(Re)Animations: Infinite Santa 8000

I want to thank Grey and his gang over at The Fear Inside (in addition to James from Planet Terror) for opening my eyes to this little gem of an animated series. On a sidenote, Grey was kind enough to give SKC a shoutout on his latest Dark Hours podcast so be sure to listen for that (located on the left sidebar).

Set in a post-apocalyptic landscape full of mutants, monsters and madmen Infinite Santa 8000 is an independently produced web series that chronicles the exploits of the man known as Infinite Santa and his companion, a young robot/clone girl, as they fight the evil forces of Dr. Shackleton. An interesting setup for sure, but does this Santa deliver the goods?

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(Re)Animations: Mighty Ducks - The Animated Series

Alongside Gargoyles, Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series is one of the last cartoons of the 90s that I can remember watching that was actually worth a damn. I mean, Ducks had all of the elements necessary for a franchise of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles status: mutants, aliens, a team of equally awesome and powerful heroes, etc. Each hero even had their own archetype appearance and abilities from Duke's eyepatch and suave 007 personality to "Grin" and his behemoth strength kept in check by a peaceful nature. These guys (and gals) were made for action figures!

Having re-watched the series pilot recently (The First Face-Off), the show is still as fun to watch as it was back then. With a basic concept that involves intergalactic ducks from a planet called "Puckworld" whose passion is playing hockey, the storyline really emphasizes a lack of imagination in today's television programming. Granted, there are still a few good shows out there now, but come on: space ducks playing hockey who moonlight as super-cool vigilantes?! That's awesome!

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Show Your Inner Strange Kid! Call For Entries

UPDATE:  
Please format all submissions to a 8.5" x 11" format.

CALL FOR ENTRIES
Strange Kids Club would like to give you a chance to show off your inner strange kid with an Open Call for Entries! Established to celebrate the pop culture retro geekdom of B-movie monsters, classic wrestling, comic books, toys and television shows; SKC is seeking to recognize those talented illustrators, character designers and comic artists that wish to take part and be featured in an upcoming Strange Kid Anthology.

We're looking for fanart, short comics, creative collages and more (even animations!) to compile into one huge SKC anthology towards the beginning of next year. Wanna learn more? Continue reading after the bump for information on how to enter your work!

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(Re)Animations: R.I.P.

Beware of the one-eyed man.

Searching for this particular animation can only be equated to Captain Ahab's quest to hunt down the infamous great white whale, Moby Dick. Seriously, every year around Halloween this same cartoon (or one in a series of shorts) appears on Cartoon Network (courtesy of TCM) as a filler between shows without any sort of forewarning or title card. It doesn't help that it's also usually late at night when it runs or the fact that the only clue to its origin is in French.

Finally, however, FINALLY I've managed to track this red herring down to a French animation studio, Vivement Lundi, who apparently produce a diverse range of animated shorts. This one in particular seems to be called R.I.P. and consists of a series of shorts produced and directed by Bruno Collet.

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(Re)Animations: What It's Like Being Alone

In the mid-2000s, while Mac and Bloo were walking the halls of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, there was another home for kooky creatures in Canada called What It's Like Being Alone. Much more of a dark humor than Foster's, this show focused on a group of unwanted and misunderstood children who all seemed to have ended up at the brooding Gurney Orphanage.

Though the tone of What It's Like Being Alone was rather bleak there was one beacon of hope for these outcasts named Nanny Goodapple. As their caretaker, Goodapple would often guide the children through their many unusual misadventures. Said misadventures often dealt with some hefty themes such as divorce, bigotry, religion, and even death.

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(Re)Animations: Tiny Toon Adventures Halloween Special

"We're tiny, we're tooney... we're all a little looney."

Even though I wasn't technically a kid when Tiny Toon Adventures made its way onto the television screen I still regard it as one of the shows that had an influence on me growing up. Very much unlike Henson's Muppet Babies cartoon, which also starred pint-sized versions of its signature characters as the protagonists, Tiny Toons offered kids a bit of an edge thanks to creator Tom Ruegger's sharp sense of comedic wit.

