A Lifetime of Magic

Cartoons are often the first things that obsess us as children in terms of TV or film. They are bright, funny, from another world yet so familiar to our own. Join me as I take a tour through the characters that I have loved over the years.

The classic Disney cartoons of the 60s and 70s loomed large in my imagination as a 5 or 6 year old. My two favourite characters from that time were Baloo the bear from Jungle Book and Thomas O’Malley the alley cat from The Aristocats. Anyone who knows their Disney history will know that they were voiced by the same actor, the amazing Phil Harris.

On TV in the 1970s the Cat and Mouse pair, Tom and Jerry were mainstays of holidays and weekends. I loved their battles and always wanted Tom to win (which he did once if I remember rightly) as Jerry was too sure of himself. However, it wasn’t the characters that drew me in as much as the music. They introduced me to classical music and jazz music and taught me that there was a whole world outside the pop charts. Cat Concerto, Mice Follies and The Night Before Christmas all stand out for the quality of the music and the stunning animation. By the way, that only applies to a Tom and Jerry produced by Fred Quimby as anything after that was rubbish!

On TV at the same time was another cartoon that was great for two series but rubbish afterwards. I refer to Scooby Doo. The original run with the fantastic theme tune was a joy. I was a huge fan of the stories because they told me that there was a logical explanation for anything that looked supernatural. My favourite character was Velma because she was the brains of the quintet. Fred and Daphne were always going to succeed because they were good looking and they knew it. Shaggy and Scooby were the idiotic pair who always managed to get away with it through luck not judgement. I think this gives an interesting insight into my life journey!

I now want to move forward to the late 90s with a cartoon I loved watching with my children and which has completely disappeared. Dexter’s Laboratory is a sublime cartoon with great characters and a fantastic visual sense. Dexter is a really good character but Dee Dee is my favourite because she runs rings around her brother by understanding people not science. His frustration with her is often very funny but underneath the frustration there is clear love and affection. I really hope it reappears somewhere because I would love to revisit this excellent cartoon.

My final choice from all the cartoons I have watched is Phineas and Ferb. It is clever, funny, heartfelt and pretty much perfect.  The titular characters invent and build insane constructions. Their sister, Candace, is constantly trying to bust them as she is the only one who knows what is happening. The mix of science, comedy, family and friendship together with the most amazing songs. My favourite character in this one is Perry the Platypus who is actually a secret agent!

Cartoon characters are the centre of our lives from our earliest days and they carry our memory of happy times and huge amounts of fun.