Summer vacation is here again – but not for me. Having left behind my school days long ago, it would seem odd if I were to celebrate the long days of no-school-all-fun summer. Thankfully, I have not outgrown the thrill that this time of the year brings every time. <br/><br/>Summer is associated with long-long afternoons at home in days past, which used to open up the possibility of innumerable things to do. Then, watching movies (hired ones, as the appetite of us siblings outran the meager supply of the movie library at home) was the prime attraction - and animation and cartoons were top priority.<br/><br/>I have the same craze for animated movies as the youngest sibling at home – though I am nearly a decade older than the oldest of them. With my experience in this line – movie watching – I have a tremendous influence on their choices, which is quite an ego massage for me. <br/><br/>Having practically lived off, for more than a decade, on hilarious performances of animals and people of these movies, I feel qualified to share some of my favourites.<br/><br/>In my childhood, we only had Doordarshan, and Sundays saw us glued to the TV. The weekends were dedicated to children then, with all-time favorites like ‘He-man’, ‘Spiderman’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ among the most popular of the lot. <br/><br/>Memories have blurred a little with time, but I clearly remember the thrill of waiting for Sundays, and the extraordinary mellow sunlight of the mornings that used to filter through my bedroom windows. ‘He-man’ has been my oldest craze, though then my infantile mind could understand nothing more than the fact that He-man was a good man! From the series, today I can only recall the ‘I have the po-o-o-we-e-e-r’ cry of He-man before every episode and the blinding flash of his sword – that was some might! <br/><br/>‘Spiderman’ must have been a later offering of Doordarshan, for memories are clearer of it. Or it might just have been the effect of a one-time but clearly remembered dream in which Spiderman saved my life by letting me ride his shoulders and have a peep into the villains’ room, who were conniving for my death! I still find the faceless entity immensely and mysteriously impressive.<br/><br/>By the time ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was introduced, I had memorized all the jingles and had started enjoying the cartoons with some understanding. <i>Tap-tap topi-topi</i> of ‘Alice’ used to be a regular pre-sleep anthem for me and my brother. We used to sing alternating lines of this absurd and meaningless jingle penned by Gulzar at the top of our lungs before going to bed every night. We did not know who Gulzar was then, but would have passed as die-hard fans as our favourite songs were ‘<i>Guchhey hain bhai guchhey hain kahaniyon ke guchhey hain, kahani le lo-o-o</i>’ from Guchhey, ‘<i>Jungle-jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai’</i> from ‘Mowgli’, ‘<i>Zindagi toofani hai, ye hai Duckburg’</i> from ‘Duck Tales’ and ‘<i>Arabian Nights, Arab ka yeh desh’</i> from ‘Aladdin’.<br/><br/>‘Aladdin’, has remained my all time favourite. If the other cartoons had the protagonists as my favorites, from ‘Aladdin’ the complete star cast continues to rule my heart. Till date, no other character has been able to replace the gang!<br/><br/>Though I did not get to watch ‘Tom and Jerry’ in my early years, when I discovered a whole set of volumes of a complete collection of ‘Tom and Jerry’ cartoons one lucky summer day in the storeroom, I was hooked from day one. ‘Tom and Jerry’ occupy an almost canonical presence in the genre of animated cartoon world. There are all the basics, there is all that it takes to make a treat of a cartoon, and nothing that it does not. From music, speed, background score to storyline, it has it all. If you are a kid and don’t know Tom and Jerry, I would shriek - shame on you! If you are an adult and haven’t yet introduced your kid to the pair, you are missing out on an integral step in nurturing your baby’s life. Believe me, ‘Tom and Jerry’ are <b>that</b> great!<br/><br/>If you liked these little treats, do look up my next blog for update on full-throttle animation thrill from the best movies in the genre!<br/><br/><b>PS</b>: For those like me who found the music of ‘Duck Tales’ fantastic, but found the dubbed Hindi version a bit absurd, here is the original lyrics:<br/><br/>‘<i>Life is like a hurricane here in Duckburg <br/>Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes - it's a duck blur <br/>You might solve a mystery or rewrite history <br/><br/>Duck Tales, Oo-oo <br/>Tales of derring-do, bad and good luck tales, oo-oo <br/><br/>D-d-d-danger, watch behind you - there's a stranger out to find you <br/>What to do? Just grab onto some Duck Tales, oo-oo! <br/>Not pony tails or cotton tails but Duck Tales, oo-oo! <br/><br/>When it seems they're headed for the final curtain <<br/>Bold deduction never fails, that's for certain <br/>The worst of messes become successes! <br/><br/>Duck Tales, Oo-oo <br/>Tales of derring-do, bad and good luck tales, oo-oo <br/>Not pony tails or cotton tails but Duck Tales, oo-oo!</i>’<br/><br/><b>Listen to it, too. <A HREF=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Sb0hGUNIQ "_blank" class="kicker" ><FONT COLOR="cc0000"><b> Click here! </b></FONT></A>
