From here the quality of Disney's ability to make outstanding television only improved as their next show took to the air, Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears. I never was able to find out how or why the name gummi bear was chosen for the title and the description of our heroes. Did Haribou reach out to Disney? Are we to associate the different loveable Bears from the show to our favorite flavor and desire to eat them? Did Disney just like the name, gummi bear? Who owns the rights to that way of spelling it? I'm willing to bet it's Disney.
This is yet another example of how fantastic the opening titles to shows used to be. Gummi Bears had a hellaciously awesome opening song that told you just about everything you needed to know about the show before you even got started. This show served as a great gateway to the world of fantasy. As someone who would grow up to like LORD OF THE RINGS, HARRY POTTER, etc. Gummi Bears was the perfect way to scratch that itch as a child. The adventures they found themselves were pretty dire. A lot more dangerous than the ones Wuzzles or Muppet Babies would find themselves in. Their main mission was to constantly thwart Duke Igthorn's attempts to usurp the crown of the king. The problem was, Igthorn had at his disposal an army of trolls who posed a direct threat to the gummi bears as they were constantly on the prowl for the secret of gummiberry juice. A potion that makes the bears bounce around like they were made of rubberized springs, but grants super strength to humans. It was the first time I can remember there being a villain that you should actually be afraid of. Yes, he was a bufoon and mostly played for comic effect, but the threat he posed was real and evil. I like to think of The Gummi Bears as the pioneer cartoon that lead the way to so many of the great shows that would follow. I've also thought about nothing but Gummi Bears for the past twenty minutes, and now I really want a package of them.
Namely, DUCKTALES. Do I even have to mention the theme song again? Let's just assume from this point on that all the shows have amazing intro titles. Ducktales introduced us to the little known character Scrooge McDuck. Who enjoyed a long run in Disney comics and comic books, but was brought thundering into the lime light when he was Ebenezer Scrooge in Disney's Christmas Carol. Ducktales follows the rich tycoon as he inherits his three grand-nephews from their Uncle Donald when he decides to make good on his sailing know-how and joins the Navy. Along with the nanny Scrooge hired to watch them, and her granddaughter Webby they face all sorts of odds against the Beagle Boys who are constantly trying to break into his money vault. (honestly, Scrooge's vault had better protection on it than any governmental cache of gold or money. After the umpteenth time trying to break in you would think they would move on. But I guess they're the deffinition of the "never say die" spirit.) Magica DeSpell who wanted nothing but the first dime Scrooge ever made so she could use it for a magic spell. Flintheart Glomgold who was the second richest duck in Ducksburgh and desperately wants to be the first. Thankfully, besides a handful of children and an aging nanny Scrooge has on his side two of the best characters to ever be invented in Disney history. Launchpad McQuack and Fenton Crackshell. Two very vastly different characters with a wide variety of attributes. But both of them with qualities that befitting the heroes that they are. Launchpad is a pilot who has yet to land a plane successfully but is loyal and brave to his friends and employer. Fenton started his life as a literal bean counter. He counted beans that went into jars for sale to make sure the counts were accurate. Only after he stumbled upon the Gizmo Duck suit created by Gyro Gearloose did he become an unstoppable wrecking machine of calamity. With no hesitation, Gizmo Duck is by far one of my favorite characters. When the three part episode of his introduction aired I was beside myself. He's the right combination of cool and calamity. He took everything that was right about Inspector Gadget and left out all the annoying garbage that made that particular show unwatchable. Ducktales at the time, reinvented the way cartoons were represented. It was a cool and fun and funny show to watch and if you were partaking in it you weren't that far removed from the rest of the people who were. The show kind of jumped the shark for a bit when they introduced cave duck Bubba and his triceratops Trixie back through time. But, considering its a cartoon you can let them get away with it. Ducktales were the lynchpin of the series of cartoons that made up Disney Afternoons during the week. There was such a positive reaction to the cartoon and its brand of adventure and fun that it lead to the company taking even bigger risks. Including a very unlikely one with a classic Disney duo that would have otherwise flown completely under the radar.
