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Cartoons of Our Lives December 13, 2008 Hey batchmates, A docu on animation we chanced upon (probably on Discovery Channel) illustrated (no pun intended) how many hundreds of pages of drawings, each painstakingly capturing minute movements of the cartoon character, would be filmed to consume probably around 60 secs of animated wizardry. More than anything else, THAT proved to me that putting together cartoons was a labor of love, not only for artists, inkers, and conceptualizers but for everyone involved in the animation process. That's when I remembered the cartoons that animated our early years.. throughout our pre-school life (Nursery-C am, K1-C am and K2-A am for those who can still reach back that far... Ms Nacu, Ms Beltran and Ms Villegas, all babes in this precocious little lecher's eyes), no matter how joyous the morning was with playmates and teachers who never ran out of fun things to teach, we looked forward to seeing our Ilokana Yaya Evelyn (tukayo ni Achi Doc) fetch us, ride the San Miguel - Quiapo and Quiapo - Blumentritt jeepneys, tiptoe through the white-hot concrete of the overpass just beyond Quezon Blvd and walk home from Central Market (we still lived in Sta Cruz then), ignore my protestations re not taking the tricycle (not far enough to ride... and she was Ilokana, remember?), eat our hurriedly prepared lunch of rice, hard-boiled egg, tomato and patis and watch cartoons all afternoon long. . . But first, we usually had to pretend to be taking our regular afternoon nap right next to our watchful yaya's eye... watchful that is, till she herself dozed off into the misty dreamland hills of Ilocos Norte. After that, it was a short goose-step into the living room, where our faithful black - and - white (may accordion-sliding panel doors pa) awaited to give us our daily doses of Popeye, Gumby and Sinbad the Sailor. Popeye the Sailor-Man was our peborit na favorite, 1st second and last... no matter how many times it was ran, reran and ran again and again, we never failed to savor every episode of the pipe-smoking (no politically correct niceties to follow then), spinach chomping and Olive Oyl courting overachieving seaman. Most storylines went like this: whether on his way to do his good-guy errands for others, shoot the breeze with Wimpy his hamburger chomping friend, babysitting Sweet Pea or his nephews (who were his miniature clones) or making ligaw to skeletally challenged Olive, Popeye would be bullied by Bluto (Brutus to others), without him having an inkling that he was being made fun of or that laughs were being made at his expense. Oddly, he also gets beat on (beaten senseless, actually) and Olive gets sexually harassed or abducted without him raising a peep... but only for so long. Ultimately, when he reaches the end of his patience with Bluto (Ive stood all that I can stands till I can't stands no more) he pops out of his sailor outfit a spinach can, uses his pipe as a mini blowtorch / flamethrower / can opener, gulps the contents, and proceeds to beat the stuffing out of much-bigger Bluto. We knew exactly how each and every episode would end this way but we still loved it. There were curiously two versions of Popeye, probably the result of two artists drawing up the episodes. The first was of him in an immaculate all-white sailor uniform, with crisper backgrounds and movements. The other, probably older version was him in a dark colored top, with fuzzier backgrounds, and with more characters like Pappy, who we assume was his dad, the Sea Hag, Alice the Goon (who's infatuated with him) and a small creature who we think was called Jeep. Gumby was a character cleverly fashioned out of clay that wasnt strictly a cartoon the way Popeye was, everything was probably filmed one movement at a time, which maybe took even longer than the drawings, but was quite creative for its day. Gumby was like Lastikman / Elongated Man who could squeeze himself out of any hole, slot or crevice, be sliced, diced, dismembered or rolled into a ball and still come out none the worse for wear. In a way, he was a prototype of SpongeBob Squarepants, one of anakis Brent's favorites till recently (his new faves became Cow & Chicken, CatDog [or was that DogCat?], Recess & I.M. Weasel, among others... all weird and questionable. .. but who's to judge?), but unlike the cartoons of today, Gumby couldn't capture the nuances of emotion and reaction that animated characters are expected to "borrow" from their human counterparts. Sinbad the Sailor was most likely, a caricature of the original