The Powerpuff Girls

  The Powerpuff Girls aired for 6 seasons from 1998 to 2005 and was one of many series that went by the "two 11 minutes segments per episode" format that grew more and more popular around its time. The series, despite having a very girly seeming name, was packed with action and plenty popular with boy's crowd too (myself included). It is considered to have gotten worse with the later seasons (particularly season 5 and 6) and i'd be inclined to agree, but that's not to say it wasn't still GOOD, just not as much so.

 
  The series followed the lives of Blossom (the intelligent, responsible one), Bubbles (the innocent, childish one), and Buttercup (the angry tomboyish one), three girls who would spend their days in kindergarten, and their afternoons and weekends fighting crime on the streets of Townsville, They had been created by Professor Utonium, who just was lonely and wanted some daughters but who accidentally created superheroes.

  There was no lack of villains in the series, with Mojo Jojo (a previous experiment of the Professor's who was a hyper-intelligent monkey now bent on taking over the world) as the most recurring. Besides him, we had Fuzzy Lumpkins, The Gangreen Gang, Princess Morbucks, and *shivers* HIM. Him was the gayest and yet also darkest villain the show had to offer. His flamboyant nature could be switched to an angry, dangerous menace and the drop of the hat, and that was oddly captivating.

  But without a doubt my favourite villains (and also the most underused) would be the Rowdyruff Boys, male dopplegangers of the PPG created by Mojo Jojo and later brought back by HIM. Brick, Boomer, and Butch were hilarious in their interactions with each other, and how they contrasted with the girls, they stole the show every time they appeared, which was not often enough. 

  Besides just the villains, the girls had support from their kindergarten teacher, Ms. Keane. And The (bumbling) Mayor and his assistant, Ms. Bellum (WHO'S FACE WE NEVER GOT TO SEE)

  Overall, the series was hilarious as we saw the girls go through the struggles of your average kid, while having to deal with guys like HIM and Mojo Jojo. Action-packed, yet light-hearted, this one is a classic that definitely deserves the reboot that it's apparently getting next year. 87/100. 

LEMME REPEAT, PPG IS GETTING A REBOOT....AND IT'S NOT GOING TO BE IN SHITTY CGI LIKE THE LAST TV SPECIAL WAS. WOO HOO.....also, next week is Dexter's Labratory. 

Animaniacs

Hmm, this is starting to become sort of an awkward pattern isn't it? Did every (non-superhero or Cartoon Cartoon) 90s cartoon have to focus on animals? Because this one had a full ensemble of them.

Yup, this one's got A LOT to talk about so let's get right into it.

Animaniacs lasted 5 seasons from 1993 to 1998 and it sort of started off the fumes of Tiny Toon Adventures, a show that followed the lives of the Looney Tunes students. I believe I'm in the majority when I say, Tiny Toons was actually really funny, but it's no masterpiece in the way Animaniacs is. I guess it's just that Animaniacs was the same premise as Looney Tunes (ensemble cast of insane talking animals working off eachother in pairs) except, unlike Tiny Toons, it doesn't just use kid versions of all the Looney Tunes, it makes its own.

First thing's first, opening theme is very catchy and animation is some of the best I've ever seen. Extra points to the theme for describing the premise of the show (something that I don't think is done enough nowadays).

Now....onto the big one. The characters. The series is a situational comedy variety show all about pairs of insane animals working off eachother, and do they do that well?

 Well, we have Rita and Runt, a singing cat and a dog who's too likeably dumb to realize she's a cat.

 Pinky and the Brain, a mouse who's smarter than most humans who wants to take over the world and his only friend who is much more idiotic than him and kinda just goes with whatever he says. This duo was so popular, they ultimately got their own spin-off series.

Slappy and Skippy, a grumpy old squirrel who used to do hilarious cartoons and her chipper nephew.

Mindy and Buttons, a little girl who gets into loads of trouble and her dog who always saves her (and injures himself in the process).

The Hip Hippos, a couple of...well hipster hippos...their name is self-explanatory.

 The Goodfeathers, a trio of piegons who think they're in a mafia.

