Rediscover Bugs Bunny, Superman, Batman, Dexter And Other Cartoon Characters

Turner Broadcasting’ Cartoon Network Channel is perhaps one of the most appreciated cable television for children. It was launched in 1992 in United States. This channel has gained the audience with its considerable library of animations. Here are some of the most popular cartoons, many of them as reviewed on Cartoon-secrets.com – some of them inherited from generation to generation and the other newer: Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, Dexter’s Laboratory, Power Puff Girls, Codename: Kids Next Door, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Grim Adventure of Billy & Mandy, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Camp Lazlo.

Tom and Jerry are the legendary cat-mouse pair, responsible for some of the most funny and unforgettable scenes of animation. They have delighted and gained more and more fans along time and won seven awards.

Scooby-Doo’s shows are numerous. They evolved along time through more and more inspired series on the stream with the latest scientific conquests in the field of computers. However, they have preserved their ace, the mistery waiting to be revealed, the creepy atmosphere, suspense, thrills and harrowing adventures; this is what gave the charms to this cartoon and gained its fans forever.

The Flintstones, Fred and Wilma, and their neighbours the Rubbles, Barney and Betty, the town of Bedrock, vehicles propelled by the driver’s feet, Dino, the dog-dinosaur and the adventures of the Stone Age transformed into a modern atmosphere. Nothing new and still, so fresh every time you see them.

Dexter’s Laboratory. This cartoon series is about a boy genius, a junior scientist called Dexter, his passion for scientific discoveries and disgust for “girly” feelings, weaknesses; Dexter’s older sister Dee Dee is exactly the opposite, but together they form an A team that gives delightful moments to the audience.

Johnny Bravo with his Elvis-like appearance, his bulging biceps, and overflowing ego are only a few of the qualities this mama’s boy has. He makes you laugh and you somehow adore him although you hate everything that he does. In fact he is his own worst nightmare wherever he goes.

The Powerpuff Girls. Three supernatural superhero girls created with a secret ingredient by Professor Plutonium in a laboratory near Townsville fight against bad guys. A mayor, too small to be good and candies as fuel for super-heroines, and this is just part of the story.

Codename: Kids Next Door. Five 10-year-old tenacious kids fight to preserve the innocence of the childhood which is permanently endangered by the world of adults which is always ruled by implacable rules. Besides the drama you can easily laugh and enjoy their mustard or sweets based weapons.

Courage the Cowardly Dog describes the isolated life of a very timid, timorous and scared dog which has to fight against horrifying monsters to protect himself and his owners, especially Muriel who is very devoted to her dog, while her husband Eustace scares the poor dog all the time and enjoys it.

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. Children create imaginary friends which give them the needed help to pass over the obstacles and misfortunes of life. However there is a time when that created hero is no longer wanted so he has to retire somewhere, and that’s what Foster’s home is for.

Camp Lazlo. The camp where the Bean Scouts spend their summer is a place where rules are observed and the nature is a temple. Everything was in an orderly fashion until Lazlo appeared. For more cartoons and information please see our other resources on Cartoon-secrets.com

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 2

This movie was definitely “more than meets the eye!” Sorry, I had to do that. In all seriousness, I was not overly enthused about seeing Transformers, but I am glad that I did. The movie was incredible, and I was very much into it.

The Acting:

Shia LaBeouf was great as Sam Witwicky, the loveable, nerdy guy who gets sucked into the Transformers’ world. Although he plays a nerdy character, he is cute enough that you want him to get the girl, Mikaela Banes (played by Megan Fox). It was refreshing to see a strong female lead. Megan Fox’s character was well developed. She knew about cars and could kick behind. I’d bet on her in any fight. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to act that convincingly when all you have is a blue screen to go by, but these two actors did amazingly well.

The Special Effects:

The special effects were incredible: lots of explosions and action. It was amazing what vehicles the Transformers mimicked: Porshes, Hummers, Helicopters…and wait until you see the main Transformer as a sweet Camaro. I can’t imagine any guy who wont love this movie, just based on the special effects.

