Tuesday, August 15, 2006

The Guiltiest of Pleasures

Bless me Sisters. Betina here.

It has been several hours since my last confession.

I-- mother of two grown sons, grandmother of 2 3/4 adorable children, a mature woman of fifumphy-- have developed a major penguin fetish. I am utterly obsessed with the four quasi-military/secret-agentish/navy-sealesque penguins from the movie "Madagascar."
By way of explanation and at the risk of dragging the rest of you into my private hell, I am herewith publishing my favorite photo of them. Well, second favorite. There's that one where they're digging their way out of the zoo with plastic spoons. . . all dirty and bad-boy to the core. . .
There is something about these flightless, half-psychotic avians that really yanks my chain. I find myself sneaking midnight viewings of the movie in which I fast forward through every scene they're not in. I'm constantly quoting them and chuckle to myself in public places, thinking of their antics. When faced with a decision-- I've taken to asking myself WWTPD-- What Would The Penguins Do? When I saw the movie, sitting there in the dark, watching them in action, I laughed until the people around me threatened to have me thrown out. When Skipper said "Smile and wave boys, smile and wave," I waved back.

Now I've got a full-blown monkey-- er-- penguin on my back. I've downloaded screensavers, bought posters, and am considering joining their fanlist and official Fan Club online. I've memorized their names and specialties:
Skipper - the pudgy one who barks orders with the Charlton Heston delivery
Kowalski - the tallest and most physically adept. . . great with martial arts and explosives
Private - the one with the slightly googly eyes. . . who is always getting slapped by Skipper
Rico - who may or may not be of Asian origin, doesn't speak much English, and is very adept with a sushi knife

The very thought of them puts a smile on my face. Just look at those beaks. Those shifty little eyes. Those pudgy little feet. . .

Madagascar 2 is due out in November of 2008-- I'm dying here! But there may be some relief in store for me. . . there's a Christmas special short coming out this year. . . in which they may once again utter the signature line that never fails to send me into peals of laughter:

"Cute and cuddly boys, cute and cuddly."


So, are you ready to confess to your own secret little cartoon obsession?

What animated character fascinates you to no end? Any you've taken to quoting or immitating voice-wise? (Don't tell me you've never "What's up Doc?"ed) After two gin-and-tonics I do a passable Elmer Fudd. I've been known to attempt others, but not without liquid encouragement or the sleep deprivation that accompanies deadline dementia.

Hey, a lot of us carry around a cartoon mascot in our heads.

9 comments:

Helen Brenna said...

I confess. Sponge Bob Squarepants.

I'm ready! I'm ready!

Oh, nevermind. You have to watch it, to get it. And Betina, I've never seen Madagascar. You've got me wanting to run out and rent it!

Have you seen March of the Penguins?

Unknown said...

Helen, I was all set to see it and something came up. I'm going to buy the video someday and have a real penguin-fest.

Sponge Bob, eh? LOL. I would have pegged you for a ScoobyDoo fan!

Hey, we could start a whole new branch of psychology-- analyzing people by their cartoon mascots/alter-egos!

Helen Brenna said...

Roh, Roh! (That's Scooby-talk for Oh, Oh!)

Michele Hauf said...

Haven't seen Madagascar, but did see the penguin short before some film last year. Love the penguins!

I think my cartoon favorite is Pinky and the Brain. Whenever my hubby or The Boy makes the mistake of asking what I did that day, I'll always answer, "Same thing I do everyday." Pause for effect. "Try to take over the world." It's a Brain thing. Gotta love those mice.

And oh, the Fairly OddParents do it for me, too. :-)

M

Unknown said...

Michele, great minds think a like! I am a big Pinky and the Brain fan, too. Riven irrepairably when the Animaniacs was discontinued. And back in the mid and later 90's quotes of "Try to take over the world" were flying in our household, too. While at the RWA conference in Hawaii, we found Pinky and the Brain teeshirts with an outline for world domination on the pockets. They were great. I should ask my guys if they still have them. (laughing hysterically) (NOT!)

Unknown said...

LOL, Anne! I don't think I can see that.

Kathleen Eagle said...

Okay, I lived Mickey Mouse comic books--especially when they ran the serial mysteries--but not the cartoons because I didn't like his voice. Loved Bugs Bunny--still do. Speedy Gonzales was cool. My brother was a Heckle and Jekyl fan, and I hated them. I loved the Disney cartoon movies like Dumbo, and so do the granddaughters. Anything with a princess.

Monsters Inc. I love those 2 guys.

Unknown said...

Kathy--
What was it about Heckle and Jeckel? My sister and I hated them, too. One of my favorites as a kid was Daffy Duck-- he was so irascible and such a loser. The way cooler "Bugs" always got it over on him.

Oh, and I just saw the animated flick "Barnyard" and was so disturbed by the udders on the male cows. . . talk about gender confusion! Didn't anybody writing a flick about a barnyard with a "bull" (steer?) as hero bother to actually LOOK at a cow? Ugh. they had the "love interest" a "girl cow" be preggers. . . and the only way to tell she was different from him was the bow on her horns! Don't know how he could tell she was expecting-- I sure couldn't! What a bizarre movie! Anybody else see it? Talk about bending gender. . .

Unknown said...

Hey, Laurie! Great to see you here! I LOVED Bullwinkle. I used to practice the way he talked. . . was probably my first attempt at mimicking voices. My sister used to tickle me until I did an imitation so she could laugh.

And was there ever another woman besides Olive Oyl that made the rest of us look so marvelous by comparison?