disney cine are usually made for families, designed to be enjoyable in every age. The shows they produce – not so much. Now I’m sure each of us has shows he saw as a child and he will always remember fondly, no matter what. And each of us has shows he sees as an adult an immediately ask himself “what were I thinking? This is stupid”. What I’m trying to do is to lista not the shows I’m the most nostalgic about, but the ones which I believe are watchable, even if tu see the first episode as an adult.
Speaking of stupidity: The reason I stuck to animated shows is because I never enjoyed Disney’s life action programs, not even when I still was part of the target group. I also excluded ongoing shows from the list, because I’m not really up-to-date with them.
5. DuckTales
One of Disney’s most unforgettable shows, well known for its catchy theme song and the great video game, which was based on it. The premise was fairly simple: Scrooge McDuck has to take care of his nephews, and together they end up in a lot of adventures, together with some new side-characters. There are a lot of shows which came after this one, following a similar concept, using well known disney characters (and paired with a catchy theme song): The Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, just to mention the más memorable ones. But none of had the quality DuckTales had during its first season. The last three are the reason the mostrar isn’t higher on the list. I don’t really care for them, because the stories were weaker, más childish and the writers added a certain referential humour to the show, which disturbed the timeless feel it used to have (while there were references in the early episodes, too, they tended to be about más timeless themes, like mythology o Shakespeare).
The mostrar is not without it's faults though. The animación is way above average, but not exactly inspiring. Over time, they added some new characters to the cast, which fell más on the annoying side (and no, I'm not talking about Webby, characters like Doofus and Bubba are the ones I could do without. Especially the latter pretty much ruined the mostrar for me). I also hated it when they used villains, which belong traditionally to the Mickey ratón universe, they always felt out of place in the setting. But the biggest downside are certain stereotypes which pop up from time to time, of the kind tu wouldn't find in a modern mostrar anymore. Though nothing worse than what was already part of the original Carl Barks Comic series the mostrar is based on. And that's how this mostrar feels when it is at its best. Watching the first season is like settling down with a Donald pato Comic (without Donald, his role was deliberately downplayed in the series), written por Disney's best. And that’s the highest praise a mostrar about Duckburg can get.
4. Darkwing Duck
Kind of a spin-off of DuckTales, I think this mostrar is way más enjoyable from an adult perspective. It has a satiric quality to it I didn’t really appreciate until I reached a certain age. The premise in itself is not that ground-breaking, it’s basically a spoof on the common superhero show, with an unusual hero. Darkwing pato doesn’t have special abilities o is increíble rich so that paying for his gadgets is an easy matter. While he does have an altruistic streak, getting celebrated as an hero is just as important for him, which is quite the opposite from the usual superhero who only act out of revenge o because they feel that their special abilities have to be used for the greater food. But what makes the mostrar stand out is that is usually manages to keep the balance between spoofing something and still having enough substance in it to allow its characters to shine.
3. Recess
There are countless series about high-school life on the disney channel. They are pretty hard to sell to me, because the school system in my country is a little bit different, and what they claim to be typical teenager problems, are honestly far removed from what I remember. Not that I want to remember. What teens really have to deal with is rarely the first pimple, it’s usually más along the line of divorcing parents, suicide attempts (your own o someone tu know), eating disorders, bullying in school and, yes, the first heartbreak. Honestly, I know nobody who particularly likes to be reminded of his teenager years, and if tu managed to go through them without experiencing any of this, congratulations.
Now, elementary school is a different matter. Who doesn’t want to be reminded of a time when the world was still uncomplicated, and the biggest enemy was the teacher who interrupted tu fun? It helps that Recess doesn’t even try to pretend that the stories they tell have anything to do with reality. It’s más as if tu go back into the mind-set of a child, when everything was still exciting and tu sometimes misinterpreted the world around you. The premise of the mostrar is simple, tu have your usual group of misfits who band together during Recess. What is not simple are the stories which are told, they nearly always have a secondary meaning. For example in one episodes TJ is kidnapped por the kindergarteners, and when he is freed, he wistfully talks about how uncomplicated their live is. Gretchen respuestas that she understands what he means, but that’s impossible to go back, and even thought kindergarteners will go to class soon, too. And that’s an ongoing theme of the show, it’s about enjoying your childhood, because those times will never come back. At one point, everything which is left of it are some nostalgic memories.
