Fast Five Friday - Childhood Cartoons

Fast Five Friday is a weekly meme hosted by the Cover Girls. Basically each week there will be a subject for you to list 5 things... that's all there is to it. Once you've posted your list go and leave a comment on the Cover Girls FFF post for that week so other people can read yours.

This week's subject: 5 Childhood Cartoons

I couldn't wait to write this post... being a bit of a geek I actually have t-shirts and DVDs... and cookie cutters of some of my favourite cartoons from when I was a kid (I was born in the 80s - the time of fantastic kids shows)

So here are my five complete with theme tunes :)

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - of course in the UK during the 80s they were known as Hero Turtles instead of Ninjas.

2. The Real Ghostbusters

3. Count Duckula

4. The Trap Door - ok so it's not technically a cartoon... but it's still a kids show

5. Looney Tunes - they're still around today but they originate from well before I was born - so technically they are childhood cartoons for everyone!

Cowabunga Dude!

I have briefly mentioned on this blog before that I was (am) an uber Teenage Mutant Hero* Turtles fan when I was little.

*in the UK during the 80s they were known as the Hero Turtles not Ninja Turtles.

Well some things never change. Their influence can still be found in my life.

Looking around my room I spotted numerous things relating to these cool dudes. I sometimes wonder if my choice of university course (History of Art & Design) was inspired by these dudes (Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael).

FYI Leonardo was (is) my favourite! (Even if my favourite colour is in fact purple - Donatello)

Clothing

Eagle eyed readers might recognise this t-shirt from a previous post.

This top started out life as a large t-shirt.

These are the latest edition to my collection - found in the men's section in Primark.

Food

I mean who doesn't have turtle shaped cookie cutters? You don't? How weird are you?

 

But seriously this cutters are good when used with a stiffer dough (with a softer dough they just become splodgy shapes rather than turtle shaped cookies) but Leonardo and Raphael are a pain in the a*se to try and get out of their cutters in one piece.

Random

Excuse the dust on this money box... he sits in my cupboard/wardrobe usually. I can't use him as a money box though any more as I lost the stopper.

Another dusty turtle here - my Uncle bought me this one when I was little, he also sits in my cupboard/wardrobe guarding my clothes.

And then I have the random crap my Dad found in the attic which include a wooden plaque...

And a rug...

TV

And no self-respecting Turtles fan could go on without having the original 80s series on DVD could they?

Cowabunga!

Down Memory Lane (Or 80s Kids TV)

This week I have decided to take you on a trip back to my childhood and the TV programmes I like to used to watch. I've probably at least mentioned some of these before.

I can spend ages on YouTube clicking on random videos and singing along to theme tunes such as Dogtania and Danger Mouse.

If I just listed them all you’d be here til Halloween so I thought I’d just give you four of my favourites (and their theme tunes). The great thing about the first two is that the opening credits explain what it is about… for those of you who are unaware of the 'plot'.

These aren’t in any particular order… except for the last one which is was my favourite.

First up we have the plasticine marvel that is The Trap Door… which me, my brother and my sister still quote to this day. When we were younger one episode of this seemed to last about half an hour, when in reality they only last about five minutes each.

Then we have Count Duckula – voiced by the same person as Danger Mouse – David Jason. In fact Count Duckula actually appeared on Danger Mouse before he got his own show.

I don’t know how widely distributed (is that the word I’m looking for?) The Trap Door and Count Duckula were outside of the UK. But the next one (and then the last one) should be ones that non-UKers will recognise. In fact they really ought to be recognised. If you’ve never seen these (or the movies) well you’ve just never lived!

So next up is The Real Ghostbusters. So called because there was another cartoon called Ghostbusters which looks as though it was kind of like Scooby-Doo (I don’t know for sure as I haven’t watched it - Ghostbusters that is, I've seen Scooby-Doo).

And last and most importantly we have the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles – note the Hero part of that. Here in the UK we did not have Ninja Turtles but Hero Turtles. And so the parts of the theme song that include the word ninja were replaced with the word hero or fighting (and it is the version that I sing in my head when I hear the theme tune).

I couldn't find a clip of the original opening credits that was embedable so I'm afraid this one is just a picture :( But I did find a rock version :)

Not that I’m in anyway childish but I do happen to have t-shirts with all these programmes on except for The Trap Door – but my brother has a t-shirt with that on so it’s all good.

And I do happen to have all of The Trap Door and Count Duckula on DVD. I also have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVD but I can’t remember how many episodes are on that. And on my special edition of Ghostbusters 1 & 2 there are two episodes of The Real Ghostbusters. Each episode links in some way to one of the films.

They don’t make kids TV like they used to!

And don't forget about Tim Brannan's Monstrous Monday Blogfest on... err... Monday - there's still time to sign up.