Miscellaneous:

The soundtrack was all hard rock and fit well with the action scenes. The personalities of the Transformers themselves were well-developed. The Decepticons were so evil, they almost gave me goosebumps, and I felt as strongly connected to the Autobots as the human characters. The plot was very good, and the movie left no questions unanswered (but also left itself very open to a sequel, especially if you watch through all the credits). My only criticism would be that a few scenes could be edited. It went a little long.

Bottom line: Go see it, if you haven’t already!

An introduction to action figure collecting

If you’re going to do this as an investment, don’t. Buy some shares of stock as you’ll get more a of a return over the course of a decade compared to actually getting any yields for action figures. People typically collect things because they find an allure to it. So if you’re thinking about starting an action figure collection, you must really love figurines.

I. Beginning your collection:

First off, collect the figures you actually like. If you like marvel comic book heroes, collect it. If you like stars wars characters, purchase it. If you love ken dolls, buy it. The emphasis is, this is about you and what you like. Purchase a model or two to determine if this really interests you. But be warned Collectibles are hard to quit and can really set you back after a while.

II. Care

If you are intending to purchase this figure and you have a child, expect him to make a mess of it. Keeping the action figure in good condition is of utmost importance for a serious collector. You don’t want your awesome “Transformers” model to get ruined.

As a child it would be near impossible to gain satisfaction of a toy just from holding it in his hands. So expect your action figure to be dragged alongside the dirt and gravel. Expect the figure to go on several bathes with your child. You may even expect the child to blow it up with bottled rockets. These will significantly wear down a model. A solution for this would be to buy two copies of the figures, one for yourself and one for your kid.

III. Hardcore

Ok so now that you know you’re obsessed with figurines judging by the way you’ve bought two figurines. You might as well dive into the limited releases. There are a lot of amazing antique toys out there that sparks a memory of an icon you loved as a child. These could be from shows like the classic “Doctor Who” or the “Million Dollar Man”. Because manufacturers no long produce these items, you’ll have to pay a hefty price, and it’ll be worth it.

IV. Care++

You just blew a couple of hundred dollars on a figure you JUST had to have. Now that your wallet has taken a hit, this figure no longer feels as if it can be toyed with. Therefore it would be better for you to keep the figure in its original case. You’d probably put it in a secure place, maybe even behind a glass window if you’ve spent thousands. It would be dry and only to be enjoyed aesthetically through visual perception. Thats the problem with collecting, the more serious you’ve become, the less you’re inclined to play with them.

IV. New developments

Several new toy lines now produce non-movable action figures. They appear more like small statues aimed just for the pleasing aesthetic of sitting on your table. Examples include the new line of “Lost” models from the hit ABC show. These new models appear to be aimed at the older generation who once collected action figures as a child. Its also important to note that many of them are limited releases and may increase in value more quickly. However its also important to note that the popularity depends on the brand of the model.

Spiderman Comics

Spiderman comics have always been on high demand because they are not only bought by children but also by adults who probably read them when they were kids as well.  Spiderman comics are a Marvel Comic original that made its debut in 1962 and was written and created by Stan lee and Steve Dikto.

In his first appearance in Marvel Comics Spiderman made his debut in a guest appearance spot, but would later have his own comic line. The Spiderman character real name is Peter Parker a quite and unsure fellow, who after he is bitten by a spider which had been used for experiments, which means basically the spider had been given different gene’s that made it stronger, faster and could sense danger when it was near and this what transferred into the young Peter Parker and transformed him to his alter ego the wise cracking, web sling Spiderman.

Spiderman comics became a big hit with the kids as well as with adults and this spun into two cartoons. One cartoon was about Spidey on his own and the other was him and iceman and was called the double duo, which actually was also a comic book. The cartoons then lead to a Spiderman movie which would later be remade in early 2000 into the Spiderman movies which we have come to love. Spiderman also shares the scene with other characters like Mary Jane Watson who is Peter Parkers love interest, then there his Aunt and off course the bad guys like the green goblin and Dr. Doom as well as Doc Octopus. The suit of Spiderman has always been red and blue but there was a time the suit changed to black in 1984 when an alien material or matter attached itself to Spiderman’s suit.

