Merry Christmas

Found this clip featuring The Ronettes singing "Frosty the Snoman." Having never seen a snowman up close (although, I think we did try to make one that year we went to Shaver Lake, but failed miserably), I find the song strange and un-Christmasy. But, any excuse to play The Ronettes is a good one.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. If you find yourself bored today, I suggest checking out the Christmas specials on Adult Swim. I recommend "A Very Venture Christmas," which is only ten minutes and has a hysterical, and totally unexpected, ending. If you crave depressing Christmas specials, both Moral Orel episodes should satisfy that urge.

Little Miss Fell Asleep on the Couch

I have this habit of falling asleep in front of the TV. And when I fall asleep in front of the TV, it's during the commercial break in the midst of an Adult Swim show that I have been waiting up all night too watch. Take last night for example, when I fell asleep during Blood Plus and managed to miss the ending.

Having fallen asleep during Adult Swim, I, naturally, woke up to the sound of children's television. Today, it was a show called The Mr. Men Show.

Mr. Men? I used to read those books when I was a kid. And wasn't there a show about them that was on cable when I was maybe in kindergarten or first grade? I had to investigate.

In fact, I learned that there have been four series based on the Mr. Men and Little Miss books, the most recent being the one on Cartoon Network. The new version of the show is kind of cool with music that sounds as thought it came from a 1960s cartoon.

I found this clip from Mr. Men and Little Miss that dates back to 1983. The closing theme strikes me as oddly familiar. Did it run on Nickelodeon as well? I can't remember. It's a pretty funny clip, though. Reminds me of Keeping up Appearances.

Welcome to Marzipan City

Chowder promo

Chowder is the latest children-friendly offering on the Cartoon Network. Since its debut in November, the show has become a hit with more than just young children. Yes, I confess, if I'm awake, I do watch it on Saturday mornings.

Chowder is a chef's apprentice living in Marzipan City, which is essentially a parallel world where everything revolves around food. He's a lot like that kid on Two and a Half Men, often getting into trouble and always eating. Mung Daal and Truffles, the couple for whom he apprentices, seem to always be frustrated with him.

The animation in Chowder is hypnotic. Like Gankutsuou, the animation team uses a technique where the patterns move across the costumes. The show also adds in bits of stop animation and puppetry.

Creator C.H. Greenblatt (who has also worked on SpongeBob Squarepants and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy) has a really cool blog where he discusses show news and fan art. Also, there is a wealth of show information on Wikipedia.

Chowder runs frequently, so check Cartoon Network for air times.