Welcome to the Iconic Part 2: The Cartoon Icons of my Childhood

When I asked on Twitter what people found to be "iconic", the one response I got was about classic cartoons. I then did a Google search for "iconic cartoons" and every image that popped up I recognized. From Homer Simpson and SpongeBob SquarePants to Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Scooby Doo, there was a wide variety of cartoon characters that seemed to fit Google's definition of iconic.

My childhood afternoons in a nut shell...

But I guess that's what it means for something to be "iconic". It's an image that represents something and I can easily picture an image of Scooby or Bugs representing some of my favorite cartoons as a kid. In fact, I bet if you showed any child in the United States a picture of Scooby, Mickey, or Bugs, they'd be able to identify them. These characters seem timeless and appeal to a wide variety of people.

Heck, every few years there seems to be a new incarnation of these iconic characters. I think I've seen at least 6 different versions of Scooby Doo (including A Pup Named Scooby Doo and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo) and Disney has been making new shorts with Mickey for a few years now.

Which leads me to a new question. How do we know when a character from our childhood becomes iconic?

Is it when we start seeing reboots being made (such as the new Ducktales or Powerpuff Girls)? Is it when they jump from the small screen and get their own movie made (like the three Rugrats or Transformer movies)? Is it just because they still have a huge fan base that won't go away even after nearly a decade being off the air (the original Teen Titans show - I don't know what this "Go!" nonsense is). Or is it when the children who grew up with these characters have become adults with children themselves and want to share their happy memories with their kids?

It's probably a combination of all these things. I know I wouldn't have any idea who Rocky and Bullwinkle are if my mom hadn't loved the show so much. I wouldn't have found a love of mysteries without my dad introducing me to Scooby Doo.

We're starting to see a resurgence of cartoons from the 1980s and 1990s being remade or having a reboot. A lot of people my age are really excited to see these characters come back and some of the new shows are really good, maybe even better than the original (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is so much better than the 80s version and it doesn't feel like they are just trying to sell toys). Though not all of the reboots have been successful, it's still so much fun to see fans react to hearing that their favorite shows might get a modern update.

I wonder what cartoons will be considered iconic in the future. Will we see a Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls reboot in 20 years? Will we ever get a live action Steven Universe movie?

Iconic cartoons often fill us with nostalgia. They bring back fond memories of happy, carefree times. And we want to share those happy feelings with those we are closest to.

What are some of your iconic childhood cartoon characters? Let me know in the comments or on my Facebook.

Until next week.

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