Unless you were deathly afraid of Raggedy Ann dolls (don’t laugh, it’s very common), you were sure to enjoy the animated adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy.  The cartoon was shown on Saturday mornings from 1988 to 1991.

Raggedy Ann was already 70 years old when the animated series debuted; the Raggedy Ann children’s books and accompanying doll first hit the market in 1918. Her friend Andy joined her in 1920; both characters were cloth dolls with bright red yarn for hair. Ann wore a blue and white dress; Andy sported a sailor suit and hat. The books and dolls were immensely popular and had been presented in animated shorts in the 40s and 70s. Still, the raggedy couple looked very well for septuagenarians.

The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy recounted the escapades of the two dolls who would come to life and leave their owner’s room, bound for Raggedyland. There they were often accompanied by Raggedy Cat and Dog—they might have been raggedy but they could talk, you better believe it—and Grouchy Bear, who was both ursine and taciturn, just as his name suggested. The human child was called Marcella and was only ever shown from the shoulders down. There was also “The Camel with the Wrinkled Knees,” a flannel stuffed animal Raggedy Ann and Andy met after taking a balloon ride.

The whole gang had adventures in their make-believe world, encountering dragons, fairies and other dolls. Like Winnie the Pooh, Raggedy Ann’s main draw was the power of imagination, fulfilling a common childish wish that toys would come to life (again, that is actually a nightmare for some) and go off on exciting adventures.