classic animation Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

Speed Racer: Our First Taste of Anime Before We Knew the Word

Speed Racer was one of those cartoons that felt different the second it came on. The theme song hit, the Mach 5 took off, and suddenly we were watching cliffs, crashes, secret buttons, masked racers, gangsters, and more danger than most Saturday morning cartoons dared to show.

The show began in Japan as Mach GoGoGo in 1967 before becoming Speed Racer for American audiences. Most of us didn’t know we were watching anime back then. We just knew it didn’t feel like Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, or the usual superhero cartoons.

Compared to American cartoons of the time, Speed Racer was faster, stranger, and more dramatic. There were revenge plots, family secrets, real danger, and Racer X lurking around like something out of a spy movie. The animation could be limited, but the style made up for it with speed lines, dramatic close-ups, wild crashes, and that nonstop rapid-fire dialogue.

And of course, there was the Mach 5. What kid didn’t want a car with buttons that could jump, saw through trees, go underwater, and somehow survive every impossible race?

Looking back, Speed Racer was a lot of kids’ first introduction to anime, even if we didn’t have that word yet. It was loud, weird, exciting, and unforgettable.

Johnny Quest

Back in the mid-60s when Hanna-Barbera put this out, it wasn’t your typical cartoon. This felt different. It wasn’t just silly characters running around… this felt like a full-on adventure series. With the coolest sounding sound effects and an intro that was over a minute and thirty seconds, you knew you were in for something different!

You had Jonny, his dad Dr. Quest, Race Bannon—who every kid thought was the coolest guy alive—and then Hadji. And let’s be honest… Hadji was the one that really stuck with you. The mystery, the magic, that calm voice… he brought something totally different to the show.

What I remember most is how serious it felt. There were real dangers, real villains, and some episodes honestly felt a little intense for a cartoon back then. You didn’t just watch it… you kind of leaned in. It felt like you were going on the adventure with them.

And the music… that opening theme? You hear that today and it still pulls you right back. That’s how you know it stuck.

This wasn’t background TV. This was the kind of show where if it came on, you stopped what you were doing. No rewind, no streaming… you missed it, you missed it.

So I’m curious on this one… were you watching Jonny Quest when it aired, or did you catch it later in reruns? And where do you rank it compared to the other cartoons from that era?

Because for me… this one felt a step above.

Go-Go-Gophers… Another Theme To Get Stuck In Your Head!

To this day, over 50 years later, most of us can still remember that chorus… “Go-Go Gophers!” You don’t even have to try. It just shows up. I’ll be rushing around doing something and boom… there it is playing in my head like it never left.

And listening to it now, with adult ears? I’ve gotta be honest… I’m kind of amazed this actually aired even back then. But that was the times. Different world, different standards. Still, no question about it… it sticks with you.

This was one of the most requested clips this week, so I figured I’d hold onto it for Saturday morning… feels like the right place for it.