Nerdvana: Wild Cartoon Kingdom

Today I’m going to talk about one animated setting that I’ve been geeking out about lately: The wild. The savage untamed world of the jungle and of pre-history.

Savageland_mainThe Savage Land – Come in and get eaten.

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Before I begin, I’d like to make it clear that I definitely am not talking about The Flintstones. Don’t get me wrong; I know that The Flintstones is a pop culture icon and I understand the show’s influence and it’s impact on the world of modern animation, but the fact of the matter is that The Flintstones barely took advantage of the fact that it took place during the Stone Age. I get that The Flintstones was basically The Honeymooners in animated form and I’m OK with the occasional anachronism , but my feeling is that if you’re going to modernize things that much, you might as well set your series in the Present Day. Despite the prehistoric setting, The Flintstones was about as savage as a Tupperware party and therefore the series doesn’t fit my description of a “wild cartoon kingdom”. Having said that, beyond this crop of sentences, I won’t be discussing The Flintstones here at all.

See ya, Fredso!

 
 
 
 
No, when I say “wild kingdom”, I’m not just talking about incorporating rock puns in all of the characters’ names. I’m talking about the real Wild Kingdom. Where everything is wild and untamed. Modern conveniences are few and far between, and there’s no phones, no light and no motorcars…except maybe for this one.
 
 
Let’s start with a music video to set the proper mood:
 
 
I’m talking about the kind of society where there are still tribes and rituals and predators most of the animals are savage rather than being domesticated. When talking about dinosaurs, they don’t mean like this guy…
 
 

“Howdy-Hoo, Kideroos!”

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 …but this guy!
Tyrannosaurus Rex

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