Retro Wormhole

Celebrity & Movie Based Cartoons Through The Years: Part 1

2012-01-04T12:32:00.002-06:00

Though the years there has been many cartoons, some though were just to milk a little more success out of a Blockbuster Movie or a celebrity’s career. The rest of this entry is a list of some of the most ridicules, forgotten, or good cartoons from times past that were based on movies or a celebrity.

Camp Candy

Back in the early 90’s the John Candy started his own Saturday morning cartoon, calling it Camp Candy it was a cartoon where he ran a summer camp for kids. Candy narrated the episodes and voiced his own character in addition to singing the theme song. To me this was a very entertaining cartoon, that I enjoyed watching.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures

This cartoon showed good signs when in the first season they got the main characters to voice their cartoon versions, however in the second season the voices of the characters where replaced by the stars of the live action series that was short lived on FOX. The cartoon’s version of the phone booth had them transport into literature, TV shows and inside the human body.

The Mighty Ducks

It all started with a movie, then with a NHL team created after the movie, then 2 more movies, and then to get one more drop of money out of The Mighty Ducks Disney came out with a cartoon in the late 1990’s. But this cartoon didn’t have human characters it of course was about space ducks on earth.

Little Rosey

Back in 1990 a cartoon was created based on comedian Roseanne Barr. It was just an not very funny cartoon that got canceled after 13 episodes after poor ratings.

Police Academy: The Series

In the late 80’s in the middle of the Police Academy popularity there came out a animated series based on the movie that was somewhat successful with 2 seasons and 64 episodes. This was a much cleaner version then the movies, a majority of the main characters were represented. They also introduced a group of talking police dogs called the K-9 Corps, and the theme song was written and performed by recurring characters The Fat Boys.

Hammerman Hammerman is a show about shoes that talk and gave power to whoever wore them to fight social injustice. Just hearing this you probably think this sounds like an awful cartoon, but what if I was to tell you that man who wears these shoes is MC Hammer… yea still nothing. This show flopped with only 13 episodes airing in the fall of 91 on ABC. You would think with MC Hammer you would get something awesome out of it but it was just a boring show all around

Teen Wolf

This cartoon was based of course on the movie Teen Wolf. In this series focused on a boy named Scott Howard and his family that can transform into werewolves. Unlike the 2 films Scott kept his werewolf status a secret. This series ran for 2 seasons in the mid 80’s with a total of 21 episodes.

Back to the Future: The Animated Series

Back to the Future: The Animated Series came out about one year after Back to the Future: Part III hit theatres. It revolved around Marty, Doc Brown, his wife Clara, and their two sons Jules and Verne, with Biff Tannen as the recurring villain. In the cartoon the time machine DeLorean was now able to fold up into a suitcase Jetsons style. Also every episode would end with a live action piece with Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Life with Louie This cartoon was loosely based on the childhood of comedian Louie Anderson. This cartoon debuted in 95 with a total of 39 episodes. The show featured little Louie and his family as they lived in Wisconsin.

Celebrity & Movie Based Cartoons Through The Years: Part 2

2012-01-03T12:29:00.000-06:00

Continuing on our last piece of cartoons based on movies or celebrities this part focuses on action stars and movies that were toned down for the children….

The Karate Kid

With the Karate Kid Series on its way out, Sony Pictures decided to jolt it back to life with a animated series that was short lived. The animated series was put on air a few months after the release of The Karate Kid, Part III.

Rambo: Force of Freedom

This just goes to show that in the 80’s you could take an R-rated bloody movie and turn it into a child friendly cartoon. Much like another popular cartoon G.I. Joe, Rambo and his team would fight a neo-Nazi organization called S.A.V.A.G.E. (Secret Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion). Through the series there were no deaths or any reference of Vietnam.

Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos

Chuck Norris and his ninja like team are hired by the government to dispense justice and moral wisdom, ninja-style. And fighting the bad guy known as The Claw and also other Super Ninja in this five-episode series. Each episode started with live action footage of Chuck Norris himself offering valuable life lessons.

