Ulysses 31

Another cartoon series frequently used (fairly accurately) by geeks in their late twenties to justify why old cartoons were better than the rubbish kids have to put up with nowadays, ‘Ulysses 31’ was a science fiction retelling of famous Greek myths that will never see a revamped, updated version given to the likes of He-Man, Transformers and the Turtles simply because it’s just about the most Eighties cartoon that was ever made. The idea is brilliantly simple; clever and crazy at the same time. Just as George Lucas’ Star Wars trilogy consciously updated the classical monomyth for contemporary audiences, and then set it in space, Jean Chalopin and Nina Wolmark ...  Read the complete review

Oho. After writing all those reviews on Agatha Christie books (it can get a bit boring after a while), it was time for something else, so I had a look on Dooyoo to dig around and see what I could find. And buried in the children's tv section I found this little gem. With only one review by good old Marcel Beren way back in 2001. So now here's my ha'peth's worth. Anyone who has read my profile will know I'm very fond of an 80s television series called The Mysterious Cities of Gold, amongst others. Ulysses 31 was in a similar vein. Way back in 1997 I started using the net on a regular basis. I was in my first year at uni - not exactly ...  Read the complete review

This may sound like a bad acid trip. (Not that I'd know, of course.) And if you're only reading this op because you remember the great theme tune, have no worries - I've included the words at the end (now complete). This cartoon was about Ancient Greeks roaming around space in the 31st century. That might sound mad, but actually this was the framework for a rather intelligent and absorbing cartoon that was fairly groundbreaking - in Britain anyway. Ulysses 31 was the first cartoon (it was made in 1981) to be shown on a regular basis in Britain in the Japanese "anime" style of animation. Yeah, yeah, I ...  Read the complete review