Happy Wednesday, everybody! ‘Remember When Wednesday’ is a new Wednesday theme on the blog, and it is just as it sounds. A reflection on things we did, things we watched, things we wore in the good old days! I will still be doing Who Wore It Best posts, but for now thought it would be great to keep our options open and our themes a-plenty! That, and I’ve been dying for an excuse to feature the Duck Tales theme song into a blog post.
So what is The Disney Afternoon? Well, it was a block of Disney-made half-hour cartoons that played in the most important time slot of all: directly after school. Let me explain to you why this was so important for me. It’s a deep dark secret of mine that I can’t keep anymore…I am not an athlete. I know, I know, I can practically hear your gasps through the computer. But it’s true. And even though I had a brief stint playing the clarinet, I wasn’t the kind of kid you’d find staying after school to perfect her skills. As a matter of fact, I didn’t like staying after school ever. The only time I did in my entire elementary school career was when they were offering an after school class on how to bake cookies. And let you take the cookies home. Which explains that.
First, for those who aren’t of my generation or for those who are but were just being active with their lives and not glued in front of the television, here’s a glimpse courtesy of YouTube at The Disney Afternoon intro:
As you can see from the video, The Disney Afternoon featured irresistible shows such as Chip and Dale, Rescue Rangers:
Disney’s Adventures of The Gummi Bears:
Which told the story of magical Gummi Bears who would bounce immediately following a sip of Gummi Beary juice. Which is a great way to get your kids to take medicine. You get them addicted to Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears and then you offer them some “Gummi Beary Juice”.
Of course there was also Tale Spin, which revamped the characters of Disney’s The Jungle Book as airplane pilots. (Don’t look at me, I don’t write it.) And of course, the show responsible for my favorite theme song, Duck Tales:
The premise of which was Donald going to the navy, leaving Uncle Scrooge to care for his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. Of course I don’t remember anything about Donald going to the navy but what can you do. And no, you are not getting lucky enough to only see a photo. Here’s that theme song I can’t stop talking about!:
So good. If I could use it as a theme song for myself, playing as I take on my tasks of the day, I would. If you do one thing today, please have it be giving it a listen.
Of course The Disney Afternoon featured many other shows, such as a half-hour series about Aladdin, appropriately called Aladdin, Bonkers, crime-fighter Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop and the ever popular Gargoyles, who joined the line-up near the end of it’s run. While Disney television cartoons don’t seem to be held in the same light as their live-action counterparts (think Hannah Montana) I am glad to have been a part of the Disney cartoon heyday while it lasted. Without it I may never have had my Duck Tales theme song, or my Gummi Beary juice, or be able to impress people with the fact that I know the entire Tale Spin theme and rap. To which we all can be grateful…right?
Fun!