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The Cartoon Intro Examination Thread (60s Edition) - Hanna the Barberian

Mightyblue

aggro table, shmaggro table
(He/Him/His)
I am surprised that the Fanart section for this wasn't just stills from the Venture Bros.
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
JOT

My instinct was telling me this was like some weird interstitial animation to shove between commercials and that there was no intro. I was wrong.


With start with a line of multicoloured dots dotting the bottom of the screen across a murky looking background. One of the dots comes towards the audience, turns into one of those 1960s style cartoony asterisks that I last remember seeing on The Price is Right set (they must look different by now) and then becoming anthropomorphic with arms and legs.

250px-JOT_cartoon.png


I kind of like the aspect that he has handless fingers.

We hear from off stage “Come on, Jot.”

Jot flutters his feet and bounces away and we see a title made to look like it is written by a child but in starting in the 80s would look like a font for a horror movie about a killer child or doll or maybe a dog.


Did It Make Me Want To Watch It?

Not a lot to go on.

What Did You Find on Wikipedia?

Apparently, this was the Baptist version of Davey and Goliath, a show of Christian values but even cheaper. Apparently like Davey, Jot is a boy who encounters moral scenarios and learns a lesson by the end. There’s also a “bad” kid, Tug, who also learns a moral in each episode.

Fan Art

I couldn’t find any but this is tricky anyway, as Jot is an art term. Also, Google thought I was looking for “HOT Christian cartoon Fanart”
 

Kirin

Summon for hire
(he/him)
SO i just went back to read the first page of this thread which I'd passed by before...
The Herculoids

Aw man, I tell you, I didn’t grow up with this show but it almost feels like going home again. I love the show’s whole vibe and aesthetic, from the familiar Hanna Barbera library of sound effects to the cool monster designs (I think by legend Alex Toth but I’ll have to check later to be sure) to the spooky theremin music to set the mood that this isn’t your typical adventure show.

I *did* grow up with this show, it was one of the things in heavy rotation on the USA Cartoon Express which was the Saturday morning cartoon compilation show I watched religiously for years as a kid.
As you surmised, the show pretty much hinges on rad monsters doing rad stuff. I kinda wish we could get figures for these guys instead of another set of He-Man re-issues or whatever. Heck, the rock-shooting-horn rhino beast seems *made* to be a toy (for Ages 8 and up, warning contains small parts).
 

Dracula

Plastic Vampire
(He/His)
As a side note, concerning Herculoids. one of my favorite things about the 2012 TMNT cartoon is how each season has a show-within-the-show that the turtles watch on downtime. Season 3 has Crognard the Barbarian, which is partially a pitch-perfect parody of things like Herculoids and Thundarr, with a little He-Man mixed in:

latest
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Journey to the Center of the Earth

I know the story more or less. Not so much the cartoon. As IP goes, this one… makes more sense than a lot I’ve known. So lets see how this is translated into an ongoing series.


We start out with the title before the intro actually begins. Also, maybe it’s the poor quality video but to me it looks like they’ve journeyed to the belly of the Loch Ness Monster. I need to know if I’m along on this.

8HxF55f.png


The intro starts properly with stone doors opening and we see a man standing on the edge of a cave.

“Long ago, a lone explorer named Arnie Sagnuesen made a fantastic descent of the fabled lost Kingdom of Atlantis at the Earth’s core.”

We see him leaving behind an immaculate carving of his initials with an arrow and then him looking like he’s really new to this whole walking thing. I feel like he probably followed the wrong passion.

“After many centuries his trail was discovered…”

We then see the initials dim, then a spot light hit them and we pan back to see the source is a man with a woman and a flashlight.

“First by me, Professor Oliver Lindegold”

z45INDA.png

I’m probably mishearing the name but its not an improbably name so I’m sticking with it. He’s a classic macho scientist that was big at the time. I blame the popularity of Doc Savage, a character people only seem to be vaguely aware of today.

“My niece Sidney, student Alan McEwan”

QMqgRgv.png


I’m into Sidney’s whole vibe. I just think bright red hair and dark/stark contrast black and white clothes looks cool. Meanwhile, Alan’s a side of beige on a mediocrity platter special.

“Our guide Lars and his duck Gertrude.”

V9aQexP.gif


… that last one threw me for a curveball. I guess it shouldn’t. Animal sidekick has been a part of TV cartoons since forever. I feel like this is the era where they finally feel overtly mandated. But I wasn’t expecting a duck. A troll or a mushroom man, maybe? A mole with sunglasses? But I did not expect the duck.

