Il segreto dei Seleniti

When I first saw this cartoon, way back in 1983 (I was an adult already), I thought it was a few decades old even though it was actually recently made. It's made in a way that seemed very different than most American cartoons, very hokey and a lot of it seemed unmotivated (like, why do the characters vibrate and twist?). But something kept me from switching it off. And the more I watched it, the more my brain melted, with various lobes turning off until I almost *liked * it. Now, more than 25 years later, I can't tear my eyes away from it, and I even forced my (grown) daughter to watch it so that she, too, could be subtly altered by it (I think it knocks your IQ down for good).

But something always bothered me about the catchy theme song, and now it has come to me: its refrain is *awfully* reminiscent of the refrain to Helen Reddy's 1975 "Emotion".

This is one of the most awesome and weird cartoons I've ever seen, and am really happy I stumbled across it. It is honestly one of my most favorite things now (of course I like really cheesy and weird things, so if you like normal, this is not for you). It's like Puff the Magic Dragon, on crack! It's just so offbeat and strange, with gorgeous colors and a bizarre world. Very unique from it's strange wobbly people, to it's odd moon creatures, to it's awesome spastic and spontaneous man dancing. I also love the slight twist in storyline at the end, which I won't give away. Great music theme song too. I haven't watched any other Jean Image animation yet (though I will track them down), but there's no way they could be as gorgeous a gem as this one. The storyline is that astronomer Sirius sends the famous Baron Munchausen and his commerades up to the moon to discover the secret world of the Selenites, and they discover a bizarre, beautiful and dangerous world, and the Slelenites are being threatened by a mysterious race, and a comical battle ensues. It's made for Children, like the Puff the Magic Dragon tales, but much more bizarre and pleasing for adults, and much more beautiful colors and animation. Really weird.