We Miss The 80's

The Smurfs Movie And First Look At Gargamel

2010-05-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is Hank Azaria as Gargamel. Do you still have faith in this movie? I sure as hell don't.
In another attempt to destroy what is left of our childhood memories, Hollywood thought it to be a good idea to create a quick cash cow in a live action/CGI movie version of The Smurfs. Why can't people draw cartoons anymore? If my kids ever want to watch The Smurfs, I will buy the original cartoon on dvd instead of introduce them to the characters by seeing this monstrosity. Smurf me! Hollywood can suck my Smurf! For those who don't know who will be filling the rest of the roles, check out this list.

Smurf Voices
Jonathan Winters as the voice of Papa Smurf

Katy Perry as the voice of Smurfette

Alan Cumming as the voice of Gutsy Smurf

George Lopez as the voice of Grouchy Smurf

Gary Basaraba as the voice of Hefty Smurf

Anton Yelchin as the voice of Clumsy Smurf

Fred Armisen as the voice of Brainy Smurf

John Oliver as the voice of Vanity Smurf

Paul Reubens as the voice of Jokey Smurf

Kenan Thompson as the voice of Greedy Smurf
B.J. Novak as the voice of Baker Smurf

Jeff Foxworthy as the voice of Handy Smurf

Wolfgang Puck as the voice of Chef Smurf

Live Action Characters
Jayma Mays as the pregnant wife of Neil Patrick Harris' character.

Neil Patrick Harris as the husband of Jayma Mays' character.

Hank Azaria as Gargamel, the arch-nemesis of the Smurfs who plots to use the Smurfs as part of a spell which would help him produce gold.

Sofia Vergara as Odile, an executive at a French cosmetics company who is the boss of Neil Patrick Harris' character.

Chicken Tonight

2010-05-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

I know that even if you do not remember the product, the commercial was stuck in your head for years. Thats right, I feel like Chicken Tonight. My Mom would buy this every couple of weeks and I actually liked the stuff. If memory serves me right, the Spanish flavor was the one cooked the most. And just to give you all nightmares again, I have included the commercial below.

Pup n Taco- History Of A Fast Food Tradition

2010-04-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

One of the best fast food places ever and one I wish was still around is Pup n Taco.
I remember my Mom would take me to one up the street from our house almost everyday after I got out of school so I could get one of their rightous hot dogs. I wanted to take the time to remember them, share some photos, and a little on their history.

Pup 'N' Taco was a privately-owned chain of fast-food restaurants in Southern California, with its headquarters based in Long Beach, California. The business was begun by Russell Wendell in 1956 as a drive-in restaurant that served tacos and hot dogs. At the time Russell owned a chain of successful doughnut stores in Los Angeles - Big DoNut - which featured gigantic doughnuts atop a drive-in bakery. The first officially branded Pup 'N' Taco was opened in Pasadena, California in 1965.

The menu consisted of tacos, tostadas, pastrami sandwiches, burgers, several varieties of hot dog (the "pup" in Pup 'N' Taco) and french fries. Beverages included R.C. Cola, root beer and a variety of flavored slushes.

Ninety-nine stores were bought by Taco Bell in 1984, effectively ending the history of the chain. However, three operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico were not included in the deal and two still exist today as Pop 'N' Taco, the same as in Los Angeles.

The one I went to when I was little still stands as a Taco Beel to this day, just a shell of it's former glory of the Pup n Taco. Hopefully soon, I can make it over to the Pop n Taco. From what I have heard it is just as good. One of only 2 original stores still standing. In case you are wandering, they had to change the name from Pup to Pop because Taco Bell owns all the rights to the name Pup n Taco.

Food From The Crypt- Oatmeal Swirlers

2010-04-21T01:35:00.000-07:00

The more things I think of that I used to eat when I was little, the more I realize that not many people remember the same items. Take for instance Oatmeal Swirlers.
I feel like I am the only person that ate this stuff. It was made by General Mills and was available from the mid to late 80's in the cereal aisle. Every package of oatmeal came with a flavored jelly packet, and aside from flavoring the oatmeal, you were supposed to be able to make cool designs drawing with the packet, using the oatmeal as a canvas. Of course the jelly never spread like in the commercials so I just mixed it all in and ate away. I remember the flavors being strawberry, maple, chocolate, and apple cinnamon. Strawberry was always my favorite, to me the other flavors tasted funky. I have included some pictures and the commercial below, maybe it will help jog some memories. Who knows, I might not have been the only one that liked Oatmeal Swirlers.

Cartoon Cavalcade Episode 1

2010-04-20T23:39:00.001-07:00

We Miss The 80's brings you our new webshow, Cartoon Cavalcade. Rick Axtothefacenheimer hosts beloved 80's cartoons and commercials and takes you on a trip down memory lane. You never know what you might see.

My Buddy

2010-04-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

One of the 80's most memorable toys, partly because of the catchy commercial, was My Buddy.
My Buddy was a doll that was marketed to little boys in an attempt to capitalize on an untapped market during the Cabbage Patch craze. The doll was introduced in 1985, made by the Hasbro company. During the Hasbro years, the doll had removable clothing so you could change his outfit. In the early 90's, Playskool took over the property and had the clothes sewn onto the doll, making it impossible to wash his clothes, let alone change them. I was around 5 years old when My Buddy first came out and can remember asking for one for three straight Christmas's. I never did get one when I was younger, I think partly due to the fact that my Dad didn't want me having a doll. I was a manly little boy though, I had my first tool kit when I was 4 and was climbing up on and learning how to repair roofs with my Dad when I was 6. He taught me everything I know about construction, I can build a house from the ground up by myself. My middle son wants a boy Cabbage Patch so I plan on getting him one. I eventually got a My Buddy from an antique store a couple of years ago, that made me feel old. I tried to give him to my son but he was scared to death of it. I wander if it has anything to do with the fact that My Buddy strongly resembles a certain killer doll from a movie in the late 80's... I would like to know if any of my readers had a My Buddy and what their memories of him were.