Set in a place called Acme Acres, the show was essentially an attempt to refresh the Warner Bros. cartoon library with a mix of both old favorites and a new kind of self-assured slapstick. Lasting a total of 3 seasons, most of which I remember being on Fox's morning lineup, Tiny Toons starred a cast of new (yet familiar) troublemakers and quickly became known for pushing the boundaries of Saturday morning entertainment. One episode in particular was banned due to a segment entitled "One Beer" in which the boys (Buster Bunny, Plucky Duck and Hamton Pig) decide to down a cold one and proceed to drive themselves off a cliff and die. They DIE!

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(Re)Animations: Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters

If you're a Halloweenie like me, then you're probably well aware of Rankin/Bass' 1967 classic stop motion movie Mad Monster Party (in the event that you're not I highly recommend a rental). But were you aware that there also exists a prequel? Released in 1972, Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters tells the story of how Frankenstein's Monster and met and married his Bride, in classic Rankin/Bass style of course.

Aside from the Karloff-esque Baron Frankenstein (this time NOT voiced by Karloff himself), most of the monsters have a slightly different appearance then their claymation counterparts but nonetheless share a common personality. Some changes to the cast include the exclusion of Peter Lorre-inspired, Yetch, in favor of a far less likeable hunchback named Igor and a loavable goof named Norman who stands in for Felix Flankin. Moving at a rapid pace, the story generally revolves around Igor falling for the Monster's Bride and trying to steal her away.

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(Re)Animations: Mary Shelley's Frankenhole

A glorious mishmash of monsters and loose morals.

I really must give a shout-out to the lovely Tenebrous Kate, whose recent post over at Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire inspired me to write this one. You see, that's just how freaking awesome this show is. It's like a form of digital syphilis except with none of the painful genital sores... but I digress. In all seriousness Mary Shelley's Frankenhole, created by Dino Stamatopoulos of Moral Orel fame, is one of the best horror comedies in recent memory to appear on cable television (aside from Ugly Americans).

While each episode feels a little short (only 15 minutes apiece), they're crammed full of so many entertaining variants on your favorite movie monsters and pop culture that you'll find yourself re-watching them over and over just to see how many Easter Eggs they contain. One of my favorite episodes, Attack of the Were-Lawrence, is an inspired (if not altogether goofy) spin on The Wolfman wherein a pathetic Stewart Lawrence (a riff on Jimmy Stewart and Lawrence Talbot) desperately seeks someone to love him so that they can kill him only for things to go awry.

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(Re)Animations: Bubsy

What can possibly go wrong, you ask? This show for starters.

In the video game industry creating a mascot with staying power is harder than you might imagine. For every Mario or Sonic who have achieved household name recognition you have equally obscure characters such as Aero the Acro-Bat, Bonk or Bubsy. Conceived by game designer, Michael Berlyn, Bubsy was a anthropomorphic bobcat who received a fair bit of popular interest in the mid-90s before being plagued by setbacks that included a failed TV pilot and which culminated in a critically bashed attempt at 3D on the original Playstation.

Interestingly enough, Bubsy appeared on virtually every platform pre-Playstation including the SNES, Sega Genesis, Atari Jaguar and PC. One might wonder with such a history if the series lack of console affiliation wasn't ultimately responsible for its lack of widespread recognition. I suppose a cartoon series would have been a way to maintain some level of interest, but with an uninspired plot and over-used catchphrases (there's only so many times you can hear "What Can Possibly Go Wrong?") it's not much of a surprise that it didn't get much support either.

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(Re)Animations: Fantastic Max

Dirty Diapers! He may not be 'Mighty,' but he sure is 'Fantastic!'

Fantastic Max was one of those odd little cartoons that enscapulates everything that Strange Kids Club was founded on: a sense of imagination and limitless childlike wonder. As if a talking toddler with a bright orange mohawk wasn't offbeat enough for you the show also boasted a magical alien creature/doll named FX, a build-a-blocks pansy butler named AB Sitter and a host of equally strange (yet child-friendly) space-faring compatriots who were both friend and foe. Also among the cast was Max's older sister, Zoe, who really gets a bad rap usually as a result of Max's adventures.

