Ulysses 31 Intro Parody

The 80's were an amazing time for cartoons and one of the finest was Ulysses 31. It tells a story similar to Homer's The Odyssey but is set in the 31st century, hence the 31. The 26 episode series is amazing and still holds up well. The introduction was especially catchy and there is a parody version of it. It’s in French but that doesn’t detract from its awesomeness.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors Track List Revealed

"Go, Jayce, conqueror from afar, look for your father ..."

And with these words Jayce and the lightning league battled the Monster Minds and Saw Boss for 65 episodes. Produced by the hilariously named (at least I thought at the time) DIC studios and overseen by Jean Chalopin (of Mysterious Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Inspector Gadget and tonnes of other formative cartoons from the 80s) the show was grand and cheesy operatic drama and a big part of this was due to the epic music, created by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban.

The soundtrack for the series has never been released… until now. Tele 80 has crowdfunded the OST for a September release on CD and Vinyl. There is a delay due to Covid but the soundtrack should be released in October now. However, Tele 80 has released a track list and it looks pretty good- not as comprehensive as the 35th anniversary Ulysses 31 release but it’s a good start.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors track list

Ulysses 31: Vengeance of the Gods- Spooky Kids TV Appreciation Month (Spooktober)

The 80's were an amazing time for cartoons and one of the finest is Ulysses 31. It tells a story similar to Homer's The Odyssey but set in the 31st century, hence the 31. The 26 part episode series is all great but the pilot episode is pretty scary, what with child kidnapping, child sacrifice and a freakin’ robotic cyclops! The music complements all this beautifully and I have spoken at length about the soundtrack before.

For those who only remember the series from the past check it out now on YouTube… it still holds up well!

The 80's Moomins Soundtrack is Coming on Vinyl

Ah The Moomins! Characters I grew to love over time but was initially terrified of because of the creepy 80's eastern-European stopmotion animation. Well, if somehow this piece of freaky animation strikes your nostalgia bone then you might be stoked to know that the foreboding homemade electro-acoustic, new age, synth driven, proto-techno, imaginary world music is coming out in February 2017. The soundtrack, created by Graeme Miller and Steve Shill is a rarity and will attract a lot of interest so for those keen to purchase it I'd recommend a pre-order now! The playlist is:

1. The Moomins Theme
2. Travelling Theme
3. Hobgoblin's Hat
4. Leaving Moomin Valley
5. Partytime
6. Hattyfatteners Row
7. Woodland Band
8. Most Unusual
9. Midwinter Rites
10. Piano Waltz
11. Creepers
12. Woodland Band Far Away
13. Comet Shadow
14. Comet Theme
15. The Moomins Theme (End)

In the meantime in anticipation of the soundtrack release check out the first episode of the animation below.

The Return of Teddy Ruxpin

The 80's were a heady time for toys and animation and one of the highlights of the decade for many was Teddy Ruxpin, a show that had 65 episode and one of the most iconic toys of the time. The Teddy Ruxpin talking toy came with a cassette deck, children would slot in a tape and the mouth of the toy would move and recount a story. Teddy Ruxpin was launched in 1985 and was a massive hit but various financial crises affected the company and it closed.

However there has been a resurrection of the toy and there is s new version coming up. The latest version of the toy will come with a 4GB hard drive which will be able to store 40 stories. Also the toy will be able to be paired with an iPad app so children can read along to the stories as the toy move its mouth and speaks. I have a daughter now and so may purchase the toy for her. I never had the toy as a kid but I do like the idea of it.

Super Turbo Atomic Mega Ninja Rabbit

Animation in the 80's was great, especially for someone like me who grew up on shows like Mysterious Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Dogtanian and Around the World in 80 Days with Willie Fogg. I have a rose tinted view of past cartoons and I am obviously not alone in feeling this as Wesley Louis has created an incredibly well-animated opening sequence that stylistically recalls the style of animation that was created from Japan, China and South Korea, much to the ignorance of the Western pubic.

The bad tracking and white noise associated with old video tapes from the 80's is perfectly used to make it seem like an actual show from the 80's or early 90's, it reminds me mostly of Bucky O'Hare.

In Wesley's own words:

Wesley Louis drew 'Super Turbo Atomic Ninja Rabbit' as a comic when he was 13. It was time to realise the dreams of a geeky kid by animating the intro to the best TV-series that never was. 'Super Turbo Atomic Ninja Rabbit' A love letter to Saturday morning cartoons from the 80’s and 90’s.

