Top 4 WTF's Of 90's Cartoons

Ahh, the 1990’s. A time of punk rock music, “American Pie” and Warner Brothers creating a fresh new sitcom called “Friends.”Contemporary cartoon classics like “Dexter’s Laboratory,” “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Ed, Edd n Eddy” were all born in this wonderful decade and many kids spent long summer days watching their favourite shows on TV while their moms screamed at them to go outside and play. If you’re anything like me, you spent your childhood laughing at the antics of your favourite cartoon characters and you then spent your teenage years wondering if the creators had been on acid when they thought some of that stuff up.
While it’s common for kids’ shows to sometimes throw in a little, tiny bit of adult humour for any parents watching the show to chuckle at, there’s a big difference between subtly hinting at something and making it audaciously strip onstage in front of everyone (see #1).
Ladies and gentlemen, I was a cartoon aficionado growing up in the 1990’s and that’s why it brings me great pride to bring to you the top 5 WTF’s of 90’s cartoons...


#4: The Negatively Portrayed Transvestite On “The Powerpuff Girls” 
Who knows? When this proposal was first cooked up at a meeting with the Cartoon Network executives, maybe it was seen as a good idea. In the changing times of the late 90’s, perhaps it would have been innovative and forward-thinking to introduce children to a transsexual cartoon character, simply so they’d be accepting and open-minded when they’d meet one in real life.
But then someone had the idea of making it arguably the scariest villain on the show and insinuating that it was Satan. OK, so the ship of acceptance has sailed then...
In his first appearance on the show, he was called a “king of darkness” and it was said that because his very name strikes fear into the hearts of men, he can only be referred to as “Him.” So either he’s Lucifer or some sort of death metal rocker. And since he never wielded a Flying V and performed a mind-blowing guitar solo, we should probably go with the first option.

Or a cosmetics salesman. There’s always that.
Picture from thepowerpuffgirls.free.fr 

So yeah. If you watched Cartoon Network growing up (and unless you knew someone personally who was transgender), this was probably your first introduction to the trans world. It wasn’t a very positive one but the reason it’s not higher on this list is because Him turned out to be a pretty beloved “Powerpuff Girls” villain (personally, he was always my favourite). So maybe he did help bring a little bit of acceptance around.
Even if he was a metaphor for the devil.
And completely terrifying.
And he licked the professor’s face once.
Oh forget it, let’s just move on!

#3: The Sheer Psychological Horror Of “Courage The Cowardly Dog”
You know that guy you went to school with who is now a serial killer? Well, his murderous ways were DEFINITELY not inspired by this show. After all, the following clip could only serve to encourage a sensitive child to be well-adjusted and completely self-assured...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AXseEnXtsc
Nope, no trauma here!

See what I mean? No? OK, I’ll level with you.
Nearly every episode of “Courage The Cowardly Dog” was a fifteen-minute recital of horrifying monsters, sinister catchphrases (anyone remember “return the slab?”), creepy storylines, crappy animation techniques, eerie-sounding music and a dose of pure, unbridled terror.
The show centred around a pusillanimous dog named Courage who continuously had to save his owners from monsters, ghouls and ghosts. The show also liked to experiment with different methods of computer graphics, some of which worked well but most of which only had the purpose of making the show much more disturbing than it actually had to be. Behold... 

THIS is how you make a child’s delicate mental state stable.Picture from courage.wikia.com

And hey, before you start complaining, I’m a big fan of the horror genre. I just think that because it was a kids’ show, “Courage The Cowardly Dog” should have been a bit more “Scooby-Doo” and a bit less “The Exorcist.” And no, that’s not an exaggeration. There was actually an episode with an exorcism. 

This could actually be seen as educational.
All kids need to learn how to perform an exorcism sooner or later, right? 

Picture from courage.wikia.com 

#2: The Blatant Lesbian Stereotypes In An Episode Of “Cow & Chicken” I don’t ever remember seeing this episode growing up because I’m pretty sure it was taken out of syndication faster than an engine-powered cheetah on Prozac. But I know for a fact that the episode, entitled “Buffalo Gals,” drew huge controversy for portraying gay stereotypes in a way that made you wonder if the censors were incredibly homophobic or just plain stupid. 

“So the horrifically offensive stereotypes are the bad guys?

Perfect! Kids today need to be more prejudiced!”

Picture from www.dreamstime.com 

The episode included a group of burly, female bikers bursting into Cow and Chicken’s home and viciously chewing on their carpet (yes, you read that right). According to Cow and Chicken’s mother (ingeniously named “Mom”) the Buffalo Gals randomly break into people’s houses and do this kind of thing all the time, metaphorically suggesting that all lesbians are opportune criminals who casually break into people’s homes for the purpose of oral rape. Now if that isn’t tolerance of the gay community, I don’t know what is! 
The episode also contains the bikers playing softball (a sport commonly linked to your average butch lesbian) and singing a song with the line “Buffalo Gals, won’t you come out tonight?” Oh, and also one of the bikers was named “Munch Kelly.” Can you feel yourself turning into a homophobe (even if you’re gay)? So can I. So let’s move on while our broad-mindedness is still intact. 