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 53

alright, I’ve recently watched Bay’s Transformers and i would have to say that it was quite a show. it was fast and energetic, but i would have to say that it wasn’t quite what i was expecting. it was kinda like a freeze dried version of the old animated transformers movie. they are both so full of violence that it might inspire younger children to harm each other. when the children of years past think of transformers they associate that with fighting. the transformers hide, are deceptive and violent, and not just the “deceptacons”, even the Autobots were like that in a way. most people were thinking that because it doesn’t show any real human fighting then it must be OK for the younger children. but it had a few vulgar jokes that could easily be picked up by younger children inducing a life where vulgarity is OK. its was a great action movie, yet they could have done out with a certain bedroom scene (just to point one out) that didn’t have anything to do with the movie. (searching for the glasses was a main key but the talk about masturbation? that could have been left out and the movie would have been that much better). as i leave on that note i would like to say one more thing. don’t encourage violence in any age. just because they have the toys at home, don’t let them watch it unless they are of specified age that the movie rating gives.

Remembering the 80s cartoons – Part 2

There was a time when I never thought I’d be saying things like: ‘Remember the time. . . ” but here I am, looking back on all of those hoary cartoons I watched and loved as a kid. Some of these properties are making a big comeback, like Transformers.

When I was a kid there was both a weekly line up and a Saturday morning line up of cartoons that I loved to watch. Over the years these line ups changed and there were so many cartoons that it can be hard to remember them all. But whatever the change, there was always something good to watch. My favorites:

1. Thunder Cats – my all time favorite! Even now, I still love the theme song!

2. He-man

3. The Littles

4. Star Brite

5. Alf Tales

6. Transformers

7. The Go-Bots

8. The Get Along Gang

9. Alf

10. Alvin and the Chipmunks

11. Foofur

12. The Adventures of Johnny Quest

13. Captain Caveman

14. Danger Mouse

15. Curious George

16. The Care Bears

17. Ducktails

18. Rubiks the Amazing Cube

19. Fat Albert

20. The Flintstones

21. Galaxy High – Also still a favorite!

22. Inspector Gadget

23. Hulk Hogan’s Rockin’ Wrestlin’

24. The Jetsons

25. Rude Dog and the Dweebs

26. Pacman

27. Muppet Babies

Yes, I know. A lot of these are pretty bad. When I look back now at some of those cartoons, many were nothing but cheaply made junk and I wonder why me and my friends were even entertained by them, especially the cartoons created from toy properties like Rude Dog and the Dweebs, Rubiks the Amazing Cube, Pacman or the Monchi-chiis! I even had some of these toys, such as the Rubiks cube (which I still can’t figure out to this day) and two monchi-chi figurines.

Cheap as they were, when you’re a child you can be easily entertained by simple fare. I would have slumber parties and my friends would come over Friday night and then on Saturday morning we would all get up and watch Alvin and the chipmunks, Pacman, The Littles, and all of that. I have to admit that the appeal partly comes from the catchy opening scene tunes. I still love the song for The Littles and Maya the Bee. During the week my sister and I would race home to watch Transformers, Go-Bots and Thundercats. It’s amazing what you’ll tolerate for entertainment as a kid. They can throw anything on TV and if it’s animated kids will watch it. That was certainly true back in the 80’s. When you look at the quality of the cartoons back then as far as content and execution they thrown together but they were fun to watch. As badly drawn and corny as 80’s cartoons are there was an innocence in those cartoons that I miss and don’t see in today’s cartoons. There wasn’t as much violence and cynicism. Back then cartoons were essentially made for children, not adults and I remember that just about all of the cartoons I named taught children about the value of cooperation, accepting others, friendship, loyalty and working together to achieve goals. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t violent cartoons. In fact, I think violence in cartoons got their start in the 1980’s but it has progressed since then dramatically.