RoboCop: The Animated Series

Once again you got to love the 80’s taking a violent Movie and making it a child’s cartoon. Much like Rambo this was toned down to fit the demographic, guns in the cartoon were replaced with laser weapons. In the late ’90s they also attempted a second animated series called RoboCop: Alpha Commando, which was even less connected to the source material, and gave him a number of useful upgrades including roller blades!

Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling

This is was a cartoon featuring cartoon counterparts of the actual Wrestlers they portrayed. It came on air in the mid 80’s last 2 seasons for a total of 26 episodes.

Conan the Adventurer

Here’s another 80’s cartoon based on a violent movie. Even though he had the sword no killing went on if Conan touched his enemy with it they would be banished to the Abyss. In many ways it felt like just a He-Man knockoff.

Highlander: The Animated Series

This cartoon was loosely based on the original movie. It was low quality animation and the story that was only vaguely connected to the film franchise. The main character is Quentin MacLeod, the descendant of Connor MacLeod, and the story is set 700 years in the future. The cartoon was poorly received.

Toxic Crusaders

Troma’s cult classic film The Toxic Avenger was actually tamed down and turned into an animated series called Toxic Crusaders, with Toxie and his mutant buddies NoZone, Junkyard, Headbanger and Major Disaster fighting bad guys from the planet Smogula. It came out at a time when environmental craze in the early 90’s.

Mister T

Picture this is you will a Mr. T as a coach to a gymnastics team, travelling the world while becoming involved in and solving various mysteries. This is a very interesting it has the same kind of plot like Scooby doo or Josie and the Pussy Cats. Just like with Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos at the end of each episode, Mr. T narrates a moral lesson for the audience. 30 episodes were produced for this cartoon.

Top 15 Christmas Movies/TV Specials

2011-11-28T08:23:00.001-06:00

Now that its Christmas, here are some movies that I enjoy watching to get in the Christmas mood.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) – This is a must watch to start off the Christmas season right. Watching Clark's Family Christmas makes us feel like our family get-togethers are not that bad after all. Also who doesnt get excited when you hear the opening song. :)

It's a Wonderful Life (1946) –If you were to hear only the description of this movie you might think that a movie that is about an attempted suicide and depression isn’t what you consider to be a classic Christmas Movie. This is probably why Jimmy Stewart did not like doing this film. However after almost 65 years this is still an original story that shows you the true meaning of Christmas, friends, and family.

Scrooged (1988) – The Dicken’s classic, The Christmas Carol, feels out of date with many adaptations but 1988 brought us a new spin on the classic story. Even though it is over 20 years old, it still falls in the top of this list with good laughs and not a dull moment. In my opinion I would say “Yule love it!”

Elf (2003) – This is a great family comedy that, aside from Christmas Vacation, has the most quotable lines a person would recognize. Even though this movie looks like a kiddie movie it is great for all ages.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) – Yes, yes I know I included two adaptations of this Dickens Classic but both are done so well. When you mix Christmas, Michael Caine (Inception, and the Prestige) and a casting of 99% Muppets, it is bound to be a classic to watch again and again during the Christmas Season.

A Christmas Story (1983) – I know you’re probably saying, “Hey Mitchell, why are you putting this one so low on the list”. Well truth is in a way it gets old with 24 hours of it every Christmas. Even though TNT and TBS have burned this movie into our brain for about the last 10 years, it’s still an enjoyable movie to watch.

The Santa Clause (1994) - So full of heart and charm it's becoming a holiday season staple.

Trading Places (1983) - This comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd is a good watch during the Christmas season. A movie that takes a spin at a drunken Santa Claus. This is a timeless comedy that will raise your spirits and brings you back to the days when Eddie Murphy was still a funny actor.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 - TV) – Ok, yes it’s a made-for-TV program, however you have to have this in your arsenal of Christmas movies...I mean it’s a Classic.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 - TV) – This is such a classic it’s almost became a sin not to see this during the Christmas season

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977-TV) - Master puppeteer Jim Henson directs this gentle 1977 made-for-TV tale about a mother otter and her son who both enter a talent show to win money to buy Christmas presents for each other.

