"Here I come to sniff the daisies!"
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: oh man, thanks for
posting this! I never saw Tom Terrific, but I fondly remember the other 'toons.
Sydney the Elephant, the neurotic elephant always getting into trouble, was
hilarious. Didn't Carol Channiing voice one of the characters? That 'toon
always ended each ep with the lion, who'd grouch "Crazy elephant!". I also
loved Heckle and Jeckle, Sad Cat, Deputy Dawg, and the character Oil Can Harry.
Mighty Mouse was fun too. And Hector Heathcoat and The Mighty Heroes were in
the Terrytoons stable--two of my fav cartoons from back in the day! You know,
all the Terrytoons work had very unique animation styles. they were crudely
animated, but that crudeness actually worked and made them all the more fun to
watch. Their sound, voice work--all was very quirky and unique, the kind of
stuff it's hard I would love to get my hands on these toons on DVD.
I see Bakshi worked for the Terrytoons gang as a young man. Did you ever see
his reimaging of Mighty Mouse in '87? That was one of the best 'toons I ever
saw. Too bad it was cancelled 'cause of that supposed "cocaine-sniffing" scene.
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Reece Jennings" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://www.toonopedia.com/terrific.htm
Tom Terrific was a product of Terrytoons' Deitch Era - a brief period in the
studio's history during which its grizzled schlockmeisters were forced to
take orders from 31-year-old Gene Deitch. Deitch, who got his start doing
Gerald McBoing-Boing <http://www.toonopedia.com/gerald.htm> at UPA, became
the Terrytoons creative director the year after CBS bought the company from
founder Paul Terry. The first thing Deitch did was scrap all the ongoing
characters, including such stars as Mighty Mouse
<http://www.toonopedia.com/mightym.htm> and Heckle
<http://www.toonopedia.com/hekljekl.htm> & Jeckle, and replace them with the
likes of Gaston LeCrayon and John Doormat.
He also explored new venues. Tom Terrific was produced for the burgeoning
television market, and ran from 1957-59 on CBS's Captain Kangaroo show. The
daily episodes, replete with heroism, villainy and cliffhangers, added up to
a complete five-part story every week. Those old episodes were sporadically
re-run, and were seen, on rare occasions, as recently as the early 1970s.
Tom's appeal did not lie in the cartoons' production values, which, like
most early TV animation (e.g., Clutch
<http://www.toonopedia.com/clutch.htm> Cargo, Col. Bleep
<http://www.toonopedia.com/bleep.htm> ), were nothing short of shoddy. No,
it was in the clever writing, the likeable characters, and the fact that the
series was just plain fun. The latter quality was considerably enhanced by
the talent of voice actor Lionel Wilson, who played all the roles. As chief
villain Crabby Appleton ("He's rotten to the core!"), Wilson would sneer and
hiss in the best melodramatic tradition; while as Tom, his breathless
enthusiasm made every little plot development seem like a Major Event.
Another possible source of the character's appeal was in his basic
situation. Besides being a superhero
<http://www.toonopedia.com/glossary.htm#superhero> (he could transform his
body into whatever he wanted), Tom was a kid on his own. His headquarters
was a tree house, where he lived with his ever-faithful companion, Mighty
Manfred the Wonder Dog (possibly the world's laziest heroic sidekick), and
nobody else. The only adults in Tom's life were guys he could have fun
adventures with - villains like Captain Kidneybean the Pirate and weirdos
like madcap inventor Isotope Feeny. What kid wouldn't want to identify with
a guy like that?
Besides his Captain Kangaroo appearances, Tom held down a quarterly comic
book for no less than six issues, Summer 1957 through Fall 1958, where some
stories were drawn by Ralph Bakshi (later the animation producer who brought
Fritz the Cat <http://www.toonopedia.com/fritz.htm> to the big screen).
Sidney the <http://www.toonopedia.com/sidney.htm> Elephant, another Deitch
creation, appeared in it as a back-up feature. Tom also appeared in a few
Wonder Books, a knock-off of Little Golden Books.
Like the rest of the Deitch Era Terrytoons, the Tom Terrific cartoons
haven't been seen in many years. But unlike most, they're very fondly
recalled by their Baby Boom audience.
Maurice Jennings
Have you or someone you know been threatened with foreclosure?
KEEP your home and Stop Foreclosure in its Tracks!
Get a Free, No Obligation Evaluation => http://www.legacyhomesavers.com
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_____
From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Astromancer
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 4:44 PM
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] "Underdog" - WTF??
Missed the miniseries too...What's Tom Terrific???
KeithBJohnson@ <mailto:KeithBJohnson%40comcast.net> comcast.net wrote: never
saw that miniseries. Was it good? The last cartoon-cum-comic that I read was
the first few issues of the "Battle of the Planets" comic (might have been
called "G-Force" or "Gotchaman"). The comic is surprisingly good.
