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India Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Cartoon anthems we grew up on: A nostalgic spin this world music day
This World Music Day, we're rewinding to the real soundtracks of our childhood. Before playlists and algorithm-generated mood mixes, we had something better — cartoon theme songs and show intros that became part of the zeitgeist. These themes announced joy, chaos, and unforgettable stories in under a minute. For every '90s kid, those tunes weren't just background music. They were the opening credits to a simpler, sillier school or on Sunday mornings, we didn't check the time — we just heard that one iconic tune and knew what was on. This World Music Day, we're tuning into those memory-loaded melodies that still live in our heads... rent-free.'SCOOBY-DOO KAHAN HO TUM?' – SCOOBY-DOO (CARTOON NETWORK, HINDI)'Scooby-Doo, tum kahan ho?' The Hindi version of Cartoon Network's OG mystery gang theme made ghost-chasing cool and singable. Whether you were into Velma's brains or Shaggy's snacks, this jingle—with its rhyming lyrics and groovy beat—instantly pulled you into the gang's next spooky (but not scary) adventure. The line 'Chhupo mat bhai, Scooby-Doo tum kahan ho?' still hits like a flashlight in a dark hallway. advertisement 'JUNGLE JUNGLE BAAT CHALI HAI' – THE JUNGLE BOOK (DOORDARSHAN)Nothing screams Sunday morning more than this absolute classic. Written by Gulzar and composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, the theme song of The Jungle Book wasn't just a tune — it was a ritual. Every kid who sang 'jungle jungle baat chali hai' at full volume was part of the Mowgli fandom. It united generations with its warmth, rhythm, and that feeling of running barefoot through the forest with Baloo and Bagheera. 'ZINDAGI TOOFANI HAI' – DUCKTALES (DISNEY CHANNEL, HINDI)Scrooge McDuck diving into coins? Yes. But Scrooge McDuck with Shaan's voice singing 'zindagi toofani hai'? Iconic. This Hindi theme song was packed with rhythm, adventure, and enough pep to make treasure-hunting feel like your everyday to-do list. We didn't just watch DuckTales — we jammed to it. 'ZABAAN SAMBHALKE' – ZABAAN SAMBHALKE (DD METRO)India's take on Mind Your Language came with its catchy chaos in musical form. The title track was playful, punny, and set the perfect tone for the following cultural mix-up comedy. If you grew up on DD Metro, this song is somewhere between your brain's nostalgia and your tongue's muscle memory. 'DEKH BHAI DEKH' – DEKH BHAI DEKH (DOORDARSHAN)Before Netflix sitcoms and YouTube skits, there was the Diwan family. And their jazzy, toe-tapping theme song was an instant classic. 'Dekh bhai dekh' wasn't just a title — it was an invitation. To laugh, relate, and get wrapped up in the warmth of a family that was just as dramatic as ours. 'FAMILY NO. 1' – FAMILY NO. 1 (SONY TV)A late 90s sitcom that perfectly captured the chaos of two single-parent families sharing one home — and a theme song that felt like a mini-musical. Quirky and upbeat, this track opened every episode with exactly the kind of comic energy the show delivered. advertisement'MERA NAAM HI SHINCHAN HAI' – SHINCHAN (HUNGAMA TV)Sure, it came in the early 2000s — but every 90s kid knows this song by heart. Shinchan's Hindi theme was equally annoying, adorable, and catchy AF. The way he introduced himself in song, with all his naughty antics on display, made this one a full-blown personality anthem. The second you heard 'Mera naam hi Shinchan hai...' — chaos was guaranteed. 'BOB THE BUILDER KARKE DIKHAYENGE' – BOB THE BUILDERAn anthem of optimism! Bob's theme wasn't just catchy — it was motivational. That upbeat chant, first heard on Cartoon Network and later on POGO, made you believe you could fix anything — homework, broken toys, life itself. Fans of the show can still catch the original song and the fun of the series on the CBeebies YouTube channel. advertisementNOSTALGIA THAT STILL HITS THE RIGHT NOTEThese weren't just theme songs. They were memory markers of snack breaks, noisy cousins, and sitting way too close to the TV. On World Music Day, while the world celebrates timeless classics and trending sounds, let's not forget the cartoon tunes that needed no playlists — just a channel switch and your full go on, hum one. You still know every beat.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Local changemakers bring big-screen joy to Alexandra
