I was going to run down some children’s TV openings, but after two or three I really couldn’t come up with any good examples to discuss. Children’s live action shows take a very different approach than cartoons. So instead, let’s go over cartoons. And maybe I will work in a live action show or two. Since I kind of covered syndicated stuff last time, let’s have some fun by going over some classic Saturday Morning fare.
Let’s start with one of the more quintisential Saturday Morning cartoons:
Smurfs
It’s amazing how just the first two seconds of this opening makes you realize how awful those live action movies were. Why in the world were The Smurfs in New York?? Anyway, we get this great shot of the world they live in before meeting our characters. The song is awesone, the characters are doing wat they do, and we even get a great intro for our main villain. And wat a dufus he is. This is a nice, quick opening that tells us all we need to know.
Beetlejuice
I never watched this one, but Nostalgia Critic has gone on about how amazing this intro is. And watching it, I get it. The pacing is crazy fast, you feel like your dizzy when it’s over. I don’t think it really tells what the show is, but it sure does get your attention and maybe even makes you want to see more.
Donkey Kong
I often wonder why I never heard of or watch The Satuday Supercade. This was a mash up of video game inspired cartoon shows into one block. I mean, I loved video games so how did I miss it? Then I see this opening…and wow. It’s like they are trying to say how lame this really is. I mean, did creators take this seriously at all? Yeah the characters are there but there is just to goofy a tone and there is no way I would have watched. Besides, I was an a Atari kid.
Dungeons and Dragons
Ok, first of all points for showing how our heroes were werpoed into this srange world. Even if it makes no sense. After that it’s explained who these kids are and what their abilities are. Ok, so far so good. We then see our villain, who sucks. You can get away with that on Smurfs but here you need to show a little menace. Then we meet Dungeon Master. Great, where’s the action?? Nope, cut to the title instead. So we get no action, no excitement, and even the music feels as it doesn’t care. Why wasn’t this show a hit? I said before He-Man worked because of the epic music. Here, we get nothing. And by the way making no connection to the RPG is the final nail in this intro’s coffin. Why weren’t the kids sucked in while playing that rather than a pointless ride in an amusement park? I never played D&D but I doubt that was part of it.
Mr.T
Ah yes, now we’re talking! This theme is fantastic with great music that gets you pumped. The introdcytion of the kids is kind of weak. Hey look, there’s girl! I love that character! Sometimes a little narration is nice. But beyond that the we get the idea of what the show is about. And while joked about how we meet the kids here, it is nice that Mr.T doesn’t dominate the opening. The show makes it clear that the kids are just as important to the star is. And a dog, because all cartoons had to have a pet of some kind!
And now, for something completely different…..
Oh man, do I have questions. Rankin/Bass did this? Really? Why are the Osmonds trying to be The Jackson 5? Are they flying in a blimp, what is that? Is that the plot, the Osmonds go to different countries? Yawn, even The Brady Kids tried harder than that! And yes I looked it up, that was the plot. They’d go to different places and hijinks. So here’s one more question, why not just make it a sitcom then? Oh 1972, thank goodness I hadn’t been born yet! I mentioned the Jackson 5 but at least here, The Osmonds provided their own voices. Wait…does that mean there was a Jackson 5 cartoon??
Of course there was. Also produced by Rankin/Bass, and aired the same time as The Osmonds, this theme is really a vast improvement. The song is catchier and rather than goofy visuals that make no sense we just see the five dancing in animated form.
Man that was weird. The 70’s were an odd time to be a kid on Saturday Morning. I wonder what else came around then?
That was a little, corny. This is one of those shows you never heard of unless you grew up with it. Live action often fails on Saturday Morning’s. I know the 80’s would never give us a live action Saturday morning TV show opening so weird and insane.
I admit it, I watched this show and loved it. It new that it was crazy and silly so it just went ahead and went all the way with it. The opening is an acid trip, but a really fun one. Heck they even introduce all the main characters! And of course celebrities appeared on the show who I didn’t know then including Laurence Fishburn, Phil Hartman, and they guy who played Daystrom on Star Trek (Willian Marshall). It was a great show and it all started with that over the top but still enjoyable opening. Of course the Pee-Wee Christmas Special came out at the same time and I loved that too.
Ok the 90’s had cartoons too. Here’s an example of one…
Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
When I was a kid I used to love these games, having a a couple on my old Apple IIC. I had Where in The World, Where in the USA, and Where in Time. So you’d think that I would adore the cartoon and game show. Nah. The game show I hardly watched and I barely knew there was a cartoon. Maybe I had grown up to much by the time they aired. You gotta admire the opening though, it’s a lot better than it needs to be! It looks amazing! So gamers out there, do these games still exist at all??
Doug
Yawnnn. Sorry, did I fall asleep? Man was that opening bland and boring. And yes, this aired in the 90’s! I mean, this show was a hit so I guess people liked it. But wow, just dull. To be fair this was the Nickelodeon opening. When Disney bought the show the opening was jazzed up…..
A little! The music is a lot better and we see more of the characters. But it’s still dull. And why were the people purple on this show?
And finally, just to show that I did have some silliness growing up here is a cartoon I watched on Nickelodeon in the day! It’s silly but so was the show.
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