Home Alone (1990) – Good family film for all ages and warms your hart and makes you laugh about all the funny gags, hilarious antics and truly feel-good moments as well.

Gremlins (1984) – It began as a furry, cuddly Christmas present and became a town’s worst Christmas nightmare. I know a lot of you would say this isn’t Christmas at all but you know it’s a decent movie and they all can’t be heart warming tales all the time.

Die Hard (1988) – Nothing says Merry Christmas like “Yippee-ki-yay, motherf@#$er”. And adding a Run-DMC holiday song in there is nice too.

A Muppet Family Christmas (1987 - TV) - The the past years there has been many flopped Muppet Christmas specials however there is still the original that lives on for many Muppet fans around a little 1987 special where it brings all the Muppets together from the Muppet Show gang to the Sesame Street regulars, as well as the Fraggles. This is a must see if you like the Muppets.

I know that there are some Movies or TV Specials that I have missed but this is what I thought would be the top 15 Christmas movies and TV specials.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Fast Food That Just Didn't Make The Cut

2011-11-03T14:49:00.000-05:00

With the comeback of the McRib once again at McDonalds, I started thinking of what foods out there in the fast food world have been total misses and not had the success of the McRib. Below are just a few of the many that just didn't get as far as some would have hoped.

The Arch Deluxe
In 1996 McDonald’s introduced the world to the Arch Deluxe. According to some sources McDonald’s spent an estimated $200 Million promoting the new product. The major problem with the burger was it had such an unusual taste for a burger found in a fast food chain at the time. The Arch had bacon, Spanish onions and a blend of mustard and mayo on it. McDonald’s tried selling the burger so hard they criticized customers for not having a sophisticated palate in their advertising to have them try harder to like the burger.

McDonald's McDLT
The McDLT was introduced in the mid 80’s. It burger was served separated in a Styrofoam container with 2 sections in it. In the cold side went veggies and the hot side went the meat, so that customers could “keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool,” as the slogan went. It was then up to the customer to take the step of combining the two when ready. This was a successful product but what ended up putting an end to this burger was environmental movement in the early 90’s, the Styrofoam container was not biodegradable and to comply with regulations the container was scraped and put an end to the burger with it.

McPizza
In the late 1980’s, McDonalds introduced pizza to the menu. Pizza Hut and other competitors got so worried that they dropped their prices of their pizzas to chip aware at McDonalds. Unfortunately this item did not succeed for the fast food restraint because unlike their other items this took much longer to cook and would make customers angry who didn’t want to wait.

Hula Burger
In the early 1960’s, McDonald’s Came out with an item to attract the vegan population into the restraint and also another option besides the Filet-O-Fish for Roman Catholics that didn’t eat meat on Fridays. That item was the Hula Burger. The Hula Burger was a slice of grilled pineapple between two buns… oh yea with with cheese. This Item was never popular and was removed from the menu quickly.

McAfrika
Norwegian McDonalds introduced a burger called the McAfrika in 2002. This was a fine item, however a naming fail was the problem with this burger, with bombarded questions from media and aid agencies wanting to know why McDonalds went with that name when millions of people in Africa were starting to death. Ultimately the burger was discontinued.

McLobster
The McLobster was a try at a classy sandwich for McDonalds put on Menus on the Northeast America and Canada cities. The reason for the failure of this product was because it cost $6 and that many McDonalds’ customers were not looking for shellfish when getting something to eat at the restraint. Although it’s gone in the states, you can still find this seasonal treat in Canadian McDonalds.

McBrats
In the fall seasons in the1990’s and again in 2002 McDonalds sold a Johnsonville brand bratwurst. The general location of this product was found in Midwestern cities. The reason for this failure was sales did not go like they planned and stopped having it on their menu, however in eastern Wisconsin they still offer it on a seasonal basis- This is because it is near Johnsonville headquarters.

