CARTOONS FOR MACABRE CHILDREN

By: Casandra Vicario

On the occasion of April 30th, at “Macabro”, we set out to remember some cartoons based on horror characters, monsters, and frights that entertained us when we were children while we waited to reach the age required to get into the movies and watch the films we like now.

Does anyone remember a cartoon called “Aaahh!!! Real Monsters”? It's about a monster school attended by the protagonists Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm with the intention of scaring humans; as homework, they would be sent out to terrorize people, and those adventures were what made up the stories we enjoyed over the course of 4 seasons (52 episodes).

Now, as a fun fact, we can mention that 2 episodes were banned in the United States, and even though there was a lot of marketing around the series at the time and a movie was being planned, it was ultimately canceled because the story was considered “too dark” for children.

Also, in the original language, Tim Curry, our beloved clown Pennywise (IT - 1990), lent his voice to one of the monsters named “Zimbo”.

Now, one of my personal favorites, “Beetlejuice”, unlike the Tim Burton film, here Lydia and the bio-exorcist are great friends and embark on great adventures in every episode.

In 1990, the cartoon won an Emmy for “best children's program,” an award it had to share with… well… “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”.

The series aired in the United States and Canada between 1989 and 1991, ran for 4 seasons, and not every episode features Lydia, plus, some episodes feature famous characters from horror films such as Vincent Price and Edgar Allan Poe.

Some lucky fans who bought the 20th anniversary edition of the film starring Michael Keaton also got to take home 3 episodes of the cartoon: “A-Ha!”, “Skeletons in the Closet”, and “Spooky-Boo-Tique”.

Switching channels, now we come across the cartoon version of one of our favorite families, “The Addams Family”, although its run in children's cartoons was brief — only 2 seasons with a total of 21 episodes. (And in 1973, another cartoon version was also made.)

For the curious, John Astin — who played “Gomez” in the live-action version — lent his voice to his animated character, and in Mexico, the great Jorge Arvizu, “El Tata”, gave voice to this same character.

We can't forget “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”, which first aired in 1969, and to this day we can still enjoy the adventures of this Great Dane and his friends, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma, who travel aboard the “Mystery Machine” solving mysteries involving ghosts and supernatural goings-on.

Between 2004 and 2005, this cartoon held the Guinness World Record for the animated series with the most episodes, and a crossover was recently made between Scooby-Doo and the series “Supernatural”, have you seen it?

Its most famous monsters are: the ghost clown, the faceless zombie, the sea demon, the ghost of the abandoned airport, Dr. Coffin, etc.

And of course, with so many years on the air and such a large number of episodes, merchandise was bound to follow, and there were games, action figures, coloring books, movies, plush toys, etc.

Now let's move on to 1994, the year “Gargoyles”, first aired. It ran for 3 seasons and 78 episodes — do you remember it?

Created by Frank Paur and Greg Weisman, it tells the story of some gargoyles (Goliath, Broadway, Brooklyn, and Lexington mainly) who come to life at night. At some point in the story, they end up moving to none other than New York City, and that's where the real adventures begin.

As a fun fact, we can mention that the cartoon contains a great deal of information related to magic and sorcery, and it also has many references to Shakespeare, since the villain was named “Macbeth”, and there were 3 gargoyles named Othello, Desdemona, and Iago, and yes, there's a storyline between them.

The cartoon was so popular and beloved among children in the '90s that a movie was made, and on top of that, fans even created their own season of the animated series. As if that weren't enough, they held an annual convention, “fans only”, which came to an end in 2009.

Of British origin, we can't leave out of this article “Count Duckula”, an animated series that ran for 4 seasons and 65 episodes, created by Cosgrove Hall and Dan Whitworth in 1988, though it didn't reach screens in our country until 1990.

The story is simple: he's a blood-sucking vampire count who is periodically reborn through a resurrection ritual, but an error in the ritual's ingredients swaps the blood for ketchup, giving rise to a “vegetarian vampire.”

Count Duckula is accompanied by his servant “Igor” and his “Nanny”, as well as a castle capable of traveling to any time and place.

And to finish, what do you say we change the channel and go watch “Courage the Cowardly Dog” created by John R. Dilworth, which aired between 1999 and 2002 and ran for 4 seasons and 52 episodes.

This is the story of a dog and his elderly owners named Muriel and Eustace, who have many adventures while their pet tries to save them from paranormal and monstrous situations, even though all of it terrifies him.

Courage's first appearance was in the 1996 animated short “The Chicken from Outer Space”, followed by “The Revenge of the Chicken from Outer Space”, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

What's most interesting about this cartoon is the large number of theories that have sprung up around it — none confirmed or denied by its creator — but they're truly interesting and chilling.

Some say that everything that happens in the cartoon takes place in purgatory; others suggest the animation is nothing more than the dog's restless imagination, since he's terribly bored because his owners never take him for walks. But the most interesting theory is the one that talks about the similarities with the life of serial killer Ed Gein.

Yes, you read that right — this theory is quite popular online, and it compares the character of Eustace to Ed Gein, who not only look alike physically but also have very similar houses and trucks, and are even alike in temperament.

On the other hand, Muriel bears a strong resemblance to Bernice Worden, Gein's last victim. And if that weren't interesting and terrifying enough, there's also a strong resemblance between the mother of Ed Gein and that of Eustace in the cartoon.

Below, we show some of the images circulating online about this topic: