Snapshots From the Past

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Beka was chatting online with her sister the other day and for some reason they started discussing Gummi Bears…not the delicious little bear-shaped gummy snack, but the berry-juice-drinking, tree-bouncing, animated characters. Then it hit me, “smack!” I was overcome by a blur of cartoon fur, robots and muscle-clad action figures. I was 6, I was 8, I was 10….hey I was 15 and there I was Saturday morning sitting in front of that glowing magical box that brought such joy into my life.

Of course the bliss was not limited to just Saturday mornings but that is where it was most concentrated. I can remember on occasion my mother wanting to shampoo the living room carpet and saying, “you have to leave because you won’t be able to walk on the carpet for a couple of hours.” In the naivety that only a child could muster I would reply, “that’s okay, as long as I have the remote I’ll be fine”…and then suddenly, the carpet was molten lava and my only means of transportation was to hop from one piece of furniture to the next!

So, I find myself sitting in our living room in Kiev, Ukraine but my mind is in a 20 year time warp and I’m mumbling to myself, “Gummi Bears…bouncing here and there and everywhere….” Oh – to relive those glimpses of childhood innocence….but wait! Maybe I can!!! After all, I have something now that I didn’t as a child: The World Wide Web.

It didn’t take me long to find my way to YouTube and on that website I found a door into the past. So the rest of this post is dedicated to anyone around my age who had a television and was breathing during the late 80s and early 90s. For those of you who don’t fall into this category, perhaps this will give you insight into the mindset of a generation.

Don’t worry, each clip is only about a minute long so sit back, pour yourself a bowl of Cocoa Puffs or Count Chocula and enjoy!

I thought it only appropriate the first clip I present to you be from those little bears that started me down this path of reflection: The Gummi Bears.

Now this one is an oldie but a goody and spans many generations. With a male/female ratio of 500/1 who wouldn’t love: The Smurfs

Now this is a little known show that was basically an underwater version of The Smurfs. If you longed to live under the sea than you probably grew up watching: The Snorks

This is probably one of the first cartoons I remember watching. I was probably around 4 years old and it could only be seen on satellite TV. There were these twins that lived next door to us and once a week I would go over to their house to watch: Inspector Gadget

Back in a day when “having a gay old time” had a completely different meaning. Lunch hour would not be complete without: The Flintstones

I think the show that had the best toy market ever (at least in my humble opinion) was definitely: He-Man

Now obviously Mattel knew that He-Man was only targeting half of the consumer market so they came up with a completely original idea (ya right!) and introduced He-Man’s twin sister: She-Ra

Perhaps it was the popularity of She-Ra that spawned this next show but it certainly did have the spotlight for quite awhile. The only reason I watched it was because it was in my lineup of Saturday morning shows and then eventually moved to the coveted 5-days a week lunch hour slot. Um…perhaps we should move on….don’t judge me…it was: Jem

Here is another obscure lunch hour favorite. The best character was merely a sidekick but that Anteater certainly did steal the show: The Pink Panther

Now this was a really odd show that I am sure must have been on TVO (Canadian Public Television). I was surprised that I even remembered the name but that eerie woman’s voice who sang the opening credits must have been burned into my mind: Fables of the Green Forest

This was a great spin-off show and perhaps I was a little too hasty in giving He-Man the award for most money made on action figures. Of course, I am talking about those cuddly little animals of Lucas fame: The Ewoks

I think this was originally a Japanese cartoon that came to North America. It was about a little boy whose boots turned into turbine engines and his hair was always intact, that’s right, it’s: Astro Boy

I believe this one was on Sunday evenings where I grew up. I also thought that it might be Canadian but that’s probably due to the “cheesy” and “earthy” content . If you recognize the name Cyril Sneer then you know I am talking about: The Racoons

This guy has certainly lived on throughout the ages but this is the way I knew him best: Batman

Okay, okay….I am starting to see a trend here. Apparently action figures were where it was at because these guys were EVERYWHERE. You could find them in all shapes and sizes, of course, that’s because they were: Transformers

Talk about weird spin-offs but I think this cartoon was way more popular than the movie that preceded it. People wonder where the Goth movement really started? Well move over Marilyn Manson because when I was a kid it was all about: Beetlejuice

These little furry friends were perhaps the beginning of a new style of animation; one that attempted to entertain the adults that may be watching with their children. They were tiny, they were toony, they were certainly a little loony…they were: Tiny Toons

These guys picked up where Tiny Toons left off but brought it to such a greater level with humor directly aimed toward an older audience. If I could, to this day I would still be watching: Animaniacs

Well, from one extreme to the other we now transition into total infantile entertainment. My wife receives no end of pleasure by the fact that I not only watched this show but I had many of their stuffed animals. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I am talking about: The Care Bears

Trends can be seen in every area of life so of course the cartoon world is not exempt. At some point “ducks” became the latest public obsession and with that craze came: Ducktales

The next chapter of “duck-mania” was directed towards those hardcore duck fans, and it was in the form of: Darkwing Duck

Hands-up everyone who had a tape or record with these little guys on it. If not that’s okay, all you need is a balloon full of helium and you’ve got the next best thing. Saturdays just wouldn’t be the same without: Alvin & The Chipmunks

Speaking of humans adopting animals, how about those crazy and zany little: Muppet Babies

Now that we’ve breached the subject of puppets I must admit that they had their place in my heart as well. After all, there wouldn’t have been Muppet Babies without: The Muppets

This next one was a weird little show. I am not sure if it is Canadian or not but who wouldn’t be fascinated with a mannequin that could come to life? Of course, it could be none other than: Today’s Special

I didn’t actually watch this one too often but for some reason, to this day, the theme song is stuck in my head: Under the Umbrella Tree

These little rascals were always causing trouble and that poor dog was never able to catch them. It’s time to get your freak-on with: Fraggle Rock

All right, I suppose I have to stop sometime. Of course, there are many more out there but that’s all I got for now. I am not sure what exactly brought on this need for nostalgia; perhaps it was the dark and ominous number 30 that awaits me at my next birthday, perhaps since my son just turned one I am wondering what shows he’ll grow up with. But maybe…just maybe, there is still a little boy deep down inside that longs to hop from couch-to-couch in an attempt to escape the bubbling river of lava that awaits him if he were ever to slip and fall…”game on!”