McSpaghetti
In the early 1990’s McDonalds tried their hand in at Italian food besides its early attempt at pizza a few years before that. McSpaghetti was introduced and was not taken in with open arms by the customers many said the pasta was bland.

McLean Deluxe
In 1991 A lower-calorie Quarter Pounder sandwich was introduced to the McDonalds menu called the McLean Deluxe. This burger was identical to the big N’ Tasty and the McDLT, the only difference with this was that it was 91% lean beef and was mixed with a type of seaweed which to some people thought did not taste the same as other burgers.

Burger King's Shake 'em Up Fries
In the spring of 2002, Burger King introduced Shake ‘em Up fries to get eaters (mostly kids) to “play with their food”. How it worked was that you poured the fries into a special Shake ‘em Up bag followed by the package of powdered cheese then close the bag and shake until the fries got covered in cheese. Shake ‘em Up Fries didn’t even last the year.

Burger Bundles
Before Burger King had their Stackers they had a mini burger in the 80’s called their Burger Bundles. That product was discontinued because the small patties would often slip through the production broiler.

Burger King Table Service
In the early 90’s Burger King tried to change up the fast food experience by adding “service” to their restraints, this was where employees would deliver food right to the customers table - like a real restraint. Also Burger King tried to entice you to come into the restaurant by offering popcorn at the table while you waited for your food.This didn’t really catch on and was dropped from the restraints.

Taco Bell's Bell Beefer

In the 70’s and 80’s Taco Bell came out with a version of a Sloppy Joe type of sandwich called the Bell Beefer. The Beefer was basically a pile of taco meat served in a hamburger bun. Taco bell pulled the product after they determined it a total flop, much like other flops this has a nice fan base online.

Sonic's Pickle-O’s (Fried Pickles)
In 1968 Sonic Drive-in introduced an item called Pickle-O’s, this item was a sliced dill pickle and battered and deep fried. It’s not clear why the restraint stopped selling this item as it seems to be popular with a Facebook page asking for Sonic to bring it back. In 2003 they did make a comeback for Sonic’s 50^th Birthday Celebration.

Jack in the Box's Frings

In 1979 Jack in the Box introduced Frings, they were a combination of French fries and onion rings in one container. This sound awesome I don’t know why they stopped selling this item.

Dairy Queen Breeze
A healthy attempt on the popular DQ Blizzard introduced in the late 80’s was Dairy Queen Breeze. The Breeze was made with frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, but it failed to catch on. According to Dairy Queen’s Web site, all frozen yogurt products were discontinued “because there was not enough demand for the product.”

Wendy's Superbar

In the late 80’s Wendy’s came up with the idea of an all-you-can-eat buffet with food like salads, Italian(Pizza, garlic bread…) and Mexican(Tacos, burritos…). The buffets stayed around for over a decade but were discontinued in 1998. Wendy’s said that a buffet did not fit their fast food model. There are still people online hoping for its return someday.

A Game System That Never Was

2011-11-03T07:43:00.002-05:00

In 1991 Nintendo was working on a project to compete with Sega who was working on Sega CD add-on for the Genesis. Nintendo teamed up with Sony to try and crush the competition, however the project was scrapped after Nintendo’s present was not happy that Sony wanted full control of what games where released with the console. Luckily for Sony they were not disturb and continued on their own with the CD Console and in 1995 released the Sony Playstation. Just hard to think what would have happened in the consoles war if thing went different in the early 90’s.

Got to love Christmas Catalogs ....1991 Sears Christmas Catalog

2011-09-29T12:38:00.001-05:00

1991-xx-xx Sears Christmas Catalog, a set by Wishbook on Flickr.

