I am unashamedly, unapologetically in love with this delightfully silly cartoon offering from the Hanna-Barbera studio.
There have been many cartoons out there that have succeeded in gathering audiences, either large or cult, in spite of flimsy TV animation, dumb plots and ridiculous premises, but "The Galaxy Goof-Ups" is one of those examples of a cartoon that succeeds in the hearts of its admirers like myself BECAUSE it's ridiculous. For long-time Galaxy fans of its small handful of episodes, which we all have videotaped and treasure like Richie Rich's vault, it's sort of the cartoon equivalent of "The Brady Bunch" in the sense that you don't watch it for excellent writing and the like--you watch it because you loved it as a child and then grew up adoring its nostalga value.
It's very much a product of it's time--namely, just after the first "Star Wars" movie took the world by storm in the middle of the "Saturday Night Fever" explosion--I was ten when this show first made its appearance, and I adored it to death. And as an adult, I still do despite its obvious stupidity (which is part of the charm I see in it). It's one of those "so bad and '70s-kitchy it's cool" deals.
The basic premise goes like this: the ever-popular Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound, joined by two new characters named ScareBear and Quack-Up Duck (one of the weirder animated ducks I've ever encountered), are an intergalactic quartet of Galaxy Guardians (a sort of police force) bossed from headquaters by a Captain Snerdly. They are *supposed* to be stopping various crimes, but they look for *any* excuse that they can find to get away from their work and goof off at their favourite leisure, which is--get this--the local interplanetary disco(!!!).
The cartoon has quite a few of the problems that tended to plague Saturday Morning cartoons, but who cares? It's so much fun in its nostalgia and artwork that it's enjoyable. And really, who CARES if the writing was run-of-the-mill? We who love the show all know the *REAL* reason to watch this cartoon... *THE ULTRAGROOVY DISCO SCENES!*
Using some of the wildest psychedelic visuals and some of the most imaginative touches I've ever seen in a HB kid offering (including airbrush and watercolour work), these sequences alone are worth viewing if you yourself are the sort to get teary-eyed memories of loving disco when you were a child. When I was young, I would be the first up every morning just to watch this show alone, and because the sun wasn't even up yet and all the lights were out these fantastic (and often amusingly strange) visuals would light up the entire otherwise darkened living room like a hyperactive Christmas tree, throwing all those wild shifting patterns all over the walls. To this day I've still never bothered to go into a *real* disco, but I know that this cartoon resembles my own childhood ideas of what the ideal one would be like far better than any real one ever could.
My own nephews adore this cartoon for the same reason and find it every bit as entertaining as I did at their age! Lately I've also been using of my videotaped episodes to show them the effects of viewing these sequences with the volume turned down while playing a Bee Gees album at the same time on my boom box.
Only one thing I should mention just to be safe: if you or your children have a history of seizures, then these passages might cause problems due to their flashy, pulsing nature.
One of the most delightful of all "'70s trash cartoons" I've ever seen, and I still enjoy it every bit as much after all these years.
So to all those who are familiar with my OWN disco-themed animal cartoons and wonder "Where the heck did Craig get THAT from??!"... well, now you all know a part of what's to blame. ;)
