LOC 74- Top 50 Cartoons of the 80's

[Quantum Vagina]

#26 –The Great Mouse Detective

(43 Points) 5 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #12 - Darth Geek

Once again proving that mice are awesome.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/LozWJHSqh9o" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/LozWJHSqh9o</a>

Release Date:  1986

Just the plagarism
The Great Mouse Detective is a 1986 American animated mystery film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures. The 26th animated feature in the official canon, the film was directed by Burny Mattinson, David Michener, and the team of John Musker and Ron Clements, who later directed Disney's hit films The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. The film was also known as The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective for its 1992 theatrical re-release and Basil the Great Mouse Detective in some countries. The main characters are all mice and rats living in Victorian London.

Based on the children's book series Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, it draws heavily on the tradition of Sherlock Holmes with a heroic mouse who consciously emulates the detective; Titus named the main character after actor Basil Rathbone, who is best remembered for playing Holmes in film (and whose voice, sampled from a 1966 reading of "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League" was the voice of Holmes in this film, 19 years after his death). Sherlock Holmes also mentions "Basil" as one of his aliases in the Arthur Conan Doyle story "The Adventure of Black Peter".

After the failure of the Disney animated feature film The Black Cauldron, this simpler film proved to be a success upon its initial release in 1986. As such, the new senior management of the company were convinced that their animation department was still a viable enterprise and this set the stage for the Disney Renaissance.

The film was well-received by critics during its initial release, including a "two thumbs up" rating from critics Siskel and Ebert. The film also maintains a 80% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews. London's Time Out magazine wrote, "As usual with film noir [...] it is the villain who steals the heart and one is rooting for in the breathtaking showdown high up in the cogs and ratchets of Big Ben."

This film did fairly well at the box office, garnering around $38,625,550 over a budget of $14 million during its initial release. Its moderate success after its predecessor's failure gave the new management of Disney confidence in the viability of their animation department. This led to creation of The Little Mermaid, released three years later, which signaled a renaissance for the company.

After a re-release in February 1992, the film was released on VHS and laserdisc in July 1992 as part of the Walt Disney Classics series. It was released again on VHS in August 1999 (with a game sheet inside it as part of a contest) and on DVD in 2002 with a short making-of featurette.
A new "Mystery in the Mist Edition" of The Great Mouse Detective was released on DVD on April 13, 2010 and on Blu-ray Disc on October 9, 2012. Unlike previous home video releases, which all used the 1992 reissue title print (The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective), this DVD restored the original 1986 title card, which had previously not been seen since the original 1986 release. The DVD also has the film in 1.78:1 aspect ratio Widescreen revealing more picture, bringing it closer to its original theatrical aspect ratio. This edition has not been released in Europe.

Quantum Vagina’s take - This movie was and still is damn awesome. Before I had to cancel my movie nights, I was planning on watching it next. It’s a great blend of adult and child storytelling. The 80’s also seem to have really liked mice.

[Quantum Vagina]

#25 –Count Duckula

(46 Points) 3 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #7 - Pak-Man

WHY was it not Quackula?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/g9ZVWMPuZ2c" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/g9ZVWMPuZ2c</a>

Release Date:  1988

Just the plagarism
Count Duckula is a British children's drama, horror, comedy, animated television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall and a spin-off from DangerMouse, a show in which the Count Duckula character was a recurring villain. The series aired on 6 September 1988 and was produced by Thames Television for three series and Central Television for the fourth and final series. In all, 65 episodes were made, each about 22 minutes long. All 65 episodes have been released to DVD in the UK, while only the first series has been released in North America. Both the series and its characters continue to have a large following on the internet.

The show is a loose parody of the story of Count Dracula. Set in Transylvania (a region in Romania), Duckula lives in a spooky castle known as Castle Duckula alongside his butler Igor and his large nanny (always referred to as "Nanny" and perpetually wearing an arm sling). Almost all of the characters in the show are anthropomorphised birds.

The story (as shown in the title sequence of each episode) is that Duckula has been a vampire for centuries. He could only be destroyed by exposure to sunlight or by a wooden stake thrust through his heart. In fact, Duckula has died numerous deaths – but he always returns through a mystic ritual, performed once a century, "when the moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius" (The opening credits depict Igor's incantation). Several episodes explore the theme that each resurrection creates a new incarnation with little to no memory of its past life; thus, every incarnation is free to develop its own personality and pursue its own personal interests. The vampire is thus able to pose as a "dreadful dynasty, the counts of Duckula.". The preceding generations included knights, sorcerers, scientists, artists, egyptologists and even professional gamblers, all of whom were also secretly "vicious vampire ducks".

Yet, as the title sequence put it, "the latest reincarnation did not run according to plan.". The successful conclusion of the ritual requires blood (a send-up of the Hammer Dracula films), the source of sustenance for any vampire, but Nanny accidentally substituted tomato ketchup. Consequently, the newest version is not a blood-sucking vampire, but a vegetarian one. He is more interested in juicy carrots than hunting for victims. Naturally, Igor is appalled at this. Even worse, his "new" master is obsessed with pursuing wealth and fame as an entertainer.