For a few hours on Friday evening, the township of Alexandra shed its usual shadows of hardship, poverty, and crime, and came alive with community spirit. Just near the intersection of Thoko Ngoma and Far Eastbank streets, children gathered for a movie night hosted by The Eye Pictures 1920, in partnership with the Stepping Tennis Foundation. Read more: The enduring legacy of Kings Cinema The event saw little ones treated to the hilarity of Despicable Me 4, an experience curated with care. 'I played it because it's funny. I have watched the movie, it made me laugh, and I wished to enjoy it with others,' said Siyabonga 'Makwera' Twala, of The Eye Pictures 1920. It was the fourth screening in this initiative by The Eye Pictures 1920, but the first one in collaboration with the Stepping Tennis Foundation. Twala's inspiration traces back to a cherished memory from 2010, when he and his friends would watch cartoons together on a big screen at a park in Eastbank. 'Coming back from school we would go there and watch Cartoon Network. We first saw Phineas and Ferb there.' It was this nostalgia that sparked his mission to recreate those moments, offering the children of Alexandra their own version of that joy. Stepping Tennis member Sibusiso 'Scuba Ray' Shongwe resonated with the vision. 'Siyabonga wanted to give back to the less privileged. It is not everyone who knows this cinema setting. So, my friend wanted to bring it to the township.' Shongwe, who is a long-time supporter of the initiative, added that since he works with children, he also wanted to give them something magical. In a township often overlooked because of its challenges, a projector, and a bit of heart from two local changemakers, turned an ordinary street into a place of unity and laughter. Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration! Have a story idea? We'd love to hear from you – join our WhatsApp group and share your thoughts! At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
BFDI: Online series continues to soar
While many children's series end up licensed to streaming platforms or cable channels, BFDI never left YouTube. It began with a maths assignment and a folded piece of printer paper with cartoons on it. This was how twin brothers Michael and Cary Huang from California set off on the path to creating Battle for Dream Island (BFDI). It's a YouTube animated series that has kept millions of kids, teenagers and even some grownups tapping to their screens for over a decade. It was an unlikely beginning. 'My brother Cary had to create a fake catalogue for an algebra class in 2009,' said Michael Huang. 'Inside it was a comic about how rock, paper and scissors, the hand gesture game, could be improved. He replaced them with water, sponge and fire.' The idea simmered, and eventually, characters became a cast. The cast became a story. And the story became a show. 'We were travelling when we decided to animate some of these comics,' Michael explained. 'I was really getting into digital animation at the time. It made sense to combine that with Cary's characters. That's how BFDI was born.' Unlikely beginnings In the early days, Cary was also drawing his own version of a Cartoon Network show called Total Drama Island on folded paper booklets. He called it Total Fiery Island. It was, in a way, pastimes that foreshadowed it all. Michael read film at the University of California Berkeley. Cary graduated from Stanford with a degree in computer science. The two share creative DNA as much as they do actual DNA. Watch BDFI's debut episode As the show debuted and episodes rolled out, audiences liked the silliness of BFDI, the unpredictability, and the unapologetic embrace of the somewhat bizarre. It was a game show parody, but also something a bit more whacky and smarter. An animated contest where characters like Leafy and Firey jostled for popularity, but where the humour teetered on slapstick of the Charlie Chaplin variety. A willingness to be totally goofy 'Cary is the heart of BFDI,' said Michael. 'He's always had this willingness to be completely goofy, and it stuck,' he shared. 'Even as we got older, through high school and college, we kept making episodes. That same tone became part of the show's identity. It's also been tricky to bring in additional writers because of that. But recently, we've hired two new writers who now also direct. They really understand it. One of the two even moved to Los Angeles to work with us.' Also Read: Mr Men Box Set's A Winner While many children's series end up licensed to streaming platforms or cable channels, BFDI never left YouTube. The twins embraced online distribution instead, long before media companies were betting on creators who recorded from their bedrooms. 'Some people compare us to shows like Cocomelon or Blippi, but I'd say our closest counterpart is creator channel LankyBox,' Michael said. The two channels recently agreed to work together and react, online, to one another's content. 'There's this whole ecosystem of creators doing things outside the traditional model. And it's working.' Old school animation appeal BFDI's animation is almost old-school in its appeal. There are no glossy Pixar finishes or ultra-detailed Disney characters here. The style is simple, colourful, and often deliberately rough around the edges. Michael isn't convinced that realism has anything to do with what makes animation good. 'I remember watching that Lion King remake a few years ago,' he said. 'It looked real but didn't feel like anything. What we've seen in the past few years, especially with Spider-Verse, is that people actually want more stylised, more imaginative animation. Something different.' And BFDI has become more than just a show. Fans are building games on Roblox and Fortnite based on the series. Some are even livestreaming play-throughs and remixing characters. 