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DVD players aren't really family machines yet (mainly due to the lack of a record function) and seem to be owned mainly by young (often male) film fanatics. Because of this cartoon makers have been re-releasing dozens of 'cult' kids TV series from the 70s and 80s in order to profit from this target group. Modern cartoon series don't seem to have had as many DVD releases (which is great because they don't make 'em like they used to) presumably because not enough young kids have access to a DVD player.
Just recently I have bought the first two volumes of Dangermouse (I haven't watched them yet because my DVD player is being mended) but I'm sure they'll be great and I'll end up getting the third volume later this year. I'm also seriously considering investing in the complete Willo The Wisp!
There are also a whole load of other classic cartoons on DVD. Chorlton and the Wheelies, which was either before my time (I was born in '83) or just passed me by, has been released on DVD as has Bagpuss, Bod, Henry's Cat and The Flumps. And as if that's not enough, coming soon are DVDs of Rainbow and new volumes of Dangermouse and Chorlton and the Wheelies.
Cartoons from this era excel over modern ones because they were made by people who seemed to genuinly love creating them. Modern cartoons are all about merchandising; a cartoon character just isn't cool if they haven't released a single (Bob the Builder, Tweenies, Teletubies, etc) or sold a miriad of licensed products -from curtains to toilet roll. In the 80s we did have shows such as 'Mask' and 'He-Man' which were put together by cynical toy manufacturers as nothing more than half hour adverts, but on the whole they had a zany sense of humour that is lost in today's market researched, corporate cartoons.
The cartoons from my childhood that I would most like to see on DVD are:
3. The Wombles: I'm not talking about the modern 'sanitised' version, but rather the fantastic series from the 70s and 80s. The original Wombles series had such an impact on children that Wimbledon Common was left covered in rubbish by children desperate to see Uncle Bulgaria and company 'making good use of the things that they find'. Bungo, you may remember, was originally (and their is no nice way of saying this) retarded. I've noticed in the recent series that he has been politically-corrected and now speaks and acts normall y. We need The Wombles on DVD to show the kids of today how they used to be!
2. Count Duckula: An episode appeared on the Kult Kidz Volume 1 DVD and another was included as an extra with Dangermouse Volume 1, but it's about time this had it's own DVD release. I haven't seen this for years, many other cartoons such as Inspector Gadget and Trapdoor have been repeated, but this hasn't been on TV for ages.
1. Bertha: 'Bertha, oh lovely Bertha...'. Even better than Dangermouse, this cartoon told the story of a factory production line machine (Bertha) and the team of dedicated individuals who worked around her. I'm actually considering starting up a national petition to persuade the copyright holders to release this work of art on DVD! Are you with me? No! oh well...
Unfortunatly, there is one thing that all of these old classics have in common -they won't be as much fun now as when you were little. Just recently I watched episodes of an old favourite on TV (Inspector Gadget) and it was nothing like as good as I remembered.
PS. Having just read back over this discussion piece, I realise that I've given the impression that cartoons are the centre of my world. I assure you this isn't the case -I just got a bit carried away with my nostalgia trip! Right, I'm off to watch Bagpuss...
Just recently I have bought the first two volumes of Dangermouse (I haven't watched them yet because my DVD player is being mended) but I'm sure they'll be great and I'll end up getting the third volume later this year. I'm also seriously considering investing in the complete Willo The Wisp!
There are also a whole load of other classic cartoons on DVD. Chorlton and the Wheelies, which was either before my time (I was born in '83) or just passed me by, has been released on DVD as has Bagpuss, Bod, Henry's Cat and The Flumps. And as if that's not enough, coming soon are DVDs of Rainbow and new volumes of Dangermouse and Chorlton and the Wheelies.
Cartoons from this era excel over modern ones because they were made by people who seemed to genuinly love creating them. Modern cartoons are all about merchandising; a cartoon character just isn't cool if they haven't released a single (Bob the Builder, Tweenies, Teletubies, etc) or sold a miriad of licensed products -from curtains to toilet roll. In the 80s we did have shows such as 'Mask' and 'He-Man' which were put together by cynical toy manufacturers as nothing more than half hour adverts, but on the whole they had a zany sense of humour that is lost in today's market researched, corporate cartoons.
