Pleasant/Unpleasant Surprises

[cpdavison]

Have you ever been pleasantly (or unpleasantly) surprised by a cartoon-related experience?

For instance:

PLEASANTLY SURPRISED: Van Beuren Tom & Jerry cartoons. If I had any expectations before watching that dollar store disc, they were that I'd blown a dollar on a bunch of un-interesting time-wasters. Instead, I was rewarded with a collection of cartoons that very nearly define the joys associated with the notion of "East Coast" animation in the thirties.

UNPLEASANTLY SURPRISED: This goes back a ways, but I was bitterly disappointed by the Filmation version of the Archie comics gang. Ouch! Here's a case where my pre-teen expectations must have been too high. I didn't care for the voices chosen for Archie or Veronica (Gumby and a Southern-Belle, respectively) and where were the tic-tac-toe marks on the side of Archie's head? I will admit I liked the bubble-gum rock music, though.

Anyone else want to weigh in?

Craig D.

[Timber Wolf]

Pleasant Surprise: I was surprised by the good quality of television versions of Tom and Jerry, because I had heard that they were awful. I like Tom & Jerry Kids, the 1975 Tom and Jerry Show and even the Filmation one :eek:.

Unpleasant Surprise: I don't know if this counts, but I was disappointed when I watched Clock Cleaners on Mickey Mouse in Living Color DVD and it was edited. Another one was Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee, a bad Merrie Melodie where nothing happens and even the music isn't good.

[Larry T]

Unpleasant Surprise- in the mid-80s I used to videotape a television cartoon show, "Popeye And Friends" from a network showing all the Paramount Famous Popeyes plus the ugly redrawn Fleischer ones (ugh). After having recorded it for roughly 10 months, and having multiple copies of several cartoons across many tapes, I conceded that I had managed to get everything that station had to offer. During a slew of airing those awful redrawn Fleischers, one day I was home from work and I shut the VCR timer off, but I watched the program anyway (amidst using the VCR for something else).

A cartoon I did not have yet, which they never showed before was the most excellent "Service With A Guile". I paused what I was doing with the VCR to watch the opening credits of the show that afternoon, and "Service With a Guile" was the first cartoon they showed- and me in no position yank out the tape I was using and try to record it. I was left sitting helplessly watching the cartoon unable to have got that one on tape. :mad:

Pleasant Surprise- a week later they aired "Pop-Pie A La Mode". ;)

[BloodyChamp]

2 of the most pleasant suprises for me were Animaniacs and Tiny Toons. Those are 2 wonderful cartoons and I had no idea they end up paying so much homage to the classics. They did just that-and were still funny in the process.

[frizfrelengfan]

Pleasant Surprise: Seeing some of the better Columbia/Screen Gems cartoons recently. I had never seen these (even in my youth), and the better ones are quite funny. If you've never seen it, it's brand new.

Pleasant Surprise: Seeing "Katnip Kollege" on LTGC2. An old favorite that I hadn't seen in years, it is beautifully restored.

Unpleasant Surprise: Seeing some of the Fleischer Color Classics again. Some of them are not as good as I remember (although I still love "Play Safe" and am a big fan of most of Fleischer's work).

Unpleasant Surprise: Watching a whole DVD's worth of Road Runner cartoons on LTGC2. I have always enjoyed the non-verbal humor of the RR cartoons, but now realize that it is best taken in small doses.

[Bartman]

PLEASANT SURPRISE: Finally being exposed to the Screen Gems/COLUMBIA cartoons back in mid-2001! Granted they are not the best toons produced, but these long-neglected and hidden films are seeing the light of day due to many toon collectors. I never thought I would be watching 'new' cartoons in my mid-30s!

UNPLEASANT SURPRISE: The many incarnations of the LT characters - c'mon - Baby Looney Tunes???? Loonatics Unleashed??? Duck Dodgers??? Anything for a quick buck eh, Time-Warner??? J.L. must be convulsing in his grave!!

[The Silver Fox]

Plesent surprize : the great animation that disney put out on televion from 85 to 91. (exception, marsuplami, raw toonage and snukoms and meet) great stories, find animation for a time that HB was pumping out bland toons.

Unplesent surprise the drabs of GC LT DVD, comon release em in 6 month turns, not a year, the ending of Tale Spin, Gummi Bears and gargolys with no anouncement as well as no real ending, comeone you left us hanging.

[Matt the Y]

Pleasant surprise: The 1960's Beetle Bailey cartoons produced by Paramount. Granted, they weren't as great as I hoped they would be (Mort Walker's comic strip is one of my all-time favorites) but some of them were quite funny and, as a whole, they were what I imaged them to be (I have a tape of about 10 of them; "Psychological Testing" and "The Jinx" are my two favorites).

Unpleasant surprise: Hoot Kloot! I worked out a tape trade about 5 years ago with a lot of my DePatie-Freleng wants and I asked for a few Hoot Kloots. I couldn't believe how utterly unfunny and uninteresting they are! The only one I even remotely liked was "Ten Miles to the Gallop". I should have just concentrated on more Roland & Rattfink and Inspector shorts during the trade!

[Jon Cooke]

Pleasant surprise: I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the Lantz cartoons from the 1950s through about 1965. When I started to work on the Lantz-o-Pedia with Thad and Pietro I figured the only really good Lantz cartunes were the 1940 ones and didn't exactly have fond memories of watching the later cartoons on the syndicated Program Exchange Woody show. Now I know all the joys of the cartoons of Alex Lovy, Sid Marcus, Jack Hannah and even early Paul Smith.

Unpleasant surprise: Columbia's Scrappy cartoons. No matter how many times I give them a chance, I just can't find them enjoyable. I also expected to like a bulk of the Lantz Oswalds more than I did. :shame: