Most American youngsters learned their Fairy Tales from Aesop and the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson. Me? I was a ‘T. V. Baby’ and that electronic device was my friend and baby sitter (and later boy sitter) so I got Rocket J. Squirrel, Bullwinkle The Moose, Boris, Natasha et al for breakfast, some times lunch and most weekday afternoons. (Saturdays was Sci Fi theatre with Major Mudd.
There was Fractured Fairy Tales where stories got mixed up with other stories; mermaids who granted wishes (later updated to I Dream of Genie), two dimensional poems with color and sound, Mister Peabody’s Time Travels with Peabody The Dog and Sherman the human boy companion. (How I envied Sherman).
There was Tennessee Tuxedo, Underdog, the unforgettable Flintstones (beloved by religious literalists because it displayed humans and dinosaurs living together.)
Let me not forget to mention Cecil The Seasick Sea Serpent co-starring Beany (a young boy about my age who flew around courtesy of his propeller driven hat. I tried that form of levitation but it did not work for me.) There was also Woody Woodpecker, Popeye, Bugs Bunny and Felix The Cat.
I was not until Junior High School and my intense interest in Ancient History, Roman and Hellenic studies, that I restarted my now lifetime in interest in reading.
It was my grandmother Mary (or was it Doris?) who said ‘As the twig is bent so the tree shall grow’ meaning that watching so much TV must have had some affect on me but at least succumbing to Reefer Madness was not one of them.
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Kevin Driscoll(Mostly) Vegetarian, Politically Progressive, Daily Runner, Spiritual, Helpful, Friendly, Kind, Warm Hearted and Forgiving. Resident of Braintree MA.
Fractured Fairy Tales made the FTs much more memorable. I cannot think of them without hearing Edward Everett Horton’s voice in my mind.
And like you, my fairy tales are mostly cartoons!
Thanks for these cartoon memories, Kevin. I, too, loved them. So fundamentalists like the Flintstones? Very scary. Fractured Fairy Tales are relevant today. The voice actors on those cartoons were phenomenal.
Kevin, I’m not sure all your efforts at levitating were for naught. I could swear you are soaring high above where a lot of the kids you grew up with landed. I bet you even rose higher than your grandma anticipated.
Fractured Fairy Tales! I never met anyone who saw these, Kevin. I thought perhaps I had imagined them. Don’t worry, I was a TV baby too. Eventually, when I was in marketing, I explained it this way: “I’m keeping up with popular culture.” Did you forget the Roadrunner/Wily Coyote? Violent but wickedly funny. Thanks for the memories.
I, too, loved Fractured Fairy Tales, and everything to do with Rocky and Bullwinkle (Mr. Peabody and his boy, Sherman), etc. And I watched many of the other cartoons you mentioned. Those were great years to watch TV.
Thanx for sharing your childhood TV memories Kevin. I don’t remember the shows you mentioned, but do remember watching Howdy Doody religiously, and also Kukla, Fran & Ollie, Shari Lewis, and Captain Kangaroo.
Of course the wonderful Mister Rogers, Sesame Street and The Electric Company came later and I watched them with my own kid!
I remember fractured fairy tales as well as Boris and Natasha. Great fun!