Hello! Really hoping someone can help me identify something that's been haunting me for easily 25 years now.
In the early 90s I had a VHS tape of random kids TV programmes my parents had taped for me to watch back - it had all my favourite kids' TV shows on, but the last thing on the tape was a bit of an episode of... something that I've never been able to identify. Sadly tapes are long gone in the bin so no way of showing you.
All I remember is that it was a cartoon at least partially set in a forest. The scene I remember vividly was showing that the forest used to be happy and lively before *something* took it over and put up signs saying No Laughing, No Ball Games, No Fun and similar, and the vibe was dark and foreboding.
It was a cartoon that I THINK had animals in but that's really as specific as I can be. If this rings a bell to anyone I would be forever in your debt!
(UK, born 1990 so this would have been sometime between 1993 to 1996 and most likely shown on either CITV or BBC 1)
The first thing that pops into my mind is maybe one of the 90s Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons. "SATAM" had quiet and darker moments. And I could see "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" getting mixed up with that.
Failing that, possibly "The Bear that Wasn't"? It's a short not a tv show, but it might've aired on TV on a cartoon block at some point.
This is a common trope in a lot of cartoons. The first that comes to mind for me is "Porky in the North Woods" from 1936. Do you remember if this was specifically an episode from a "kiddie" show, or if it was a half-hour special?