When I was growing up ...about grade school age in the early 1960's, I watched cartoons in the mornings before school as did most of my friends. Most of what I watched were Walt Disney cartoon reruns, but at that age I didn't care how old they were, I just watched then for the characters that I knew. I especially enjoyed the cartoons that involved automobiles or motorcycles as most of you did who are reading this now. Life was pretty simple in those days.
For those of us in the older generation, we often say we have little or no use for computers and most of the time I would agree. However there is some good in everything and everyone as my grandmother used to say...and so it is with computers, you just have to find something they are good for. One thing I have discovered... is that with a computer you have the opportunity to relive parts of your childhood over again. On You Tube recently, I found one of the old Walt Disney cartoons from my childhood that was one of my all time favorites. I had not seen it in fifty years, but as soon as I saw the opening scene it was as if I just watched it yesterday.
After watching it a couple of times to refresh my memory, I suddenly realized I was so engrossed in the story that I hadn't paid attention to the background details. Funny how your adult mind requires you to pay attention to the details while your adolescent mind allows you to watch the cartoon for what it is... simple entertainment.
Click the Arrow Above To Watch The Cartoon
Released in 1935 the background details, including the layout of the gas station, the tools they used, the outside lift were all accurate for the era. When I watched it again with my adult mind in charge, I saw the tow truck parked in the shed in the background along with another car and a stack of new tires on display next to a shed, all things I had never seen before.
It was like the test they gave you in college where they showed you a five minute movie of a bank robbery then asked questions about the color of the getaway car, license tag number, how many people were involved, which one drove the getaway car. Everybody in class watched the same movie but everybody saw something different.
I have come to appreciate this cartoon more as an adult than I did when I was younger in part because my adult mind appreciates the detail of the engine parts, the tools, the signs on display, and the way cars were worked on in that era are all accurately displayed. My adult mind also appreciates all of the time and trouble the animators went to to include the correct details. They had to know how those things worked in order to be able to illustrate them accurately. Even the things in the background that most people do not see if they are the least bit involved in the storyline are well detailed. The could have just as easily drawn a shed with nothing in it and nobody would have known the difference. It is that extra effort that makes this cartoon great. Maybe the animators were car guys...? Have a look and see for yourself.
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