Old School Lane: Top 100

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Old School Lane presents Kevin's Top 100 Favorite Animated Shows (10-1)

Talk about a great show from Nickelodeon that has such relatable characters and surprisingly real scenarios compared to many other kids' shows. The show involves a 9-year-old boy named Arnold living his normal life in the city surrounded by his diverse friends. His best friend Gerald, the mean bully with a good heart Harold, the bitter Helga who bullies Arnold but actually loves him, her intelligent best friend Phoebe, the clutzy Eugene, the spastic Sid, Arnold's crazy and eccentric grandparents, and so much more. There are so many memorable episodes in which we see the characters' development and personalities. Seeing this great characters reminds me of people that I use to know when I was a kid, a trait that many shows of today are lacking.

Overall, it's still a classic in my eyes. It's just a shame that the conclusion of Hey Arnold in the form of The Jungle Movie was never released. Hopefully now that Hey Arnold has been released in The 90's Are All That, the executives of Nickelodeon will allow Hey Arnold creator Craig Bartlett release it so that we can have a satisfying closure. But sadly, most likely it'll never happen.

9. Rocko's Modern Life (1993)

When rewatching this show again for the Nickelodeon summer tribute, I couldn't believe how many adult jokes and sexual references there were in this show! It's unbelievable! Now I appreciate this show a lot more as an adult compared to when I was a kid. The show's pretty straight forward: a wallaby named Rocko gets involved in so many crazy scenarios in O-Town alongside his best friends Heffer Wolfe and Filbert Turtle. Simple tasks just as taking out the trash, doing laundry at the laundromat, renewing his driver's license, and using a dating service end up being chaotic and crazy, but always enjoyable to watch. Sure, a lot of people refer to this show as a Ren and Stimpy ripoff, but trust me, it's not.

8. Beetlejuice (1989)

This awesome animated series is completely different compared to the movie is was based on and it was awesome! In this cartoon, Beetlejuice and Lydia are best friends and they go through many adventures in the Neitherworld, a world full of monsters, zombies, and ghosts. There are also additional characters that wasn't included in the movie such as Jaques LaLean, a French skeleton bodybuilder, Ginger, a dancing spider, and Claire Brewster, Lydia's rival. This show was created by Tim Burton and it definitely shows as you see the dark, unusual, and atmospheric settings and faithfulness to the original material, despite that changes. The opening theme was insane and awesome and each episode was fantastic. Check it out.

7. Crayon Shin-chan (1992 in Japan)

Called The Simpsons of Japan, Crayon Shin-chan is an amazing anime full of adult humor and crazy characters. The story involves 5-year-old Shin Nohara living his normal life in Japan with his crazy and laidback mom, his perverted dad, his baby sister, and his equally crazy friends. Admittedly, I first saw this show while it was on Adult Swim back in 2005 and I loved every single minute of it. Every second of each episode got me laughing so hard! Especially, the super hero Action Bastard, Shin's ass dance and drawing a face on his dick calling it Mr. Elephant. I have no idea why it didn't become popular in America! The sad part about it is that Japan is still running new episodes to this day. However, I still watch them on YouTube from time to time and it's just as funny as it was back in 2005.

6. Garfield and Friends (1988)

This fantastic animated show based on the popular comic strips by Jim Davis was one of the most popular cartoons from the 80's. Each character from the comic strips was there: Garfield, Jon Arbuckle, Odie, Nermal, Liz, and more. There were even new characters introduced in the show such as Orson, Wade, Roy, Booker and Sheldon in a segment called U.S. Acres. Overall, it was very faithful to the original comics and it's still a great show to see.

5. Jim Henson's Muppet Babies (1984)

The show that started it all with baby versions of popular cartoon characters, Jim Henson's Muppet Babies was truly one of the most influencial shows ever made. Being a huge Muppet fan myself, it was such a treat to watch this. Each episode involve almost every single Muppet going through an adventure through the power of imagination. Just like the other Muppet shows and movies, it had so many movie references like Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones, and more. This was one of my favorite shows from my childhood and I'm so happy that the Muppets had made such an amazing comeback today.

4. Dragon Ball Z (1989 in Japan)

I'm not much an anime fanatic, but I have to admit that this show is beyond epic and awesome! The sequel to Dragon Ball, it involves the same character Goku, now a grown man married to Chi-Chi and a son named Gohan go through many obstacles and adventures alongside his friends Krillin, Yamcha, Tein, Yajirobe, Master Roshi, and Bulma. Piccolo, one of the main villains of Dragon Ball, became friends with Goku. Many memorable characters from the Dragon Ball universe like Vegeta, Trunks, Cell, the Androids, and Frieza were introduced to this anime and became household names among many anime fans. Almost every episode had so much action, violence fighting, and amazing story arcs that end in cliffhangers that make you want more.

