Today’s been chock full of my childhood goodness. I woke up reading news about Jem & the Holograms out on DVD. Obviously not here in this country but the mere mention of the cartoon made me mentally sing their opening song in my head. (Jem is truly outrageous… Ohh… Jem!) All I remembered now is their rival band and perennial arch nemesis, the Misfits. It slipped my mind that she had an alter ego ala Miley Cyrus, named Jerrica. The story of the pop star having a double identity might’ve remotely paved the way for Hannah Montana, except for the magical star earrings and holographic transformations, and that Jem sings way, way better than the autotuning teen star. I’m gonna test what else I can recall. Without googling and off the top of my head, Jem’s love interest was a guy named with an R. Rio? Roy?**
Coincidentally, Google went along with my childhood cartoons theme for the day and featured Art Clokey, the creator of Gumby. I only have vague memories of it but I distinctly remember the Blockheads. The rest of them, the woolly mammoth friend, and all the names of the other odd clay shapes, only came to me after I youtubed the old videos. Bless these folks for uploading the past in case anybody feels like surrendering to a wax nostalgic moment. I ended up with that silly, reminiscing smile that yearns of the carefree childhood days. I hate talking about it that way because I feel so old, which I’m really not in the grander scheme of things. Either that or I’m in denial.
To cap off this day of reverting to my childhood past, I watched the latest addition to our (original) Disney DVD collection, The Lion King. First few seconds into the Circle of Life playing against the panoramic backdrop of the African savannah with the animals cavorting in their natural habitat, I fell in sentimental awe. It takes me back to the nearest cinema in our area then, Quad 4, back it when it was still called Quad and to the countless replays I watched over and over on cable that made me remember every song and dialogue by heart even up to now. Out of sheer guess, I recognized Matthew Broderick’s voice but now I’m wondering whatever happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Its main theme song, Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” is one of the few songs I can half-play on the piano (half because I’ve been only taught the melody part of it.) I still remember asking my parents what vagabond meant but had to look it up the dictionary anyway.
Haku-nahh Mah-tata! - Pumba
I miss watching these 2D animations with the innocence of a kid. Now I’m nitpicking almost by instinct, wondering how Simba’s so gullible and how come there were never really any other male lions around. I reacted the same way with the weirdness of Gumby’s world; those kiddie creatures of unknown origins and species, almost as if they’re the clay predecessors of the disturbing yet adorable mascots on Yo Gabba Gabba. It sucks watching these things now with the jaded eyes of an adult. They seem to be a lot better when they’re viewed with the wide-eyed fascination of a child. It took shows and movies I haven’t seen in years to remind me to tap into my inner child and pull out every optimism I have left.
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**I gave in and wikied it. I was right. It was Rio. Score one for my brain.
