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...

Odd Comic Book Covers

In case I've never mentioned it before, I'm a big comic book collector.  Many a day has found me searching through EBAY, looking for that one last issue of whatever comic book I'm trying to find.  Every now and then, however, I come across an issue of something that makes me go, "Huh?"   Here are a few I came across recently...

Evidently, in the 1940's there was no worries of child protective services coming to take your ward away from you, so Batman (and Superman) felt justified in treating eight-year-old Dick Grayson in any manner they pleased.   However, this seems a bit cruel.   Maybe he's being punished for posting secret identities on the Web?  I'm surprised the girl on the bicycle nearby is so impressed.  Obviously not a fan of children.

I've always felt sorry for the cats in the Mighty Mouse cartoons.  It's nice to see them get some revenge on Super Raton on Halloween, 1955.  Even Heckle and Jeckle join in...  And if Dick Grayson was around, he'd probably join them as well.

If you're a Super Villain looking for an identity, this may be the clue you need!   Don't be the Penguin...   or Catwoman...  Be The Skunk!   It's just the thing to strike fear into the hearts if Supermen!   On a side note, what exactly is Robin wearing?   They look like green chainmail underwear.  How comfortable can THAT be?   Now I really feel bad about those two making him pedal that bicycle.

I guess Kryptonite isn't Superman's only weakness.   Don't tell Lex Luther.  All that money he's spent on death rays, and all he really needed was some flour, butter and shortening.

 

There's something weird about seeing Batman in a skirt.   I would think his knees would be a lot more pale then they seem to be in this picture.  After all, how often do you see Batman's knees?  As a side note, Batman actually has a Scottish connection - Bruce Wayne was named for Robert The Bruce, or King Bruce I of Scotland, who led the war for Scotland's independence. 

Okay, I know this isn't a comic book cover, but I still had to share it.  It's amazing what a little missing punctuation can do to a headline.

 

The less I say about this one, the better.