I do not know how you plan your weekend, but every Saturday morning I take a little moment for myself to watch cartoons.
I am probably going to sound like a boomer now, but Saturdays in the nineties were fantastic. In an era before we had internet at home, and before I walked around with my iPhone constantly in my claws, Saturday morning had a fixed ritual: watching cartoons on TV.
That feeling is coming back completely.
A Fixed Ritual
The arrival of streaming services has changed TV a lot. Now you watch what you want, when you want, and you also have a hundred million options. We did not have that back then.
You had to set your alarm and make sure you were in front of the TV by half past seven, otherwise you simply missed your favourite cartoon. It was an era ruled by cliffhangers, so you were guaranteed to be there again the next weekend.
It was also something you watched “together.” At school you talked about episodes of Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z and Digimon. And there was always someone talking about rumours they had heard from a cousin. Nobody knew whether they were true, but in your head you hoped they were.
Pure Nostalgia
These are good times for adults who want to reach back to better days. Recent cartoons like X-Men ‘97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man give you great animated entertainment again. There are also shows like Invincible, My Adventures with Superman and of course Rick and Morty.
And have you seen Batman: Caped Crusader?!
So many good cartoons that give you that nineties feeling again.
Watching shows like this feels like pure nostalgia, and I am very into that. Nostalgia gives you dopamine, the substance in your brain that gives you a feeling of happiness and reward.
Watching cartoons is comfort food for your brain.
So every Saturday morning, I turn on the TV again to watch cartoons.
Lovely, man.
And talking about these shows together? We just do that on Threads and Bluesky.