legend of the Seven Seas, looking for adventure and battling monsters who guarded the treasure of his quests. The cartoon version as far as we can recall was a hunk that took over pirate ships and rescued damsels in distress. A distinct "laid-back" flavor was to dominate the next few cartoons we learned to love, these probably influenced the way we talk, speak and our bias for US-influenced hallmarks of culture (a few examples: fast food like burgers, hotdogs & fries, attire, and casualness in both attire and disposition) : am not sure if this and the following were produced by the Hanna-Barbera outfit, but we were enamored with the character profile of the lovable and Scooby Snack-addict Scooby Doo, and the markedly un-canine attributes his master Shaggy shared with him... years later we would marvel at the casting of the "human" character in the movie-length version. Btw, nakakahawa yung katakawan nila, both Scooby Doo and Shaggy who seemed to be unable to rein in immense appetites for submarine sandwiches, banana splits, lasagna and all other sorts of "pig-out" food. I was all but a groupie of the contestants in Wacky Races...honestly we believed that a version of the race existed in the real world, starring Penelope Pitstop, Peter Perfect, Professor Pat Pending, the Anthill Mob, the Gruesome Twosome, Arkansas Chugabug and of course Dick Dastardly and his even more famous dog Muttley (with that sneaky, wheezing laugh) who despite all their shenanigans never seemed to win even ONE race. Very similar to Scooby Doo, but without the dog, and throwing in a rock band, was Josie and the Pussy Cats. they would do gigs in the unlikeliest of places, solve mysteries, and sing their song numbers clad in body - fitting pussy cat costumes. Earlier Seventies memories of Gigantor The Space Age Robot and Astroboy proved that anime cartoons even then were part of Filipino fare, on Channel 5 (not ABC 5 but an ancestor thereof). It reflected the prevailing fear of the ultra nationalistic Japanese psyche from "invaders" of the giant, or militaristic kind. This was probably part of the cultural makeup that evolved from Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Some kind of monster or alien (or combination of both) would begin to lay waste on the landscape of the city, and it would take all the efforts of Astroboy or Gigantor to repel the monster. 20 years later, Astroboy (who had now attained "cult" status) was once again aired on Pinoy TV, much to our pleasant surprise, and of course, many of us batchmates were witness to the explosion of anime during our high school years. We're willing to wager that each of us has his or her favorite anime TV series, of whatever genre. Such is the effect of the artistry and technology the Japanese have applied to cartoons. In the 1980s, the anime robot universe was to take over our post-dismissal and pre-dinner TV menu, regardless of social station, economic standing or cultural affiliation. If memory serves, for a long time, it was Mekanda Robot Mondays, Mazinger Z Tuesdays, UFO Grendizer Wednesdays, Daimos Thursdays and Voltes V Fridays. With only slight variations on the theme, aliens send giant, mechanized "beast fighters" that wreak havoc on humankind, and these metal heroes, created to fight the alien creations, are called on to do battle, and vanquish them without fail. We all ate it up, of course. The artwork was excellent, the attention to detail (human expression, engineering symmetry and martial action) extreme, and the color coordination very aesthetic. another favorite of ours, and we're sure many others as well, was The Addams Family, that quirky but lovable clan of Gomez & Morticia, naka-Halloween motif but popular throughout the year. Bordering on the flesh-crawling and grisly but always humorous and heartwarming, this cartoon never failed to pick up my day; such was the appeal of the cartoon that several movies were made to ride on its popularity. We only liked the ones with the first Gomez Addams, we think it was the late Raul Julia. Of course, the Looney Tunes were sometimes shown both as regular shows and specials on different channels like Ch. 13 and 9 as well as the "mainstream" channels. We enjoyed all of them, but most often shown for some reason were Daffy Duck, Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote and Speedy Gonzales. Tweety Bird and Sylvester were also favorites for this Thursday afternoon viewer. Funny, though we saw Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto etc in movies, comics, Disney merchandise and even softdrinks promos (we loved the