I Loved the Yeti: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

He-Man vs. Yeti

The He-Man cartoon is notorious for not having yetis.

First, there were my posts on Grizzlor, then Stratos, then Gygor, then Clawful - not-to-mention Skeletor's right-hand-man Beast Man! (who I haven't even posted about - probably because I think he should change his name first. I mean, come on.) But none of them are yeti, of course. It's ETERNIA, for Grayskull's sake. Not Earth.

But there should be yeti! There's such a glaring lack of yeti that fans are making up their own fake, custom ones to imagine coexisting in that world:

Source: here and here

So I guess yeti's not a Master of that Universe. But here I am doing a themed week of Saturday morning cartoons, and what week would be complete without a post about HE-MAN!?

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of He-Man. I never watched it. Couldn't stand it growing up. Every other kid on the block was ga-ga for the half-naked, sword-wielding hunk-man. To this day, I believe the only excuse for a pun-based name (He-Man's bread and butter) is if you are in a "daring, highly trained special mission force" (i.e. the military) and you use one as your code-name (G.I. Joe). Or if you're a Cybertronian, crash-landed on Earth, just trying to fit in the best way you know how (Transformers). Then you get a pass.

But! I know most of you love that hulkin' He-Pun. So let's give it the ol' Sword of Power try...

In the second season of the original 1983 He-Man cartoon (Episode #11 - The Ice Age Cometh), there was a villain named Icer.

I know what you're thinking: not all that yeti-ish. What, is it FRIDAY all of a sudden?

OK, fine. Let's see if I can do better...

In 1985's He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special, Skeletor and some children encounter a snow beast.

Not too bad...

Finally, in 2002, the new, fancy reboot He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon added a decent, bona fide yeti. Several episodes featured the Kulataks, and check them out:

One word: Legit.

And even though Kulatak is kind of a pun on "Cool Attack", I'm almost willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Jem and the Holograms vs. Yeti

Source

In the episode "Journey to Shangri-La" (1987) of Jem and the Holograms (1985-1988) the following occurs:

4 minutes 50 seconds in:

Monday, January 30, 2012

Mad, Mad Monsters vs. Yeti

A kid in the 1970s might have seen the cartoon Mad, Mad Monsters (1972-1974) on a Sat. morning, and there was an Abominable Snowman. These were the days the furry fellow could be either white or brown - for the popular consensus had not yet been reached.

Source

It's Saturday Morning Cartoon Week!

Kids growing up in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s spotted a number of yetis while watching cartoons on Saturday mornings.

Here are the ones I've highlighted in the past:

Jonny Quest
Bugs Bunny
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Dungeons & Dragons
Scooby Doo 1
Scooby Doo 2
Popeye
Dino Boy in the Lost Valley
Duck Tales
Fairly Odd Parents
Ben 10
Danny Phantom
The Secret Saturdays
Ghostbusters
Astroboy
Space Ghost
Felix the Cat
The New Adventures of Superman
Thundercats

Not-to-mention the commercials for breakfast cereal (i.e. Cheerios and Froot Loops), live-action Land of the Lost, and PSAs for the Better Business Bureau.

Wow, you'd think that would just about cover it, right?

Well, this week, let's see if Henry (that's me) can use his TOTAL-X-TREME (TM) cybersleuthing super-skills to find further Saturday morning favorites that contain cameos from the Abominable Snowman...

Don't touch that dial!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Not Yeti Friday - Bandersnatch

What do we know about Lewis Carroll's Bandersnatch? Only that it is "frumious", whatever that means.

According to Wikipedia: "In the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland, the Bandersnatch appears as a large, white beast somewhat resembling a bulldog with long hair, black spots, a long tail, and multiple rows of sharp teeth."

Source

From Final Fantasy IX

There's also a Resident Evil Bandersnatch, which appears to just be a zombie with a giant right arm.

Alpine Sleighs Yeti

One of the most beloved original rides at Houston, TX's Astroworld in 1968 was the Alpine Sleighs.

Among many exciting features, it had state-of-the-art special effects (like a yodel tunnel where you shouted something at the entrance and it was secretly recorded and played back to you as you exited as if it was an echo) , COLD air conditioning (a not so common a thing in 1960's Houston), funny cave-men gnomes, and an ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN!

