happyfilmluvguy
Call Me a Cab
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Not to be mistakened by the first moving picture theaters of the first half of the 20th century, though named by the same name.
During the 1990's, a television station known as Nickelodeon, which had been founded in 1979 emerged out into our homes, bringing the first kids network into existence. Many other channels were around, showing children like programming, like PBS and USA, but none had devoted an entire station to children's programming. Nickelodeon was the first. Through the 90's, Nickelodeon brought us shows such as What Do You Do, Clarissa Explains it all, but more importantly it's Nicktoons, which aired in 1991. Many of Nickelodeon's shows writer's were as nostalgic as one can be. Little artifacts in each Nicktoon showed this.
Hey Arnold:
Set in a city almost identical to New York, was the home of a young boy by the name of Arnold (last name never given).
Arnold and his friends, neighbors, and townfolk had the many adventure, some that were strangely familar. Often Arnold's grandpa would tell his stories of his youth, the show flashing back to the 30's, 40's and 50's.
Halley's Comet was featured in one episode, Grandpa's father by his young side.
Every episode ended with a moral, which was NOT your normal cartoon of today. Dino Spumoni, a sort of celebrity in this New Yorkish town, was a has been singer, with a definite Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin type persona. Arnold's Grandpa often talked about him, many with flashbacks of Spumoni's younger days. In one episode, Spumoni stages his own death, yet another strangely familar encounter, and a impersonator errupts his stage as the NEW Spumoni, selling out concerts and breaking music records. You're never a legend until you've died.
Arnold's parents were adventurists, traveling the world in search of curing tropical diseases, which is how they met in the first place. This was shown in the last episode of Hey Arnold. He never did find his parents.Arnold and Jerald even had a "disco" dance episode, when they have dates with 5th graders, when they are only 4th graders. Another character and episode in Hey Arnold was Mickey Kaline(voice by none other than Ron Perlman), a baseball hero whom was also Arnold's, which portrayed Mickey Mantle and Al Kaline. In the episode, "The Baseball", Arnold and his grandpa see Mickey Kaline's last baseball game, before his retires. Much like a baseball movie of the golden era, the episode ends with, Arnold having caught his home run ball, approaches the hero to hand him his infamous ball, but Mickey refushes it. He then asks Arnold if he wants to play catch, and begins a long story of his bygone days as a baseball legend.
A Halloween episode mocks the "War of the Worlds" incident that Orson Welles did on Halloween night in 1938. The episode featured a television host, whose voice mocked Orson Welles, which also voiced The Brain on "Pinky and the Brain", which also featured cameos of Orson Welles. Aliens presumedly invading the Earth, though Arnold and his friends dress as the aliens and are chased by an angry mob of townspeople. Another episode of chinese checkers, which Grandpa was once a master at, is a game between Boris Slasky and Robby Fischer, based on Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, world champion "chess" players in the 70's.
Hey Arnold is probably one of the few Nicktoons that has so much nostalgia that some of the other shows didn't. I know I am missing much more in just that one show. Here are the next nostalgic Nicktoons.
Angry Beavers:
Norbert and Daggett, two beaver brothers who live somewhere in the forest. There are a few moments and items in this show to my knowledge that are nostalgic. They own and play 8 Track tapes, a media popular in the 60's. In one episode, they send boxtops to a cereal company to obtain great (or so they think) prizes through tubes which is how they send their regular mail and receive it.
In a few episodes, they are watching spooky old horror movies on the television. In a halloween episode, they stumble upon their favorite actor, Oxnard Montalvo (cross streets in Oxnard, CA), a B-movie star, and are blown into a movie that combines every B movie monster that the actor ever made, which being in Black and White, the episode named "The Day the World Got Really Screwed Up!" (The Day the Earth Stood Still). In another episode they encounter zombies in the Dixieland baou. In "Beaver Feaver", they become a sensation in the Disco scene, and a reference and paroady to the Beatles. in "Dagski and Norb" the two brothers are protrayed in a "Starsky and Hutch" type fashion. It's a Wonderful Life is seen in the episode, "It's a spootful life". Norb also drops a snowglobe in a movie called "Citizen Norb" in another episode referring to Citizen Kane.
Norbert and Daggett were also amongst the Nicktoons whom were written in a nostalgic way, als Norbert playing as the Detetive, and Dag playing as the gangster or the villian.
Rocko's Modern Life:
Taking place on the East coast, on account of the kind of weather shown in the cartoon, this wallaby brought good humor to the television. In many episodes, the show gave reference to Alfred Hitchcock movies. In the episode "The Lounge Singer", Filburt gives reference to songs of the lounge singer, like the song "Come fly with me", and "I've got you under my skin". Rocko's home interior is very vintage, if you take a good look at it. His appliances, like his refrigerator, stove, and toaster are not modern designs. Even Rocko's clothing, as well as Heffers, sporting a Hawaiian shirt and button braces.
Ren and Stimpy: Need I say more?
There are many other shows and Nicktoons that gave an nostalgic look that Warner Brothers, Tex Avery, Paramount, as well as other earlier cartoons tended to show (politics, movie stars, parodies, etc)
So after typing all this, let's hear some input if you please!
