Written by Sami DeSocio
When I was a kid, nothing thrilled me more than sitting down in front of my TV and turning on the Disney channel to watch my cartoons. My face would light up at the first notes of the Duck Tales theme song, enticing me to sing along in my own, childish way. Or smiling from ear to ear when Darkwing Duck came on. All of the memories I have of my childhood tie right back into the cartoons the Disney channel used to play. I’m sure a lot of other people who grew up on the Disney channel of old can remember with fond memories the cartoons of Disney’s past.
Another one of my favorite cartoons growing up is the long-gone Gummi Bears, following the story of the Gummi family as it lived in the forest, made gummi beary juice and went on adventures to try to outrun the bad guys. Just hearing the theme song today makes me smile and brings me back to when I was a child. I remember loving Summi Gummi, she was such a girly girl, and at the time, before I went through my tomboy phase, I was too! Grammi Gummi always reminded me of my grandmother, how she was always cooking something or feeding someone!
Then there were the days I woke up especially early with my parents. Both of my parents always got up around 5:00 in the morning, and sometimes I would go downstairs when I heard the up so I could watch TV and wait for the babysitter to wake up. Besides an early morning exercise show for children called Mousersise, they also aired little cartoon shorts. But, they aired them all at the same time, under the heading Music Box. It was a short show, about twenty minutes long, and it would have a few short cartoons in a row. Nobody I’ve ever spoken to has ever remembered these shows, but I remember them clear as day!
In the afternoons, I could always count on The Little Mermaid and Aladdin episodes while I had a snack and did my homework after school. I love how, especially with these two shows Disney tried to get as many of the voices in the movies to come do the television series, and a lot of them did! It made the series that much more connected to the movies, even if you got introduced to new characters, plot lines or situations, the voices of the main characters were the same.
Of course, I could always count on Tale Spin, Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers, and Gargoyles as well. They will always hold a special, magical place in my heart. But not nearly as big of a spot as the other shows I mentioned. Some of them are actually out on DVD, some you can see clips of on YouTube, and others will live on in our memories until they do become available. Now, go watch some cartoons!
About Sami
Sami has been a Disney fan since her parents introduced her to Cinderella when she was just a little girl, but her princess will always be Belle. She has been to Disney World at least 10 times (she doesn’t need a map for Magic Kingdom anymore!), but never DisenyLand, though she would love to go there one day. She also probably possesses every Disney song ever recorded and can tell almost all the stories behind them!
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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Love all the oldies but goodies!
I love all these, too! I got my 3 year old son Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers on dvd for his birthday and he LOVES it! Both of my kids enjoy the old classics like these, and I’m so glad they do!
We’re fans of the Disney channel cartoons too. The Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck, and Tale Spin theme songs, can also be heard at our house. Love that we have been able to bring back some of the magic with the ones that have been released on DVD. Hope we’ll get some more!