Pee-Wee's Playhouse

Since I've had a weekend to myself, I've been revisiting nostalgia. Here's my observations.

Dixie is way frickin' hot. I don't know how I didn't see it when I was a kid.

King Cartoon is high all the time. He's got to be. He talks like slowed-down Neil DeGrasse Tyson. His eyes are always half-closed. He's obsessed with old Max Fleischer cartoons. And he thinks his taxi driver is his royal herald and coachwoman. He seems like an old blues musician who smoked reefer.

There was some amazing stop motion in this. Like a lot. I'm surprised how much Will Vinton was able to produce.

Between Pee-Wee's "toys" and Sid's from Toy Story, I can't tell which are creepier.

Why are the kids dressed as hippies?

I miss Phil Hartman.

There's accidentally some decent moralism in this. Mostly coming from Randy, but it's also about tattling, lying, and other things. And it's always shown, not told. Pee-Wee runs a tight ship in his playhouse.

This show moved fast. Like ADD fast. People were worried about Sesame Street, they should have been worried about this. But damn if it didn't keep my attention. The problem is there's never a chance to do anything in-depth. That being said, I think it's great for kids. There's a heavy amount of routine and stability, but also bright colors. And nothing gets too deep to distract attention. It's not going down in history as the best show for kids, because those are always decided by adults. But if kids were voting, I bet this would be a selection.