Category: Cartoons

“That makes me a sad panda!”

From: South Park

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Sexual Harassment Panda

The story behind the quote: South Park comes from the twisted minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The show revolves around the residents of a small community in Colorado. Most of the stories are from the viewpoint of four children, Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman. A lot of the humor comes from the general weirdness of the residents and every episode comes from putting a spin on the ridiculousness of life. The show will poke fun at different topics that Trey and Matt want to make fun of, such as religion, politics and even pop culture.

One episode, aptly called Sexual Harassment Panda, has a person dressed up in a panda outfit trying to teach children about how bad sexual harassment is. Unfortunately, the only message Cartman heard after the speech is that you can sue anyone you feel has harassed you before. However, that’s beside the point. I just wanted to show you the speech of Sexual Harassment Panda because there is some wisdom(?) to his words… and its just funny.

Geek wisdom: People and society tell us that we should not show our emotions and bottle them up. Guys will be ridiculed if they cry while watching a movie. Women are taught that they have to hide feeling of love and play hard to get.

We have to be honest with our feelings. Our emotions are a part of us and make us unique from other people. We shouldn’t let others tell us what to feel in certain situations. We shouldn’t be ashamed to express how we feel. In fact, displaying our emotions will give other people a deeper understanding into our very being.

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“When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.”

From: Futurama

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: God?

The story behind the quote: Futurama comes from the mind of Matt Groening, the same guy who created the Simpsons. The style of humor is pretty much like the Simpsons, only given a sci-fi twist. It follows the adventures of Fry, a young man who was accidentally placed in suspended animation and revived in the 30th century. There, he finds a job as a courier for the Planet Express courier service. He works with Leela, a one-eyed cyclops who also becomes his love interest, and Bender, a robot that is an “alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler” (according to Leela).

Anyway, the quote comes from the 20th episode of the 3rd season. While floating aimlessly in space, Bender becomes a god to a small race of beings that lived on his body but the race died because of a nuclear war (long story). The robot actually meets a being that appears to be God. God then tells Bender that he doesn’t interfere with the human race directly but prefers to use a “light touch” to guide them.

Fry and Leela search desperately for Bender and, using a powerful telescope used by space monks (again, long story), find Bender out in space. Bender is then hurtled towards his friends and Fry and Leela are relieved and amazed to find their friend. When leaving the monastery, they realized that they still have the monks tied up. Bender says that God cannot be counted on to help them. The camera then zooms out back to God, where he gives the quote.

(Wow! That was a long summary!)

Geek wisdom: Let’s not get into a theological discussion regarding the quote. Rather, let’s focus on the wisdom behind it. If you think about it, God (well, the voice in the episode anyway) is right. When everything is going right, we don’t give two thoughts regarding how things work. We’re just happy it does.

People have to remember and thank the people in our day to day lives that makes things run smoothly. It can be a thankless job for the guy (or gal) that makes sure that the plumbing in your house is working properly or the janitor that cleans your work area. Acknowledge that they are an important part of our lives.

“Bah Weep Granah Weep Ninni Bong!”

From: Transformers: The Movie

Genre: Movies, Cartoons

Who said it?: Kup

The story behind the quote: This quote comes from the Transformers: The Movie. Not the live action Michael Bay films. This is from the animated movie that was released in 1986. The film was actually pretty controversial for its time because of the deaths of practically the entire cast of the TV Series… during the first 20 minutes, no less!

The movie is set in the year 2005 (which was pretty far off in the future then) and, somehow, the treacherous Decepticons have managed to conquer the Autobots home world of Cybertron. The Autobots, however, refuses to give up the fight and have set up bases on the planet’s moons. Unknown to them, both factions face a bigger threat than themselves: the planet eater called Unicron.

