Top 5: Childhood Cartoon Edition

Growing up I spent a lot of time watching cartoons. I'm sure my parents appreciated the three of us kids waking up at 6:00 am on Saturday mornings, watching TV for 5 hours, and eating all the cereal we could. Looking at my life now, my Saturday mornings were much more fun when I was a kid. Thinking about those cartoons I decided to list my Top 5 childhood cartoons. Keep in mind that I was a typical little boy and I liked the typical little boy cartoons. So cartoons like Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, and Jem won't make my list. That being said, on to the list.


5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
When you're a little boy like I was, all that you have to do is mention the word ninja in the title and I thought it was cool. Having four ninjas with names like Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo only made it cooler. And how could you not end up with the theme song stuck in your head, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Heroes in a half-shell, Turtle Power!"



4. Dungeons & Dragons
This is a cartoon that not only I enjoyed, but one my mom enjoyed too. The premise was about a group of kids that gets on an amusement part ride and find themselves magically transported to the fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons. Wanting only to get home, the group takes detours to help out others in need. The animation was good and some of the monsters that the group faced were just plain cool.



3. Thundercats
This cartoon had it all. A main character trying to become the hero and protector he is meant to be. His team of allies who teach him the importance of becoming a good leader and have cool powers and abilities of there own. Finally it had a villain that would fail in his evil plans, but would not stop trying. When I was 8 years old there weren't any other cartoons nearly as cool. Unfortunately I saw it later as an adult and it wasn't nearly as entertaining as when I was a kid.



2. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
What typical little boy doesn't like a cartoon about military heroes, secret organizations, and lasers? This show had all of those things plus ninjas. How can you top that? Plus, each episode had it's own public service announcement that would always end with the phrase, "Now I know. And knowing is half the battle." I loved this show. I would wake up early on weekdays in the summertime just to watch this show. And I had a lot of G.I. Joe action figures to hold me over when the show wasn't on. So good.



1. Tom & Jerry
Okay, I admit this show would not have even made my list when I was a kid. There were so many other shows out there. But I always enjoyed this cartoon when it came on. They were only about 7 or 8 minutes long and they were fun. Now that I'm older, I enjoy watching these short cartoons more than ever. I haven't seen one on TV for a long time, but you can watch a bunch of different episodes on YouTube. The episodes produced by Fred Quimby are some of my absolute favorites.