I was thinking about 'Pepé Le Pew' the other day, don’t ask me why, and it suddenly occurred to me… that I was thinking of Pepé Le Pew. And I realized then and there that sometimes, at the ripe old age of 52(!), I still find myself remembering the cartoon characters of my childhood. We were, as kids of the ‘60’s, rich beyond compare (in my opinion) in cartoons. Some would call it The Golden Age.
We had Ricochet Rabbit, and Deputy Droop-Along. There was Gigantor, and Kimba the White Lion, and Speed Racer. I watched The Flintstones, Davey and Goliath, Speedy Gonzalez, Sylvester J. Pussy Cat, Yosemite Sam, and Tweety-Bird. There was The Jetsons, The Tasmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn (my personal favorite) and Marvin the Martian. I remember Scooby Doo, Top Cat, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Elmer Fudd and Woody Woodpecker. Then there was The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Lippy the Lion, Hardy Har Har, and Tom and Jerry. Who could forget Bullwinkle, Mr. Magoo, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Tennessee Tuxedo, Quickdraw McGraw or Wile E. Coyote? Plus there was The Pink Panther, Underdog, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mr. Jinks, Snaggle-Puss, and Mighty Mouse (Here I come to save the day!). The Magilla Gorilla Show had my favorite theme song: ‘How much is that Gorilla in the window? Take our advice, at any price, a gorilla like Magilla is might nice! Gorilla! Magilla, Gorilla, For Sale!). Am I weird (please don’t answer that), in that I still remember the ‘Super-Stone’ episode of The Flintstones (Bee-hee-hee-haw-haw!).
It’s not that I was a serial TV watcher. I definitely was an active kid. But I fondly remember rainy and/or winter afternoons, and certainly Saturday mornings before anyone else woke up in the house: it was Cartoon Time. And it had an influence, I’m positive of that. I still identify with Underdog, who always spoke in rhyme: ‘There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!’ I sometimes speak in cartoon: (‘I tawt I taw a puddy-tat'; or 'Easy, Kimba'; or 'Suffering Succotash, Exit, Stage Right!' My wife and daughter have no idea what I'm talking about...). When Tommy Scordato and I ran around and around in continuous circles during kindergarten recess, I was emulating Ricochet Rabbit (I caromed off of kids, and got in loads of trouble for it). Sadly, my high school and collegiate romances resembled nothing more than a continuous loop of Pepé Le Pew episodes (I was always trying for the foxy French feline, but alas, I was a skunk).
Le sigh…le purrrr. |