The cartoons from my childhood that I would most like to see on DVD are:
3. The Wombles: I'm not talking about the modern 'sanitised' version, but rather the fantastic series from the 70s and 80s. The original Wombles series had such an impact on children that Wimbledon Common was left covered in rubbish by children desperate to see Uncle Bulgaria and company 'making good use of the things that they find'. Bungo, you may remember, was originally (and their is no nice way of saying this) retarded. I've noticed in the recent series that he has been politically-corrected and now speaks and acts normall y. We need The Wombles on DVD to show the kids of today how they used to be!
2. Count Duckula: An episode appeared on the Kult Kidz Volume 1 DVD and another was included as an extra with Dangermouse Volume 1, but it's about time this had it's own DVD release. I haven't seen this for years, many other cartoons such as Inspector Gadget and Trapdoor have been repeated, but this hasn't been on TV for ages.
1. Bertha: 'Bertha, oh lovely Bertha...'. Even better than Dangermouse, this cartoon told the story of a factory production line machine (Bertha) and the team of dedicated individuals who worked around her. I'm actually considering starting up a national petition to persuade the copyright holders to release this work of art on DVD! Are you with me? No! oh well...
Unfortunatly, there is one thing that all of these old classics have in common -they won't be as much fun now as when you were little. Just recently I watched episodes of an old favourite on TV (Inspector Gadget) and it was nothing like as good as I remembered.
PS. Having just read back over this discussion piece, I realise that I've given the impression that cartoons are the centre of my world. I assure you this isn't the case -I just got a bit carried away with my nostalgia trip! Right, I'm off to watch Bagpuss...
I remember Visionaries from a Saturday morning show (I think it was On The Waterfront, but I may be wrong). I though it was great as well but it never really had much of a public impact here.
It was basically about this world which had been deprived of technology (something about the suns aligning). As a result a few people went on a little quest set by a magician and the people who made it were granted the ability to transform into animals which best suited their skills as a human (for example, a fast bloke could become a cheetah, a bloke who made some wings from sticks and leaves could become an eagle and so on).
They had hologram-type pictures on their chest to show what they could do. Those that had a staff could summon up some more magic by chanting a little phrase (an archer with a bow and arrow, a protective shield, a big monster, spiders that caused fits of fear, that sort of thing) and those without staffs could use magic to power a couple of vehicles.
I had loads of Visionaries toys (including that massive thing with a battering-ram in the front) but few of my friends had got into it so we lead a sheltered life for a while.
It was basically about this world which had been deprived of technology (something about the suns aligning). As a result a few people went on a little quest set by a magician and the people who made it were granted the ability to transform into animals which best suited their skills as a human (for example, a fast bloke could become a cheetah, a bloke who made some wings from sticks and leaves could become an eagle and so on).
They had hologram-type pictures on their chest to show what they could do. Those that had a staff could summon up some more magic by chanting a little phrase (an archer with a bow and arrow, a protective shield, a big monster, spiders that caused fits of fear, that sort of thing) and those without staffs could use magic to power a couple of vehicles.
I had loads of Visionaries toys (including that massive thing with a battering-ram in the front) but few of my friends had got into it so we lead a sheltered life for a while.
Why has nobody mentioned
The Schmoo?
Captain Caveman?
Rentaghost
Street Hawk
Manimal
Tales of the Golden MONKEY
The Schmoo?
Captain Caveman?
Rentaghost
Street Hawk
Manimal
Tales of the Golden MONKEY
I forgot about Thundercats -I would buy that one too.
Maybe it was a little over the top to say that Bertha is better than Dangermouse -but it certainly was a great cartoon.
I'd love to see Pigeon Street again too. However, I think Fingermouse and Button Moon are probably not worth revisiting.