 Chicken Boo, a chicken who tries to fit in with humans through disguises, which no one seems to see through. I thought it was ironic that he wanted to be human the most, yet he was the least human in that he didn't speak.

Katie Kaboom, a teenage girl who turns into a monster and then explodes whene
ver she gets mad (she always confused me, she wasn't even an animal, why was she on this show?)

 And Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, a trio of preteen siblings who are some sort monkey-dog hybrid and appear to live totally randomly and with no comprehension of any reason whatsoever. Now if that isn't the setup for a funny show that will make no sense at all, I don't know what is,

The cartoon worked off the same 3 Segments format that I mentioned earlier in the Garfiled and Friends review (check it out if you haven't already). Every episode was 22 minu

tes long but was made up of 3 segments, each 7 minutes long. Each would deal with a different group of characters.

 Yakko, Wakko, and Dot appeared in every episode as they were sort of the hosts that kept the show going along. They'd been created to be the ultimate comedians but they caused too much havoc so they were sealed away on the studio lot water tower, but they're always escaping and being chased down by the studio staff (Including Doctor Scratchnsniff, the studio shrink, Mr. Thaddeus Plotz, the studio CEO, Hello Nurse, who Yakko and Wakko are in love with, and Ralph, the security guard).  The breakout stars were Pinky and the Brain, who later got their own show, which I actually saw before Animaniacs. My favourites would either be Chicken Boo as he was the only animal who always worked alone, and also one of the only ones to never speak (which is ironic as he's always trying to be the most human) or maybe Mindy and Buttons, just because Mindy is so adorable and Buttons also is unique in that he never speaks.

 Also, on top of the 3 segments, they would also always have a 1 minute gag (just like Garfield's Quickies). They would cycle between "the Randy Beaman kid" who always talked about the outlandish stories his friend, Randy Beaman, would get into. The "Wheel of Morality" which would spit out a moral lesson for the kids which wouldn't be logical in the slightest. And "Good Idea, Bad Idea" where a monotone narrator compared good ideas to similar but worse ideas. If those don't sound funny, don't worry, they're a lot more comical actually watching them.

This show wasn't afraid to make fun of anything and everything. Nothing was safe from their cheesy, but admittedly funny, pop culture references. The characters worked pretty well off their partners and the humor was always pretty good. There was a special episode where they mixed everyone's partners up which was still funny but it just went to show that the partners were meant for eachother, and i couldn't imagine it any other way. Overall, this was a 94, you should see it. If you liked this or have something to say, please comment! Thanks for this and see you guys next week with THE POWERPUFF GIRLS OMG OMG OMG.

Garfield And Friends

 

  GARFIELD AND FRIENDS! This Saturday morning gem of comedy was one of the funniest shows I've seen and a worthy adaptation to the comic strip. It followed a structure I haven't talked about yet, that is the 3 Segments. 3 Segments structure is my favourite for lightehearted comedies such as this, and it does the show a lot of favours, The 22 minute runtime of each episode was made up of 3 segments, each 7 minutes. The first and the last segment of each episode would follow the exploits of Garfield Cat, his owner Jon Arbuckle, and Jon's other pet, Odie Dog. The middle segment (the "Friends" in the title) was based off a less popular comic strip that shared the same page in the newspapers as Garfield; that is, Orson's Farm. Both the Garfield and Orson's Farm segments were jampacked with hilarity and well worth waiting through 8 minutes of spread out commercials over the 30 minute slot.

  Garfield was a stereotype of a slacker; he's fat, all he ever does is eat lasagna (and every other food, besides raisins, he hates those), he hates Mondays, worships the television, and bullies Odie. Now, one sign of the strength of the writing is that ODIE DOESN"T SPEAK. Odie, the deuteragonist of the series, never says anything more than "*pant**pant* YEAH *pant* *pant*", and yet we are able to understand his communication with Garfield perfectly well; he gets irritated, but he's a tad bit too dumbly loyal to stay mad at his only pal. Jon is another character who is defined by his interactions with others, primarily girls and his pets. Jon is a bit of a pathetic, lonely man, he's never had a 2nd date with a woman (EVER), and he treats his pets more like his kids. Regardless of his faults, he's an innocent and likable man who you pity and laugh at at the same time.