Who all used to love the fall season when you would end up getting the JC Penny Christmas Catalog or the Sears Wish book. Well doing a little looking I found a Person who has uploaded Page after Page of the Catalogs... Boy do these take me back

Yet another Videogame innovation that sucked then but would work now…

2011-09-28T12:26:00.000-05:00

Sega Activator: Full Body Motion Controller

This little gem by Sega was one their unsuccessful products in the 90’s. It came onto the market in 1993 as Sega’s first attempt at a peripheral based. The Activator was marketed as a new type of simulator for martial arts. They way you used it was you would stand in side of the octagon that would lay on the floor and the infrared beams from the specific point on the outside of the octagon would translate into input for the game as you moved around.

What was cool about this was you could use this with not just games designed for the product, such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, but you could use it with your regular Sega Games as well like sonic and others…

The Activator cost $80. And in the 90’s that was a lot more money then what it seems now. So with high cost for the controller and having it be so inaccurate when using it, It soon died out like many other bad technical products be it.

Below is informative video on the Sega Activator and a Picture of what it looked like.

The Apple Newton...Man Old Tech is Cool

2011-09-27T22:23:00.000-05:00

A few years back I was given a Apple product I had never seen before then and found it very interesting. The product was the Apple Newton. The Newton was Apples early Attempt at a personal digital assistant (PDA), and some say its first tablet platform for the company, the second being the platform used in the "i" series of products(iPod, iPad, iPhone). This product line ran from 1987 to 1998. The Newton featured handwriting recognition software. Many company's including Sharp and Motorola used Apples Operating System used in the Newton for there own PDA products.

You'll Never See These Ads Again

2011-09-27T21:41:00.002-05:00

You'll never see these ads again.

How's This for Nostalgia

2011-09-27T21:31:00.001-05:00

How's This For Nostalgia?
All the girls had ugly gym uniforms? And wore tennis shoes not $200 Nikes!

It took three minutes for the TV to warm up?

Nobody owned a purebred dog?
When a quarter was a decent allowance?
You'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny?
Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces?
You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time? And you didn't pay for air? And, you got trading stamps to boot?
Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes, or towels hidden inside the box?
It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents?
They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed... and they did it!
When a 57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise, peel out, lay rubber, or watch submarine races, and people went steady?

No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?
Lying on your back in the grass with your friends... and saying things like, 'That cloud looks like a... '?

Playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game?
Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger...
And with all our progress, don't you just wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace, and share it with the children of today.
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home?

Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was greater than the threat.

And our summers were filled with bike rides, Hula Hoops, visits to the pool, and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, 'Yeah, I remember that'?

I am sharing this with you today because it ended with a Double Dog Dare to pass it on... To remember what a Double Dog Dare is, read on... And remember that the perfect age is somewhere between old enough to know better and too young to care.

Send this on to someone who can still remember Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery; the Lone Ranger; The Shadow Knows; Nellie Bell , Roy and Dale, Trigger, and Buttermilk.

How Many Of These Do You Remember?

Candy cigarettes...

Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside...
Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles...

Coffee shops with Table Side Jukeboxes...

Blackjack, Clove, and, Teaberry chewing gum...

Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers...
Newsreels before the movie...

Telephone numbers with a word prefix...( Yukon 2-601). Party lines...
Peashooters...

Hi-Fi's & 45 RPM records...
78 RPM records...
Green Stamps...

Mimeograph paper...

The Fort Apache Play Set... Do You Remember a Time When Decisions were made by going...

'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'?

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, 'Do Over!'?

'Race issue' meant arguing about who ran the fastest?
Catching The Fireflies Could Happily Occupy An Entire Evening?

It wasn't odd to have two or three 'Best
Friends'...

Having a Weapon in School meant being caught with a Slingshot?

Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures?
'Oly-oly-oxen-free' made perfect sense?

Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?

The Worst Embarrassment was being picked last for a team?

War was a card game?
Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle?

Taking drugs meant orange flavored chewable aspirin?
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?
If you can remember most or all of these, Then You Have Lived!!!!!!!
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their 'Grown-Up' Life...

I Double-Dog Dare Ya!