Maybe it was a little over the top to say that Bertha is better than Dangermouse -but it certainly was a great cartoon.
I'd love to see Pigeon Street again too. However, I think Fingermouse and Button Moon are probably not worth revisiting.
Blackhole wrote:
1. Bertha: 'Bertha, oh lovely Bertha...'.
> Even better than Dangermouse,
HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT?!?!?!?!
Dangermouse is the greatest! He's fantastic! Wherever there is danger....*ahem*....sorry.
I think it's great that we are being treated to selections of nostalgia but there are a great number of series that people would like to see re-released into the DVD community. Dungeons & Dragons? Thundercats? MASK (as you mentioned)? As much as I'd think myself sad for doing so I'd probably buy them all.
I think it's quite an unwelcome projection of the typical DVD owner that these nostalgia discs have proved popular enough in the past to justify further releases. I mean, come on, whoever liked Bagpuss and The Flumps anyway?
I'm sure there will be many people here pleased to know that a Transformers box set (season 1 only for now but one set per season is provisionally planned) is earmarked for release towards the end of the year - but only in America so far. Not that that's a problem for most of us :)
1. Bertha: 'Bertha, oh lovely Bertha...'.
> Even better than Dangermouse,
HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT?!?!?!?!
Dangermouse is the greatest! He's fantastic! Wherever there is danger....*ahem*....sorry.
I think it's great that we are being treated to selections of nostalgia but there are a great number of series that people would like to see re-released into the DVD community. Dungeons & Dragons? Thundercats? MASK (as you mentioned)? As much as I'd think myself sad for doing so I'd probably buy them all.
I think it's quite an unwelcome projection of the typical DVD owner that these nostalgia discs have proved popular enough in the past to justify further releases. I mean, come on, whoever liked Bagpuss and The Flumps anyway?
I'm sure there will be many people here pleased to know that a Transformers box set (season 1 only for now but one set per season is provisionally planned) is earmarked for release towards the end of the year - but only in America so far. Not that that's a problem for most of us :)
The greatest cartoons are the older ones. Willo the wisp is great, I used to watch it all the time.
DVD players aren't really family machines yet (mainly due to the lack of a record function) and seem to be owned mainly by young (often male) film fanatics. Because of this cartoon makers have been re-releasing dozens of 'cult' kids TV series from the 70s and 80s in order to profit from this target group. Modern cartoon series don't seem to have had as many DVD releases (which is great because they don't make 'em like they used to) presumably because not enough young kids have access to a DVD player.
Just recently I have bought the first two volumes of Dangermouse (I haven't watched them yet because my DVD player is being mended) but I'm sure they'll be great and I'll end up getting the third volume later this year. I'm also seriously considering investing in the complete Willo The Wisp!
There are also a whole load of other classic cartoons on DVD. Chorlton and the Wheelies, which was either before my time (I was born in '83) or just passed me by, has been released on DVD as has Bagpuss, Bod, Henry's Cat and The Flumps. And as if that's not enough, coming soon are DVDs of Rainbow and new volumes of Dangermouse and Chorlton and the Wheelies.
Cartoons from this era excel over modern ones because they were made by people who seemed to genuinly love creating them. Modern cartoons are all about merchandising; a cartoon character just isn't cool if they haven't released a single (Bob the Builder, Tweenies, Teletubies, etc) or sold a miriad of licensed products -from curtains to toilet roll. In the 80s we did have shows such as 'Mask' and 'He-Man' which were put together by cynical toy manufacturers as nothing more than half hour adverts, but on the whole they had a zany sense of humour that is lost in today's market researched, corporate cartoons.
The cartoons from my childhood that I would most like to see on DVD are:
3. The Wombles: I'm not talking about the modern 'sanitised' version, but rather the fantastic series from the 70s and 80s. The original Wombles series had such an impact on children that Wimbledon Common was left covered in rubbish by children desperate to see Uncle Bulgaria and company 'making good use of the things that they find'. Bungo, you may remember, was originally (and their is no nice way of saying this) retarded. I've noticed in the recent series that he has been politically-corrected and now speaks and acts normall y. We need The Wombles on DVD to show the kids of today how they used to be!
