I'll get you Saturday Morning Cartoon Show!

Happy graduation day! Okay, so not all of you are graduating today, but plenty of you are and that's enough to deserve special hoorays and such. :)

While we don't have any graduation themed cartoons, we do have a day of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and that's the kind of ridiculousness that can be enjoyed into the wee hours of your matriculation celebrations. If your consciousness is altered, the Koopa Kids make way more sense from what I understand. We're taking it easy today, as this particular show isn't particularly significant to the development of the genre or clever to the point of being noteworthy. On a sunny day filled with new beginnings, there's no reason to get overly thinky, so sit back, have a cool drink, and enjoy the frippery!

Podcast for 04/25/09 - The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

Next week, thanks in no small part to many of you requesting it, we'll being going back to school and back to the seventies with Interplanet Janet, Bill, and Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla. If you said "Schoolhouse Rock!" you're absolutely right! You also have the opportunity to let us know which songs you'd like to hear during the show by leaving comments here or by e-mailing us at widrsmcs at gmail dot com. Nice and easy. We'll see you next week. Enjoy!

- DJ Muppet

The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show is a party dude!

Happy Saturday, fellow cartoon aficionados! Today is a very special day here on The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show: we're pleased to welcome our super special guest DJ/producer, Fred. Since WIDR and the SMCS in particular meant so much to him, Fred stepped up during WIDR Week and donated $89.10, entitling him to not only bitchin' WIDR merch, but also to a day here in the studio with DJ Beta and I, running the game and calling all shots in need of calling. It's a tough job, but he came prepared to be awesome. How, you may very well ask? By declaring today Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle day, of course!

Back in the eighties, there were many things that sounded like a good idea but really weren't: C3PO cereal, square knit neck ties, and of course D.C. Follies. Luckily for us, the eighties was a bastion of absurd, but wonderful cartoon show. With Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you got a little bit of everything that made the eighties worth being a kid in: action, creatively costumes villains, bad puns, and merchandise up the wazoo! While the hardcore fans of the comics may not have liked the liberties taken with their favorite Foot fighting terrapins, there were far more people who came to the TMNT mythos through the show and loved every minute of it. Be honest, how many of you had a crush on April O'Neil? That's what I thought. :)

Podcast for 04/18/09 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

We got calls about how much people liked Fred and we know he reads the blog, so if you'd like to here more of him as a DJ here at WIDR, please leave a note for him in the comments. In fact, he wants to leave a little note himself:

First and for most: Thank you all for those who donated along with me to WIDR for WIDR Week. You guys are the ones that keep radio evolution alive and I am colored 50,000 shades of happy because of that. Now to my fellow original TMNT fans.... You're Welcome. I loved growing up watching this show and I'm so glad to hear from all the happy phone calls we received that this wonderful show has not been forgotten. Thank you DJ Beta for all the Uncle Phil jokes and wonderful insights on the TMNT universe. Thank you to all those that requested the songs/shows they did, everything fit and just made the show that much better. Sorry to the few friends that requested songs to me and we weren't able to fit them in. All I can say is that there is just too much cartoony goodness to fit in just 2 hours. Much love to DJ Muppet to helping me get everything setup for the show, the hours of talking about all things geeky, muppety and cartoony alike, and most importantly giving me good directions so I could actually find the WIDR building. Finally, to those that listen to this show and other WIDR shows, TELL YOUR FRIENDS, TELL YOUR FAMILY, TELL YOUR CO-WORKERS (even the creepy ones that you'd rather didn't make eye contact with you) about the Saturday Morning Cartoon Show and WIDR. Help keep radio evolution alive. I know you love it, you know I love so please do the right thing: tell your friends when they have a boogie in their nose cause you'd want them to do the same for you and since we all love it.... spread the love.  

Words of delight and sensibility. :) I also need to apologize. One of our listeners made a request that we couldn't play, but I said I'd post it here, however in all the hubbub at the station today, I forgot what song it was! I'm so sorry!  Leave a note for my in the comments and let me know what it was so I can get it posted here. Aside from that, tune in next week for more video game memories when we air The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. Many of you have wanted this and your patience shall be rewarded. Enjoy!

- DJ Muppet

Peter, my boy, you've got to shape up and reform if you want to be The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show.

What a great weekend for an egg hunt! There's no snow or anything. Last year there was snow. Yes, California listeners, I can hear you laughing at us with pity and bemusement, but I'm still happy. :) Today is one of our holiday specials and we couldn't be more pleased.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail may at first glance seem like a mediocre offering from the bursting coffers of Rankin-Bass, but it soon becomes apparent that this Easter cartoon is a whirlwind ride that asks us to reevaluate everything we thought we knew about physics, food preservation, prosthetics, and the space-time continuum. I'm not kidding. This puppy takes us careening from one holiday to another in a hot air balloon thing of unstable engineering with a basket of eggs that, by all rational standards, should've become a mass of sulfuric stench, yet remains fresh as the daisies painted on the shells. There are appearances by witches and ghouls, talking worms and hats, and even Santa Claus. Don't try to understand it; let the cartoon wash over you and surrender to the journey. I say this with my tongue only partially in my cheek. ;)

Podcast for 04/11/09 - Here Comes Peter Cottontail

A great deal can often be said about the cultural impact of holiday specials, but with the exception of it's signature song, this particular cartoon never reached the levels of influence that it's peers (like Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town) did. It did spawn a direct to video sequel, but what little I've seen of it doesn't indicate much improvement in writing or animation style, though both are updated for the modern audience. It kind off rips of a handful of Christmas specials...well, I think it does, you ought to judge for yourself. I would like to see flaming nougat though.

Next week is going to rock, because one of our listeners will be taking the reigns for the day. He was generous enough to Adopt-A-DJ during WIDR Week and he picked The Saturday Morning Cartoon show. An active and interactive listener of many moons, he's picked a day of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for his special visit and we're all pretty geeked about it. Even though he's in control, you can still get your requests in by calling during the show or by e-mailing and commenting here throughout the week. We'll take 'em however we get 'em!

Have a happy Easter and enjoy!

- DJ Muppet

P.S. For those who might be wondering, this is xkcd. It's amazing, but not for kids, so be ye warned. Make sure that you don't start in on the archives unless you have several hours free. Even when work calls, you may find it hard to tear yourself away. XKCD is geek crack. Sexy, sexy geek crack.

Ten billion ants in this world, and I'm having trouble with just The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show.

Good morning, cartoon fans young and old! You know, I feel a bit like The King of Cartoons when I say that and I like it. Hopefully you've all had a decent week and are in the mood for some old school, jazzed up, dare I say hep animation goodness.

Today we're geeked to bring you an underrated, but nonetheless wonderful cartoon from 1969-1971, The Ant And The Aardvark. In addition to being one of the first productions from Depatie-Freleng Enterprises, this cartoon has the distinction of being one of the only shows we've aired that was created for theatrical release. When making quality pre-feature shorts became financially untenable, most animation studios stopped making them and theatre owners either used old cartoons or eliminated them all together. However, William Hanna and Joseph Barbara, not to mention David Depatie and Fritz Freleng, realized that they could make short/television animated pieces without investing the massive amounts of time and money Disney had by simplifying the process. They cut down on detail in the animation and essentially created a new paradigm for the mass consumption of cartoons.

Knowing this, the quality of The Ant And The Aardvark becomes even more impressive. I normally just post links, but to fully appreciate this cartoon, I really do believe you need to see how much comes through in the simplistic art style used, so I'm embedding. Watch this episode, then see how your perspective on the audio changes.

Isn't it pretty? You can see the Depatie-Freleng works had great influence on animation for the next decade. Part of it is certainly the Chuck Jones influence, but it's bigger than him and that's pretty cool. Seeing it all together makes John Byner's voicing of almost every character in the series infinitely more impressive. I'll be honest, a man who can mimic both Dean Martin and Paul Lynde has a special in to my heart.

Podcast for 04/04/09 - The Ant And The Aardvark

That's all for now, but come back next week for our Easter episode, which promises to have more time travel and Maurice Chevalier impersonating than any other Easter even this year! Seriously, we're airing Here Comes Peter Cottontail. It's bizarre and wonderful, and it has Danny Kaye, Casey Kasem, and Vincent Price. How many varieties of awesome is that? In the meantime, get today's show, leave a comment to let us know what you think, and enjoy!

- DJ Muppet

The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show cuts his hair...

Hey there fanboys and Freakazettes! Welcome to another episode of The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show.

Today's show, as you are no doubt aware, is a celebration of both the most serious and most absurd aspects of the comics world. While we're all aware that Arkham is a terrifying place and that women in comics should own a fridge at their own peril, there are a myriad of conventions in the books themselves and in the fandom which surrounds them ripe for parody. What do we end up with? Freakazoid, of course!

Since you guys were so delightfully vocal about which episodes you wanted, it's all about the fan service! Keep your ears open for the surprisingly Venture Bros.-esque Toby Danger segment (the writing at any rate) and a special appearance by carpentry guru Norm Abram. It's even more awesome that it sounds.

Podcast for 03/28/09 - Freakazoid

I know, I'm not getting into too much detail about the show, but we've done it before and to be honest, the Wikipedia article does a much better job than I would at explaining what's going on in this gem of a show. So sit back, enjoy the latest SMCS, and come back next week for a heaping helping of old school: The Ant And The Aardvark! It's swinging, man. ;)

Enjoy!

- DJ Muppet 

Quick, run to your TVs...

...and program them to record five hours of Chuck Jones awesomeness!

Turner Classic Movies is having a mini Chuck Jones-athon tonight beginning at 8pm. Here is the full schedule, which includes a new documentary on one of the SMCS's favorite cartoon creators and - perhaps of more interest to those who follow the blog - two airings of his beloved adaptation of The Phantom Tollbooth in between a whole mess o' Loony Tunes. Since so many of our listeners dig this movie and it's so hard to find through legitimate means, it seemed like the kind of thing you'd want to be advised of. Of course, if it hadn't been for the diligent and cartoon/civic minded Mark Evanier I wouldn't have known about this at all. Do check out his blog. Comics, cartoons, and soup: go, you'll like.

I also wanted to pass along a link to a Beany & Cecil segment that amused me to know, if for no other reason that it's one more tie that B&C have to The Muppet Show and Lionel Hampton. Two very cool people/things in my book. It's called "DJ the DJ," and once you've seen it you can imagine why I enjoyed it so throughly. There are a ton of good B&C 'toons on YouTube, so have some fun exploring. I certainly did.

If you look to your left, you'll see we have a new poll up. Please, please, please vote! We can only air two episodes on any given show and since several requests have come in, I think we ought to be democratic about it. Vote on! And we'll take whatever's in the lead come showtime. ;) For a summary of what is in each episode, get your Wikipedia on.

Enjoy!

- DJ Muppet

...have we got a Saturday Morning Cartoon Show for you!

Welcome to another day of singin', dancin', and tom foolery based on the exploits of animated do-gooders. Today, my friends, is VeggieTales day and we've got vikings!

Born in 1993, the brainchild of Big Idea Productions founders Mike Nawrocki and Phil Vischer, VeggieTales has become a driving force in both Christian and mainstream cartoon production. Why? Because it's filled from stem to stern with well-rounded characters, hysterical writing, and musical numbers that would amuse The Marx Brothers. :) Whatever your religious convictions (or non-religious, for that matter), this show is smart, this show is funny, and this show understands my needs for parody of culturally significant arts and literature...and cowboys. If you've never been willing to give VeggieTales a chance, doing so today may just change your mind. If nothing else, you'll be able to say you've heard vegetables doing Shakespeare and that'll impress all the right people. It's hard to imagine that a direct to video cartoon could produce almost forty episodes, two feature length films, over two dozen CDs, and a live stage show if it sucked, you know?

Podcast for 03/21/09 - VeggieTales

For those of you show are unfamiliar with the treasure trove that is the VeggieTales silly song library, here's a sampling of their brilliance. One of our listeners requested it, but since we try not to play additional material from whatever we're highlighting, I promised to post it here instead. Bear in mind that pretty much everything from VeggieTales and the rest of the Big Idea universe are available on CD, video, and through digital sources, so piracy is not encouraged.

The Hairbrush Song

If you're looking for even more VeggieTales action, check out the Big Idea Fun site. It's kid friendly and, let me be totally honest here, there's plenty of stuff for the grown-up casual gamer. I've spent many a happy hour on The Eggsperts, Jerry's Cheeseburger Madness, and especially Lyle's Breakout. I once had a record on that bad boy. :) The coloring pages are pretty sweet too, though I babysit a lot and that may bias me.

I'd also like to take a moment to welcome our new UK podcast listeners. There are a whole mess of you. :) Hopefully you enjoyed last week's Bananaman outing. If there are any British, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh cartoons that you'd like the SMCS to know about, please don't be shy. Link us, baby!  

Next week we'll be stepping into our red long johns, moussing our hair with lightning bolts, and running around, arms in the air, going "Whssssshhhhhh!" If you guessed that our next cartoon was Freakazoid, give yourself a cookie! You're smart and you've earned it. ;) Now, every episode of Freakazoid is a good one, but if there's a specific episode you'd like to hear, please let us know - either in the comment here or via e-mail - by Thursday night so we can play the ones that will tickle you the most.

Have a great weekend and enjoy!

 - DJ Muppet

P.S. To our beloved listener who adopted us, I e-mailed you, but now I think it may have gone awry. Alas! Drop me a line here or through the SMCS e-mail addy and we'll get things sussed. :)