2. Gargoyles
Naturally this mostrar makes the list, it is one of the few which was geared to an older audience from the get go. And what is not to amor about a show, which mixes Shakespeare with mythology and a modern story about revenge, prejudices and survival. Layered characters, smart villains who are not always on the wrong side and a compelling story-arc made the first two seasons one of the most intelligent and unpredictable caricaturas which every graced our TV. The third season was sadly más run-of-the-mill and en general, general quite mediocre. Nevertheless, if tu haven’t seen it, do it now. (and yes, I realized that this is short, but I don’t want to spoil the mostrar for the poor souls who haven’t watched it yet).
1. House of Mouse
Honestly, what is más fun than watching all your favourite characters meeting each other in toontown? Seeing Gaston brag about his greatness while Hades scoffs at the siguiente table? Not that this mostrar is without its fault. The animación is sometimes very rogue and gets reused again and again, and the inserted shorts, to be specific the ones recycled from the Mickey ratón Works, often prompt me pressing the fast adelante, hacia adelante button (they didn’t even pay attention and used at least one of them twice in different episodes), but that aside, the mostrar manages the best update our favourite cartoon characters got so far.
I especially amor Minnie as competent manager but all characters are spot on. Unlike the egoistical and often bitchy margarita of the Mickey ratón Works (and to a lesser degree Quack Pack), this version has a lot of corazón and a lot of character. Mickey is finally allowed to be a little bit más fallible again, bringing his character closer back to the roots. Goofy is allowed to reprise his role from Goofy and Max, and klutz with a big heart, though this time with a crush on Clarabelle, the Gossip Queen. Horace Horsecollar gets a nice update as pessimistic technician. And Donald, Pluto, Gus ganso are basically how the always were, while Huey, Dewey and Louie are drawn like their Quack Pack versions.
The actual stories (usually involving Pete trying to shut down the club) are humorous, full of clever puns, settled self-irony and they hit the spirit of classic disney to a t. If there is any mostrar they should restart, it’s this one. Preferable with a little better animación and classic caricaturas (or Silly Symphonies, o the new Mickey ratón shorts, o some other shorts which tend to be overlooked because they were at one point added as an extra) as mostrar program. Can tu hear me, Disney? This mostrar was great, tu were stupid when tu ended it!!!!!! And now tu could even add the old Oswald caricaturas for our pleasure.
To concludes this one honourable mention: dinosaurios (the TV show, not the stupid movie). I couldn’t include it in the official lista because it’s not animated. But hey, where else should I mention it? Considering that it is más a Henson than a disney product, it does fall into a category on its own. This puppet mostrar is way más intelligent than most comedy series geared for adults. Often a quite clever commentary, but without the más mean-spirited humour shows like “The Simpsons” tend to display, it managed the jump from “really good” to “unforgettable” in its final episode, serving the audience maybe the most gutsy finale for a children’s mostrar ever.
Speaking of stupidity: The reason I stuck to animated shows is because I never enjoyed Disney’s life action programs, not even when I still was part of the target group. I also excluded ongoing shows from the list, because I’m not really up-to-date with them.
5. DuckTales
One of Disney’s most unforgettable shows, well known for its catchy theme song and the great video game, which was based on it. The premise was fairly simple: Scrooge McDuck has to take care of his nephews, and together they end up in a lot of adventures, together with some new side-characters. There are a lot of shows which came after this one, following a similar concept, using well known disney characters (and paired with a catchy theme song): The Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, just to mention the más memorable ones. But none of had the quality DuckTales had during its first season. The last three are the reason the mostrar isn’t higher on the list. I don’t really care for them, because the stories were weaker, más childish and the writers added a certain referential humour to the show, which disturbed the timeless feel it used to have (while there were references in the early episodes, too, they tended to be about más timeless themes, like mythology o Shakespeare).