2. Count Duckula: An episode appeared on the Kult Kidz Volume 1 DVD and another was included as an extra with Dangermouse Volume 1, but it's about time this had it's own DVD release. I haven't seen this for years, many other cartoons such as Inspector Gadget and Trapdoor have been repeated, but this hasn't been on TV for ages.
1. Bertha: 'Bertha, oh lovely Bertha...'. Even better than Dangermouse, this cartoon told the story of a factory production line machine (Bertha) and the team of dedicated individuals who worked around her. I'm actually considering starting up a national petition to persuade the copyright holders to release this work of art on DVD! Are you with me? No! oh well...
Unfortunatly, there is one thing that all of these old classics have in common -they won't be as much fun now as when you were little. Just recently I watched episodes of an old favourite on TV (Inspector Gadget) and it was nothing like as good as I remembered.
PS. Having just read back over this discussion piece, I realise that I've given the impression that cartoons are the centre of my world. I assure you this isn't the case -I just got a bit carried away with my nostalgia trip! Right, I'm off to watch Bagpuss...
Just recently I have bought the first two volumes of Dangermouse (I haven't watched them yet because my DVD player is being mended) but I'm sure they'll be great and I'll end up getting the third volume later this year. I'm also seriously considering investing in the complete Willo The Wisp!
There are also a whole load of other classic cartoons on DVD. Chorlton and the Wheelies, which was either before my time (I was born in '83) or just passed me by, has been released on DVD as has Bagpuss, Bod, Henry's Cat and The Flumps. And as if that's not enough, coming soon are DVDs of Rainbow and new volumes of Dangermouse and Chorlton and the Wheelies.
Cartoons from this era excel over modern ones because they were made by people who seemed to genuinly love creating them. Modern cartoons are all about merchandising; a cartoon character just isn't cool if they haven't released a single (Bob the Builder, Tweenies, Teletubies, etc) or sold a miriad of licensed products -from curtains to toilet roll. In the 80s we did have shows such as 'Mask' and 'He-Man' which were put together by cynical toy manufacturers as nothing more than half hour adverts, but on the whole they had a zany sense of humour that is lost in today's market researched, corporate cartoons.
The cartoons from my childhood that I would most like to see on DVD are:
3. The Wombles: I'm not talking about the modern 'sanitised' version, but rather the fantastic series from the 70s and 80s. The original Wombles series had such an impact on children that Wimbledon Common was left covered in rubbish by children desperate to see Uncle Bulgaria and company 'making good use of the things that they find'. Bungo, you may remember, was originally (and their is no nice way of saying this) retarded. I've noticed in the recent series that he has been politically-corrected and now speaks and acts normall y. We need The Wombles on DVD to show the kids of today how they used to be!
2. Count Duckula: An episode appeared on the Kult Kidz Volume 1 DVD and another was included as an extra with Dangermouse Volume 1, but it's about time this had it's own DVD release. I haven't seen this for years, many other cartoons such as Inspector Gadget and Trapdoor have been repeated, but this hasn't been on TV for ages.
1. Bertha: 'Bertha, oh lovely Bertha...'. Even better than Dangermouse, this cartoon told the story of a factory production line machine (Bertha) and the team of dedicated individuals who worked around her. I'm actually considering starting up a national petition to persuade the copyright holders to release this work of art on DVD! Are you with me? No! oh well...
Unfortunatly, there is one thing that all of these old classics have in common -they won't be as much fun now as when you were little. Just recently I watched episodes of an old favourite on TV (Inspector Gadget) and it was nothing like as good as I remembered.
PS. Having just read back over this discussion piece, I realise that I've given the impression that cartoons are the centre of my world. I assure you this isn't the case -I just got a bit carried away with my nostalgia trip! Right, I'm off to watch Bagpuss...