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    The Greatest Cartoons Based On Celebrities

    15 Cartoons Based on Celebrities (not counting "Mike Tyson Mysteries")

    So while catching up on ComicCon 2014, I came across this gem.

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    That's right, Mike Tyson is getting his own cartoon. And why shouldn't he? Honestly, his real life story is almost like a cartoon at this point. Ever since "The Hangover" he seems to have accept how comedic his life can be. The craziest thing is that Iron Mike is not the only celebrity to have his own cartoon. So follow me, won't you, while I show you…

    "The Greatest Cartoons Based on Celebrities"

    Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos

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    Bet you can’t take a shot every time they say “Chuck Norris” and still be standing.

    If you think the best Chuck Norris joke…I mean fact is, "Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life" then you have never seen "Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos," the show one K word away from being something else. The basic plot of this 5 episode mini-series was government operative Chuck Norris and his team fought against VULTURE (which stands for…well it was never revealed) led by The Claw and his right-hand Super Ninja because if Chuck Norris is going to fight anyone, he has to at least be a Super Ninja who sounds and looks like Cobra Commander with much better hair. Much like G.I. Joe, at the end of each episode Chuck Norris would provide a moral such as, "Remember kids, a bully is no one to be afraid of because a bully is nothing but a coward. If a bully was really brave and wanted to show how tough he is, he wouldn't pick on someone smaller than himself. He'd find someone bigger and tougher than he is to pick on. Now when's the last time you saw a bully do that?" Damn right Chuck, damn right.

    New Kids on the Block

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    I’m just going to say it, I miss early 90’s sound effects.

    Alright, I'm not above admitting that in the late 80's I was a NKOTB fan. After all, who didn't want to be "Hangin' Tough" back then? Still, this show was…well terrible. There's a reason it only lasted one season. The basic plot was just them trying to avoid teenage girls and get to their gig on time. I'm sure the fact that none of the characters were voiced by themselves didn't help either. That's right, the actual NKOTB, who did appear in live action clips, didn't even voice their cartoon selves!!!

    Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling

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    This song could be way better. It’s no, “Real American”.

    It was the golden age of wrestling for me. Back then it was still real to me dammit! So why not turn something kids love into a cartoon. This show featured live segments mixed with cartoons. The live portions were usually few and far between, but were amazing when they happened, like the music video for "Land of a 1000 Dances". Stereotypes were abound in this show, the faces (which is a wrestling term for good guys) were mostly American, while the heels (bad guys) were from Scotland, Iran, Russia and Japan. Much like the NKOTB cartoon, the wrestlers appeared in the live segments, but didn't even voice themselves in the show. Oddly enough, Hulk Hogan was voiced by "Everybody Loves Raymond" brother, Brad Garrett…although you'd think he'd have voice André the Giant. Also, two of the characters featured throughout the show, Jimmy Fly Snuka and Wendi Richter, left the WWF (that's right, this was before the wildlife foundation thought people might confuse them with the wrestling foundation) midway through the show's first season, but remained in the show throughout its entire run.

    Mister T

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    Wait…did that bulldog have a mohawk?!

    This show starred Mr. T, first name is Mister, middle name is that Period, last name T, as a gymnastics coach, who with his gymnastics team travelled the world solving mysteries. Mr. T made two live appearances each episode, once in the beginning and once at the end with a moral. Sound familiar Mr. Norris? The first episode of the show featured Mr. T swinging an alligator above his head, which has everyone knows, is how you deal with an alligator. In a later episode, Mr. T punches a shark in its stupid face. Sadly there was never a crossover between Mister T and Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos despite my many letter to the tv executives.

    Hammerman

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    This intro is so long; he keeps on singing this song; but his lyrics barely rhyme; he’s running outta time; this origin is extensive; and also comprehensive; when will this all be done; this story that he’s spun; he’s doing the best he can; he became Hammerman

    The basic premise is that Stanley Burrel (MC Hammer's real name) gets magical, talking shows that turn him into a superhero in which he battles the evil Boss Grindenheimer, a mad German scientist who spits on child labor laws, Defacely Marmister, a graffiti artist who can bring his graffiti to life, and Paula Bunion, a shoe fetish girl. It was an odd array of villians, but then again Hammerman was an odd superheo. His powers are completely random, they just always seem to involve musical notes and some weak ass raps. Of course like all children's cartoons with famous people, after each episode, a moral lesson was highlighted, sometimes this was by MC Hammer himself and sometimes by creepy puppets of Hammerman's talking shoes.

    I Am The Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali

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    This isn’t “Charlie’s Angels”, right?

    One of the longest titled cartoons and also the earliest one on this list, this cartoon was the first to star a real life athlete. Muhammad Ali always claimed to be the greatest, hell he fought (and beat) Superman…kind of, so why not have his own cartoon in which he solves mysteries, punches aliens and, as all celebrity cartoon characters do, wrestles alligators. Of course as was the style of Ali, occasionally when he talked, it was in a rhyme. As Ali would say, this cartoon was one of the "baddest" around. Although I mean that in a different way them he did.

    Life with Louie

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    Is Tom Arnold Louie Anderson’s dad?

