Childhood Heroes

Everybody loves the occasional delve back into their childhood, and I am no exception!  I was recently shown a link to 26 Kids’ TV Shows We All Want Brought Back, in which I remembered - with some pleasure - the number of great characters that were written for us as children of the 1980s.  It made me realise that I grew up in a golden age for childhood, where animation gave children a good honest laugh, whilst at the same time teaching them a bit about society and the world around them.  With that in mind, here are five of my all-time favourites:

The Bash Street Kids

Specifically, the long-suffering Teacher, whose days of imparting knowledge are constantly interrupted by the dim-witted rabble that is Class 2B.  The nine tear-aways (and yes, I could name them all!) are the bane of poor Teacher's life, and regularly lead him to fits of rage and emotional distress.  Indeed, they are so bad that at one point they drive Teacher to take a new job, teaching jungle animals in Africa (to which he remarks that they are much easier to teach).  Surrounding class 2B is a colourful cast of other regulars - Cuthbert Cringeworthy (the class swot), a lazy Head Master, a cheeky janitor, the school cat Winston, and Olive, the world's worst cook, whose Christmas puddings are used by the kids as bowling balls.  It made - and still makes, for it has been running for over 50 years - for hilarious reading.

Dogtanian and the Three Muskerhounds

Of course anyone who knows me will recognise instantly that this is my favourite!  Based on Alexander Dumas' classic novel, Dogtanian leaves his rural home life and sets out on the quest to become one of the King's Guards - a Muskerhound.  Along the way he learns about chivalry, patriotism, love, and the overriding principle that a man always stands by his friends.  Coming from an age when programmes were both colourful and intellectually stimulating, Dogtanian marks a high-point in children's television, which I have always remembered with great fondness.  The programme also benefitted from a rather catchy theme tune, so all together now: "One for all and all for one, Muskerhounds are always ready..."

 

Donald Duck

 

You have to love this grumpy, aggressive, mean-spirited character, which Walt Disney reputedly based on all the things he didn't like about humanity.  Donald never learns, for all the comeuppances he receives from his bad deeds, he still regularly seeks out the opportunity to be evil, and to play the hard-luck card when he gets his just deserts.  Maybe he feels he's had a hard life - and who can blame him, for the grass is significantly greener on Mickey Mouse's side of the fence - but Donald's antics have kept me laughing for hours on end.

 

 

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic was invented by computer programmer Yuji Naka and artist Naoto Oshima, and arrived into the world in 1991, delighting children and adults across the globe with his mad-dash adventures to save the world. Sonic's enemy is the evil genius, Doctor Robotnik, whose sole aim is to rule the world by acquiring powerful "Chaos Emeralds". Sonic must stop him, at every turn, by destroying the Doctor's increasingly complex machinery. Along the way he won the hearts of millions, who took to the little blue hedgehog's speed, style, and sense of justice. Utterly absorbing to play as a child, I still have a great fondness for this little critter over twenty years later.

Tin Tin

My list wouldn't be complete without the great boy detective. Coming out of the stylish 1920s, Tin Tin was the creation of Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Herge. His character started life in comic book form, but became known to my generation through a series of brilliantly faithful television adaptations. Tin Tin is no stranger to danger, and has travelled the world in his career as a reporter, foiling plots of an international level, along the way making many friends, and even more enemies. His trusty sidekick Snowy (who you will find called Milou in the originals) is always on-hand to get the young journalist out of a sticky situation, and the two are surrounded by several intriguing and imaginatively-thought-out characters; Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, Madam Castafiore, and Interpol's bumbling Thomson and Thompson (Dupont et Dupond in French) to name but a few. It's comic and television animation at its very best, completely unsurpassable in this blogger's opinion - Precisely, Tin Tin!