3. The Real Ghostbusters (1986)

This is truly, in my opinion, the best animated series based on a movie ever made. Created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, The Real Ghostbusters took everything from the first Ghostbusters movie and increased the storyline, main character development, and creative monsters and ghosts. Each episode was filled with humor, action, and scares. In the episode where the Ghostbusters go after the Boogeyman is one of my absolute favorites. Their adaptation of the Boogeyman scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. Everything about this show was great from beginning to end.

2. Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

One of the most influencial animated shows ever released, Batman: The Animated Series took the inspirations from Tim Burton's Batman movies, Max Fleischer's Superman animated shows, and Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns comic book series and made it into a dark, serious, and epic animated superhero show. Gone are the campy, lighthearted segments from the 1960's Batman show and 1970's animated series. Each episode was packed with action, memorable characters, epic music, dark and shadowy atmospheric settings, and so much more. What made this show so great was the way they took characters such as The Penguin, The Joker, and Mr. Freeze and made them more developed and tragic. It's also the show that introduced new characters like Harley Quinn, The Joker's assistant. A fantastic show from beginning to end.

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)

Yeah, that's right. This amazing show has the mixture of a classic cartoon: Action, humor, memorable characters, great story arcs, hilarious references, and a catchy theme song. Based on the 1984 comic books, this was indeed one of the best shows of the 80's. Every kid I knew was a huge Ninja Turtles fan and we would talk for hours about our favorite Turtle, our favorite villians, our favorite episodes, and more. The story involves with the lives of 4 mutant turtles; Leonardo, the leader of the group, Donatello, the technically intelligent turtle, Raphael, the serious fighter, and Michaelangelo, the goofy, pizza loving turtle. Raised by their master, a rat named Splinter, they would fight the evil Shredder, Krang, the Foot Clan, Baxter Stockman, Bebop and Rocksteady from taking over the world.

Their human companions, April O'Neal, a news reporter, and Casey Jones, were extremely memorable and kickass in their own ways. Over the years, I've collected the action figures, the reproduced comic books, the movies, the DVDs, the video games, and t-shirts. Almost every single adaptation of the Ninja Turtles were awesome and I can't wait for the new animated show coming out for Nickelodeon. Seriously, I can go on for hours talking about this show, but I think you get it. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is my absolute favorite animated show ever!

That's all for now. Thank you so much for following me on this long nostalgic trip of these classic cartoons. Do these cartoons bring you back happy memories? Which cartoons that didn't make it to the list are your favorites? Post it in the comments below and let us know! Hope to see you around Old School Lane real soon. Thanks for reading.

-Kevin

Monday, April 16, 2012

Old School Lane presents Kevin's Top 100 Favorite Animated Shows (19-11)

Hey everyone, welcome back to Old School Lane. Thank you so much for following me for this long reminscing on this classic cartoons, so let's finish this fight!

19. Yakkity Yak (2002)

In my opinion, this is the most underrated Nickelodeon cartoon ever made. The show is very funny and silly and the show's style of animation was completely different from any Nickelodeon show that was showing at the time. The plot involves a yak named Yakkity who dreams of being a stand up comedian. Alongside his friends Keo and Lemony, they get themselves into crazy scenarios that is always fun to watch. If you've never heard of this show and you enjoy silly, goofy humor, then this show is for you.

18. The Flintstones (1960)

Before Family Guy and The Simpsons, there was The Flintstones. Inspired by The Honeymooners, the show involves Fred Flintstone, an everyman who lives in the town of Bedrock during the Stone Age with his wife Wilma, their daughter Pebbles, his next door neighbor and best friend Barney Rubble, Barney's wife Betty, and their son Bamm-Bamm. When it comes to classic Hanna Barbera cartoons, most people associate with The Flintstones. Or our next cartoon.

17. The Jetsons (1962)

Another great cartoon created by Hanna Barbera, it follows of lives of George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane, his wife, their robotic maid Rosey, and their dog Astro. It takes place in the futuristic year of 2062 in which there are flying cars, giant screen phones, and robotic maids that takes care of all the house chores. In each episode, the Jetsons futuristic universe always fascinated me with their amazing technology and wish that I would live a life like that. But I have to wait another 50 years, oh well. At least we're making good progress with our hybrid cars, automatic vacuum cleaners, and Skype.