Anyway, the quote comes during two parts in the film. The first part is when Kup and Hot Rod, two Autobots who had to retreat from a recent battle encountering a group of shark-like robots. The elder Kup tries to make friends with them by giving the “Universal Greeting,” which is the quote. However, this is met with disastrous results…

The second time the quote is used is when Hot Rod and Kup rendezvous with their fellow Autobots who were under attack by a group of robots called the Junkions. Here, Hot Rod tries his hand at using the Universal Greeting…

Geek wisdom: The Universal Greeting is actually kinda smart as it proves that its not really the words that people look at when you first meet them; its actually the actions of people that are more important. People tend to focus on the words people use and that’s okay.

However, words are just that: words. We tend to forget that actions always speak louder than words. It’s easy to make promises and say what we’re gonna to do something but they’ll have no meaning unless we can back it up by actually doing them.

“Aren’t you a little young to build a rollercoaster?”

From: Phineas and Ferb

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Various delivery people

The story behind the quote: This quote comes from a very recent cartoon from Disney called Phieas and Ferb. The overall story is pretty unique. Each episode consist of two stories happening at the same time. First, there are two brothers, Phineas and Ferb, who do fantastic things, such as building a rocket, fighting a mummy and climbing up the Eiffel Tower, to name a few. Candace, their older sister, always tries to tell their mom about this the mother never gets to witness it (she just thinks they have such wonderful imaginations).

The reason why the mother never sees these acts because of the second story. The brother’s pet platypus, Perry, is actually a secret agent who stops the evil “genius,” Dr. Doofenshmirtz, from taking over “the entire Tri-State area!” While stopping the doctor from using his latest invention, Perry inadvertently destroys Phineas and Ferb’s invention.

The quote actually comes from the various delivery persons who delivers the materials for the brother’s inventions. As they are pretty young to be building something like a rocket, they ask Phineas and Ferb that they seem to be too young to be constructing something like that. To which Phineas always replies, “Yes. Yes, we are.”

The clip below comes from “Rollercoaster: The Musical,” where the boys construct another rollercoaster in their backyard… only as a musical.

Geek wisdom: When it comes to dreams, there is no such thing as age. You’re never too old or too young to follow your dreams. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Sometimes, you just need to take the chance. Just make sure to pursue it to the end.

“By the power of Grayskull… I have the power!”

From: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Genre: Television and Cartoons

Who said it?: He-Man/Prince Adam

The story behind the quote: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is actually several things: a highly successful 80’s Saturday morning cartoon, a widely hated animated series in the 90’s and a well-received remake in 2002. Still, the story behind all of them is ridiculously simple. The villians, led by the aptly named Skeletor, an apparently very muscular sorcerer who has a skull for a head, wants to take over the planet, generally Eternia. When the bad guys do attack, Prince Adam will held aloft his magic sword and… well, yell out the quote. This transforms Prince Adam in the He-Man, “the most powerful man in the universe!”

Here is the intro for the original 80s version of the show…

Now, the weirdly different 90s version…

Finally, the very serious but still quite awesome 2002 remake…

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, we can forget our roots. We can become very successful or very wealthy and forget that we didn’t do it alone. All successful people needed the help of other people to be in the position that they are in. Whenever Prince Adam would use the quote to transform into He-Man (the most powerful man in the universe), he is actually acknowledging that his power is not his: its given to him by another. In this case, the magical castle of Greyskull.

People should not forget where they come from. It’s a big part of why they are the way they are now. We have to acknowledge this and remember the people that helped us along the way.

“Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!”

From: Thundercats

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Lion-O

The story behind the quote: If you really think about it, the concept behind the Thundercats cartoon is weird: A bunch of anthropomorphic alien cats  fighting a sorcerer-slash-mummy for the peace and order on Third Earth. Still, it was a great show in the 1980s. The remake currently being shown on the Cartoon Network still retains the basic idea but adds more history and backstory, making it a much more interesting show, especially for those who watch the original.

The quote comes from Lion-O, the leader of the Thundercats. He wields the Sword of Omens, possibly the most powerful weapon in the show. The power of the sword comes from the Eye of Thundera, a gem or jewel built right into the hilt. The Sword of Omens has various abilities, such as casting a signal in the air to call the other Thundercats, absorb magical blasts thrown by Mum-Ra, the aforementioned mummy and, by giving the command “Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight,” the user will be able to look at far away places, detect hidden enemies, and even find allies that are missing.

