Day 56, Feb. 25: Have a Handful of Blanks

My Favorite Cartoon Characters

(Before they became prime time)

Most of these have stood the test of time. That is, they're as enjoyable as an adult as they were as a child (sometimes moreso). I'm not including contemporary ones like The Simpsons, Family Guy and Beavis & Butthead. My cartoons were not on primetime (though the Flintstones are generally considered the first primetime cartoon show)

1. (tie) Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck: Unbelievably creative, with perfect timing. Funniest moment: Bugs is host of a TV show. Daffy is sent out on the first day of duck season. He gets shot up, comes back to the show looking horrible. "Don't worry Daffy," Bugs says, "they always use blanks." Daffy spits out a bunch of bullets. "Blanks," he says, "have a handful of blanks."

2. Droopy: A poodle with a droopy face, his deadpan delivery under even the worst of circumstances foiled his enemies

and made me laugh until I cried.

3. Foghorn Leghorn: What a hoot! The Southern gentleman just couldn't quite pull off the stunts that seemed so possible.

I especially liked his egghead nephew.

4. Johnny Quest: One of the only action cartoons I enjoyed. His friend Hadji and the dog Bandit were great characters, too. I haven't seen an episode in probably 30 years.

5. The Flintstones: The characters were neat, but the Stone Age gadgets and prehistoric animals who were vacuum cleaners
or mowers were even more interesting.

6. The Jetsons: The future version of No. 5 and almost as interesting. Loved Astro the dog - "Rought O!"

7. The Road Runner: I honestly didn't like this too much as a kid - the coyote never won. The humor grew on me as I got older.

8. Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids: A real trailblazer, it gave us a view of the inner city. I especially liked Mushmouth and Fat Albert Jackson.

9. The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show: Not especially enamored with the namesakes, they had other eclectic characters -

like Mr. Peabody and Aesop's Fables.

10. Davey & Goliath: Not really an animated cartoon, this Sunday morning claymation show was quite memorable. Again, the dog Goliath, was cool with his drawl-like speech. "Awwww, Davey."

Honorable mention characters: Underdog, Elmer Fudd,
the Tasmanian Devil, Tweety Bird, Tennessee Tuxedo

and Huckleberry Hound.