If you know me in real life, or have been reading my blog for a little while now, it might not be a surprise that I was totally nutso for Archie Comics as a kid. We’re talking a cupboard full of Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and the rest.

So imagine my excitement when I happened upon something last weekend while browsing Hulu A-Z. An 80’s cartoon based on the Archies? Could it be true?

You can probably guess what happened next, but if you can’t… it went something like…

“watch 20 minute cartoon. Become slowly paralyzed by the cheesiest, beyond cheesiest thing you have ever seen. Continue denial of the horrible product you are watching by subjecting yourself to learning the “dance of the week.” Turn off cartoon and assume fetal position until the following Tuesday. End.”

So obviously I was a bit traumatized by this pathetic excuse for a cartoon. I mean, I was born in the eighties for crying out loud, the GLORY days of cartoons! So I thought I’d focus day two of TV month with a little cartoon love!

My ultimate favorite childhood cartoons:

1. Animaniacs: I wanted to dress like Dot, act like Wakko, and take over the world with Pinky and the Brain. I loved every little side character they had, and collected every bit of paraphernalia I could find. The only one I didn’t relate to was Yakko. He was tall.

2. The Pink Panther: This was a substantial phase for me. No idea why… but I loved how he could run on his tippy-toes.

3. The Jetsons: Do I need to explain the appeal of airport-style conveyer belts, sassy robot housekeepers, flying to school in a space ship, or Judy Jetson’s wardrobe? Didn’t think so. Plus, Mr. Sprocket was guaranteed to blow a gasket like the teacher on Daria at least once per episode… bonus…

4. Noozles: I had to google this creepy cartoon to remember what it was called. It was vaguely anime, with a magic koala and I think a magic watch as well. There was definitely something in the eucalyptus here, but I sure was drinking the Kool-Aid. See also: Mya the bee: An entirely different cartoon I loved mostly, I think, because it followed Noozles and had an insanely catchy theme song. Powerful noozles indeed!

5. Darkwing Duck: Who, I mean WHO didn’t like this guy? When there’s trouble just call DW…Let’s get dangerous.

Runners up: Inspector Gadget, Gummi Bears, TailSpin, Muppet Babies, Underdog, Tom and Jerry, Doug, Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles (for the concept and the gooey pizza, if nothing else), Dexter’s Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, Smurfs (only because I so infrequently watched it).

and NO AWARD given to: Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Bobby’s World, Life with Louie

Wondering where your favorite more “mature” cartoons are on this list? Well, that’s a topic for another post, isn’t it? so stay “tooned” for more! (I physically can’t resist typing puns…)

What were some of your favorite cartoons growing up? Were you one of the godforsaken few who knows what the bleep a Noozle is? 

Meri