If you were an 80’s child and you are looking to relive your childhood, YouTube has many of these old cartoons posted and it’s really fun watching them, noticing how dated and corny they were. But even so, they gave me so many good memories.

More than meets the eye: Anticipating the release of the Transformers movie – Part 12

Well to those that watch television you will know that Transformers already got an award and the movie isn’t even out yet. I think that this movie will be a ten and nothing else. Just by looking at the animation and graphics, it has me sold. Besides this is the Transformers that we’re talking about here. Remember when you were young and woke up every Saturday morning just to watch the next episode just to go to school on Monday and tell your friends how your favorite Transformer did his thing. Well, I think the movie will be just like that. Hopefully they’ll have a lot of different Transformers that we can compare to and if the story boards the same we’ll be in for a hell of a treat. I myself think that this might be even better than X-Men. Transformer comes out next month and trust me I will be there as soon as it opens. And when I’m done I’m taking my son to Toy R Us to get us some Transformer toys. I think this a great way for me and my son to spend some good quality time together. I’m very excited and I hope that all of you are to. By the way my favorite Transformers are the Dino-bots. But I guess they will take on the big screen in the next chapters, feel me?

Introduction to toy collecting

Toy collecting is a fun past-time you can enjoy with your kids. Now keep in mind collecting is not for everyone as the whole idea behind collecting toys is build a collection of value. Toys are only worth money if they are kept in pristine condition basically not played with. Not every child wants to watch their toys collect dust on a shelf. it takes a guiding hand to show an appreciation in value as the collection grows.

Now that you’ve made the choice to collect toys there are a few things you must consider as you spend your hard earned money on toys.

1) Collecting toys is more often than not related to action figures. I suggest you and your child sit down and talk about what shows they like and what types of figures they are interested in. Some popular toys falling into this category are Star Wars, Movie Figures by McFarlane, and Transformers. Both Transformers and Star Wars have been around for decades and offer several options in the way of collecting. There are some other toys that aren’t action figures that people collect such as PEZ and stuffed animals.

2) Next you need to understand the amount of investment your going to make and what the potential return on investment is. Why collect toys that are going to be worth nothing in five years? Check and see how many figures there are in a collection and create a checklist. Then go on ebay and search under the major name such as Star Wars or Transformers. This will give you a good idea how much these figures are fetching currently.

3) You may notice a trend while looking for some of these figures, some figures are fetching much higher prices than others. Something you should know before you begin your collection is that companies rarely produce exact numbers of figures across the board. Toy companies need to sell surplus and can’t have inventory just sitting around. This leads the companies to produce quantities that represent how much the figure should sell based on popularity. This causes a shortage for those figures and drives up the prices on the secondary market (ebay). Welcome to collecting. You will also notice that there are variations of the same figure and these too fetch much higher prices based on production numbers.

4) Use the Internet to locate a few good toy stores that are local to you. These will most likely be the primary places you purchase from. If you are serious about collecting then start asking questions like when new toys are arriving how many boxes they are getting. If you want a complete collection you are going to have to work for it.

5) Finally you have to take good care of your collection. Find some unique way to display your figures out of sunlight and away from potential water damage. Or you can be boring and stow them away in plastic bins safe from all kinds of hazards. In my opinion it is no fun to collect and not to show your collection off.

Now you are armed with your checklist and stores located near you. This is where the fun begins. It’s best to think of this as a large scale scavenger hunt because some figures will be near impossible to find. Collecting toys definitely is challenging but can be a rewarding experience to have with your children as you purchase that rare Luke Skywalker in his Xwing outfit that you just happen to run into at Wal-Mart.

