Shows that looked better (or worse) in the intro

N

nbawizards0

New member
I was going back-to-back on cartoon intros for Danny Phantom, Teenage Robot, and I ended up coming around the Beetlejuice cartoon intro.

I forgot all about how the intro looked and re-watched and thought it was amazing, the maniacal laughter at the beginning, the animation even looked really good. If it wasn't based on an already exsisting content, I would have thought that this was a brilliant premise and created by a guy who really loved cartoons.

But I remember the actual show itself: Bad puns, minor toilet/bodily humor (Mostly about odors and feet), the overall writing was just pretty boring. Although I do have to praise the music and animation on the show, for a Saturday morning cartoon, it did very well in those areas (well, in comparison to most other Saturday cartoons)

Any shows that you thought looked amazing, or awful, based on the opening intro only to be proven wrong by the actual content?
 
I'd go with Chalkzone on this. It has a catchy theme, and the clips look interesting, but I find myself not caring for the show in general. Really don't find myself caring for most of the characters on the show, or the plot. Shame, considering that the Chalk world was pretty unique.
 
I remember Oggie and the Cockroaches looked quite fun in the intro, but the actual show was pretty forgettable. If I wanted to watch Tom and Jerry, I'd watch that instead of a lighter clone.

Same thing for the Terrible Thunderlizards. That one came around the time weekday afternoons were swarming with TMNT rip offs, so it was probably just a cheesy cash in, although the actual show had a lot less action than the opening implied.
 
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice. Just watch the intro and the first episode, and you'll understand why the former's much better than the latter.

...And also a bit of a tease.
 
Anyone who waxes nostalgic about the animation quality in Nighthood (aka Arsene Lupin) clearly only remembers the amazing opening animation. The actual series didn't look a third as good.
 
X-Men

One minute, you were watching action and Good-for-Akom Animation...

Then the show itself came on, and BAM! Bad animation and little action happened.

Transformers and Thundercats were probably other triumphant examples of this back in the 80's.
 
I don't like The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, but that intro is a work of art. Makes me wonder just how awesome a future Maxwell Atoms cartoon could be without obnoxious kids or excessive toilet humor.
 
The intro and theme for "Mike, Lu & Og" is has crappier animation than the show itself. The intro has more shading and detail than the show's flat, basic colors.

When "Rugrats" began, the intro and show had pretty choppy animation, but as the show's quality and style improved, the intro and show contrasted in animation (until the new, digitally-colored opening in 2001).

"Animaniacs" is a possible exception, as the show's intro and theme live up to the premise: it's "totally insane-y".
 
I have to go with El Tigre.

The intro: fast-paced and fun to watch with a killer theme song. The actual show: boring, preachy, barely any action, but I guess the music was still as good.
 
Even as a kid, I always noticed how the opening credits for every show featured much smoother and more consistent animation than was featured in the actual episodes. :sad:
 
The Wacky World of Tex Avery is one that instantly sprang to mind, if only because it was reviewed on the main site a few weeks back. Pure curiousity begged me to check the show out, and while the actual animation is by no means anything to write how about, it's not close to what I'd consider terrible, and dare I say, even had it's moments. The same can't said for it's opening sequence which, to be blunt, is just a messy abomination. Compared to the actual content of the show itself, it's very misleading.

Also, the Super Mario World intro. They must've blown the entire budget on that thing, because the less said about the actual cartoon, the better.
 
The Japanese are masters at creating great openings for crappy animated shows. A lot of the 80s animated shows that were produced in conjunction with some of the Japanese studios featured some pretty spiffy openings. G.I. Joe in particular had one opening that featured an awe-inspiring sequence of animated "camera" movement which probably was a pain to animate. Of course, no such virtuouso sequences ever appear in the TV show.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Hey Arnold. The animation in the intro is much better than the show itself (well at least better than the animation of the first couple of seasons).
 
I was never a fan of the series, but one thing speaks loudly for it: Its one of the cartoon series that has a bunch of seasons to it and easily extended beyond a normal 13, 24, 32 or 52 episode run. At 109 with 4 seasons, it certainly had a successful run.

I think I'll have to toss one of the most obvious ones on the pot I can and thats Pole Position. I think one could say it goes down as having one of the coolest intros ever. The series sadly never amounted to anything even then I'll stand up for it and say that it was much, much better then I think people will give it credit for. It just lacked funding. I do suppose the fact that it managed to stay on the air for 3 years (off and on) with a mere 13 episodes DOES say something >.<

Silverhawks easily fits into this category too.
 
Bravestarr. While i actually like the show, its nowhere near as "epic" as the intro makes it out to be (aside from the movie which does live up to the intro).
 
Back
Top