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Long Lost 90s: Really Wild Animals
Welcome to the first installment of Long Lost 90s. Where I look at the hidden Gems and things that aren't really mentioned anymore from the 90's. This time around I'm looking at Really Wild Animals. Don't remember what that is? Well you're in luck so time to take the plunge cause this is Long Lost 90's with ThatDudeintheHoodie.
First a little history. Really Wild Animals was an educational kids show made by National Geographic that was twenty six episodes long and aired from October 24th 1993 and ended March 2nd 1998. It's host is voiced by Dudley Moore and later voiced by Billy West. The series was meant to teach kids about the many types of animals in the world. The episodes ran about forty five minutes for the first few episodes and soon it was cut down to twenty five minute episodes later on.
Now that we got a bit of history out of the way how about we get to know our host and the formula the show went by.
Our host for this show is well the earth. Ok it's an animation of the earth and his name is Spin. He usually has a lot of scene gags and wise cracks. The gags can get a bit cheesy and slightly annoying sometimes. Other then Spin there is one other thing makes this show from becoming just a regular documentary and it's what makes this show stay with me the longest. That would be the songs in the show.
For those that know about this show you can't deny the songs in this are good. This did what Bill Nye the Science Guy couldn't do which was make educational songs that are good. Even if there is a bad song in the episode it is ether catchy or out done by other songs that are good. I mentioned in my Bill Nye vs Beakman's World 90's vs is that Bill Nye's songs while are parodies of "Current songs" the issue was that most of them didn't work with the subject. This one however makes it's own songs that are ether loosely on the subject or directly about it. Take a listen to the song below and you'll see why I feel these songs are far better then those on Bill Nye.
The animation is basic nothing fancy. However midway through season one Spin got a little bit of an animation change with brighter colors and a even simpler design. Though it doesn't need to be cause the animation isn't the star of the show it's the animals. The whole show feels both childish due to the animation and the snide jokes and gags and the songs. But at the same time it's not really talking down to kids. That is what I feel is the shows staying power. You can add jokes, gags, songs and cartoons to any documentary and call it a kids show. However it takes a select few to keep it entertaining and interesting. Though that doesn't mean it's perfect.
There are some problems with this show. I already mentioned the jokes and gags. Though this shows biggest issue is that it is extremely dated that might not sound like it's that bad the show was made 20 years ago and science changes practically everyday. But the thing is that this is an educational show about animals. At best this is very basic science. For basic science this isn't a bad show to present to kids. However any science beyond that this isn't the best thing to show.
As a whole I'd say this is worth watching. It's good for the music and for the learning experience and some of the jokes will get you to chuckle a little. If you want to see good animation this isn't the best place to see it unless you like simple animation that flows and isn't around for a while. But like I said the science is outdated by twenty years unless it's basic science and most of the puns and jokes usually come out as cheesy and a little annoying at times. Though in the larger picture that problems with the show are minor and that this is worth your time.
This concludes the first Long Lost 90's I hope you enjoyed this and Check out Really Wild Animals and remember Live Life and Live Nostalgic.
As a bonus here is my top 3 Favorite episodes
1. Deep Sea Dive (My favorite out of them all)
2. Wonders Down Under
3. Amazing North America
MissM Posted on Feb 18, 2014 at 07:53 AM
Very cool. I never really saw these, but I do remember owning a great deal of books and magazines about animals. That Deep Sea Dive episode would have been my favorite too. I've always liked that kind of stuff.
Mr Magic Posted on Jan 30, 2014 at 08:04 PM
Those poor dolphins in Japan. :(
Vaporman87 Posted on Jan 30, 2014 at 07:31 PM
I think the show that most captured my attention as a kid that had a particular focus on wildlife was Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. I can remember coming home from church on Sundays and sitting down on the couch to enjoy that show. I can still hear the show announcer ringing in my ears, introducing the show following commercial breaks. Great show, that was.
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