-------------- Original message --------------
From: Martin <truthseeker_ <mailto:truthseeker_013%40yahoo.com>
[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE GHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOST!
Now we're talkin'. The Herculoids, too. Keith, did you by any chance see the
Space Ghost miniseries that DC put out a couple of years ago? I think it was
DC. It was sort of a reimagining.
KeithBJohnson@ <mailto:KeithBJohnson%40comcast.net> comcast.net wrote: Ain't
feelin' Tom Terrific either! For the really old 'toons, my faves have to be
Mighty Mouse (and the '80s reboot by Ralph Bashki), Mighty Heroes, Wacky
Racers, Cool McCool, Herculoids, Space Ghost, Birdman, Hercules (real old
one), Felix the Cat, Luno, Hector Heathcoat, anything from the Rocky and
Bullwinkle show, and just about anything from the Hanna-Barbera early days,
from Top Cat to Snagglepuss.
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Reece Jennings" <mcjennings124@ <mailto:mcjennings124%40yahoo.com>
yahoo.com>
LOLLOL!!!! Hey, we all have our freaky choices!
I used to LOVE Tom Terrific!
Maurice Jennings
Have you or someone you know been threatened with foreclosure?
KEEP your home and Stop Foreclosure in its Tracks!
Get a Free, No Obligation Evaluation => http://www.legacyho
<http://www.legacyhomesavers.com> mesavers.com
<http://www.legacyho <http://www.legacyhomesavers.com/> mesavers.com/>
_____
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com> ups.com
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com> ups.com]
On
Behalf Of KeithBJohnson@ <mailto:KeithBJohnson%40comcast.net> comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 3:51 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com> ups.com
Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] "Underdog" - WTF??
James, you're an extremely cool guy, and I respect the hell out of you,
but--Hong Kong Phooey??? I never could get into that one! :)
The older I get the more I sound like my parents. But I honestly do feel
that sometimes our kids' imaginations are stimulated enough by modern fare
that's too reliant on FX and crappy safe plots aimed at targeted audiences.
Being exposed to all types of media--from 2D crappy cartoons to excellent
CGI ones--helps feed kids' minds and imaginations.
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "James Landrith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<mailto:james%40jameslandrith.com> .com>
I want to see it. But I don't really.
I told my son (10 years old) that we'll be watching some episodes of the
cartoon first (does it play on Boomerang?). Kids today can't get what we
got out of it - especially given what they've watched growing up. Underdog
truly was corny and the animation was nothing special but like you, I loved
and watched it regularly.
The little guy may not be able to appreciate the cartoon version like we did
but at least he can see what it was before we see the movie version...
Now then, Disney better keep their hands off my Hong Kong Phooey.
_____
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com> ups.com
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com> ups.com]
On
Behalf Of KeithBJohnson@ <mailto:KeithBJohnson%40comcast.net> comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 12:55 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com> ups.com
Subject: [scifinoir2] "Underdog" - WTF??
Okay, someone explain to me why Disney took a goofy, funny cartoon like
"Underdog"--complete with bipedal, talking dogs who co-existed in the world
with humans as equals--and turned it into a live-action piece of junk? When
I heard there was a movie--actually, i was in the theatre and the name
flashed on screen--I was intrigued. I watched Underdog as a kid and loved
it. Sure, the animation was weak, the voices all done by about three people.
Theme song is corny. But I loved it. But, as I started reminiscing, I saw
the trailer for the new movie, and soon I was really irritated. Why change
from a cartoon to live action? Why use a real dog, who looks incredibly
stiff and stupid flying around? Why introduce all these idiotic humans, and
make Underdog basically a pet of some dopey kid? Why change from a world of
sentient animals to another one of those where they all talk and stuff, but
humans never know it? This is "Underdog" in name only. And Lord save me from
another "Babe"/"Dr
. Doolittle" style movie with CGI mouths animated for talking animals.
I've long had a problem with America's sad abandonment of 2D animation in
favor of 3D CGI and FX-obssession. Sometimes it makes sense, as with the
recent "Transformers" movie. But many times, a cartoon should remain a
cartoon. I feel sorry for kids who'll see what in all probability will be
another throwaway forgettable cutesy movie with poop and butt-sniffing
jokes. I can only imagine the movie will suck. With John Belushi and a
beagle as stars, how can it do anything else?
The original series may be old, but it's still fun. Or maybe I'm just
getting old? :(
Official Disney site here: http://disney.
<http://disney. <http://disney.
<http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/underdog/>
go.com/disneypictures/underdog/>
go.com/disneypictures/underdog/>
go.com/disneypictures/underdog/
Example of original cartoon here: http://www.youtube.
<http://www.youtube. <http://www.youtube.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_-mMIClI14> com/watch?v=X_-mMIClI14>
com/watch?v=X_-mMIClI14> com/watch?v=X_-mMIClI14
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