Sunday Echoes: Bugs Bunny
Saturday morning cartoon time on television is far different today than when I was a child. Put another way, and to the point, there is no Saturday morning cartoon time anymore. In my youth the three major networks had the full morning alloted to cartoons that consisted of new creations, and which also featured the classics. I recall one year that a network actually had a 30-minute preview program on Friday night to showcase their Saturday morning lineup! Every person my age knows that on the weekend there were Warner Bros. cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, and a whole host of colorful and truly amusing creations.
That was then.
This is what I read last week in The New York Times that almost took my breath away.
Ask a first grader to identify Bugs Bunny and the response more likely than not will be a blank stare. Dora, sure. Mickey, alive and kicking. But Porky who?
Is that not perhaps the saddest thing you have read in some time?
Amen!!
As it should be.
I can proudly say “Not my grandkids!” They have a whole series of DVDs that we got for just a couple of bucks each that have nothing but old cartoons from the 20′s on up to the 50′s. They know Bugs, Porky, Petunia, Daffy, Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto very well. When the kids are over to our house they get to watch Boomerang on the Cartoon Network where they can view shows from the 70′s and 80′s too—Hong Kong Phooey, Jonny Quest, and Scooby-Doo. All accompanied by a bowl or two of sugary cereal. It’s great to be a grandparent!