium. Worse still in my book, 62 percent of the foods researchers identified as being of poor nutritional quality had claims of health on the packaging, like "low fat" or containing "essential nutrients".

So yes, the food industry is not above using shady marketing (such as pictures of kids playing sports on a box of sugar-salt crack) to fool parents about the health value of foods. And of course, there's the issue of directly marketing to kids, by putting appealing and familiar characters on the packaging. Just be forewarned that the fun, convenient food you buy at your kid's request is highly likely to be straight-up junk.

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Video: Banned Pokémon Episodes

Brett Singer — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:00:00 GMT

We've established that the whole Pokémon thing is a little weird. But we didn't know just how weird. Some episodes of the popular TV show were deemed too bizarre or offensive to be shown outside of Japan. The episode that actually induced seizures is the most famous but there are others. And thanks to YouTube, you can see them without traveling overseas. I'm including explanations for the uninitiated.

*-*-*

Episode: "Miniryu no Densetsu"
First up is an episode where everyone appears to have a gun. Not futuristic Pokéguns. Real guns. With bullets. Which they threaten each other with constantly.

*-*-*

Episode: "Some Enchanted Sweetening"
Next we have Meowth, a member of the bumbling bad guys Team Rocket. Meowth is the only Pokémon that speaks like a human (that is, he can say words that aren't variations on his own name.) In the show he periodically tells bizarre stories about "The Boss" of his team. This particular story involves "The Boss" running in the desert while slathered with honey, wearing nothing but a Speedo. Then a bunch of Pokémon, um, show their affection for him. In a very physical way. This time it was just the scene that was removed.

*-*-*

Episode: "Beauty and the Beach"
The last, and by far the strangest, is one where, James, also of Team Rocket, suddenly appears in a bikini. With breasts. The context seems to be some sort of beauty contest. The subtitles read: "Aren't you a boy?" "What does it matter when I'm this beautiful? ... Wait until you're older and have these." There was no way to save this one; the entire episode was banned.

*-*-*

BONUS: Pikachu gets busy

This isn't a banned scene (yet), and it appears to have been captured by someone pointed a cell-phone camera at the TV, but it's kinda funny anyway.

*-*-*

Next time your little one plops down to watch the latest episode of his or her favorite show, maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a peek and see what's going on. You know, just in case.

What Are Your Favorite Animated Flicks?

Brett Singer — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Ask any three people what the "greatest" anything is and you'll typically get three different answers. (Except for "Greatest Live Action Network Television Series Superhero Spoof ", which is clearly this.) AMCTV asked three artists from DC Comics "What's the Greatest Animated Film?" Each one picked three films; here's the list:

Tekkkon Kinkreet (2006)
The Incredibles (2004)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Akira (1988)
Street of Crocodiles (1986)
Coonskin (1975)
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)
Bambi (1942)

I've seen about half of these. Some ("Coonskin" by Ralph Bakshi) are not for kids. "Akira" I saw in high school and it blew me away. I'm not sure about "greatest" but some others I would add are the Rankin-Bass version of "The Hobbit" (which I picked up at Duane Reade for a dollar), "The Year Without A Santa Claus" (Heat Miser, represent!), and the 1967 "Fantastic Four" cartoons, which are great fun despite the somewhat clunky animation (listen for Mr. Fantastic's New York accent - "It's a Soopuh Skrull!").

Since people left such great comments on this post about music, let's try again: what are some of your favorite animated films or TV shows?

image: Amazon.com

Are Japanese Cartoons Better?

editors — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:40:00 GMT

We just recently received a screener of the Japanese cartoon Pucca (newly available on DVD), about a little girl with superhuman strength and a love of noodles, who's in love with a boy ninja-in-training. It's all very nonsensical and fun, in that distinctively adorable Japanese way. Which got us thinking about all the Japanese animation we've watched in our lifetime: Pokemon, Transformers, Totoro, not to mention some anime of a distinctly not-for-kids variety...

