One of the most evocative parts of a cartoon is its intro. Often, that’s what lives on in the memory long after the details of the actual plot have vanished in the haze of growing up. Maybe that’s because cheesy lyrics and catchy melodies are perfectly fine for cartoons, and it’s fine for cartoons to sum up their entire premise in a 30-second segment. Cartoons don’t have to pretend that being serious means being dour. Here are five top, and underrated, cartoon intros.
By Helen Langdon One of the most evocative parts of a cartoon is its intro. Often, that’s what lives on in the memory long after the details of the actual plot have vanished in the haze of growing up. Maybe that’s because cheesy lyrics and catchy melodies are perfectly fine for cartoons, and it’s fine for cartoons to sum up their entire premise in a 30-second segment. Cartoons don’t have to pretend that being serious means being dour. Here are five top, and underrated, cartoon intros. One quintessentially sixties cartoon is Wacky Races, right down to the music laid behind the narration and the font that covers the background. Whether Wacky Races was inspired by a film (The Great Race and Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines are the main suspects) or is a completely original idea, the cartoon intro uses the conceit used countless times by cartoons: a narrator providing the characters and plotline in a one-minute segment. If Wacky Races epitomises the sixties, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can be from no other era than the eighties. In the space of a minute, the song tells us that Shredder is a bad guy, Splinter is the turtles’ master, and sums up each turtle’s personality in a single line. TMNT is not the deepest of shows. Leonardo does, essentially, just lead. Michelangelo runs around eating pizza and shouting “Cowabunga!” It also deserves special mention for being one of the few cartoons with separate intros for UK and US audiences, due to British government worries about the violence of ninjas, and the effect this could have on children. “Ninja” was replaced with “hero”, and any shots of Michelangelo’s nunchuks were replaced with clips from the show. Danger Mouse is one of the best British cartoons. No, the best British cartoon. In the intro, accompanied by the kind of ego-affirming theme song that wouldn’t be out of place in a Bond film, Danger Mouse flees multiple bombs. He dashes across block coloured backgrounds, saving the hapless Penfold from a crocodile, before having to drive off his own name in a futuristic sports car. Doug’s intro is interesting because rather than introducing the characters and the situation, at least beyond the very basics of their appearance, it goes with breaking the fourth wall. Doug grabs a pencil to draw doors, and chases Patti through pages of a book. The tune might not be as catchy as some cartoon themes (although you might find yourself whistling for days), but it fits with the tone of the animation. It’s difficult to talk about modern cartoons without mentioning Adventure Time, which has become one of the most popular cartoons amongst the geeky set. The intro music is played on a ukulele, the most hipster-ish of instruments, while the show creator sings a happy song about going on an adventure. It’s the visuals which give more of a hint about what’s coming. Starting with the remnants of a nuclear holocaust, we quickly skip through the land of Ooo to see all of the main characters, before a quick series of vignettes of Finn and Jake having adventures. Adventure Time is also notable for changing the intro for a genderswapped episode with Fionna and Cake, where possibly the most glaring change is the removal of a skull from the triumphant title screen. Comments are closed.
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TV Editor: Graham Osborne
TVReviews on the best TV has to offer, as well as retrospective looks at the shows of yesteryear we miss so much. Email: [email protected]
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