Disney bubble blowers, Disney stickers and Disneyland maps that were given away if you saved enough crowns and sucked up to Aling Remy, kitchen kapitana at the 3rd floor mess hall), we didnt see too much of this particular cartoon family on TV. The threesome pala of Mightor, Moby Dick and the Herculoids likewise provided me with endless hours of wholesome entertainment, enjoyed with merienda, throughout elementary years. Cavedwellers just like modern men needed saving from villains and assorted dinosaurs, so what could be more useful than a Stone Age superhero? all he needed to do was brandish his wooden club ala Captain Barbell and he would turn into this steroid enhanced masked Alpha Male, complete with testosterone - lined voice and swagger (not unlike, in fact quite similar to Christian Bale's Batman). He even had a Mushu - like pet dragon that morphed into a pterodactyl- like alalay to keep up with him.The unlikely teamup of two seadwelling young teens and a friendly whale out to do battle with undersea baddies and Atlantis type marauders comprised Moby Dick while the "family" of action heroes, a small dragon and ectoplasmic ghosts made the Herculoids famous for most of us pre teeners in the 1970s. Honestly, while we can conjure up quite a few more titles and their corresponding characters (Casper was quite popular and nostalgic; Gulliver was cute, Funky Phantom was... funky; we absolutely loved the accents / twangs of Yogi Bear and his associates in Jellystone Park; does anyone remember Sigmund & The Sea Monsters? How about the Bugaloos? and both DC and Marvel Comics attempted to showcase their heroes on the animated screen, esp Super Friends) but we don't want to take up too much of your time... have we neglected to mention any more prominent Cartoons of Our Lives? Thanks for the memories ! PS 1. just a few words about a sampling of the cartoons of today: Cow & Chicken shows manananggal (sliced in the middle) parents who nevertheless talk and walk around; a gay-looking demon, resplendent with mascara and false eyelashes, is one of the arch-enemies of the Power Puff Girls (not that there's anything wrong with that... it just looks awkward on a kids show  ); and an updated version of Sealab 2020 keeps showing characters that make sexual innuendoes to each other. Res ipsa loquitur .PS 2. Thanks for the comments to our last email, marilynchingv, LovelyStef, and rlynA. di pala ako nag-iisa .  COMMENTS From Peggy Yu December 13, 2008 Another great post, Noel!
For this not-so-faithful correspondent, it brought back memories. Gumby -- would you believe just two weeks ago, our Director of Human Resources used the term "Gumby-approach" to describe one of our recruiting programs, in a good way, to mean ultra-flexible. Let's not forget his sidekick Pokey...
Wimpy -- "I'll pay you Tuesday, for a hamburger today"... how apropos these days with people racking up credit card debt/living beyond their means. Brutus/Bluto - I once got into a heated argument with a consultant because I had never heard the "Bluto" reference and he was quite insistent that I was wrong and there was no such character as Brutus! Anyway, I had since learned that our ignorance was due to a generational divide.
Scooby-Doo has definitely withstood the test of time -- the cartoon series is my 9-year old nephew's absolute favorite. I feed his addiction by adding to his DVD collection.
Charlie Brown / Peanuts -- do you remember watching? Kids rule -- you only see the legs of adults and all they ever do is mumble (ala "whaaa waa whaa wwaaaa wa wah" in a nasal voice).
The Flintstones is another one I remembered watching way back when, marveling at all the "modern" stone-made appliances, including a foot-powered car.
Two not quite animation and not quite live action that I enjoyed were Sesame Street and The Muppets. The Muppets bring back special memories as I, along with a whole bunch of cousins, used to invade our Grandparents' bedroom on Sunday nights, to watch it in air-conditioned comfort (and woe to the person who tried to sneak past my Grandfather to sit in front of the window airconditioner -- Grandpa finally solved that problem by planting a chair in front of the unit!).
Thanks for the memories.
PeggyPatches
From Hedy Soliman December 13, 2008 HI Noel. Your article sure brings back a lot of warm and fuzzy
childhood memories. The shows that I remember watching were Popeye,
Wacky Races, Scooby Doo, Flintstones and companion to it, the
Jetsons. It is amazing to see what their idea of the "future" is. It
is almost similar to my watching old episodes of "Twilight Zone."
