when I was a little kiddo, there was little I loved more than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I had the lunchbox with matching thermos, the velcro sneakers, and dressed up as April for three Halloweens in a row. Recently, my lovely roommate informed me that my beloved turtles would soon be returning to the silver screen. I excitedly googled their impending feature film, expecting to see Donatello, Michalangelo, Rafael, and Leonardo as I fondly recall them, with goofy characteristics, sturdy statures, and lime green skin color. Much to my dismay however, I find the upcoming turtles quite changed. Gone are the lovable, somewhat cuddly guys of yesteryear. Their replacements are far too skinny...And apparently on steroids...(http://www.imagi.com.hk/movie/web/tmntm.htm)

What I find most troubling about this "mutation" of the classic turtle's physiques into hyper perfected and svelte renditions of their former selves, is that it is not the only example of such distortion within the world of cartoons.
Classics such as "Looney Tunes" and "Scooby Doo Where are You?" were once found on several channels on any given morning, primed and ready to keep company millions of pj clad kiddos munching their morning bowls of lucky charms. What could be better than a rousing episode of "Hair Raising Hare"...or "What a Knight for a Fright"...especially when paired with a scrumptiously sugary bowl of milk and cereal...

Yet today such is not available. You can have your lucky charms, but not the charming comedic characters that served as the perfect compliments to such sugary goodness. In place of our beloved Looney Tunes is now a show called "Loonatics", a half hour cartoon in which shadows of Daffy and Bug's former selves save the world with precision, intensity, and edgy spandex superhero outfits (http://kidswb.warnerbros.com/web/stuff/stuff_display.jsp?id=LON)

Heaven forbid one should want to see an original episode of Scooby Doo Where are You...or even a Scooby Movie. Today we can find only "What's New Scooby Doo", a catchier version of the sheepish and endearing great dane's adventures.

Call me old fashioned, but I miss my mornings spent snuggled in and happily building what are now my childhood memories. Saturday mornings on the couch, completely absorbed in episodes perfected by Tex Avery or Chuck Jones yielded hours of laughter and love...time well spent. What a shame. And what a statement about our culture...always needing to be bigger, better, more streamlined, more masculinized. Indeed, a crying shame.

http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/web/toons/toons_classics.jsp?check=1&id=toons_classics_bunkerhillbunny&adsite=site%3Dlooneytunes.com