As a predecessor to today's animated shows, I can see a lot of elements from Fantastic Max in some of today's most popular cartoons such as Phineas and Ferb (overbearing sister who gets in trouble as a result or her snooping), Fairly Oddparents (adventures of a young boy and his magical friends) and Rugrats (talking babies). And that's the true testament of the show that, despite its more infantile storyline, anyone can fall into its wide open narrative because at its heart the show is about imagination.

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(Re)Animations: Courage the Cowardly Dog

Stupid dog! You made me look bad!

So it would seem that in all of the hub-bub of SDCC, I overlooked a very special DVD release this past Tuesday: John R. Dilworth's Courage the Cowardly Dog: Season One!

Of all the entries from Cartoon Network's early days of What A Cartoon! shorts, Courage stands in my mind as being one of the most uniquely diverse animated show I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Sitting somewhere between Tex Avery's zany, yet loveable Droopy the Dog and the sci-fi/horror misadventures of a certain Great Dane and his teenage super-sleuths, Courage was the kind of cartoon that didn't hold much back. It's one of a select few shows whose plot is simple enough to be understood by children and yet full of enough in-genre references that adults find it entertaining as well.

Another great thing about Courage is that the creators understood what worked and why so that they never had to stray too far from the formula they developed from the show's pilot (see above). It worked well enough that even though Courage wasn't quite as popular or marketable as Dexter's Laboratory or Powerpuff Girls, the show still lasted a total of 4 seasons (52 episodes) which is remarkable considering Dexter tapped out at 4 seasons as well (albeit with a few more episodes in the mix).

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(Re)Animations: Monster Force

In the year 2020, these teens decide to fight back against the corruption that is Universal Studios... or at least their monsters.

Not to be confused with either Fred Dekker's classic Monster Squad or Roy Baker's underground abortion The Monster Club, Monster Force is an early 90s era animated series that takes many of the famous monsters of Universal Studios and turns them into superheroes. Pretty cool (in theory).

Created by Universal Studios and animated by Lacewood Productions, the show's premise took place in a technologically advanced future in which a band of teenagers (Power Rangers *cough*cough*) were tasked with defeating the less fearsome forms of Universal's creature catalog including headliners such as Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolfman and The Mummy. Lasting only one season, the show ended before it really ever got started.

Following the formula of just about every other action-oriented 'toon geared towards the tween market back then, Monster Force did little to make itself standout from other popular series such as TMNT, Captain Planet or the aforementioned Power Rangers. It had a theme song, some "cool" power suits called EMACs (Energized Monster Armed Containment Suits), and generally just served as a way to sell toys. In fact, there is so little that I can remember of this show that I don't even think I ever bought into the toys themselves, though having looked back on them now they're pretty neat looking.

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(Re)Animations: Savage Dragon

It's like Robocop and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all rolled into one!

As mentioned previously, the Savage Dragon animated series was actually a part of USA channel's Action Extreme Team, a desperate ploy to boost ratings before the ultimate demise of the network's animated programming. Unlike most comic books turned cartoons, Savage Dragon was actually a pretty faithful to its source material (including Dragon's origin) and even featured numerous characters from its four-color counterpart.

It goes without saying that as a children's cartoon the series toned down a good bit of the violence and sexual innuendos, but overall it was still a satisfying adaptation. Much more successful than some of the other shows in the Extreme lineup such as WildC.A.T.S. (we're heroes, not zeros... really?). At least Dragon had a plethora of cool, mutated super-freaks. Actually it reminds me a lot of watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles growing up, only Dragon doesn't need to hide in the sewers and fights crime legitimately.

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(Re)Animations Extended Play: USA's Cartoon Express

USA Channel's Cartoon Express was a mammoth block of cartoon programming geared towards a variety of shows and is partially responsible for my exposure to many of my favorites cartoons as a kid. To be perfectly honest, if it wasn't for Cartoon Express I may not have become the Strange Kid I am today.

