There was a time long before Netflix and endless scrolling when our entire world paused at the sound of a cartoon theme song. It was a time when our evenings felt incomplete without the excitement of “ what’s today’s episode about!” It was a time when we used to run from the playground, all dusty and breathless, just so we could catch our favourite characters on TV.
Back then, cartoons weren’t just shows; they were our superheroes. They were our teachers and our secret friends. They shaped the way we laughed, we imagined.
The golden simplicity :
The beauty of those cartoons lay in their simplicity. We did not need any HD resolutions or perfect animation. Even a half working tv antenna and a flickering screen brought a smile, a true happiness. That familiar intro tune was more than enough to light up the whole mood.
Shows like Tom and Jerry, Pokémon, Powerpuff Girls, Doremon, Ben 10, Power rangers etc were not just entertainment, they were our whole little world.
Characters who felt like family:
Every cartoon character had a unique personality. We all quietly took something from them. Let it be from Tom’s stubbornness or Jerry’s wittiness, Doremon’s kindness, Ben’s courage – they were lessons for shaping our lives.
They taught us to hope, to fight. They made us believe that superheroes don’t always need to wear capes. They can be tiny blue robots or a little kid with an Alien watch!
It’s quite funny how, even as adults, when life gets somewhat overwhelming, we still run back to these comfort zones. They bring out the little kid who is tucked inside of us.
The magic of waiting :
The wait for a new episode was part of the fun. Especially Friday mornings and evenings felt like festivals. School holidays were full of adventures. And if we missed an episode, well that came as a tragedy of its own.
It was fun waiting for our favourite cartoon episodes with our siblings or cousins. It felt messy, loud, imperfect yet so full of heart.
Arguing about which character was the strongest or which cartoon is the best was such a fun activity.
When cartoons became our superheroes :
What made these cartoons our superheroes was not their superpowers. It was their timing. They came to us at a moment when our worlds were too small. They came to us and filled our little minds with colors, emotions, and imagination.
They saved us from boredom, loneliness, and childhood worries we didn’t know how to express. Actually, they made us feel seen.
Today, if we think about our childhood cartoon shows or if we want to review them, we would rate them based on the joy they provided, and to be honest, they deserve a full 10/10. Not because they were perfect, but because they stayed with us. Before Netflix, before streaming and endless scrolling, we had magic. The kind that shaped our childhood: simple, colorful, and heartwarming.
In many ways, we are who we are because of them.
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Writer,
Ferdous Jahan
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE