When I was a kid cartoons were a Saturday morning ritual. Get up early, grab some cereal and plop down in front of the TV. Especially if the weather was cold or rainy and mom wasn’t yelling at me to turn off the TV and get outside. I loved cartoons so much that I never had a problem getting up to watch them unlike the misery of getting up for school 5 days a week. Perhaps because cartoons only came on once a week that it seemed so enjoyable.

I had many favorites……who amongst us could resist the adventures of Scooby Doo and the gang rolling around in the Mystery Machine, poking their noses into odd situations and then solving a strange occurrence that usually involved an adult in some kind of costume or mask which led to the great reveal at the end where the bad guy, and it was almost always guys, would be unmasked. The great reveal was soon followed by the line that has become synonymous with the show as the criminal exclaimed that he…..

“would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids”

I’m glad I watched it as a kid because as an adult I would have so many questions, the two obvious ones would be……..what exactly was in those Scooby Snacks they were constantly munching on, and can someone explain the exact relationship between Freddy, Daphne and Velma ?

Scooby and the gang held my attention for a few years, they even had a season where it seemed like every show had a special guest. I remember Hollywood stars like Phyllis Diller, Don Knotts, Sandy Duncan and even the Harlem Globetrotters joining the gang for an episode of hi-jinks and hilarity. Eventually they found it necessary to add characters and with the addition of Scooby’s nephew Scrappy Doo the entire show seemed to change, and although it remains a fond memory it isn’t my favorite……that distinction without a doubt belongs to the Looney Tunes gang especially Bugs Bunny.

I think the reason Bugs became my favorite cartoon is that he could find himself in any situation and he was clever enough to get out of it. In fact he was far more more clever than the humans he encountered, whether it was Elmer Fudd or some other human, Bugs had the unique ability to devise a scheme that made the antagonist seem silly. The show was unique and daring to put Bugs in situations no other cartoon would attempt….what other cartoon would put their main character in woman’s clothes and make-up and poke fun of the other characters for not recognizing him.

It was through Bugs that I was introduced to opera and although I continue to have no interest nor do I see any opera in my future, I am aware that there is an opera called the Barber of Seville, but I prefer the Bugs parody the Rabbit of Seville.

Whether Bugs was playing baseball and seemingly playing each position as pitcher, catcher and fielder and then smacking home runs to win the game or wrestling behemoths like “The Crusher,” Bugs constantly found himself out-manned, outgunned but not out-smarted. Perhaps it’s because Bugs was usually in an underdog position that he becomes so identifiable. Most of the time life puts us in positions where we feel out-manned, outgunned and on the defensive, but by being clever and using our brains instead of just brawn there is a way to prosper……and let’s face it, Bugs Bunny in a dress with outrageous amounts of make-up seductively walking around and being flirtatious is the most daring and clever thing you would see on a Saturday morning. Long live Bugs and the Looney Tunes gang……

Peace and love

John