Their depiction of the time we are living now, has become quite old-
fashioned and retro.
Another favorite of mine was Superman and Superboy and His Dog.
Something about good versus evil, and good triumphing fed the young
and ideaistic me. He sure did have a smart dog--one that even wore a
cape and could fly!
Your mention of Gumby made me remember how my eldest daughter used to
be freakishly afraid of it. Naughty Mom that I was, Gumby was, many
times, the instrument I used to bend her to do my will. This was way
back when she was a toddler/preschooler . She later confessed that it
was the red eyes that did her in. Haha
My kids still watch cartoons. I guess it will always be a part of my
household. The older ones used to watch Disney films over and over,
and can still sing their tunes to this day! That was how much it was
ingrained in their memory. Now they are into Spongebob Squarepants,
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and the animated movies of Hayao
Miyosaki (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery
Service, My Neighbor Totoro, etc.).
Thanks, again, for the fun read.
Hedy
P.S. Peggy Patches...I remmember how you used to love Snoopy and his
mates and remained loyal to him even when we all defected to the cat
known as Hello Kitty. ;-D
From Noel Bautista December 13, 2008 haha, hello there Peggy Patches and QueenHedy ! Although Peggy Patches HAS been M.O.A. for quite a while, and has been sorely missed, we know how demanding it can be to manage the Human Resources Group of such a big company in the financial industry, especially in trying times like these.
Re QH's Jetsons: Its true that the future aint what it used to be, tongue in cheek... witness how Jules Verne's aliens (War of the Worlds) and deep seafarer (Journey to The Bottomo of the Sea) look positively antedeluvian now. Even the Original Star Trek designs and "pinging" sound effects sound so sophomoric now... but at the time, it was the bomb, right? Somehow I knew this topic would strike a chord with you though, and your rejoinders have justified our faith in you. That ultra smart beagle and the deceptively simple yet profound exchanges between CB, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Marcie and Schroeder always completed my perusal of the funnies everyday. We DO remember watching a Spelling Bee Peanuts special (didnt u participate in a TV quiz, by the way PP? that's authentic SJCS Batch 82 history !!!) either on TV or VHS, but no regular Peanuts on TV in our memory banks, I'm afraid. The way Queen H used Gumby as the Bogeyman for her daughter isn't nearly as awful as how I used the CryptKeeper (from Tales From the Crypt) and the Exorcist movie as cold-sweat-inducing devices to keep Nigel, Nicole and Brent in by bedtime. Too bad they were precocious tykes... u see, the more intelligent the child, the greater his / her susceptibility to the power of suggestion.. . I should know, my mom used it so effectively on me till puberty  And funny P.Patches should use Wimpy's famous phrase to reflect recent corporate fiscal recklessness. .. I just heard Pinoys back home mention that, while Jollibee has made best efforts to keep price range within reach of the low-to-middle economic classes, the collective size of its hamburgers, spaghetti servings and pies has diminished noticeably. Well, something has to give way. What Would Wimpy Do? we ask rhetorically. Including non-robotic titles and non-martial arts lines, the anime conveyor belt has been literally churning out HUNDREDS of anime characters and series since the 1980s. It has probably overtaken its US industry counterpart, taking together multiple media of comics, TV, toys and full-length films. As I am nearly certain we are kindred spirits, let me agree that I too absolutely MISS Scooby Doo, Sesame Street, and the Muppet Show. Sigh... a flaccid Yabba dabba doo to you both. The past also aint what it used to be. Regards to Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Pebbles, Bambam and Dino, whichever channel they may be. Thanks for the memories as well !
From Hedy Soliman December 14, 2008 I know this is not considered a cartoon show, but this post made me
recall how my BFF Catherine and I used to watch "Iskul Bukol"
and "Champoy" every week, then go to school the next day and discuss
and dissect the jokes we heard and the skits we saw like it was some
major school project. ;-B
Hedy
From Noel Bautista December 14, 2008 oh, u just made my day Achie... that's rich ! And to think they're STILL doing it to this day !!! Vic and Joey, Jimmy Santos.... u have great recall ! AS an aside, did you see how George W DODGED those shoes? galing - galing ! Surreal, actually. those boots could have very well been bullets... and did you see how the Iraqi president / PM just stood by, like he was egging others to try hurling their Ferragamos at Dubya as well? Grabe !!!
