What initially inspired you to get into Fantasy or Science fiction??

Also, cartoons were probably better then than they are now. Quite often I watch a few cartoons on ITV on weekend mornings and generally they're watchable, but rubbish compared to Thundercats.

By the way, I probably missed it, but what's the forum policy on going OT? I don't want to end up being beaten by the admin for wandering off-topic all the time (which I have a tendency to do).

Back on-topic: I think both fantastical books and cartoons are more effective at childhood, because then the imagiantion is unfettered, whereas teenagers and adults are all too aware of things that are unrealistic (in a fantasy-based context). We suspend disbelief, whereas children have little if any disbelief to suspend, so they may be able to enjoy fantasy more.

Plus, childhood memories get a rosey tint when you look back on them. Well, except for memories about having your head shoved down toilets, obviously.
 
I don't think you've gone off topic at all. Some of my earliest sci-fi or fantasy memories come from the cartoons I watched when I was a child. We're remembering the things that we enjoyed when we were younger, and since they were fantasy/sci-fi related we remembered them and continued following the genre.:)

As an aside, I've got that warm, nostalgic feeling from this thread now.:)
 
Surely lots of us got into Fantasy before TV viewing became a staple? I was brought up on Hans Christian Anderson and The Brothers Grimm. Witches, dwarfs, magic apples, talking bears, enchanted needles, 100 year sleeps etc. need I say more...

And Masters of the Universe was by far the best SF cartoon!
 
My influences list sounds a lot like Curt's, if you replace Tolkien with adventure cartoons like Johnny Qwest, Space Ghost, Speed Racer, Astroboy, etc, etc.
 
Oh i remember Johhny Quest i cant believe how much i liked that stuff as a kid....
 
Connavar of Rigante said:
Oh i remember Johhny Quest i cant believe how much i liked that stuff as a kid....
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What's not to like? Sheer pulp adventure coupled with enough of the spooky to give you that tingle, and reasonably intelligent (at least) characters, with enough adult humor and wit to allow it to grow with you a bit... Okay, the animation is, by today's standards, not that good; but for its time, it was quite standard (or slightly above), and the stories were often top-notch....
 
The Secret Garden and then Narnia. Actually I didn't finish reading the Narnia Chronicles until my son was in Primary School...
 
I think that for me it was the 1954 version of 20,000 leagues under the sea with Kirk Douglas. After the watching the movie many times as a kid I eventually read the book... and I've been hooked ever since.
 
Random link here - but that comment about 20,000 leagues reminds me of the film "The Black Hole" - geat peace of sci-fi


of those wondering how on earth these two things connect I remember that I once had a choice to get one of two films in a store - these two = why my mind remembers this is quite beyond me though,
 
It's true: "The Black Hole" is another great classic. It is hard for me to come by movies nowadays that that are as great as these and many other classics. I wonder if that's because I first watched them during childhood.....
 
I read Lord of the Rings early (about 6 years ago now I suppose, when I was 13) but I wasn't really hooked, but I then saw the Tamuli in a bookshop and loved it, so I went and read the Elenium, and after that I moved onto the Belgariad and the Mallorean, which were far superior to the Sparhawk books.

But after that I discovered Feist who pretty much put me off of Eddings.
 
Aniri said:
Piers Anthony. Having an older brother (6 years my senior), I emulated him as much as I could. When he was not around, I would sneak peeks at his book shelves, and then eventually started reading the books he had myself. I remember the cover of On A Pale Horse striking my fancy.
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This is the first time I've seen anyone refer to him. He was one of my favorite authors when I was growing up. I've been meaning to revisit his work. The only book I managed to keep track of is A Spell for Chamelon.

I also played D&D with my brother who is four years my senior, and read the LOTR trilogy. I can't say any one thing got me into fantasy I've just always liked it, and don't see that changing any time soon.
 
I can mention movies and books that date back half a century but I rarely read anything new or timely. (I frequently don't now). I was just facinated by science and all things beyond. I had an early facination with dinosaurs. I remember staying up past midnight on Saturday nights when the local NBC affiliate ran many of the classics from the 30s and 40s. Frankenstein, The Wolfman, Dracula and after all the sequels all the many low budget Science Fiction/Horror movies. Fantasy was easy to pick up. A dragon is very similar to a dinosaur that breathes fire. I was a poor kid, maybe all poor kids need sort of escape and some of them lean this way.
 
I started to read fantasy because I simply couldn't relate the people and places in standard fiction.
 
steve12553 said:
. I was a poor kid, maybe all poor kids need sort of escape and some of them lean this way.
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That's a very good point, Steve, I grew up (and still am) working-class and fantasy gives me a chance to escape that I simply cannot find elsewhere.
 
I always admired people with a visionary mindset. In 1865 Jules Verne thought about going to the Moon. Even Einstein's E = mc² from a 1905 point of view was sort of science fiction. Converting mass to energy? Ludicrous. It became real science and technology later...
 
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