So what's the deal? Do Americans only see the good stuff, or do the Japanese just do it better? Thoughts? — Gwynne Watkins

Apparently I've Been Missing Out

Karen Murphy — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:46:00 GMT

Um...am I the last to hear about the Happy Tree Friends? In case I'm not, these amusing little cartoons are definitely NOT for little kids. This one's seasonal, so enjoy!

Should Parents Grow Up?

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:04:00 GMT

Some people have been suggesting that adults these days are too immature to be good parents. To that I say Nuh-uh. Ot possibly I know you are, but what am I?

Yes, more 19 - 34 year olds watch Cartoon Network than MSNBC. There are adult kickball leagues. The most famous skateboarder in the world is 39 years old.

My husband and I play video games after our kids go to bed. I love cartoons. I like to stay up late and say bad words. I own a Hello Kitty guitar. The last time I got together with my blog friends I played drinking Chutes and Ladders.

But that is neither here nor there.

I play games, I watch The Simpsons, I like moon bounces, but I'm a great mother. My kids know their alphabet and they are two years away from kindergarten. They eat well, and have very good vocabularies for their age. We read and exercise and they go to bed at their bedtime (usually). Sure, I'm immature. That is how I deal with spending my entire day every day with two three year olds. Or wait, maybe that is why I'm so immature in the first place.

Strollerderby Playdate: "Simpsons" Movie Unites Parents Everywhere

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 11:01:00 GMT

For the past seven hours -- or however long it's been since I tuned in to her recent and incessant natterings -- my wife has been strutting around the house singing, "Spider pig, spider pig -- does whatever a spider pig does."

I knew it could only mean one thing. She had seen the new trailer for the "Simpsons" movie, and she would soon be dragging me to the theater to watch it. You may remember I wasn't too thrilled about the movie initially -- saying, essentially, that the show hasn't lived up in recent years to the early episodes that played across my childhood. (Yes, the show has been on for almost 20 years. Yikes.)

But after seeing the trailer and watching the excitement in my wife's eyes as she yammered on and on about some elusive porcine-arachnid supercreature or whatever, I have to admit the show of my childhood, the one that had faded in glory but still drew me in occasionally to re-runs, has me very, very excited again.

And I'm not the only one. People everywhere are making Date Night plans to see the movie and relive a little of their past. Well, some of us are anyway.

Modest Micah has a cool cartoon photo.

Unleash the Epiphany is also going yellow.

And here, if you must see it, is the trailer that has sent my wife over the edge. Seriously, every time she sees it she laughs for a solid minute -- big laughs. Belly laughs. Followed by "Spider pig, spider pig ..."

German Cartoon Plots Slow Invasion

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:32:00 GMT

A while back I wrote about a wee crocodile that was destined to take over the cartoon airwaves. And while I've seen no evidence of said Schnappi invasion, I can't fathom way. Just take a listen to this theme song and tell me if you wouldn't watch Schnappi every day. And sorry for getting the song stuck in your head for the rest of the day ...

YouTube Goodness: In Soviet Russia, Winnie the Pooh visits YOU

Patti — Thu, 03 May 2007 12:28:00 GMT

The crude, hand-drawn animation of this Soviet-era cartoon looks more like Connie the Cow than the glossy stylings of Disney. Pooh himself is brown and frankly, kind of rude. But even without the subtitles, there's no doubt that Vinni Puh Goes Visiting is the classic tale of a visiting bear who eats so much that he gets stuck in the door when he leaves. My four-and-a-half-year-old caught on the minute she saw Vinni and his friend Piglet, and though she can't read well enough to follow the subtitles, she offered her own running translation as we watched. She'd also like to note that bears don't really speak Russian, they speak Growl.

I'd like to note that "Vinni Puh" would be a great name for a band. While I work on that, please enjoy:

(via quixoticals)