#1: The Stripper In “2 Stupid Dogs” 
Remember when I mentioned that adult humour is sometimes included in kids’ shows for the benefit of any older people watching? Well, “2 Stupid Dogs” tended to do that quite a lot and usually they did it very cunningly. For example, in an episode where the two main characters (who were two stupid dogs, shockingly) went to a drive-in movie, it was insinuated that many people only went to drive-in movies to have a grand old time in the backseat of their cars. Kindly watch this video to see what I mean... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDimSN9AIUA
We COULD get angry about this...or admit that they’re absolutely right... 

See? Adults would get a laugh out of that while kids wouldn’t really understand what was going on but would shrug it off and keep watching the funny cartoon doggies. Everybody wins! It seems that “2 Stupid Dogs” had mastered the art of subtle adult humour. 

Or not. Really, really not.
Picture from http://pimpdaddylovemuffin.com/2011/08/22/cartoon-of-the-week-2-stupid-dogs/ 

But sadly, no. They HAD to push the bra – I mean bar!
The above picture is NOT Photoshopped. It’s from an episode called “Door Jam” where the two dogs were looking for shoes and went to a strip club (which are known for their wide selection of footwear). The stripper (although in silhouette) takes her bra off in front of them while the little dog shouts eagerly for her to take off her shoe. Once she does, he practically faints in ecstasy. 
There are so many things to comment on here that I don’t even know where to start. My first reaction is to utter a long and unquenchable cry of “why?” My second response is to question the motives of the patron on the right who paints an extremely bad picture of strip club-goers with his creepy, immoral smile. I also feel compelled to ask why the two dogs couldn’t have gone looking for shoes in a logical place...such as a clothes store. But I guess that would have made too much sense. 
Also, to top it all off...What??? 

Yep, totally normal kids’ television. 
But I’ll be honest, I’m glad I grew up with the craziness of Cartoon Network and all the great shows it produced. After all, if I hadn’t been exposed to these crazy cartoons, maybe I wouldn't be the blogging nutcase I am today. 
And then what would you be mildly amused by?

Quest For A Card

As mentioned in the first ever post on this blog, public transport and I don't have the best relationship in the world.
But recently, I've reached a whole new level of stupidity where I can't even manage to get on the bus in the first place.

It all started when my 30 day rambler expired and I had to buy a new one.
Being Aimee, I waited until the last day, thinking it would be no problem.
I was wrong.

I went into the usual place where I buy them and asked for a 30 day rambler. The guy smiled at me, went away and came back with a small, yellow card.
"€125 please," he said.
"Wait...what? It's meant to be €91.50."
"Oh...you wanted the student one?" he sounded bemused and surprised.
"Em...yes???" I sounded offended and pissed off.
He went away and came back again.
"Sorry, we're all out of student ramblers."
"Oh! Alright. Any idea when you'll have them in again?"
"I don't know...we usually get big shipments of them in on Sunday."
"Today is Tuesday..."
"Yeah...sorry."
I thanked him for his time anyway, left the establishment and entered a different supermarket up the road.

I walked up to the cashier and, within seconds, realized that I was talking to someone who bore a striking resemblance in personality to Karen Smith from "Mean Girls."
"Hi! Do you sell bus ramblers by any chance?"
She tore away from her busy task of gazing open-mouthed at the wall to gaze open-mouthed at me.
"...what?"
"Do you sell ramblers? Student ramblers?"
No reaction.
"For the bus?"
"Bus?"
I could almost see the confused thought circumventing her puzzled mind.
Bus...? But we sell groceries here. Or at least that's what they told me...
Just then, the hamster seemed to plop itself back on the wheel and she remembered something.
"Oh! They sell them in the corner shop outside!"
"Oh OK, thanks!"
"No problem."
She then happily returned to to her staring competition with the wall.

Following Karen Smith's instructions, I entered the corner shop outside.
The woman standing behind the counter smiled at me as I entered and I smiled back.
"Hi, do you sell ramblers for the bus?"
The woman blinked at me as her face succumbed to a frown of confusion.
"Ramblers? I...think so."
She then turned around and seemed genuinely surprised to find a series of shelves behind her. She also seemed surprised that she held the key to one of the lower drawers and even more surprised to realize that she worked in a shop in general.
She opened a drawer, took out a small box and placed it on the counter, looking absolutely shocked and enthralled by its presence.
At that moment, I wondered just what type of people are hired to work in shops these days. Apparently, managers favour people who have no understanding of stock or what the store in question sells.
"What type of rambler are you looking for again?" she asked me breathlessly.
"The 30 day student one?"
She searched the box, flicking through the various little cards.
"Oh, we don't have that particular one, I'm sorry."
"That's alright, thanks anyway."
I then left the shop to let the woman play with her new treasure.

