In case Harmon asks me one day what his favorite cartoons were when he was little, I've got it covered. I’ve been meaning to document this, via blog, so here goes!Before I start, though, one quick side note. Back when Kevin and I were kids, cartoons were only on Saturday mornings, not every damn day! And, we walked five miles - each way - to school, uphill, in 18 inches of snow ...
ANYWAY, right now, Harmon’s cartoon viewing falls into three tiers:
Tier One – Must-see toddler TV
Tier Two – Maintains a general interest
Tier Three – Likes it for a bit and then it quickly becomes background noise
Tier One contains Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He can’t live without these and, thankfully, Kevin and I aren't annoyed by either of them so it all works out nicely. And, with Handy Manny, there’s the added bonus of Harmon picking up some Spanish, which we think is so important these days.
In Tier Two are Little Einsteins, My Friends Tigger & Pooh and the Backyardigans. He loves to name all the Little Einstein characters with our favorite being, as he says, Pency (it’s really Quincy). He likes the songs on Tigger & Pooh along with all the complimentary characters. On Monday afternoons, Kevin lets him watch the Backyardigans and he’s all excited for half of it and then … it’s on to cars AND the tube!
Tier Three includes Blues Clues, Wonder Pets and Yo Gabba Gabba. He likes each of these for about two minutes and then he finds something better to do. He will point out the paw-print clues and sing the Wonder Pets theme song and he loves some of the songs – like There’s a Party in my Tummy and Hold Still Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle – from Yo Gabba Gabba. But, if these cartoons suddenly were cancelled, I don’t think he would care at all.
Every so often, if Harmon gets up WAY earlier than usual (anytime before 7 a.m.), one of us will have to find Curious George or Clifford the Big Red Dog on Detroit Public TV. This is our emergency plan so we can get ready for work. He’s familiar with these cartoons but they don’t rock his world.
Two shows he doesn’t like, and frankly neither do we, are the Wiggles and the Doodlebops. Both shows freak the hell out of all of us. I don’t know if it’s grown-ass people dressing up or what but we’re not fans at all. We much prefer animation but, if grown-ass people in costumes ARE necessary, we prefer they be in FULL costumes instead of fruity outfits, wigs and face paint. Call us crazy!
