Reviewing More Cartoon Openings

So the other day I had fun doing this, but I got bogged down but focusing on Superfriends os much. There are a ton more out there to look at, so let’s do more today. And again, just cartoon’s we’ll get into livr action children’s programs another time. Considering how cory those can be that shou;d be fun. For now, let’s keep animated.

 

Thundercats

While I never watched this show this opening is pretty awesome. The fast animation and we get to see everything we need to see. It’s hard for a show to not have narration over it, but this one doesn’t. Just that awesome music. Ok to be fair the “song”, if I can even call it that, is weak. They couldn’t do more than just repeating the same three words over and over again? No wonder they threw everything into the animation.

 

 

 

 

Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends

I loved this shoow growing up, one of the few Spider-Man shows I watched, but I keep hearing as I get older that the opening is, well, corny. So I watched it for this article from an adult point of view and without the nostalgia goggles. And, I’m sorry but I still love it. The music is great, the intro is kind enough to tell us who “his friends” are, and we get a little action so the heroes can show off. Why do people make fun ot this so much? Yeah it is a very “80’s” intro, but I still love it. Esepcially that opening riff which always sounds awesome.

 

 

 

 

Bonkers

Some openings just seem to scream “yeah, this show sucks turn the channel if you want”. I mean, what the hell? The song is beyond annoying. And what the hell is the singer saying? The animation is dizzying, I feel I owe the X-Men theme an apology. The animation is ugly and why is Bonkers being tortured through the opeming? Is that what happens in the show? I never watched this as a kid and thank goodness. It’s funny because this was a Disney Afternoon show. All those shows managed great and even memorable opening to suck you in. This makes you want to turn on anything else!

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe that a cartoon intro that is so awesome and so epic was not the original. Before the kickass X-Men theme we know today, a pilot was commissioned years before called “Pryde of the X-Men”. The opening is a tad, different.

The big problem is of course the song. It is awful. At least the Thundercats theme sounded cool. Here the repetive X-Men thing is annoying. The “song” is scratchy and I have no idea what the heck the singer is saying. The visuals are ok though we have no idea who anyone it. The X-Men was a heavy comic book and this theme doesn’t represent that. The series we got had an epic opening which got people pumped. This…is not that.

 

 

 

 

The Flinstones had the same thing. We all know the iconic opening to this, the first cartoon to air in prime time. Did you know that there was a first season intro which was very different?

Yeah…no. First of all it was well animated. It’s clearly Hanna Barbera animation which is fine. The problem is other things. The music sounds way to much like The Honeymooners. And yeah I get it that’s what this was supposed to be, but man this intro makes it feel like a rip off! The intro also goes on way long, and shows to much of Fred driving home. It would be like if The Simpsons opening spent most of there time showing the citizens of Springfield rather than our actual main characters. Thank goodness someone realized that the intro wasn’t very good and changed it to that iconic one we all know and love. With a song that tells us what’s going on and we see all our characters. Them all going out to the movies and dinner is also much more satisying than Fred sitting in front of the TV before bed. Oh exciting! I give credit to this for still doing the “Wilma!!” at the end but even that is less effective than it would be later on. Although why Fred didn’t just jump into the clearly open window next to the door I’ll never know.

 

 

 

 

She-Ra

It’s really hard for me to discuss shows aimed at girls. Because of course I am not one, so didn’t grow up with nor really care about them. They’re fine shows just not for me. So let’s discuss this one I did turn on due to it’s association woith He-Man. It’s basically the same opening except softer music. Is it an improvement to the He-Man theme at all? Only in one area, the part where She-Ra explains that she and her friends in the great rebellion battle Hordak. In the He-Man one he barely mentions any help except the three friends “who share his secret”. There are about a dozen others but ok we’ll ignore them! The stakes also a feel  higher when she explains she needs to free Etheria from Hordak. Rather than just defeating Skeletor. The only one nitpick is that they show Greyskull during her transformation, which would be lost to anyone going in not knowing who the heck He-Man was. People argue that She-Ra was a better show because it had a solid premise and real stakes, and yeah I get that. He-Man was really rushed and the mythology for it was developed as the series went on.

 

 

 

 

 

Ewoks

I’ll give the theme this, I never forgot that Endor was a forest moon. Good lord is that song awful. What the hell? I mentioned before that the Ewoks were so popular that they were merchandized like crazy. Toys, two live action TV specials, and yes the cartoon series. I guess it was fine the two TV specials were so awful there was nothing compelling me to visit the cartoon. So the song is bad, and only gets worst as it goes, is there anything else in this opening? Not really. Except the headache it gave me.

 

 

 

 

Gummi Bears

This is how the Ewoks intro should have a gone. A great song sung well and with a lot of energy. Rather than a bored voice put through a synthesizer. The intro is pierfect, explaining the shows with cisuals that match what the song is saying. For such a weird premise, the intro is far better than it needed to be.

 

 

 

 

 

Star Wars Droids

Sigh. Was there no effort put into these Star Wars cartoon intros? The song is awful, what the heck? Ok it is sung better than then Ewoks one but what the hell kind of song is this for a Star Wars show? It sounds like they took the theme to a corny 80’s sitcom about kids getting intro trouble and slapped it onto this cartoon to save time. I never watched the show so maybe it was fine, but man was that theme song awfil. Give Ewoks credit at the awful song was about the damn Ewoks!!

 

 

Ok I need something epic after that nonsense. Something so amazing that it will never be forgotten.

 

Better. What I like about this one is how since they can’t introduce every character instead the song explains there mission. A little anyway. The action is great and the music pitch perfect. What can top that?

 

 

Honestly, I think this one works better than Trabsformers. It’s the same idea, since we can’t introduce the characters we’ll just show a big action scene. With no punching of course, 80’s and all. But we get more info on what G.I.Joe is, and the longer opening gives us more to look at it. This was the last cartoon I intentionally watched every day and I love.

 

 

 

 

Before I end for today I wanted to mention an 70’s space cartoon. I think I mentioned this a looonng way back, but this opening stayed in my head for years after I had long forgotten the show. It’s truly a case of the opening being superior to the show, which wasn’t anything that memorable. To this day I have to look up the damn name to find it, but he opening I always remembered. Yeah this is a blatant Star Wars rip off but it was the late 70’s. This show was one of the earliest anime’s to be shown in this country, no not predating Speed Racer, though no one remember that. As I said the opening is epic. For years I confused with the Superfriends theme, probably due to the same narrator being used.

 

 

That’s it for today my friends!