If you tuned into episode #72 of the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast, then you know how much me and my sister fondly remembered cartoons from our childhood, specifically from the 1980s and early 1990s. On that episode, we talked about Camp Candy, Wish Kid, the Popples, and more!
On this week's episode though, we take an even deeper dive and go farther back in time to discuss more of the forgotten cartoons from yesterday. We take a look at- Shirtales, Snorks, The Wuzzles, Pound Puppies, and Kissyfur.
Here are a few things you may not know or remember about these unique cartoons:
1. The Snorks were created to be sort of an off-shoot of the Smurfs. However, due to copyright laws this was not possible so instead the Snorks became their own entity and a competitor of sorts to the Smurfs!
2. The Wuzzles were only in production for 1 year as one of the voice actors from the show, Bill Scott died during the time the show was on the air. Scott also voiced Bullwinkle on the classic cartoon, Rocky and Bullwinkle!
3. Shirtales started out as characters on Hallmark cards. They proved to be so popular that they got their own show!
4. The Wuzzles and the Gummi Bears were both created by Disney but they aired on two different networks, at the same time! Which one do you think was more popular? If you guessed Gummi Bears, you would be correct!
5. The Pound Puppies were created by a Ford employee and father, Michael Bowling. He wanted to create a toy that children would want to carry around with them everywhere. He developed the concept of a dog and worked tirelessly to find someone who would invest in his idea. It took some time but eventually, a Canadian toy company believed in his idea and the Pound Puppies were born! You can read more about Michael Bowling in a fascinating article here.
6. Kissyfur had probably the most bizarre premise out of all of the shows we talked about on today's show. If you want to hear a parody of how the idea came about (performed by yours truly) check out the episode itself or this video/audio clip.
7. There were two villains in Kissyfur named Jolene and Floyd. Jolene wore a red-haired wig and often used it to smack Floyd with when she was irritated.
8. Beehunnie was a white rabbit that was also a character in Kissyfur. She was voiced by Russi Taylor who was the official voice of Minnie Mouse from the 1980s until 2019 when she passed away.
9. The Shirtales could be found on a pretty extensive amount of merchandise during the 1980s in addition to the cards they appeared on originally.
10. The Wuzzles also appeared on a ton of merchandise during the mid-1980s despite only airing for one year. I was the proud owner of a Wuzzles sleeping bag, I was the envy of all of the other kids at sleepovers!
Check out the latest episode of the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast to learn more about your favorite forgotten cartoons of the 1980s. You can find it here.