Do You Remember? USA Cartoon Express

2010-04-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

I, like many other children of the 80's, loved watching cartoons after school and on Saturday mornings. One of my favorite channels to catch Saturday morning cartoons was the USA Network with The Cartoon Express.
The initial lineup was comprised mostly from the Hanna-Barbera library. Well-known properties like Scooby-Doo, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Space Ghost, The Smurfs, and Jonny Quest, sharing space with lesser-known properties like Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Inch High, Private Eye, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, and countless others, as well as numerous spinoffs of The Flintstones such as The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show. By the end of the 1980s, a more diverse lineup of cartoons aired on the Cartoon Express, including G.I. Joe, Transformers, The Real Ghostbusters, Jem, Robotech, and Alvin and the Chipmunks. The narrator was Keith Olbermann, who around that time was also doing sports on New York's old WBBR radio. In 1990, Turner Broadcasting purchased Hanna-Barbera, and launched Cartoon Network, two years later, thus taking a chunk of Cartoon Express programming with it. The only Hanna-Barbera shows on the Cartoon Express were The Smurfs which didn't leave the Express until 1994, and Scooby Doo, which didn't leave the Express until 1995. In 1994, Cartoon Express switched tracks, started airing on the morning, introduced numerous original series: Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Problem Child (based on the film franchise), didn't catch on with viewers. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became the new marquee series on the block. USA later briefly acquired the broadcast rights to Terrytoons shorts like Deputy Dawg and Mighty Mouse, and DC Comics related cartoons such as Superfriends. In 1996, USA Network revamped the final two hours of Cartoon Express as USA Action Extreme Team with the launch of shows based on the Street Fighter II, and Mortal Kombat video game franchises and Savage Dragon comic book franchise. After the original series and TMNT left the air, the block was turned into a morning-only all-action block, with programs like Mighty Max, Sailor Moon, Street Sharks, and Gargoyles as the primary shows. In 1998, the Cartoon Express pulled into its last stop, when USA Networks had ended animation blocks on most of its outlets, including the Cartoon Quest and also Syfy's The Animation Station, ending franchises that had been a staple of the network for 14 years. Below is the list of cartoons that ran on The Cartoon Express:

Hanna-Barbera

The Biskitts

Buford and the Galloping Ghost

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids

Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels

Challenge of the GoBots

Clue Club

Devlin

Dynomutt, Dog Wonder

The Flintstones

The Flintstone Comedy Hour

Goober and the Ghost Chasers

The Great Grape Ape Show

Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!

Hong Kong Phooey

Huckleberry Hound and Friends

Inch High, Private Eye

Jabberjaw

Jana of the Jungle

Laff-A-Lympics

Magilla Gorilla/Quick Draw McGraw/Wally Gator/Loopy De Loop

The New Fred and Barney Show

Pac-Man

Paw Paws

The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show

The Roman Holidays

Scooby-Doo and its various spin-offs

Shirt Tales

The Skatebirds

The Smurfs

Snorks

Space Ghost and Dino Boy (minus the Dino Boy segments)

Space Stars (minus the Astro and the Space Mutts segments)

Speed Buggy

Valley of the Dinosaurs

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch

Yogi's Gang

Yogi's Space Race

Young Samson & Goliath

Other series

Hudson the Polar Bear, the conductor and unofficial host of USA Cartoon Express.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

Battle of the Planets

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs

The Chipmunks Go to the Movies

C.O.P.S.

Dennis the Menace

Denver the Last Dinosaur

Dinosaucers

Dragon's Lair

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

G.I. Joe

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors

Jem

Mister T

The Real Ghostbusters

She-Ra: Princess of Power

Sonic the Hedgehog

The Superman Batman Adventures (featuring various Filmation-produced shorts, plus various SuperFriends shorts)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Turbo Teen

Voltron

The Woody Woodpecker Show

USA Cartoon Express original series

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Problem Child

Shorts

In a Minute

Monster Bash

USA Network Kids Club

Whats For Breakfast?? Donkey Kong Jr Cereal

2010-04-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Every week, I am going to feature 80's breakfast foods, most of which are not around anymore. The first thing we are going to look at was one of the coolest cereals at the time, Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr cereal was first released in 1983 from the Ralston company to capitalize on the popularity of the arcade game of the same name. It had Trix-like berry balls with bananas and was actually one of the sweeter cereals. There were a couple of different box promotions, the main one being baseball cards. However, they did do a Pez promotion as well. Sending box tops and money for shipping would get you an exclusive Donkey Kong Jr Pez dispenser and candy. Even though the dispenser was the same monkey with hat Pez had produced for years, they gave it a "J" sticker on the hat to make it Donkey Kong Jr. The dispenser itself has to be mint in package to be worth any real money, and usually fetches around $200.00. The box is what is worth the big money, normally going at auction for $800.00.

I have always loved the artwork for this cereal, not much creativity goes into boxes anymore. And with the parental crackdown on cereal companies to produce products with less sugar and more fiber and whole grains, the cereal from our youth is all but gone. Check out this OLD commercial for DKJ cereal below.