4. Darkwing Duck
Kind of a spin-off of DuckTales, I think this mostrar is way más enjoyable from an adult perspective. It has a satiric quality to it I didn’t really appreciate until I reached a certain age. The premise in itself is not that ground-breaking, it’s basically a spoof on the common superhero show, with an unusual hero. Darkwing pato doesn’t have special abilities o is increíble rich so that paying for his gadgets is an easy matter. While he does have an altruistic streak, getting celebrated as an hero is just as important for him, which is quite the opposite from the usual superhero who only act out of revenge o because they feel that their special abilities have to be used for the greater food. But what makes the mostrar stand out is that is usually manages to keep the balance between spoofing something and still having enough substance in it to allow its characters to shine.
3. Recess
There are countless series about high-school life on the disney channel. They are pretty hard to sell to me, because the school system in my country is a little bit different, and what they claim to be typical teenager problems, are honestly far removed from what I remember. Not that I want to remember. What teens really have to deal with is rarely the first pimple, it’s usually más along the line of divorcing parents, suicide attempts (your own o someone tu know), eating disorders, bullying in school and, yes, the first heartbreak. Honestly, I know nobody who particularly likes to be reminded of his teenager years, and if tu managed to go through them without experiencing any of this, congratulations.
2. Gargoyles
Naturally this mostrar makes the list, it is one of the few which was geared to an older audience from the get go. And what is not to amor about a show, which mixes Shakespeare with mythology and a modern story about revenge, prejudices and survival. Layered characters, smart villains who are not always on the wrong side and a compelling story-arc made the first two seasons one of the most intelligent and unpredictable caricaturas which every graced our TV. The third season was sadly más run-of-the-mill and en general, general quite mediocre. Nevertheless, if tu haven’t seen it, do it now. (and yes, I realized that this is short, but I don’t want to spoil the mostrar for the poor souls who haven’t watched it yet).
1. House of Mouse
Honestly, what is más fun than watching all your favourite characters meeting each other in toontown? Seeing Gaston brag about his greatness while Hades scoffs at the siguiente table? Not that this mostrar is without its fault. The animación is sometimes very rogue and gets reused again and again, and the inserted shorts, to be specific the ones recycled from the Mickey ratón Works, often prompt me pressing the fast adelante, hacia adelante button (they didn’t even pay attention and used at least one of them twice in different episodes), but that aside, the mostrar manages the best update our favourite cartoon characters got so far.
The actual stories (usually involving Pete trying to shut down the club) are humorous, full of clever puns, settled self-irony and they hit the spirit of classic disney to a t. If there is any mostrar they should restart, it’s this one. Preferable with a little better animación and classic caricaturas (or Silly Symphonies, o the new Mickey ratón shorts, o some other shorts which tend to be overlooked because they were at one point added as an extra) as mostrar program. Can tu hear me, Disney? This mostrar was great, tu were stupid when tu ended it!!!!!! And now tu could even add the old Oswald caricaturas for our pleasure.
That's the disney I grew up with - gone but not forgotten
To concludes this one honourable mention: dinosaurios (the TV show, not the stupid movie). I couldn’t include it in the official lista because it’s not animated. But hey, where else should I mention it? Considering that it is más a Henson than a disney product, it does fall into a category on its own. This puppet mostrar is way más intelligent than most comedy series geared for adults. Often a quite clever commentary, but without the más mean-spirited humour shows like “The Simpsons” tend to display, it managed the jump from “really good” to “unforgettable” in its final episode, serving the audience maybe the most gutsy finale for a children’s mostrar ever.