  Orson's Farm carried more of an ensemble cast. You had Orson Pig, the straight man (straight pig?) who simply enjoys his books and keeps the farm running smoothly, Roy Rooster, a swindiling con-artist who's always trying new ways to get out of his work and make his friends' lifes living hell, Wade Duck, who is literally afraid of absolutely everything, Bo Sheep, the super chill and mellow dudeeee who's always arguing with his sister, Lanolin Sheep, the super tense overly-competitive clotheswasher (she is literally always washing clothes but none of them wear any, wtf) who's always arguing with her brother, and Booker and Sheldon, twin chicken brothers who just hatched, except for Sheldon who willingly chooses to never hatch, hence the name. *Get it SHELDon, hilarious*

On top of the 3 segments, the show also had a 1-minute "Garfield Quickie" or a 1-minute "Orson's Farm Quickie" every episode. Now the shows are pretty equal, except for the fact that Orson rarely crosses over to Garfield's show, yet Garfield is the special guest star amongst his "friends" every other episode. Mind you, Orson is less of a dominant "main character" than Garfield, but with twice the cast to compete with and half the screentime to work with, he doesn't have the time to be.

Now, I like this show for one reason and one reason only: The humour, It is ALWAYS bang on and can make me laugh like no tomorrow. They break the fourth wall often, which isn't everyone's cup of tea but it is mine, and both shows have great recurring characters. Nermal is the world's cutest cat and both his attempts to show that and Garfield's attempts to mail him to Abu Dhabi after he gets frustrated with him are amusing, to say the least. Orson's Farm was mostly driven by farm conflict, such as Orson's bullying older brothers trying to steal vegetables, or Roy's nemesis, The Weasel, trying to steal and cook the farm chickens. (Or sometimes it would just be Roy being a jerkwad). Garfield was driven by a completely new and different conflict every episode, every segment even. This is a must-watch, I rate it a 92/100,

Justice League Unlimited

 
   Damn. So here we are. The big one. Justice. League. Unlimited. The make-it-or-break-it for the DCAU. Woo, can't believe we're at the end of Superhero September already. I'm gonna miss this month.

   The animated television series Justice League aired for 5 seasons from 2001 to 2006 (not exactly a "90s cartoon" but close enough, especially considering its' predecessors) and for its' last 3 seasons was re-titled "Justice League Unlimited". It followed the adventures of a team of superheroes, who, after saving the world from an alien invasion, band together to keep humanity safe from all sorts of crime. (And they did it in a badass above-planetary watchtower too)

  It was part of the DC Animated Universe shared continuity, and like most of the DCAU, was the first time a lot of plots and characters from the comics were ever adapted. In fact, to this day, it remains the only TV show to have specifically focused on the League.

  The first half of the show was done in a unique, interesting format, every single episode of the series was a 2-part episode. The big season premieres and finales were three-parters. This really made sense for the show, considering it was the most serious, edgy, and dramatic Saturday-morning cartoon on the air for kids at the time. I really felt the decision to do this was creative and stylish. Unfortunately they changed this when they added "Unlimited" to the title. Another thing they changed was they went from a mid size cast to a full rotating ensemble. While, the first two seasons only followed the original 7 leaguers (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter). They expanded to a team of over 30 members after the 2nd season, and we didn't really get to know them as well. While i'm not saying Justice League Unlimited was "bad", it certainly was a bit of a downgrade from the first two seasons.

   That withstanding, the entire series is very well paced, animated, and it was unique to have such an actiony show on the air for kids at the time. It's fitting we end Superhero September off with it as it ended the entire DCAU off with a bang, with the epic JLU finale which you'd have to see to believe. Only one phrase, Superman, Batman, and Lex Luthor vs Darkseid. Watch it. This show defined chiildhood and testosterone at the same time, 96/100

-

And with that, we conclude Superhero September! Please do drop by and check us out next week as we continue with non-superhero cartoons from the 90s and 00s! 