'There's a whole world of fan-made stuff on Roblox,' said Michael. 'That connection with the audience is something we haven't explored fully, but we want to.' For the first ten years, YouTube ad revenue funded the brothers. That changed in 2019. 'We started exploring merchandising. Plush toys, silicon lamps, the works,' Michael said. 'We didn't go through the agencies most creators use. We found our own manufacturers, did fulfilment ourselves. Also, we didn't even know people outsourced that kind of thing.' Now add live events to the mix, and BFDI is now running a tight and succesful media operation out of Los Angeles, with a full team and a growing audience of millions. From pause, to play again A pause caused by the brothers' respective studies is now back in play before expansion, Michael said, and there's some unfinished business. 'A lot of fans remind us that we haven't finished Season Two or Season Three,' he said. 'We made one episode of Season Three and then skipped to Four. Right now, we just want to finish what we started. No large-scale musicals, no other major spin-offs, not yet. Just wrapping up the story properly.' Once that's done, the sky's the limit for this popular show that's embedded itself into global popular culture. Now Read: Joburg's Forgotten Movie Empire
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Steven Universe' spin-off 'Lars of the Stars' is on its way — here's everything we know
The world of Steven Universe is making another triumphant return with a new series! Steven Universe was a game-changer for LGBTQ+ representation in animation during its 2013-2019 run. It gave us queer-coded aliens, gender-nonconforming characters, and canon sapphic relationships on Cartoon Network. Even after the show ended, it lived on through a 2019 TV movie and a follow-up epilogue series, Steven Universe Future. And now, we're making way for Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars. This latest follow-up series was announced as being in development during the Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network showcase at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this week. Here's what we know so far. — (@) The new series will follow Lars Barriga, the once-sullen donut shop teen turned pink-hued space outlaw. After being resurrected by Steven's healing powers in the original series, Lars took to the stars with a crew of misfit Gems known as the Off Colors. In the new series, the eternal teenager and his crew 'smuggle contraband, evade the authorities, and uncover the darkest secrets of the fallen Gem Empire.' — (@) Lars and his Off Color Gems are the only confirmed characters in the upcoming series, which is still in development. Any fans itching to know whether Steven, the Gems from the original series, or any other fan favorite characters will make an appearance will just have to keep their fingers crossed for the time being. — (@) Rebecca Sugar, who created Steven Universe, is back on board for Lars of the Stars. She and husband/long-time collaborator Ian Jones-Quartey have taken the helm for this new series — something Jones-Quartey was thrilled to confirm via social media following the announcement. — (@) As Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars is still in the early stages of development, we don't have a release date as of yet. But if and when it does make its way to audiences, it's expected to premiere on Prime Video.
Geek Tyrant
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Genndy Tartakovsky Developing Wild High Octane Animated Series HEIST SAFARI For Adult Swim — GeekTyrant
Genndy Tartakovsky, the creative mind behind Dexter's Laboratory , Samurai Jack , and Primal is charging back onto the Adult Swim lineup with a new animated series called Heist Safari , and it sounds like pure, beautiful chaos. The show is described as an 'animated high octane action comedy,' and it tells the story of three frog brothers who rob a bank. 'Seems simple enough, but the execution is special as !#&$??!!!!,' That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the tone of this show. It sounds exactly the kind of unhinged, full-throttle animation Tartakovsky thrives in. He always manages to hit that perfect sweet spot between absurdity and genius. Heist Safari was actuslly first pitched live on stage a year ago at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to Adult Swim President Michael Ouweleen. Now, one year later, it's officially in the works because apparently when Genndy throws an idea out into the wild, the universe listens. Tartakovsky is currently promoting Fixed , his raunchy new Netflix movie made under his Sony Animation deal, and he also packed the house at a Cartoon Network Studios panel celebrating 25 years of boundary-pushing animation. Reflecting on his career and creative momentum, Tartakovsky said, 'It feels like when I was younger, I feel like that energy makes me still want to do new things.' That energy? It's clearly alive and well. If Heist Safari is anywhere near as insane and inspired as it sounds, we're in for something wild. Bring on the frog bandits. Source: Deadline
