First up is 1966's "The Incredible Hulk," created by the folks at Grantray Animation, who are more well-known for the Spider-Man cartoon with the jazzy theme song.
These short adventures of the green goliath are faithful to the source material.
In fact, when I used to watch this after school, it appeared to me that they had cut out parts of the old comic books and moved across the screen.
The animation wasn't quite as advanced as even the limited animation seen in Spider-Man.
The thing that always struck me odd was the theme song. Sure, the theme songs for this mid-60s batch of Marvel cartoons was usually the biggest draw, but the tone of this particular ditty just didn't sound right.
Call me nuts, but if I'm writing a song about a scary green guy who could pound me and my house into oblivion, my song might sound a little intimidating.
But Doctor Banner's alter ego gets a snazzy whimsical piece that not only explains the Hulk's back story, but also (if I'm hearing the lyrics right - this took some research on the Web) attempts to rhyme "gamma rays" with "glamorous," a feat not matched until Steve Miller rhymed "hassle" with "El Paso" in "Take the Money and Run."
The first half of these I figured out for myself. The last half and the mystery line in the first half I cribbed from various posts on newsgroups and boards.
All rights to these still belong to the appropriate parties, and I'm mentioning them here only for the purposes of review.
"Doc Bruce Banner, belted by gamma rays, Turns into the Hulk, ain't he all glamorous (!) Wreckin' the town with the power of a bull, Ain't the monster proud, who is that lovable That ever-lovin' Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!"
This last refrain is sung by the Hulk himself, which is pretty jarring, considering the cartoony sounding singing that preceded it.
Still, for all you Hulk fans (myself included), it's a nice way to see some classic Hulk stories.
Captain America was my other favorite of these Marvel cartoons. Again, the big draw is the catchy theme song.
"When Captain America throws his mighty shield…" This whole song makes Cap sound pretty impressive, but only when he throws his mighty shield.
Interestingly, I've noticed something a little weird. The Captain America theme song is pretty much permanently etched in my memory.
When I watched the "South Park" movie, I noticed that one of the songs was eerily reminiscent of "Cap." Specifically, the "Mmmkay" song. If you’ve heard it, think about it – they do sound a little similar at first.
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