To me, CHIP & DALE'S RESCUE RANGERS will always be the Tom Sellicks of Disney. A) The both of them are just as cool as Tom Sellick. B) Chip is clearly Indiana Jones and Dale is clearly Thomas Magnum. (Tom Sellick of course having been offered the role of Indy before Harrison Ford) This show presented an episodic program that had perfected the team work aspect that so many cartoons around this time were trying to capitalize on. Chip and Dale were joined by new cast members, Monterey Jack, Gadget, and Zipper and fought against such classic foils as Professor Nimnul, and Fat Cat. (Who by the way sits atop my work computer.)
In all seriousness though, this show really should have been called the Jim and Tress show as Jim Cummings and Tress MacNeille did just about every voice on the show. I would have loved to have seen one of those recording sessions and envy anyone who has. The show by and large tested the boundries of friendship in a very real way. The Rescue Rangers each had very different and strong personalities. Because of this they would frequently get on each other's nerves and occasional riffs would emerge. Which was could be expected with people in true working/friendship relationships. But because of their dedication to the cause and each other they were always willing to work out their differences in the end. Which was a much needed lesson for most youths who were watching. It was also not short on comedy. Chip and Dale proved themselves one of the most humerous of Disney's duos and Rescue Rangers permitted them the chance to showcase that comedy.
With the success of Rescue Rangers Disney would go on to prove that there were capable of taking very unlikely characters and creating a compelling, and dynamic show around them. Imagine the pitch day when the creators went to the heads and said, Remember loveable old Baloo from the Jungle Book? What if we made him the pilot of a sea plane and he frequently gets in trouble from the likes of Air Pirates? Also, King Louie? He'll own a nightclub and the deadly tiger Sher Kahn that everyone hated? He'll be the local business tycoon. What an outlandish idea! Who knew that it would become one of the more successful of the Disney Afternoon cartoons? TALESPIN features Baloo, joined by young daredevil Kit Cloudkicker took the sky with great success, and charm. Don Karnage is probably one of the best villains to ever come down the pike in a while and the ever present, seemingly omipotent coniving and ruthlessness of Sherk Khan gave every minute of every episode and unexpected amount of pending dread. The dog fights that the air pirates would initiate brought back the charm and wonder the world seemed to have with flying during the 1930's and 40's. When fying was about adventure instead of packing people like tuna into modern day rocket buses. Baloo was a fine enough role model. Brave, and loyal to a fault. He valued his friendship but mostly treasured his freedom, which often put him at odds with Rebecca, the woman who bouught Baloo's business from him when his company went into forclosure. But even though he regards Rebecca as more of a boss than a friend he is always protective of her safety and feelings, looking out for her best interests even if they clashed with his. He was a great serrogate father for Kit who desperately needed guidance and attention, bringing him aboard as his navigator. Of all the cartoon offerings, this show by and large was the most well designed of the bunch. Everything from the planes, to the buildings, and costumes the characters wore was a throwback to an art deco age of America pre-World War II. I would go so far to say that the only other show that could trump its overall design was BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
But now we come to it. My afternoon, nay day, could not be called complete until I got to watch what may be my favorite Disney Television Show of all time. The history behind it is just as fascinating as the show it would eventually become. Where at first the show Double-O-Duck was initially planned to be a leading project for Launchpad McQuack from DUCKTALES fame it began to evolve to a point where maybe Launchpad wasn't quite ready to be the star of the show. What evolved was a character who would take on elements of Batman and The Shadow. As fate would have it, Ian Fleming's family owned the title "Double-O" so the name was dropped and changed, into DARKWING DUCK I could prattle on for hours about how absolutely fantastic this show is. Darkwing himself aka Drake Mallard is very much your a-typical crime fighter. It's hard to pinpoint when and where he decided to don a mask and lock heads with evil doers as he seems to have a different origin tale every time he tells it. He seems to be in the business to feed his extravageantly large ego. Is to fill in the void of an otherwise meek and unassuming normal life? Possible. But that's a hard argument to make as Darkwing, even after foiling villains time and again, gains no accolades from any of the citizenry of Saint Canard. But that doesn't prevent Drake from making morally strong decisions. The compass of his heart is always pointed true North. Even to the extent that the role he plays in his "normal" life could arguably be more heroic than the actions he takes on the street. Choosing to adopt and make a family with nine year old orphan Goslyn is just about the most heroic thing Drake had ever accomplished. His love for his daughter is so profound that losing her, or having any sort of harm come to her is really the only thing he is afraid of.