I gave up for the night after that.
The next morning, I bought a return train ticket into the city, hoping that I'd be able to find a 30 day student rambler somewhere.
The first shop I went into were also pleasantly surprised to hear that they sold ramblers and proudly put them on display as I left (they also didn't have a 30 day student rambler. By this point, I began to doubt my sanity and wonder if they really even existed anymore).

Then I went into a corner shop and waited in line for ten minutes behind a man who momentarily forgot how to work his credit card.
But I finally got my rambler in that store.
The cashier just walked away and casually came back with a €91.50 30 day student rambler.
"Is this it?"
"Oh my gosh...YES!!!!!"

Never had that little yellow card looked so beautiful. :)

In Your Mind's Eye

Each and every human being on this planet is likely to spend 47% of their time daydreaming. That's OK though...because, apparently, spending time lost in the dream land makes us more creative and intelligent.
As well as that, a huge portion of the human brain supposedly spends a lot of time thinking up perfect scenarios for us to imagine ourselves living through.

Is that a good thing though?

I think yes. :)
I mean, yes, there is such a thing as going too far...
And when you're shivering behind your garden shed wearing a tinfoil hat and muttering about the mermaids who are trying to organise a raffle so that you don't die, you might want to lay off the "imagination" stuff for a while.
But a little bit of casual musing and visualising seems alright in my books.
In fact, it seems downright awesome.

I'm a serial daydreamer.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm constantly away in my own world...mulling things over, trying to come up with ideas, reliving past memories and envisioning new ones.
It sounds weird to say but I enjoy thinking. My brain is the place I'm most familiar with after all! If I have any type of dilemma or problem in my life, I'll wait until the bus ride to or from college, switch on my iPod, switch myself off and just think about it.
Sometimes I can't even go to sleep because I'm thinking so hard about something or another.
But I don't really believe that that's a bad thing.
It mellows me out, it relaxes me and it keeps me feeling calm.
I can't even count the amount of times I've pondered myself out of a panic attack just by focusing on something else.
And when it comes to any type of sadness or upset, it's super nice to be able to escape into your own head. It's a lot more peaceful in there than out in the screaming battlefield everyday life can sometimes feel like. ;)

In regards to all this, I'd like to quote one of my favourite movies of all time, "Sucker Punch," which is an epic extravaganza of rebellion against corrupt authority, bad ass teamwork, clever plot twists, steampunk warfare, escape from a mental asylum and just pure incredibleness mixed with amazingness in a blender.
Anyway, the film has a brilliant line regarding imagination...
"It's like we talked about, you control this world. Let the pain go, let the hurt go, let the guilt go. What you are imagining right now, that world that you control? That place can be as real as any type of pain."
And I think that's true. :)
A few minutes of retreating into the dream world can be incredibly beneficial to your own well-being.
There's been lots of times when I've felt down and then just by getting inside my own mind and chillin' there for a little while, I've ended up feeling a lot better.
I've always considered it to be pretty nourishing...slipping into a place where no you can get to you or bother you or take anything away from you. It's a world that's completely yours and no one else's. A world where you're the boss.
I think we all need that sometimes.

Plus, it can help with real life desires and yearnings as well.
I remember talking to a friend of mine once who said that he noticed a girl in his lecture hall at university one day who was (in his own words) "the definition of breath-taking." He told me all about how she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen and how amazing her smile was.
"So when are you going to talk to her?" I remember asking him.
"Never," he answered straightaway in a noticeably confident tone of voice.
Seeing the confused look on my face, he elaborated.
"Aimee, I have an idea of this girl in my head that I don't want to ruin," he told me. "Today I acted like a big creep inside my brain and imagined speaking to her for the first time, our first date, how it would go, what she would say, how her laugh would sound. And in my head, that's all awesome and fantastic. It made me feel really, really cheerful for a little while. So why wreck it by talking to her in real life? There'll be other girls. But I want to keep this one the way it is.
And yes, before you say it, I know this all makes me sound like a stalker!"
"Not at all," I assured him.
Because it didn't (to me at least). In fact, it made perfect sense.
And the more I reflected on it ('cos that's what I do), the more of a beautiful idea it seemed.
I mean, no one is perfect, right? Right.
But it's nice to believe that some people out there are just these awesome, flawless angels who are sweet and caring, gorgeous and striking, smart and funny. The whole deal with no faults.
That type of person doesn't exist of course...but it's kind of cool to think that they do.
So if you build up someone in your head to be perfect, why do anything to destroy that image?
It's sweet to think that we could live in a world inhabited by a number of creatures who are just plain astounding and brilliant. :)

It's the same with what if scenarios, possible situations and potential outcomes.
Or even the results of a past decision if we'd chosen a different path.
It can be nice to just unwind by yourself, hang out and consider all those different things sometimes.

All in all, it comes down to one thing (this is my own idea, feel free to quote me on it so that I can become an instant celebrity, recognised for my blogging genius, and retire to a mansion bought with pretend internet money)...
It's always good to go out and accomplish.
But sometimes it's good to just sit back and dream.

:)