Mark Goldberg's Top Ten Toon List

In no particular order:

• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  One of the most groundbreaking pieces of American animation, plus it has one of my favorite screen characters, Jessica Rabbit.
  
  
• Spider Man (TV Series from the late 1960s, early 1970s)
  And no, I do not mean Spider Man and his Amazing friends or that other series starring only Spider Man that had similar animation. The series to which I am referring I saw in syndication growing up and have not seen it since. It had some really psychedelic scenes, unusual villains and a cool soundtrack. Anybody else remember it?
  
  
• Hobbit/Fellowship of the Ring/Return of the King
  OK, so I am cheating just a little bit, as Fellowship is a Ralph Bakshi production, and Hobbit and RoT are from Rankin-Bass. Different though they are, I love them all. Bakshi did an amazing job in some of his scenes, especially with the Nazgul, and some of the songs in both Hobbit and RoT really capture the essence of Tolkein's work. The songs are kinda cheesy, but they work for me.
  
  
• The Little Mermaid
  The best soundtrack Disney has ever produced, with one of the most enjoyable villains in Ursula, the Sea Witch.
  
  
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  I have seen this over 25 times, and I still end up singing "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" at the top of my lungs every time. Drives my wife nuts, she won't watch it with me any more.
  
  
• Star Blazers
  One of my favorite memories growing up was rushing home to watch this show. One of the few cartoons that did not talk down to children that I can remember from my youth.
  
  
• Akira
  Absolutely amazing, one of the high points in Japanese animation. The ending is a little strange, but one the whole an excellent story, and mind-blowing animation.
  
  
• It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
  I give this the nod over the Christmas special because Linus is featured more prominently here.
  
  
• The Simpsons
  No other TV show has dealt with more issues, from Labor Relations, to Consumerism, to Religion better than the Simpsons. Hands down the best TV show of the past decade.
  
  
• Pinky & the Brain
  Once the theme song gets inside my head, it takes me days to get it out again.