    This animated show is about Louie Anderson's childhood in Wisconsin, even though he actually grew up in Minnesota, don't cha know. Each episode has its fair share of dry humor and fat jokes, the staple of Louie Anderson's career. Although if anyone carries this show, its his disgruntled, war verteran dad. Whether he's complaining under his breath or saying how hard it was when he was younger, he's clearly the funniest part. This one was actually one of my favorites growing up, and according to IMDB, I'm not the only one.

    Little Rosey

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    That’s not my little Rosey! Burn it! Burn it!

    Before "Life with Louie" there was "Little Rosey", based on the childhood of Roseanne Barr. Clearly that's someone that every little kid can relate to, he said sarcastically. The premise was Little Rosey and her friends using their "imaginations" to solve everyday problems, like winning a spelling bee and dealing with the rules their parents force upon them. Basically she was a terrible child. Talk about good life lessons for kids. And if the show wasn't bad enough, Little Rosey's grating voice was terrible. It wasn't voiced by Roseanne Barr, but rather someone doing a horrible Roseanna Barr impression.

    Camp Candy

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    No actual camp song can be this awful.

    So apparently in this fictitious cartoon world John Candy runs a summer camp. Clearly any parent who ever saw, "The Great Outdoors" wouldn't trust this man with their children. Each episode began with camp leader John Candy trying to teach something to the campers and then saying how it reminded him of another time at which point he would narrate a story. Why he couldn't just have new adventures with the kids there is beyond me, but so be it. Thankfully this cartoon had a laugh track otherwise you wouldn't know when to laugh.

    The Lebrons

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    Ego trip much?

    You remember that popular series of commercials that Nike did featuring Lebron James playing four different characters? Well they turned it into a cartoon. I'll wait for you to snap out of your coma. The show is pretty outrageous, even making references to Reservoir Dogs. With that said, it's honestly not any worse than anything else out there. Not to mention it raised money for the Boys & Girls Club of America.

    Mary-Kate & Ashley in Action!

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    …I’m honestly speechless at this point…

    After conquering little girls hearts, and wallets (well their parent's wallets) in the early 90's through direct to VHS movies, they came back in 2000 to reclaim them again with this updated, "too cool for school" cartoon. In the show Mary-Kate and Ashley solve mysteries like the good old days, but now rather than use their cuteness and spouting things like, "you got it dude", they use some totally "hip" spy equipment and having a talking Scotty dog with an obvious Scottish accent. At least it must have been easy for the animators to just use the same cartoon model for two characters.

    The Governator

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    Guns? Check. Motorcycle? Check. Slim black leather outfit? Double check!

    Sadly, and yes I said sadly, this cartoon never saw the light of day. This cartoon was part of Arnold's plan to get back into acting. He even had the infamous Stan Lee signed on to help develop! This was planned to include a comic as well as a 3D movie. Someone serious needs to Kickstart this! I mean if Shaq Fu 2 can make it, this certainly can! Perhaps if they had used this as their trailer it would have been picked up.

    Prostars

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    It’s all about helping kids…and making us some money!

    In short, 3 athletes at the top of their games represented 4 sports and tackled issues that either helped kids or the planet. Jordon and Gretsky were chosen as they were perceived as the top athletes in their sports, but Jackson was added as he was well known and played two sports. So just like Chicago, they didn't count Jordon's time on the White Sox. The show also featured their "coach" who they called Mom. Mom was an incredibly stereotypical Jewish character uttering phrases such as, "wonderful, this way you'll never lose it and we'll save money" after being shown a boomerang hockey puck. Also, pretty much every episode included at least one "Bo Knows" reference, which I'm sure was written into his contract. Speaking of contracts, apparently Jordon made sure to include in his that he would rarely appear in live action sections and if he had to it would only be for him to say one line. In all fairness though, this was probably a good move since these live segments were incredibly awkward.

    Waynehead

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    Did someone just try to bring “Fat Albert” to the 90’s?

    Set in the Chelsea borough of Manhattan, this animated show was based on the childhood of Damon Wayans, or as some of you may remember him Homey the Clown. The star of this show was Damien Wayne who was a poor child with a club foot. Most of the lessons in this show were stereotypical lessons that an inner city child would face (ie. gang members are not your friends, buying something with stolen money isn't right and how to win an insult fight). Sadly I'm not making those up. While Damon did not voice his own character, like all Wayans products, this show did provide opportunities for other Wayans' family members, such as Marlon, Shawn and Kim.

    Jackie Chan Adventures

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    His real life face when he runs is the best.

    Out of everything on this list, this show was the longest running with 5 full seasons and 95 episodes. It depicted Jackie Chan as an amateur archeologist who just so happens to stumble upon a magical talisman that he must protect from the evil Dark Hand by joining forces with Section 13. So it might as well be one of his movies because it already sounds way better than "The Tuxedo". One nice note about the show is that it uses references to his movies and real life throughout. For example, in the first episode he states that he is surprised to learn that Jade speaks English to which she replies that she never said she didn't speak it, he assumed it, a clear reference to "Rush Hour."

    Overall, it seems that the majority of celebrity cartoons have very short lifespans, but thanks to the internet, they will live on forever. Now I'm sure you're saying to yourself that I missed some obvious ones. Please feel free to let me know and I'll kindly ignore them or make-up some reason as to why I didn't include them. Thanks.