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 39

There was a period during the eighties when Steven Spielberg backed some of the most imaginative, exciting and best pure entertainment Hollywood had to offer. Back to the Future, Goonies, Poltergeist, Gremlins and so many more proudly carried Spielberg’s name as a producer. Together these films set a new pinnacle of escapist fantasy. Now nearly two decades later, Spielberg has again put his name on a film that will capture the attention and child-like imagination of audiences everywhere, guaranteeing that Transformers will inevitably be this summer’s biggest blockbuster.

Based on the beloved Hasbro toys, Transformers has been shrewdly adapted into a feature film by screenwriters Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, creating the blueprint for what is definitively Michael Bay’s best film to date. Simple, yet undeniably effective, when an age-old war between two alien forces, the heroic Autobots and their nemesis the Decepticons, erupts on Earth, the primitive human race is left helpless at the hands of these monstrous, giant robots.

With the sheer number of dazzling action pieces in the film, no one was better suited for this project than veteran spectacle filmmaker Michael Bay. Coming off perhaps the director’s strongest work, the box-office failure The Island, Bay continues to improve as a filmmaker, easily besting his previous efforts with Transformers. Bay’s trademark machismo style and slick visuals are ever present, but it is the story that makes Transformers so gratifying.

Of course credit for this can’t go entirely to Bay though. Steven Spielberg’s mark can certainly be felt throughout the picture. Bay pays homage to the previous films that shared the Transformer’s producer name, notably Gremlins and Jurassic Park, but it is the relationship between Sam Witwicky and his guardian Transformer, Bumblebee, that is perhaps the film’s best nod to Spielberg. Like Elliot and E.T. before them, Sam (Shia LaBeouf) and Bumblebee have that special, touching bond between a boy and his giant, mechanical alien.

The fact that the character of Sam plays such an integral role in why the Transformers have come to Earth could have easily caused the film to implode upon itself, destroying any ounce of credibility. Credit has to go to Shia LaBeouf for giving the film a touch of humanity that without it would have made Transformers an implausibly dorky film filled with nothing more than fast cars and big explosions.

Any fan of the franchise should easily relate

Remembering the 80s cartoons – Part 5

Ah, the 80s. The decade that gave us the 30 minute commercials.

At the dawn of the beginning of the decade we could still catch re-runs of Scooby Doo and the Flintstones along with our old Warner Brothers favourits like Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner ‘toons. They were harmless fun that had little to no redeeming value. If you were lucky your local stations might play classic anime cartoons like “Star Blazers” or “Battle of the Planets”. Again, no lessons learned. Nothing more than entertainment. If you wanted to, you could go to the store and buy products based on these shows.

Then, things started to go wrong.

First there were a pair of five-day mini-series from an animation company wholly owned by Hasbro. The two shows were based upon toy lines manufactured by Hasbro: GI Joe, and Transformers. This was one of the first times in the US that a product was released first and the show second. The shows presented nothing more than an advertisement for all of the products that kids could nag their parents into buying for them.

The success of Transformers and GI Joe was so incredible that other companies started to pick make their own miniseries based on their toys.

This would lead to entire series being based on toy lines such as “He Man and the Masters of the Universe”, “Care Bears”, “Strawberry Shortcake”, and French import “The Smurfs”. Soon it was nearly impossible to find a cartoon that didn’t have a massive toy line already out that was dedicated to it.

Despite the fact that the shows were blatant advertisements, they still felt the need to redeem themselves with 2-5 minute public service announcements at the end telling people how lying was bad and playing inside refrigerators could be harmful.

But, toys weren’t enough. Soon cartoons based on actual video games were coming out and you could tune into programs with “plots” based on popular video games like Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Q-Bert, and Dragon’s Lair.

It was starting to look like creativity was rapidly disappearing from American Tv. At one point the only animated program really worth watching was “Robotech” a Japanese import that was actually three different series that were re-written by an American Producer to fit together smoothly and had an incredible plot that could keep a viewer entertained for 85 straight days.

But, it wasn’t enough – until 1987. Disney hadn’t done much more than a few dismal attempts at movies and they decided to get back into the afternoon cartoon business

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