To check out the video click below and for the HD clean version without the white noise and bad tracking click on the video link below that. Enjoy!

He-Man Remastered Track was used in Mysterious Cities of Gold

If you've ever watched an old TV series from the 80's you've probably noticed that some of the sound FX and music is the same.  That's because a lot of the animation and dubbing was done by the same studios or using Movieola editors, not on digital audio workstation like many sound effects today. The studios used key stock effects as that's what they had.

Anyways, my favourite TV show of all time The Mysterious Cities of Gold not only shared sound effects with He-Man: Masters of the Universe but also music! Originally titled Subterranean Secret or The Burning Shield, the MCOG track was used occasionally in dramatic and atmospheric scenes in He-Man. Here, for the first time is a completely clean version of the music created by Dusan M, using the original cues from the score by Shuki Levy. No more horrible audio cues distorting the majesty of this wondrous track. Enjoy!

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue

Drugs are bad, m'kay! Well we all know that certain drugs are bad for us but in the late 80's and early 90's the animation studios teamed up to tackle the issue head on with Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. The cartoon features:

  • ALF
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks: Alvin, Simon, Theodore
  • Ducktales: Huey, Dewey, and Louie
  • Garfield and Friends: Garfield
  • Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck
  • Muppet Babies: Baby Kermit, Baby Miss Piggy and Baby Gonzo
  • The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Pooh and Tigger
  • The Real Ghostbusters: Slimer
  • The Smurfs: Papa Smurf, Hefty Smurf and Brainy Smurf
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Michaelangelo

Quite the smorgasbord of animated characters I'm sure you'll agree. Well here is the animated song sequence created by the team behind The Little Mermaid. If you like what you see watch the whole episode on YouTube.

Ulysses 31 Soundtrack Medley

The 80's were an amazing time for cartoons and one of the finest is Ulysses 31. It tells a story similar to Homer's The Odyssey. The series is quite dark and the story is amazing but the real standout for me was the dramatic music by Denny Crockett and Ike Egan.

Check out this phenomenal medley of Ulysses 31 tracks... it rocks!

Mysterious Cities of Gold Season 2 Review

The original Mysterious Cities of Gold series was a French- Japanese co-produced animation by Dic Entertainment and Studio Pierrot. The series premiered in Japan on NHK on 29 June 1982 and ran weekly for 39 episodes.

I first caught the series on BBC 1 in the early 80s and was beguiled by the mythical adventure story of a young Spanish boy named Esteban who joins a voyage to the New World in search of the lost Cities of Gold and his father. The impressive looking background art, sharply drawn characters, and the beautiful soundtrack kept me entranced throughout the whole series, becoming my favourite programme of all time. It informed my formative years and introduced me to the wonders of the ancient world including the Incas, Aztecs, Atlantis and El Dorado. Even at the age of 33 I still regularly revisit the programme every year and I can attest to the fact that it still holds up as an impressive piece of work.

There has been talk of a second series for years and preliminary plans were laid however it never materialised. However with the re-release of the series on DVD in 2008 and increased interest in the new series were finally put into production. Debuting on the Kix Channel in December the second series finally landed. So how does it fare compared to the original?

At the end of the original series the children had only found one of the seven lost cities of gold, yet the conclusion was oddly satisfying in an open-ended way. Well the second series is a continuation rather than a reboot, so with the same character designs and story the series picks from the end of series one; The three children and Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho heading to China in search of the next lost city of gold and the truth about Esteban’s father.

On the whole I really did enjoy the new series but felt that it lacked the atmosphere and awe that was present in the original series. The voice actors were passable, however I did feel that Mendoza sounded angry or annoyed a lot of the time, a shift from his can-do attitude from the first series. Also the synth music from the discovery parts and key events made each new discovery super special. The music that dropped when the adventurers find the Solaris and Golden Condor still sends shivers down my spine. I felt that in this new series moments of emotive music and silence from the characters would have carried greater gravitas than the exposition from the characters.

China is well represented in the series with beautiful background artwork.

The team still go on awe inspiring adventures which draw you in.

The series does take a little while to get going, the first 10 or so episodes are very slow paced but the series does pick up and from episode 16 onwards I had those moment of awe and wonder, much like I felt nearly 25 years ago when I first saw the first series.

I'll leave you with one of my favourite youtube videos, this is St. Elmos Fire, the piece of music by Haim Saban and Shuki Levi. This music swells in the series when there are moments of discovery... the new series was missing these moments but does stand well as a continuation. Roll on series 3!