I was chatting with a friend the other day about some of the wonderful cartoons the ABC used to air when I was growing up. It was at that point that someone reminded me just how grim The Animals of Farthing Wood actually was.
There’s a case to be made that Animals of Farthing Wood was a low-key educational tool for teaching children about death, and coping with loss, given how bloody grim the whole season was. Seriously, there are videos on YouTube of just the death scenes. Hell, there was a death scene in the first season where small animals were IMPALED ON THORN BUSHES.
Like … this is a kid’s show. How did the BBC get away with airing that? How was the ABC OK with that?
How did I manage to scrub that from my memory?
Still, it was a fascinating – but dark – series. And there were some other cracking cartoons from decades past:
Babar
How can you not love that theme song. Also, the cartoon itself was cute, but Jesus the book was messed up.
Tintin
A+ material for an animated series. The series also had the advantage of rounding out some of the original comics: Tintin in Tibet was vastly better done as an animated series than in the books, and the power of voiceover and backing music helped add more atmosphere to two-part series like Destination Moon.
Trap Door
I will open that trap door, and I will give Berk a hug at any opportunity. Also: Trap Door still has the cutest skull and spider on TV.
And of course anyone who grew up in the ’90s had some appreciation for the Cheez TV lineup: Digimon, Pokemon, and Dragon Ball Z. But what were your cartoons growing up?
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