WHAT YOU'RE NOT WATCHING: Kiddie Cartoons and the Adults Who Love Them

I blame exposure to two sets of cartoons for my sense of humor. If you're around the age of 26 to 35, I bet you can relate.

The first is the whole of Merrie Melodies, which taught three generations of Americans to be subversive, weird, and referential in their senses of humor.

Think about it; every time you belt along with "KILL THE WAAAAAABBIT, KILL THE WAAAAAaaaaaAABBIT," you're actually singing Wagner, and there's a whole list of things I could say about Bugs Bunny dressing up as a seductive lady bunny. Now, as I'm a thirty-year old man, most of that is better left to the imagination.

Heh. Anyway, the second is the set of cartoons that aired weekdays and on Saturdays, and which was shepherded in by Mr. Stephen Spielberg in a partnership with Warner Bros.

In the 1990s, Spielberg executive-produced four half-hour cartoons: Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, its spin-off, Pinky and the Brain, and Freakazoid!. Each of these shows took the irreverent charm of Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes and dialed it up to 11 with a mix of pop-culture parody and total insanity topped with the faintest hint of stick-with-you educational programming.

I can still name all the nations of the world, because Yakko Warner (one of the stars of Animaniacs, this weird dog-cat-rabbit thing) sang it to me.

Your turn. I'm so sorry.

My point here: I love cartoons. Specifically, these cartoons. And the folks who grew up with this sense of possibility in animation are now calling the shots.

We're in this whole new renaissance of animated programming that has an incredible amount of depth and breadth, that is both adult and mature in ways we sometimes don't completely realize.

There's a couple more of these animation posts in the future, in which I might tackle Futurama and The Simpsons and what the advent of Spongebob Squarepants might mean for our future.

For now--what animated memories stick with you? Do you still have PTSD from watching Optimus Prime die? Did Plucky Duck inspire a certain amount of your grown-up sass? Do you blame your first seriously damaging perm on that very special episode of Jem?

Seriously, I want to know. And I want to know what you're watching now because of it.

This week's Flix-worthy watch--if you're missing Arrested Development, or Get Smart, or have complicated feelings for James Bond: Archer, FX's breakout animated hit, will fit the bill. It's about a complicated super-spy...who works for his mother...and, despite being hyper-capable, is sort of a jerk.

Anything else would spoil it, other than to say there's a whole bunch of Arrested Development alums in the cast, who lend their talents (and often their faces!) to the mix. I dare you to get through an episode without at least one belly laugh and three inappropriate chuckles.

See you in seven, friends.

Jonathan Elliott is a writer, arts futurist, pop omnivore, journalist, marketer, and troublemaker. He’s worked in arts marketing and management for the past twelve years, for organizations including Grounds for Sculpture, Princeton Summer Theater at Princeton University, Washington National Opera, The Contemporary American Theater Festival, Sycamore Rouge, McCarter Theatre Center, and ArtPride NJ.

Jonathan writes pop culture and TV pieces for Cinema Blend and Pop Break. His play, Forward Motion, is published via Playscripts, Inc., and he is the co-creator of the made-for-web series NeverLanding.