Geek wisdom: While there are a lot of pieces of technology that can give us “sight beyond sight” like binoculars and satellite views, we can actually do the Sword can’t: we can predict the future. Well, not really “predict” per say. Rather, people can think of possible scenarios of what will happen based on information.

While it can be fun to be spontaneous once in a while, its always a great idea to plan for the future. Whether it be short-term like planning what to do during the weekend, or something more long-term, such as saving up for retirement, planning is always the prudent thing to do.

“And knowing is half the battle.”

From: G. I. Joe

Genre: Television, Cartoons

Who said it?: A lot of Joes

The story behind the quote: GI Joe is a classic cartoon series in the 80’s. While they were mostly known for large scale fight scenes where no one really dies, badass ninjas, and high tech weapons and vehicles (and a really great toyline), they were also known for their PSAs that end each episode. Besides fighting for freedom where ever there’s trouble, GI Joe members would apparently do a lot of community service and hanging around where kids would be (which is kinda creepy if you think about it) and dispensing helpful advice to them.

Each of the PSAs will usually start with a kid about to do something that would put them in danger (ex. giving a stranger their address, or taking medicine without knowing what dose to actually use). One of the Joes would then (magically) show up and tell them what they should do (ex. DON’T DO IT!). Sometimes, they would mix it up a bit, such as giving advice on how to stop a nosebleed or just never giving up.

Below are just a small sample of the 35 PSAs that they released during the original run.

 

These eventually became very popular and the phase “and knowing is half the battle” became ingrained in all of the kids that were watching the series.

Geek wisdom: While we may actually forget the actual advise given in each of them, we still remember the quote and, in truth, that’s all you need to know. We should try to learn as much as we can. Be it with school, work stuff, or even trivial stuff (like geek wisdom!), the more we know, the better we’ll be in the long run.

“Form feet and legs! Form arms and torso! And I’ll form the head!”

From: Voltron

Genre: Television, Cartoons

Who said it?: Keith (Voltron Lions) and Jeff (Voltron Vehicles)

The story behind the quote: For anyone who lived their childhood in the early 80’s, this shouldn’t need any introduction. Voltron is one of the most popular robot cartoons ever created. It was so popular that there were 2 versions of the titular robot, Voltron Lions and Voltron Vehicles.

Let’s start with the Lions since they did come first and they were the more popular ones. Earth sends 5 space cadets (Keith, Lance, Pidge, Sven, and Hunk) to the planet Arus to protect Princess Allura and her subjects from the evil empire led by Zarkon from the planet Doom (how appropriate!). Each week, Zarkon, his evil son, Lotor, and the wicked witch Hagar, devise various schemes and send out a giant monster called Ro-Beasts to try to conquer the galaxy. However, by combining all 5 Lions into one mighty robot called Voltron, Defender of the Universe, the Keith and the others manage to foil their plans.

After the success of the Voltron Lions came the Voltron Vehicles series. This time, the Galaxy Alliance are trying to find suitable planets to colonize but the Druel Empire are also doing the same thing and they’re not big on sharing! The Druels attempt to beat the exploration team by also using their own Ro-Beasts. However, the Galaxy Alliance have developed a new Voltron comprised of 15 individual spaceships led by Jeff.

For the ones who are really into the history of the story, it wasn’t always “Form arms and torso!” It was initially “Form arms and body!” They eventually changed it because someone probably figured out that “body” mean the entire body.

Geek wisdom: Watch the show closely and you’ll actually see that, in some episodes, Keith and Jeff give commands to their respective team members even when they are combined. This means that, even when in Voltron form, the leader doesn’t have full control over the robot and has to rely on his team to execute some attacks. Yes, they rely on teamwork!

People have to realize that, as a team, they can always accomplish much more than going it alone. If you’re a team working as one, its possible to take on even a problem as huge as a giant Ro-Beast!