Also one of my favorite crossovers of all time is when the Jetsons meet the Flintstones. It was amazing to see them switch time periods and seeing this Hanna Barbera cartoons together.

One more thing to mention is the new Jetsons movie. I'm really not looking forward to it. I mean, does Kanye West belong in the Jetsons universe? You tell me.

16. SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)

Still to this day, SpongeBob SquarePants is the most popular cartoons in Nickelodeon. It has released the most episodes, beating Rugrats, The Fairly Oddparents, and Hey Arnold. The show involves an optimistic sea sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants living in a pineapple under the sea in the town of Bikini Bottom. He works as a fry cook working at a fast food joint called The Krusty Krab, hangs out with his best friends Patrick Star, Gary the Snail, Squidward Tentacles, and Sandy Cheeks, tries hard to get a driver's license, and foils the evil plans of Plankton. Created by Steven Hillenberg, a animator and marine biologist who worked on previous Nickelodeon shows like Rocko's Modern Life, made a show to show his love for the ocean and its creatures. Each episode is always fun to watch, something that both kids and adults can enjoy.

15. Invader Zim (2001)

This cartoon is a classic example of a show that is clearly not for kids. I would expect something like this to be released on MTV or Adult Swim, but it was a Nickelodeon cartoon. That made it even more awesome. The show involves an alien from the planet Irk named Zim who wishes to be a great invader. However, he's terrible at it when he destroyed his planet unknowingly during Irk's first invasion mission. The Irkin leaders, the Allmighty Tallest, decided to get rid of Zim by sending him to a "secret mission" in an unknown planet and giving him a disfunctional robot assistant called GIR. The planet that Zim and GIR end up in is Earth and they adapt to the lives of Earthlings. A crazy paranormal obsessed boy named Dib discovers Zim and tries hard to prove to everyone that he's an alien.

Created by Jhonen Vasquez, the same creator of the sadistic books Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Squee, brought the same animation and dark comedy that he's known for and made this awesome show. However, it was cancelled during its prime and this show is still known to this day as a cult classic. Still to this day, there's a lot of Invader Zim merchandise in Hot Topic and it's very popular. I do get a bit angry when young 12 to 14-year-olds think that they can rock the shirts as oppose to the people who grew up with it. This picture pretty much says how I feel.

14. Beavis and Butthead (1992)

This show is one of the best animated shows ever released. Looking back on the original episodes, it makes me sad on how much MTV has changed, in my opinion, for the worse. The show involves two braindead teenagers named Beavis and Butthead who love nothing more than skipping class, trying to get laid, commenting on MTV music videos, and just hanging out. Back then, this show was the kind of show that kids wanted to see, but parents forbade them from watching. When I got older, watching it always reminded me of what a dumb high school teenager's life would be in the 90's. It was great!

After Mike Judge completed King of the Hill, he had commented that he wanted to release more Beavis and Butthead episodes and revive the show for a new generation. On October 27, 2011, Beavis and Butthead returned on MTV after being off the air for almost 15 years. The show was the same as the original, except taking place today. Instead of Beavis and Butthead commenting on just music videos, they watch episodes of Jersey Shore, UFC, and YouTube videos. The revival is great and it's just as good as the original. It just goes to show you that a show can be revived successfully if you update it very well, while keeping what made everything in the original great.

12. Rugrats (1991)

One of the first Nicktoons that ever premiered on Nickelodeon is still one of the best shows that ever graced television. This is the show that put Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo and their animation company, Klasky Csupo, on the map. The show is about the lives of 4 babies, Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, Phil and Lil Deville, from their perspectives. It shows how they see the world and the adults that control everything. This show also brings into their amazing imagination as they go through crazy adventures in their backyards from finding Moose Country to going into the moon. This show is still fun to watch to this very day bringing you back in a time when Nickelodeon was beginning to grow in popularity as the kids show to watch.

11. Doug (1991)

Yes, I admit it. I love Doug. I do. This show has extremely relatible characters and it shows what a typical kid from the 90's would live. The show involves the every day life of Doug Funnie going to school, hanging out with his friends, and writing everything down on his journal. Doug has intriguing alter-egos such as Quailman, Race Cannon, and Jack Bandit that he sometimes imagines whenever he gets himself into trouble. Premiering on the same day as Rugrats and Ren and Stimpy, it gets overlooked a lot. But I still love it, regardless on what anybody says. Hell, I even dressed up as Doug for Halloween when I was in the 5th grade. It's still a great show that you should check out if you haven't in a while.

That's all for now. Tune in next time as I cover my top 10 favorite animated shows. Hope to see you around Old School Lane real soon. Thanks for reading.