The Darkwing Duck rouges gallery also had equally amazing and compelling villains, like Megavolt, Quackerjack, Bushroot, Taurus Bulba, Steelbeak, and of course Negaduck. Each one varied with a list of motives and identities so original that you marvel at the ability of the writers to keep them all so vastly different from each other. Launchpad even makes it into the fray as Darkwing's sidekick. Having left the employ of Scrooge McDuck for some undisclosed reason, he starts off as a massive fanboy but quickly earns his spot beside Darkwing as a most trustworthy and loyal companion. Although it always struck me odd that the villains who so desperately wanted to know who Darkwing was, never just followed Launchpad (who wore no disguise during their adventures) around and see who he spends most of his time with. But I suppose you can't go down those roads of reasoning. Dana Gould once explained to Frank Darabont that the actions of Indiana Jones during Raiders, was unnecessary. Indy was sent to find the ark to keep it out of the hands of the Nazis. He fails. The Nazis get the ark, the Nazis open the ark, the ark protects himself. Exactly what would have happened had Indy not gone on his adventure. To which Frank Darabont responded, "Oh you can't go down those roads."
Darkwing was the epitomy of everything that had come before it. Taking the best of its predeccesors and really giving the world something special. There were other great shows on during this time as well, like Goof Troop and the MANY ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH (A show that gaurunteed to make even the hartiest of men weep should an episode decide to feature Eeyore) and those were fine shows as well. Choosing not to focus so much on heroes and villains, but to bring to light more family based difficulties and problems. As hard as it was to grasp at the time and as ironic as it would seem, DARKWING DUCK appeared to be the swan song of the classic Disney Afternoon cartoon.
Other shows would follow but none ever seemed to be able to hold a candle up to the greatness of its ancestors. BONKERS seemed to be their attempt to make a Roger Rabbit-esque show in which a human detective would have to investigate goings ons in toontown, but that was wildly confusing because the human, was a cartoon himself. At least during the show he was.
MARSUPILAMI Just puzzled me as I never found it particularly entertaining or clever. GARGOYLES brought some much needed edgieness as the audiences were growing up, and it was deffinitely one of Disney's better offerings. But it quickly became a show where if you missed just one episode you were terribely disconnected from the story. ALADDIN brought to life some very classic stories and new villains. Using a lot of the middle-eastern lore there was much inspiration. And Dan Castellaneta provided the voice of Genie in Robin Williams' absence and it was great to hear tones of Homer emerge every now and again.
The Mighty Ducks wasn't terrible, but wasn't highly inspired either. KIM POSSIBLE and AMERICAN DRAGON offered fresh new voices and characters, but it seemed to me as if as an adult I wasn't likely to find another cartoon to enjoy again from the Disney name.
Then along came GRAVITY FALLS.
A brilliant piece of art that is highly original, and extremly funny. We follow fraternal twins, Dipper and Mabel Pines as they venture to Gravity Falls, Oregon to spend the summer with their Great Uncle Stan. While up there, a great many deeds are undertaken that involve extraordinary and supernatural forces. The writing is brilliant, the acting is inspired and the characters are destined to be classics. But more than that it brings with it a huge and seemingly imposing back story that is full of mystery and wonder. Having come off of watching six disappointing seasons of LOST I swore to myself that I would never ever let myself get sucked into a show chock full of mystery and intrigue again. But dang if Gravity Falls didn't succeed in doing that. There is so much great about this show, I really hope that more people give it the attention if duely deserves.
Perhaps the best part of living in the here and now, is that all these great shows, and the ones that aren't mentioned can be watched as enjoyed as you please. The shows I loved growing up can be shared and passed on to my son who I hope will get as much out of them as I did. The men and women who worked tirelessly to bring such quality entertainment cannot be thanked enough, and if you have been away from one of these for a while you would do well by yourself to re-visit them. Unlike so many of the cartoons that were one when I was young, the Disney cartoons hold up the best. On the next article, we'll talk about Disney's live action offerings.
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