A Retro Look Back At Rugrats: Search For Reptar (Playstation)

This week's Retro Look Back we take a look at Rugrats: Search For Reptar for the Playstation 1. The object of the game is to help Tommy complete his Reptar puzzle by completing missions. It was up to 4 players and capture the spirit of Rugrats well. 

Why Cartoons Of The 90's Rule!!!

I have been on quite of a nostalgic trip for the past week. I've been watching a lot of the cartoons I use to enjoy as a kid, either on DVD or Netflix. You watch cartoons as a child, you really don't pick up certain things as you do as an adult. After watching tons of 90's cartoons from Hey Arnold, Ninja Turtles, Rugrats and many more. I wanted to give my list of reasons why the 90's era of cartoons is not only the best, but one of the most legendary periods of animation.


1. Moral Lessons - Whether it was direct, subliminally, or through humor 90's cartoons always had some message or lesson to teach their audience. Sad to say you really don't get that in today's cartoons as much. Cartoons like "Hey Arnold" is a perfect example of morality being the key element in the show. Arnold always had some lesson to learn, to show or to teach. One of my favorite episodes in "Hey Arnold" is "The Pigeon Man" episode. In this episode Arnold meets a man named Vincent who only companions are pigeons. If you look deeper into the episode, you'll see a man who lost faith in humanity, only to have it restored by Arnold. Here is the best scene from this tear jerker episode, and gives a great lesson that there is still good out there.


The Pigeon Man Speech


"Hey Arnold" is the not the only show that pulled out messages, or had tear jerkers episodes. A really good Spiderman TAS episode was "Make A Wish" when Spiderman meets his biggest fan. The episodes plays out like any normal Spiderman TAS episode. Peter has his issues, he is thinking of quitting Spiderman, he's lost and doesn't know what to do. Until Madame Web and a little girl name Tania remind him why he is important, why he is needed. The ending has a nice tear jerker when you find out about Tania. Check the clip below.


Spidey Biggest Fan


Finally another example of moral lessons is from a cartoon that you least expect to tackle the issue of death. The "Rugrats" Mother's Day Special did just that. Chuckie finally finds out the truth about his mother and the way it was written and handle, is still one of the most tear jerker moments I've seen in a cartoon. Check out the clip below.


Chuckie This Is Your Mommy


I can sit here and name tons and tons of shows, that taught lessons, had dark tones but still came off as something watchable for kids. The 90's cartoons wasn't afraid to touch on topics like death, drugs, being bullied and more. These cartoons were bold, brave and had enough to balance story without coming off as preachy.


2. Originality And Moments That Live Forever-  Cartoon of the 90's was so diverse, so original you would watch the shows for hours. From Animanics, Dexter's Laboratory , Doug, Rocko's Modern Life, Batman TAS, X-Men TAS and many more. These cartoons were fresh, unique and stood out from each other. Doug was nothing like Rocko's Modern Life, Batman TAS was nothing like X-Men's TAS. Each cartoon was original in animation, story, theme, design and it was a pure enjoyable. 90's cartoons have moments that I will never forget. Doug first date with Patti when they nearly kiss, but didn't. Darkseid killing Dan Turpin and Superman going ballistic. There are tons of moments that will forever stay in your hearts. Cartoons of the 90's are classics and still stand the test of time and are relevant and needed more than ever these days.


3. The Theme Songs - Who can forget the catchy theme songs of the 90's cartoons. The 90's cartoons theme songs were some of the best. How can you not love a theme that goes "We're tiny, we're toony, we're all a bit a little looney." If you grew up watching these toons there is at least one theme that is always in your brain. I' am guilty of humming or randomly singing the Animanics theme or Rocko's Modern Life from time to time. The theme songs were catchy and got you excited for the show, not many theme songs do that today. Not only was the theme songs great, but the background music was as well. Some of the best background music came from Batman TAS. Composer Shirley Walker put her all into the series leaving us with some of the best OST from an animation. She treated the cartoon like it was a motion picture and that made Batman TAS really stand out above the rest.


I could go on and on about why the 90's era of cartoons ruled. However why don't you just watch some for yourself  and see the magic, the glory and the lessons. You'll see why so many kids of the 80's and 90's outcry about today's cartoon. The cartoons are not the same they seem to lack the magic, the moral lesson, the originality that made the 90's cartoons so special. I love the 90's cartoons and will always.