-Kevin

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Old School Lane presents Kevin's Top 100 Favorite Animated Shows (29-20)

Hey everyone, welcome back to my list of my favorite animated shows of all time. We're almost finished, so let's not waste any time.

29. Jem and the Holograms (1985)

Yes, I know. I'm a guy. But I can't help but love this show. If there are some guys who can admit liking My Little Pony and people finding that okay, then why can't I admit that I love Jem? It's about a girl named Jerrica Benton who owns her father's music company after his death. When she comes across her father's computer, known as Synergy, she's given a pair of earrings to transformed into her pop singing, pink haired alter ego Jem. Think of it like Hanna Montana, except it was in the 80's and was, well, good. Jem and her bandmates Kimber, Aja, and Shana have many adventures competing against their rival rock bands, The Misfits and The Stingers. They had over 150 songs that was catered to the show exclusively. Almost each song was catchy and memorable. It also showed music videos of the bands which was capturing the popularity of MTV and made the cartoon unique for its time. It was like Josie and the Pussycats for a new generation. They finally released it on DVD and they're showing it again on The Hub for kids who had never seen it before, which is awesome. Now if only they would release the soundtrack of all the songs. That would be outrageous! Truly, truly, truly outrageous!

28. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1994)

This classic Nickelodeon cartoon had all the things I loved when I was a kid. Monsters, gross humor, and funny adult jokes. It involves with three monsters, Ickis, Krumm, and Oblina, going into a monster academy to learn how to be scary for the human world. Throughout each adventure, they always get themselves into trouble and have to find ways to get out of it. Each character were funny and memorable from their teacher, The Gromble to the crazy monster obsessed man named Simon the Monster Hunter. This show was animated by Klasky Csupo, the same studio who animated Rugrats and Duckman. Just like every show that was trying to capture the popularity of Ren and Stimpy at the time, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters was dark, gross, and not really intended for children.

Originally, there was supposed to be an Aaahh!!! Real Monsters movie that was supposed to come out, but Nickelodeon rejected it because they thought it would be too scary for children. That is straight up crap right there! Overall, I love this show and I always watch it on Netflix whenever I have the time to do so.

27. Extreme Ghostbusters (1997)

Not a lot of people remember that there was another cartoon of the Ghostbusters after The Real Ghostbusters. It was released in 1997, 13 years after the first Ghostbusters movie, 8 years after Ghostbusters II, and 6 years after The Real Ghostbusters had ended. So the popularity of the Ghostbusters series at the time was gone. However, this cartoon was good and it shouldn't be forgotten. It takes place years after The Real Ghostbusters had ended. Since there aren't any more supernatural crimes as there was before, the original Ghostbusters retired and had moved on with their lives, with the exception of Egon. He still lives in the firehouse with Slimer and is now a college professor teaching a paranormal class to four students, Eduardo, Roland, Garrett, and Kylie. When the ghosts start reappearing again, Egon recruits his students to fight the ghosts and save the day.

This was like Ghostbusters for a new generation. It kept the same scary moments and funny humor from its predecessors, but also added in a darker and moodier atmosphere. It's a show that has been sadly overlooked and if you're a fan of Ghostbusters, you should really check it out. Also, I'm still waiting for Ghostbusters III. Even if Bill Murray isn't going to be in it!

File:Extreme-Ghostbusters-Cast-1.png

26. Underdog (1964)

There's no need to fear! Underdog is here! This classic 1964 cartoon involves with a dog named Shoeshing Boy, who shines shoes, but when trouble is calling, he runs to a nearby phone booth and turns into Underdog. His powers are similiar to Superman; he has flight, super strength, X-Ray vision, super breath, atomic breath, invulnerability from harm, and more. He mostly rescues the beautiful Sweet Polly Purebred from the evil villains The Electric Eel, Battyman, Tap-Tap the Chisler, and Overcat. Whenever he gets weak, he takes the "Underdog Super Energy Pill" and finishes his fight. Similar to Rocky and Bullwinkle, Underdog has different segments on the show such as Tennessee Tuxedo, Commander McBragg, Go Go Gophers, and Klondike Kat. This show was funny and action packed. A fantastic cartoon to watch again and again.

However, don't watch the crappy Underdog movie! It has almost nothing to do with the cartoon and it pains me that they made this! Ugh!

25. Bobby's World (1990)

If I were to mention the name Howie Mandel, what would you immediately associate him with?

Yeah, yeah. Deal or No Deal. But did you know that he had created an animated sitcom based on some stories from his childhood? Well, if you didn't, then you should really check out Bobby's World.