From Peggy Yu December 14, 2008 Noel and Queen Hedy
I just want to clarify....lest prying eyes misinterpret. ..I do not manage the Human Resources group -- I am just a lowly peon :-) who just happens to love her job.
Annnywaaay, you recall correctly that I once participated in a quiz show on live TV with a few of our classmates plus 2 batches above us. We were in Grade 4 and the others from class of 82 were Toto, Doc Henry and not so sure...I think John Santiago or maybe Ricky Ko Pio. Let's just say I was not at my best that afternoon/evening but it was an honor nonetheless to have been selected to represent SJCS.
Queen Hedy -- to this day, I could not pass by a Snoopy display and not smile with memories of long ago. And as for HK, I loved her, too! Did you catch the larger than life sculptures of Hello Kitty (and a friend or 2) at Lever House? I saw it over the summer and it was a sight to behold!
To everyone reading this...if you are in NY and have time, let me know and let's arrange to meet (lunch, dinner... or even just an afternoon coffee break). I have temporarily moved to our mid-town headquarters building and will be there through at least early 2009 (and then back to Jersey City again which is an easy subway/PATH ride away).
What's next on your agenda, Noel? Comic strips? That should get a few more people out of the woodwork!
Peggy Patches <-- will be visiting the Hello Kitty store at Times Square sometime this week.
From Noel Bautista December 14, 2008 Dear Peggy Patches, If it could at all be possible.... you just made my day (as did QueenHedy) in the same day... ! Dont get me started on comics and comics strips, as I was a SERIOUS reader (as was YoungWang) of everything then... Dagwood, Moon Mullins, Cesar Asar, Baltic & Co., Buz Sawyer, Beetle Bailey, Nancy & Sluggo, Dennis the Menace... we read EVERYTHING on the Manila Daily Bulletin funnies page... today, there's Doonesbury, the Far Side (so wacky !!!) Garfield, and of course eternal PEANUTS... I mean, we are positively OMNIVOROUS.. .maybe methinks we'll devote a separate email on this subject, as you almost psychically discerned. But to keep within the topic, we have fond memories of both Snoopy and Hello Kitty, the latter only vicariously as it was SUCH a popular icon / figure with girls. Wallets, stationery, pencil cases, bags, i remember show windows in Greenhills proudly showing off (isnt that what they do... being show windows??) every conceivable article / item emblazoned with the kitten with the verticle eyeslits that must have made its creators kajillions of yen (all those zeroes !) In your short email you scattered so many bits and pieces of memories... that quiz show was precious in that several esteemed batchmates represented both the batch and the school, not only that day but for posterity... what i would give to watch a clip of that contest. If you have any more details , Ms No Longer M.O.A. / Snoopy Groupie / Highly Regarded HR Peon, pls dont hesitate to share .  Don't worry, if God permits in this decade or next that we visit your proud city, we will STALK you from your office building to the toy stores near Times Square. But not without first picking up KuyaToto and the Queen, AchieDoc, AteMel, Mev888, ChristineVisualMix, teeveejoy, FrancisT and everybody else from WestCoast. Joke lang ha ? Thanks for the memories ! YLB NOel PS. I have to get this out of my mouth... Ive probably seen the GWB shoe-dodging clip 10 times in the last 1 and a half hours, and i still collapse into paroxyms of laughter everytime !!! cant help but feel this is his two terms' DEFINING MOMENT, esp in light of that comment on how Iraqis reserve shoe-hurling / shoe-slapping only for those who deserve the deepest and profoundest insult. Indeed, truth is stranger than fiction, life imitates art and all that; Michael Moore could not have directed / choreographed it ANY BETTER. In any case (and to be fair), if it wasnt such a serious security situation, GW would have made any DodgeBall enthusiast proud. Wasn't that one of our favorite games btw, along with touch-que and chinese garter, in SJ ? Kudos Mr Bush !!!
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