Superman: TAS

  Superman is the most all-American, iconic, and genre-defining superhero there ever was and this was the most iconic adaptation he ever got (in my humble opinion). Superman: The Animated Series aired  for 4 seasons from 1996 to 2000. If you know the episode count, you'll know it had more seasons but less episodes than Batman:TAS; before you ask that was due to Batman:TAS having an extremely long first season.  On the topic of Batman:TAS it had a sort of circular relationship with this show; it inspired this show to even exist in the first place, while this show inspired Batman:TAS to be revived. Together, with their 3-part crossover episode "World's Finest" they inspired the entire shared continuity (and production team) of the DCAU, which produced great shows that I won't be getting to until later such as "Static Shock" and "Batman Beyond" and also the only ever Justice League adapation (where the team is the main focus). They also even inspired their rivals at Marvel Comics to (less successfully) try their hand at the same thing.

The series was a very dramatic outlook on the Superman mythos, their 3-part series premiere "the Last Son of Krypton" was an especially unique twist on the usual Superman origin story and if you see nothing else of the series, you've gotta see that. Animation wise, it was the first Superman animated adaptation to surpass the quality of the amazing Fleischer & Famous short films of the 1940s, which is a spectacular feat, in and of itself.

The storytelling was unique, mature, and detailed. The action was entertaining, fun, and spectacular. It had a little something for everyone and it's held up well with time. Even without my bias to Batman I wouldn't put it as an equal to Batman:TAS, but Superman:TAS is still damn good. 88/100

-


Next week is the last in Superhero September and we'll be tackling the big one, Justice League Unlimited! Stay tuned!

Batman: TAS

 

 First of all, I must apologize on getting this to you so late. In the end I decided to just put out two posts this Friday and none last week because.....reasons.

  So, in our extremely late 2nd post (3rd week) of Superhero September we'll be talking about the 2nd most popular superhero of all time, Batman. Or specifically, his most critically acclaimed cartoon, Batman: The Animated Series. Batman TAS was the show that started off the DCAU, and it was thanks to it that we had the groundbreaking writing and shared continuity in comic book cartoons of the 90s. This is something that only makes sense considering Batman was (after Superman) the superhero that originally defined the genre back in the 30s. And I'm going to be honest here, Superman, especially when he's overpowered is extremely fun to watch, but he doesn't have as much of the same character depth as Batman. Where as Spider-Man was my favourite Marvel hero, Batman is my favourite DC which is why I'm more excited than ever to write this.

  Batman:TAS interestingly enough, went through a name change every season. season 1 was the only one actually called Batman:The Animated Series, season 2 was titled Adventures of Batman and Robin, and season 3 was entitled The New Batman Adventures. The season 2 name change was to signify they were including Robin more often (a decision I believe helped the show a lot) and the season 3 name change was to signify their return from hiatus (as well as a change in art style). The first two seasons aired from 1992 to 1995 before the show was cancelled. New episodes were made from 1997 to 1999 to air alongside Superman:TAS, before it was cancelled again. This version of Batman would live on for several more years however, in the Justice League series. Both of those series are for other articles however. 

  

  Batman:TAS was a groundbreaker among superhero cartoons as it was really the first to treat its' young audience as mature consumers; dealing with much darker and more serious storylines and character issues than any superhero cartoon had before. This was a big risk, but the show handled it well and has won four Emmy Awards for that. Like the many cartoons of the time that were entitled *insert superhero name here*:TAS, the show was the first of it'[s franchise to adapt plenty of comic book characters and plot ideas; as a matter of fact, it actually created a character that would be later adopted by the comics, Harley Quinn. Speaking of the many superhero cartoons of the 90s, Batman:TAS was the first, and it was its' success that inspired the shared continuity (and production staff) of the DCAU to begin with. 

Overall, this was a genius cartoon that crafted out a genre. A must-see if you haven't seen it already, and a must-rewatch if you have. 92/100. 

Spider Man: TAS

   Hey guys! I know this is only my second review so it's weird that I'm already doing themed months, but I've always wanted to do this so.....SUPERHERO SEPTEMBER!!!