The story involves with a 4-year-old boy named Bobby Generic (who was voiced by Howie himself) and his family. Throughout the segments of each episode, we see his imaginative world and the interactions that he has with his family and friends. It was a show that really made me use my imagination that most kids shows today don't have. Bobby, his friends, and his family members are all funny and memorable. At the end of each episode, Howie and Bobby would talk to each other about today's lesson that they had learned from the episode. Overall, it was a great animated sitcom. Also, Howie had mentioned that he is working on new episodes of Bobby's World. I can't wait to see it when it comes out!

I also loved Bobby's appearance in Deal or No Deal.

24. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002)

After the success of the movie, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Nickelodeon decided to have a TV series based on the 10-year-old boy genius Jimmy Newtron, his robot dog Goddard, his rival Cindy Vortex, her best friend, Libby Folfax, and Jimmy's best friends Carl Wheezer and Sheen Estevez. Each episode involves with Jimmy inventing or experimenting on something that goes horribly wrong and he and his friends work together to fix it. Jimmy also saves his town of Retroville and sometimes the world from his arch enemies such as the aliens King Goobot and his assistant Ooblar, Professor Calamitous, Beautiful Gorgeous, and Eustace Strych. It had a catchy theme that I made Patricia sing to me all the time (no lie) and it was always fun to watch! A great show done by Nickelodeon!

However, the spinoff, Planet Sheen is really not that good. I would skip it.

23. Looney Tunes (1930)

What else can I say about it that you don't already know? They're fantastic cartoon shorts based on our favorite cartoon characters, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Elmer Fudd, and more. Each cartoon was great to watch and a lot of fun. They're still showing it in Cartoon Netword as of today. Why? Because these cartoons are timeless and are still has much fun to watch as there were over 80 years ago.

22. Transformers (1984)

The original Transformers cartoons trumps the Michael Bay movies and the current Transformers cartoon by a mile. I did like Transformers: Beast Wars, but I would watch the original any day of the week. The fight between the Autobots led by Optimus Prime and the Decepticons led by Megatron was always action packed and violent. Each character was lovable and memorable. Also, the toys were fantastic. One of the most popular toy brands of the 80's that I still own some today.

Overall, a fantastic show that brings you back to your childhood. If you want to see a kickass Transformers movie, see the 1986 animated one. Not the Michael Bay ones! They suck!

21. Gargoyles (1994)

Due to the popularity of Batman: The Animated Series, Disney decided to release a dark, serious animated show called Gargoyles. It's about a group of gargoyles led by Goliath. They would turn to stone during the day, but at night, they would be released from their slumber and protect a castle, the king, and the princess during the Middle Ages. However, due to a crime they didn't commit, a wizard cast a spell that would turn them into stone until "the castle was higher than the clouds". Hundreds of years later, a billionaire named David Xanthos bought the castle and turned it into a skyscraper. This released the gargoyles from their spell. Along the way, a police officer named Elisa Maza discovers the gargoyles and together, they fight crime and stop the evils of supernatural beings in New York while adjusting to the new time period. It was a fantastic show with great characters and great storytelling. It's too bad that Disney doesn't release stuff like this anymore. Oh well, if you haven't seen it, check it out.

20. The Simpsons (1989)

"What? This show isn't at #1? Or even at your top 10? How dare you?!" Yes, yes, grab your torch and pitch forks! It's not that I don't love this show, I do. But in recent years, it hasn't been as funny as they were in their earlier years, so that's why it's #20. I don't even need to tell what it's about. You already know. It's about the Simpsons family, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, living their everyday lives in the town of Springfield, Oregon! That's right. Oregon. Not Missouri, Maine, or Ohio. It's in Oregon. Anyway, each of the characters from the town of Springfield have their own unique characteristics and personalities that makes it fun to watch. Although, the show has gone downhill, it's still the longest running animated show in history and it's always a treat to watch. Hell, even Patricia had mentioned a Simpsons episode in her Top 10 Favorite Pee-wee Herman moments of 2011.

It still does a good job making fun of a bunch of celebrities and pop culture. Overall, it's still a great show.

Oh yeah, check out The Simpsons Movie if you haven't yet! It's really funny!

That's it for now. Tune in next time as I do a double header as we tackle the remaining cartoons until we reach #1. Thanks for hanging out with us at Old School Lane. Take care.

-Kevin

P.S. Also, Old School Lane's Patricia has a Twitter account! Check it out for the latest, up to date posts or if you have any questions or comments, click on https://twitter.com/#!/patty_b_miranda.