Friday, March 13, 2015

Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time, Number 2

We're almost there....   only one away from the worst cartoon character of all time!   I'm sure that all the wagering is getting fierce, and the Vegas oddsman are offering incredible odds on the Great Gazoo, but let me remind you of the rules before you place your bets:
  • It must be the STAR of a cartoon series.   No supporting players.
  • It must be a cartoon series suitable for everyone in the family - no adult swim cartoons!
  • It must be a cartoon series seen in America.
  • It must be a cartoon series that I have heard of.
There, does that help you in hedging your bets?    By next week, all questions will be answered and all secrets will be revealed.   But for now, you will have to be satisfied with the number two choice.   Please feel free to scratch out your eyeballs as I present my number two choice for Worst Cartoon Character of all Time....

10. Baby Huey
9. Squiddly Diddly
8. Buzzy the Crow
7. Hippity Hopper
6. Loopy De Loop
5. Go Go Gophers
4. The Blue Racer
3,  The Beary Family
2.  Sad Cat


 
 Film critic Leonard Maltin described Sad Cat as "The dreariest character ever created."    I couldn't agree more.   Sad Cat is the most pathetic, boring, dreary and depressing cartoon character I have ever had the displeasure to watch.   The cartoon series was created by animation legend Ralph Bashki, who went on to create other things (the lack of adjectives is intentional).  The cartoons were produced between 1965-1968 by Terrytoons, home of other beloved and world-famous cartoon stars such as Mighty Mouse, Dinky Duck, Gandy Goose, Dimwit, Sourpuss and Heckle and Jeckle. 

The Sad Cat cartoons were based on the Cinderella fairy tale.  Sad Cat, for some reason, is forced to play housemaid to his two ugly stepbrothers, Latimore and Fenimore.   It is an oppressive, bleak,  and dismal existence, until Sad Cat meets Gadimouse, an apprentice good fairy trying to earn his wand.   Gadimouse does his best to try and give Sad Cat the Happy Ending that will turn things around for everyone, but he usually ends up just making things worse.  The cartoons end with Sad Cat in a more desperate situation than he was at the beginning.   Maybe this is a good life lesson, but it does not
make for good entertainment.

To add to this, the cartoons are loud, cluttered, unfunny and annoying.   The voice of Sad Cat immediately grates on you the minute you hear it, and the feeling never goes away.  There is not a gag or joke that is funny or even mildly amusing.  The whole experience leaves you feeling like you've completely wasted six minutes of your life that you desperately want back at all costs.   I can't imagine the audience reaction after having to sit through one of these cartoons while waiting for a feature film. 

After the first five films, Ralph Bashki left Terrytoons.   The Sad Cat cartoons continued on, but the Gadimouse character was replaced with SuperEgo, a confident, pumped-up version of Sad Cat.  This character would appear halfway through the film and actually set things right, so that the cartoons would end on a more positive, upbeat note.   Watching these cartoons, I was happy when the darn things just ENDED.    
I hate to do this to you, but I am embedding a Sad Cat cartoon below.   You are under no obligation to watch it.   You would be better off removing your own appendix.   But, for those of you who can't say "no" and have no fear of nightmares, here is the best copy of a Sad Cat cartoon I could find.   It's titled Dress Reversal and traumatized the moviegoing population in 1965.   Remember, no refunds...




1 comment:

  1. There's some up on Dailymotion as well. True how the series takes a 180 once Bakshi left and they decided to give Sad Cat a more positive ending, though these cartoons tend to put him in competition with his stepbrothers in different events.

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