The stories often centre around Duckula's adventures in search of riches and fame, assisted by the castle's ability to teleport around the world. Another regularly occurring theme is the reiterated attempt by Igor to turn Duckula into a proper vampire. Some episodes feature Duckula's nemesis Doctor Von Goosewing (based on Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, the nemesis of Dracula), a vampire hunter who blindly refuses to believe the current incarnation of Duckula is harmless. There is also an array of bizarre, often supernatural foes, from zombies to mechanical werewolves. The show also features a cuckoo clock whose bat-like Russian-accented characters come out and make jokes about the current situation (or just corny jokes in general); the clock is also a vital part of the castle's travelling mechanism, and even has the ability to turn back time.

Quantum Vagina’s take - I got nothing. Never even heard of this show. From just the title, I thought it was going to be a Disney series.

[Quantum Vagina]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/vpkaLqPBYgw" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/vpkaLqPBYgw</a>

For the moment, that'll do me. I'm hoping I get called this afternoon for that job interview; I need to take advantage of a non shitty mood.

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

The Fox and the Hound makes me cry like a little girl.

I am a girl....but still....

[Tripe]

List ain't over yet.

[Johnny Unusual]

Good luck with the job, QV!  And take your time, if you need to.  The next list will be a Halloween one, and that's still a while away, so there's no hurry.

Heavy Metal... did that one make my list?  I don't think so.  I might have put it on simply because of Den, which I thought was by far the best story.  That was the one where John Candy plays a 16 year old boy who essentially has his mind put into the body of Conan the Barbarian.  What makes that one so great is that it is essentially a classic Conan-style story, but with the narration that would come from someone reading it.  In the animation, he's a classic Conan, but in his mind he's like "HOLY SHIT!  I JUST HAD SEX!"  Other than that, I never really cared for it.

I've soured a bit on Rumiko Takahashi over the years.  Inu-Yasha was just kind of dull and meandering and Ranma went on far to long for me.  But both the first season of the show and the first couple years of the comic are very strong.  The jokes are strong, it has very fun characters and is just strong storytelling.  Probably my favourite story is the martial arts gymnastics competition.  I actually now prefer her contemporary, Misturu Adachi who has a similar style but is MUCH more low key and gentle.  But when she's good, Takahashi is among the best.

Beetlejuice has a good opening, but that's about it for me.

Really need to revisit the Fox and the Hound and the Great Mouse Detective.  I barely remember either of them.  I need to ask, Tripe, is the Fox and the Hound book just more depressing, or just badly written.

I've never cared for An American Tail or most Don Bluth.  He's certainly talented, but I can't stand his sense of humour or his super-cutesyness.  And I'm a guy who loves cute.  Besides, I much prefer Fourvel.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/m6gn3HhKzNU" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/m6gn3HhKzNU</a>

Chip & Dale made it higher on my list than I expected, though it was still low.  It's mostly because of Gadget.  Well all agree that she was hot, right?  But unfortunately she and Monterey Jack were the only good characters on that show.  Dale was annoying, but why did they make Chip such an ass.

I loved Duckula.  Great theme song, a relatively dry sense of humour for an 80's kids show (or at least I thought so at the time) and a good cast.

[Tripe]

I need to ask, Tripe, is the Fox and the Hound book just more depressing, or just badly written.

No it's very well written but it is grim as all fuck; it's really a sort of drama-documentary in book form and it has a few subjects:

*All the ways in which foxes are hunted and killed.
*The ways in which hunting dogs do their hunting dog things.
*How rural america changes to become more suburban and how that effects those, human and animal, who knew the land as rural.
And finally, and possibly most brutally
*How age robs an individual of the things he loves and, crucially, forces him to destroy some of them.

If you've never seen the film, or if it doesn't really have much of a hold on you, it's probably worth tracing down. On the other hand if you loved the film then I can't see that version of the characters not appearing in your head as you read about the horrible things that happen to them.

[Pak-Man]

My Blu-ray of The Fox and the Hound came with the direct-to-video sequel. I haven't dared...

[The Lurker]

It does have Patrick Swayze, though.

[Johnny Unusual]

Watched the Great Mouse Detective tonight.  Not quite as good as I was hoping, but still enjoyable.  Vincent Price is always a treat.

Also, in watching those commercials... Amway was some kind of scam, right?  Cause that's the vibe I get from those commercials.

And, while I don't want to steal Quantam Vagina's thunder, I must make this prediction for the #1 cartoon.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/YDDHHrt6l4w" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/YDDHHrt6l4w</a>

[Rainbow Dash]

1.  Saturday Morning Watchmen
2.  The Simpsons.

Sounds legit.

[CJones]

#31 –Ranma 1/2

(36 Points) 2 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #5 - Johnny Unusual

Release Date:  1989

I have to admit. I was never a fan of Ranma 1/2. However, I was a fan of Maison Ikkoko, and somewhat embarrassingly, Urusei Yatsura (bonus points to me if I spelled that correctly). Hey, Lum was gorgeous.

[goflyblind]

it was a really weird prequel to the rendezvous book.

[RoninFox]

Also, in watching those commercials... Amway was some kind of scam, right?  Cause that's the vibe I get from those commercials.

IS some kind of scam, it's still around.

[Tripe]

It's the scam that built (or built up) Grand Rapids, MI.