  This first week of September, I'll be reviewing Spider Man: TAS, which I'll be open and just admit, is my hands-down favourite show ever.  It's the iconic best adaptation to my favourite iconic Marvel suuperhero, so it's fitting we begin with it.

  Spider Man: The Animated Series aired for 5 seasons from 1994 to 1998. The animation was good however the CGI they use in some of the backgrounds does not blend well. The opening theme song wasn't iconic like many others of its time, but it was good enough.

  Now, getting into the actual show it was the first time that a lot of Spider-Man's rogue gallery was adapted, including my favourite Spider-Man villain, Venom. This is an especially good thing considering that Spider-Man is renowned for fighting some of the deepest and most complex supervillains in comics. The storylines are always engaging and they fleshed out their characters (especially their main one) well enough to do justice to the comics. Spider-Man in particular showed how strong they were in making you relate to the characters, in fact I'd say it was their strongest suite, You really felt his pain in balancing his normal life as Peter Parker and his responsibilities to New York as Spider-Man. You understood where he was coming from when he was tempted to quit, and you were proud of him when he chose not to. In fact, you really understood the motivations and intentions of ALL the characters, including the antagonists, which is a hard feat to accomplish.

  The storylines were great, though they got confusing once the show had gathered up enough continuity. My favourite ones would be the Venom Saga, where Venom is introduced and taken out over the course of 3 episodes and then reintroudced alongside his son Carnage a season later, the Green Goblin saga which is too complex to even describe here and the "I Really Hate Clones" two-part series finale (A MUST SEE).

  Like the actual comics and all the other adaptations, we start off with Spider-Man already having been Spider-Man for some time. Unlike the comics and the very first, 1960s Spider-Man cartoon, we never get to see his origin story, even later on. That is one thing I always wished they'd do in more of the Spider-Man cartoons. Now, most fans believe the ending of the series to be lackluster as *SPOILER WARNING*SPOILER WARNING* Spidey's  love interest, Mary Jane, is still MIA in some alternate dimension by the end (even though he's actively searching for her *SPOILER OVER*SPOILER AVERTED* I however, in a minority that is perfectly satisfied by the ending. However.......there WAS a sequel series (which doesn't resolve the plot thread that annoys fans that I mentioned earlier in the spoiler)  that, though not up to the same standards, I personally am ok with. It's called Spider Man Unlimited. I'm not going to make the case that it was better, as good, or even nearly as good as the original, however it wasn't BAD. Except for the ending which is a TRUE cliffhanger that enrages me to no end.  *ANOTHER SPOILER WARNING*ANOTHER SPOILER WARNING* The series ended with a building that Spidey is in about to collapse, and an alien invasion about to begin all in the next 30 seconds. That is the ending. With no forseeable salvation.  *SPOILER OVER*SPOILER AVERTED*....again. And worse yet, Spider Man Unlimited was the last series to air in the MAU (Marvel Animated Universe), meaning that the entire 8 YEAR LONG SHARED CONTINUITY WITH OVER 7 SEPERATE ANIMATED SERIES ends on perhaps, the worst cliffhanger ever. However, that is not the fault of the original Spider-Man: TAS, thank goodness.

  Now, I understand I haven't really gone too in depth on the premise like I usually do, but that's mostly because the likes of Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man are so iconic that I don't think most people need me to. Nevertheless, I shall give a short summary. Peter Parker is a 16 year old (college-aged by the time this series starts though) who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and now has all its abilities. Web-shooting, wall-crawling, "Spidey-sense" that alerts him to danger, and enhanced agility and strength. He uses these to fight crime as a masked spider-themed vigilante. On his way he makes enemies out of many criminals, and more importantly, many super criminals.

  Overall, the series was good, but where it really shone through is where I said it did before, in it's characterization. For even just how maturely it handled its characters, it clearly was a show that respected its audience. And with that, I give Spider-Man: TAS a 98, woo-hoo. Thanks guys, next week i'll be reviewing Batman: TAS, please comment!