It was a very interactive Abominable Snowman. Maybe too interactive? Let's just say people don't like an overly interactive Abominable Snowman. In this terrific article by the DAFE (Darkride and Funhouse Enthusiasts), original ride operator Tom Shelton explains:

"Each of the ride operators took turns playing the snowman... [My crew member Bill] was playing the snowman for the first time... I noticed that he was getting too close to the people in the sleighs. Bill was trying to scare every person that came through the Cold Room. He became very aggressive with his acting. He would jump on the sleigh as it passed by while screaming loudly. One of the young passengers was frightened so badly that he grabbed the front of the head piece of the snowman suit as Bill jumped down from the sleigh. This resulted in Bill being dragged down the track while the young passenger firmly held his grip. I managed to pull Bill from the track just as the next sleigh was passing. It is amazing how fear affects different people. We were scared to death. However, we sat there and died laughing about the incident for the next five minutes.

The snowman had one advantage. The riders could not see very well when the sleigh came up out of the strobe tunnel. The snowman could not be spotted easily at first. We started hiding and then running and jumping on the sleigh, scaring many people. In many cases, all they could see was some big hairy thing jumping on the sleigh and hovering over them. You could hear the people laughing and shouting about the experience all the way down the track. The snowman suit had big hairy gloves. We would hide just out of view of the people. As the sleigh came by, we would stick the hairy glove just far enough out to touch a person's neck. This really produced some great stories. As one sleigh went by, a lady stated Oh, something touched my neck.' She brought her shoulder up and flinched. This pulled the hairy glove off of my hand. The lady screamed horribly as the sleigh went down the track with the hairy hand lodged between her shoulders and face. This was a classic!

"We were instructed to be 'friendly abominable snowmen'. That lasted about a week. You could usually scare most people one time. After that, the younger passengers wanted a piece of the snowman. You name it, they threw it at the snowman. They would tear off pine tree limbs to attack the snowman. Every type of food product would end up on the snowman suit. We confiscated syringes filled with vodka to stick' the snowman. The suit had to be dry-cleaned every night. This cost was $700 per day. We started equating playing the abominable snowman' to a tour of duty on the Russian front."

Love it.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Nunu the Yeti Rider and Willump

More fan appreciation of the characters from the video game League of Legends...

Source

Abbey Bominable

Abbey Bominable was a new fashion doll that came out last year. In the story surrounding the toys, she is a foreign exchange student at a high school for the children of legendary monsters. Abbey, as you can probably infer, is the daughter of the Yeti. She's become one of the more popular characters in the series.

Not too long ago, the demographic into fashion dolls would probably not know who/what yeti was. Now, instead of playing with Barbies, girls are playing with the daughter of the Yeti.

The world is interesting.

Here are a few fans showing their appreciation for the character in art and costume:

Source

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Even Yetis Have Dreams

I previously blogged about a yeti in Rob Kimmel and son's Lunch Post. Now they've shared another one:

Click HERE to find out what his son filled in!

~~~~~~

You can see more father & son collaborative lunch posts at the blog Wander Monster.

Hustak Yeti

Yeti by Joel Hustak aka ~joelhustak on deviantART

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Buzelli Yeti

Yeti illustration by Chris Buzelli for NY Times article from January 15, 2012: "Skiers, Take Heart! There Is Snow if You Know Where to Look"

The article's about the lack of snow. So they illustrated it with a sad, snow-bereft yeti.

There is a yeti in the back of everyone's mind.

Yeti Arcade: Kirby's Return to Dream Land

Here is a choice specimen found caught in the nets of the Fisherman of the Inland Sea.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land (2011) for the Wii has a yeti boss named Goriath.

Thanks, Fishy!

Monday, January 23, 2012

On Top of Spaghetti...

Source

Jeep Yeti Contest

Jeep is doing a contest called the Arctic Yeti Dig, where you can win a trip to the Winter X Games Aspen 2012 and a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Arctic Edition.

Here is the commercial:

This isn't the first time Jeep has used yeti to endorse their product. Back in 2001, they did a print ad with a yeti hitchhiking.