Spanning almost a decade and a half (1980-1996), Cartoon Express was initially conceived as daytime filler for the relatively new station and primarily consisted of re-runs from the vast library of Hanna-Barbera 'toons such as Scooby-Doo, Jabberjaw, Pacman, The Flinstones and even lesser known fare like Shirt Tales (to name only a few). It was also the first major network animation block (though arguments could be made for ABC's Schoolhouse Rock! in the early 70s), predating Cartoon Network and even Nickelodeon in providing a structured schedule of animated entertainment.

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(Re)Animations: Swamp Thing

"Swamp Thing, you are a-mazing. You fight everything... nasty."

When it comes down to muck-encrusted man plants, Swamp Thing is numero uno in my book (sorry, Man-Thing) and despite having infiltrated popular culture back in the mid-late 80s you don't hear much about the elemental wood walker these days. It's a shame really. I think that no one really knew what to do with the poor guy except Alan Moore, whose comic book re-boot would go on to redefine not only the Swamp Thing character but an entire genre.

It all began with what should have been an über intelligent horror flick, Swamp Thing (1982) (directed by Wes Craven) instead spawned an unfocused superhero-driven sequel, a horrid television series and a (begrudgingly) Captain Planet-inspired cartoon. There seems to have been a trend of these environmentally-conscious toons aimed at young kids during the early 90s, including the previously mentioned Toxic Crusaders.

All complaints aside, there are still a few really cool fan moments that carried over into the animated series including the "Un-Men" (monstrous mutant henchmen of villain Dr. Anton Arcane) and some nifty special effects such as when Swamp Thing "teleports" by creating a new body from roots and plant life much like a G-rated version of Frank's rebirth in Hellraiser.

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(Re)Animations: Megas XLR (2004)

Ugly aliens, hot girls, big robots and one lazy hero.

Megas XLR is the equivalent to seeing Kevin Smith direct the next Transformers sequel. The main characters, Coop and Jamie, are best friends and lifelong slackers who just so happen to inherit a massive, alien robot and the feisty, female pilot that comes with it. Did I also mention that the show takes place primarily in New Jersey and that it combines the best of hot rods, slushies and pro-wrestling? Well... it does.

Created by Jody Schaeffer and George Krstic (Downtown, Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Megas XLR was like an ode to pop culture for savvy viewers that referenced everything from video games to anime, wrestling, Evil Dead, Rat Fink, TMNT and so much more. How it could have been canceled after only a year when something like Johnny Test has been going strong for 4 years is really beyond me. The world of Megas XLR is just as crazy as Johnny Test, allowing for infinite story scenarios to ensue, but cranks up the awesome factor to 12 with its sheer disregard for authority that can be applied to younger viewers and adults alike.

There are several hardcore fans of the series that have posted high-quality episodes online until someone grants us an official DVD release. You can check out the first episode of the series in two parts here (see video above and below). Now, who's up for some popcorn chicken and a VHS tape of Wrestlemania 8?

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(Re)Animations: 3-South (2002)

Adventures in college freshmen tomfoolery.

MTV is kind of like the creative boiling pot for cartoons that often die before their time. Aside from a few late-night 90s sleeper hits such as Beavis & Butt-Head, Liquid Television and The Maxx, the channel hasn't had much success with animated television. The one exception that I can think of would be Daria, who really seemed to capture the tween and teen angst-ridden audience during its run (myself included).

I suppose that just like any other large studio, the MTV execs figured that they could apply the same basic formula of teenage social outcasts to any animated series and expect it to get the same results. Among this inbred ilk, Three South is among the shortest-lived series with only 11 episodes of a total 13 making it to air. The show itself was a strange brew of Daria's social cynicism, Revenge of the Nerds and the 1995 film Angus.

Never rising above its predecessors, Three South was swiftly shelved on sister station MTV2 before finally given the axe in 2003. Fans of Superbad! might take note of the series as it shares the same spirit of adolescent rebellion against the idiotic tyrants of society, but after watching a few episodes online for the sake of nostalgia you won't necessarily find yourself asking for a comeback.

