cartoons - the way I've seen them

Back in the day when I was young, cartoons fell in the category of endangered species. They usually showed them on Saturday, and I even lied to my teacher that I had to go visit grandma and rushed home to watch those animated characters. I loved watching TV back then (this changed in time) and for me there was no greater punishment than to be denied this joy.

I can't honestly pinpoint which were my first cartoons, but the earliest memories are those of Tom & Jerry, the ageless dinamic duo. I still watch them, whenever they're on. These type of cartoons have the quality to attract all categories of age, gender, religion and so on, and you never tire of them.

After 1990, when we got cable, I got hooked on cartoon series such as : Blackstar (a human astronaut arriving on an alien planet and fighting the evil (what else) Overlord), Voltron (the giant robot made of 5 robotic lions), The pirates of Dark Water (prince Ren & Co. looking for the 13 treasures of rule), Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, X-Men - shows that had a science fiction background. I watched them all.

And there was the other category of "girly" cartoons, which were a huge hit : Sandybell - we were all cheering for her and keep our fingers crossed to find her mom - she did (yey!!!); Lydia (searching around the world the flower with 7 colors, while escaping Sabrina and Boris); Candy (an orphan who grows up to be a nurse); the Twins of Destiny (Jules and Julie - not really twins, even siblings, who unleashed supernatural powers when joining hands, head to China to free their imprisoned fathers by the Empress).

Italian television (Italia 1, Rete 4, Canale 5) opened a whole new world for me, starting with the mega-succesfull Sailor Moon series (5 young girls endowed with superpowers fight different incarnations of Chaos), Terry & Maggie (twin sisters who could teleport themselves by joining pinkies),The dream ribbon (little girl Himi receives a magic ribbon which allows her to turn into anyone she desires).

German station RTL2 cut into my morning sleep by broadcasting series like : Little princess Sara (daughter of an english nobleman, she goes to boarding school...when her father disappears, she is considered poor and is mistreated in school), Robin Hood (the younger version, aided by his friends he takes from the rich and gives to the poor), Little women (the story of 4 sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy during and after the Civil War).

Cartoon Network brought Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Foghorn and Leghorn), Droopy, Super Adventures (Shazzan, Space Ghost, Birdman and the Galaxy trio), Dexter's laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Johnny Quest, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Captain Caveman and many more.

And no entry about cartoons would be complete without talking about the cartoon "factory" : Disney. These masterpieces enchanted children and adults for several generations with their message of joy, music and love. Who can forget "The little mermaid" (Ariel, wanting to become a human even more after falling in love with prince Eric), "Beauty and the Beast" (Belle, who learns to see beyond the physical shell and into the heart of the Beast), "Sleeping Beauty" (Rose/Aurora, who can't escape a curse placed upon her after birth), "Snow White" (victim of a jealous wicked stepmother), "Cinderella" (the famous glass slipper owner), "Aladdin" (the poor boy who becomes a hero with the aid of his Gennie) and the list could go on.

Classic cartoons took a step forward, to become more "modern", without losing their touch : Shrek (everyone's favorite ogre, who finds happiness with a princess), Ice Age series (animal kingdom's most unlikely trio : Manny, Diego and Sid - sharing adventures during the Ice Age, the meltdown and the age of dinosaurs, joined by Scrat who has an obsessive relationship with acorns), Barnyard (farm animals taking life on a farm to the next level), Cars and so on.

Cartoons bring joy to anyone and I truly hope they will keep on going for as long as we live!