The '90s rock at Comic-Con 2016

The ‘90s rock at Comic-Con 2016

July 22, 2016 1:09 AM PT

The inner-child in me is ooh-ing and ahh-ing at all the familiar characters of my yesterdays that I saw at Day 1 of Comic-Con 2016.

I thought I had grown up, left for college, got a job and long forgotten about those influential cartoons, but nope; I still remember them all.

First things first, let’s talk about the Nickelodeon booth. As a child of the ‘90s, I was nearly in tears of joy when I saw Arnold (of “Hey Arnold!”) sitting on his quaint, neighborhood stoop next to his pal Gerald and part-time lover, Helga Pataki. After stopping to relish this weird moment of remembrance, I realized there was much, much more to see in this area and beyond.

Walking through Hall E was like one big nostalgic trip. The whole set-up was meant to trigger an emotional response. I overheard several Comic-Con attendees voicing to each other, “Oh my god, remember that?” or “That’s amazing.” The booths focused on television shows that were once hugely popular.

One of these shows was Nickelodeon’s “Double Dare,” a show that featured a messy obstacle with a giant nose you had to grab flags out of, and if I recall correctly, that nose used to ooze a green, slime-like substance when you grabbed said flag. The booth left me feeling impressed by the detail and by my memory of such trivial things. Nearby, a giant, furry-looking Chuckie Finster-themed booth was set up for those purchasing rare collectible items from “Rugrats.”

Lego figurines and sculptures were also a blast from the past, although it’s still a current-obsession for many children. It seems to be one of those brands that will never go out style, no matter the year.

Next, I came across Sonic the Hedgehog - the first video game I ever played on my super awesome, hi-tech Sega game system. He was casually hanging out with one of my other favorites, Hello Kitty, who looked great! It appeared that she had only used just one of her nine lives so far.

From lofts of Troll Dolls in a row, to a virtual reality experience of “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” to realizing I still knew part of the theme song for “Sailor Moon”, today was quite the stroll down memory lane.