My favorite cartoon growing up was Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. I loved watching Rocky, the flying squirrel and Bullwinkle, the moose, as they matched their wits against their archenemies, Boris and Natasha. As I recall, there was always a Dudley Do-Right cartoon immediately after Rocky and Bullwinkle, and there was usually one of Mr. Peabody and his friend, Sherman in there, too. Even as a kid, I understood this was smart comedy and that some of the jokes were aimed at the adults. Still, I found it all very amusing so I didn’t care if I was missing some of the nuances of the various episodes.
Of course, I loved the Looney Tunes cartoons with Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Road Runner, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, Pepe le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn, Woody Woodpecker and Bugs Bunny. I have watched these cartoons endlessly and I still find them funny. These characters each have such big personalities, it is hard not to love them.
The Flintstones was a must-see show when I was a kid. I knew Fred and Wilma, Barney and Betty very well after watching so many episodes. I loved seeing Fred in his car, padding along with “foot” power. Also, Pebbles and Bam-Bam were nice additions, but nothing was as good as all the adventures/problems that Fred or Barney faced. This was true entertainment in my young mind.
The Jetsons were the space age variation of the Flintstones. George and Jane, and their kids, Judy and Elroy, were always zipping around in their flying car, making food in their space age kitchen, or dealing with problems related to their robot maid. All of this just made me hope the future would hurry up so we could have our own flying cars and food that was ready in seconds. Of course, we do have microwaves now so the future has come to us. I am still waiting for those flying cars, however.
Of course, there was Felix, the Cat, whose theme song is hard to suppress once it comes up in your mind; Tom and Jerry, the cat and mouse team that suffered at each other’s hands over and over and over; and Gumby, which I recall seeing on Sunday mornings along with Davie and Goliath. There was also the goofiness of Huckleberry Hound and Snaggletooth, as well as the dim-wittedness of Quick Draw McGraw.
I especially loved Mr. Magoo, the near-blind old man who was always having problems related to his lack of sight. There was just something so completely lovable about Mr. Magoo, I couldn’t wait to see him again and again.
I am sure I have missed some favorite cartoon characters with this list. These are just the ones that come immediately to mind. I must say that these cartoon characters were a major presence in my life since I watched a lot of television when I was young and went to the movies – with cartoons before each feature – at least twice a week.
So, these characters are almost like old friends. Let me know if they were your friends, too. I loved to hear.
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