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(Re)Animations: Invasion America

Watch the skies.

A product of director Steven Spielberg and writer Harve Bennett, Invasion America (1998) is the first action-oriented "made for prime time" animated series that I can remember watching. Though not the first of its kind, FOX's The Simpsons, ABC's The Critic and USA's Duckman all precede it in that late night arena, the show was unique in both its presentation and clever mix of X-Files meets E.T. storyline.

The miniseries first aired on The WB's late night programming block and centered around a young man named who discovers that he's half alien and half human and (wait for it) must stop the two worlds from going to war against one another. While it may sound like your typical science fiction fare, the show was actually pretty well written and, despite falling into some of the Saturday morning 'toon dialogue, managed to last an entire season in a notoriously tough demographic.

Nonetheless the show has never seemed to find its audience and much like the recently deceased Heroes (NBC) series was left abruptly cut short. It was re-edited and broadcast on the Kids WB! programming, but once again failed to attract enough interest to justify any new episodes. Having re-watched it myself recently I can attest to the show's indecisive nature, as it tries to be relevant to both young adults and children, but also recall it being one of the only cartoons that my father and I could watch together during dinner. Besides, I'm willing to give it a few bonus points for being produced by the same studio that gave us the similarly ill-fated Toonsylvania (DreamWorks) and winning a Prime Time Emmy Award.

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(Re)Animations: Street Sharks

When talking about animated mutant offspring, its hard to not make comparisons to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and DIC's Street Sharks is no exception. This stuff is really made with merchandising in mind; the villain has his own logo, henchmen uniforms and battle attack helicopter not to mention the Sharks themselves who offer up a consistently tongue-in-cheek one-liner every 5 minutes and special fighting moves.

Its still a fun way to kill 30 minutes on a Saturday morning, but there are sooo many holes in the plot that its hard not to criticize the show a little for its lack of depth. If they had taken the time to explain these things a bit more they might not be so glaringly apparent, but really... who jogs by a nuclear power plant at night anyway? And is it just me or did the main characters take being transformed into hideous, mutant sharks a little too well? They seem like bright enough boys, but come on, growing fins, gills and rows of razor sharp teeth? That has to hurt like hell.

Its as if the writers didn't really even care beyond throwing around a few puns and hip slang to make them look cool enough for adolescent boys to buy into the toyline. Speaking of which, Mattel did a decent job of cashing in with a handful of action figures and obligatory attack vehicles ("real" shooting missles et al). The packaging was the coolest part to me as it referenced the old Boglins box complete with plastic bars to keep the "ferocious awesomeness" contained.

Unquestionably the best figure in the series had to be Moby Lick (see insert) who came complete with Gene Simmons tongue lashing action and water blasting blow hole! His catchphrase? "I'll blow you away"... I kid you not. Obviously this tongue had a long, hard road ahead.

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(Re)Animations: Rude Dog and the Dweebs

In the mood to be rude.

You remember Heathcliff, right? He was that pudgy Garfield knockoff whose street smarts helped him survive the big city. Rude Dog and the Dweebs is basically the same cartoon only with dogs and seems to take place in California as opposed to NYC. The truth is that Rude Dog, who suspiciously resembles Budweiser's Spuds McKenzie, was actually a marketing device used by Sun Sportswear to sell their subculture wares.

Like an animated mash-up of California Dreams and Miami Vice, Rude Dog is chock full of that angular, neon aesthetic that proliferated an entire skate'n'surf generation. For what it is this style seems to work, though its never been a personal favorite of mine. As far as storyline most episodes were pretty formulaic, dealing with an obstacle or event concocted by the villains (dog catcher or cats) which Rude Dog and the Dweebs must overcome with their innate "coolness." To be honest I remember the clothing much more than the cartoon series, but seeing as how this particular episode is Halloween-themed I figured what the hell. Indulge your inner "rude dog."

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