“But we were not alone!”

Torchwipe to the villain of the piece pointing something out to his henchman.

“The evil Count Sagnuesen, last known descendant to the once proud Sagnuesen family had followed us.”

We show him and his man skulking in the cave an then a close up wherein the Count is the literal fucking devil or straight up lit himself on fire and is sort of chill about it.

owl92JG.gif


“Hmm, I think I put an extinguisher here somewhere,” I imagine him thinking.

“To claim the center of the Earth for his power-mad scheme, he ordered his brute-like servant Torg to destroy our party.”

Sure enough we see Torg pushing down on a plunger (and a stylish but kind of pointless hand shadow) and causing a cave-in. In response, our heroes run further into the cave.

“But the plan backfired, sealing the entrance forever.”

We then see the Count and Torg running into some sort of crystal cavern to escape the mess they made.

“So, for us began a desperate race to the Earth’s core to learn the secret of the way back
This is the story of our new Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

We see the protagonists’ white silhouettes running to their quest (or flapping in the case of one character) as they slowly shrink to make room for the title.

Did It Make Me Want To Watch It?

Its not a bad intro. It introduces our characters, though despite being 60% positive on the character design front (Sidney’s style and Lars gruff and tough quality and Count Sagnueson and Torg having solid classic evil looks), we don’t get much about these characters in terms of personality (save the villains). I’m not asking for something beyond the superficial but their personality types seem to be main character, niece, student and eyebrows. The music and editing are also functional, which does put it above some of the shows from this era I’ve done, where I feel like they didn’t pick the best clips to give the audience an entirely coherent tapestry.

What Did You Find on Wikipedia?

The Duck and the evil Count both have precedent, originating from the 1959 adaptation of the book. In fact, much of the cast is loosely based on the film’s cast, but with slightly different names.

Fan Art

Not for this one.
 

Zef

Find Your Reason
(He/Him)
Journey to the Center of the Earth

rl31W0v.png


Back when high scores only allowed you to enter 2 characters instead of 3.

“Our guide Lars and his duck Gertrude.”

V9aQexP.gif

Literally sliding into your DMs.

Also more cartoons and films should use torchwipes.


He's feeling a bit hot under the collar.

their personality types seem to be main character, niece, student and eyebrows

Not just eyebrows, but the squarest jaw in the history of square jaws and a goofy pet duck. He's multifaceted!

The white silhouettes are very nicely animated, but they all look like kids. I wouldn't be able to tell who's who beyond the niece's round hairdo.

This is the first time I ever hear of this show, but the main hook for me after watching its intro is: with no resources or even a flashlight, what do they eat
 

Dracula

Plastic Vampire
(He/His)
I'd like to see a montage of 1960s / 1970s cartoon intros where they show a group of characters running from left to right in profile.

Anyway, this is the kinda show I would have been glad to catch on the couch during a very late-night Cartoon Network block, knowing I should already be in bed but not wanting to give up the day, drifting in and out of sleep...it's that kinda show.

Semi-related, I have this half-remembered memory of some movie adaptation of JttCotE I saw on TV in the 90s. I have no idea what era it was from, but it was in color and it seemed more vibrant and frightening than any of the other versions I saw as a kid. I still wonder sometimes what it was.
 

Mightyblue

aggro table, shmaggro table
(He/Him/His)
It gets remade every decade or so (the 90s had two versions of it apparently, just looking at imdb), so it's hard to say which version you saw.
 

Kirin

Summon for hire
(he/him)
I am so not buying that the original discovery recounted here happened "many centuries" ago. Explorer dude is wearing a relatively modern-looking collared shirt, and his name is Arnie, for chrissake.

Duck also threw me for a loop there. Why a duck? Why not I guess.
 

Kirin

Summon for hire
(he/him)
Hattytown Tales

Oh, man, I’ve been trying to do this alphabetically and then I forgot to check out cartoons on the other side of the pond. And this one has a very British name that it sounds super-made up. But it isn’t.

Holy shit, still catching up on older posts in this thread and I totally remember this show. I mean, actually I don't really remember anything about it, but it rung a bell in some very old dusty recesses of my memory and I'm sure I watched some of it at some point. Like, I definitely recognize the little burro with the carrot.

I dunno, seems like something that probably re-ran on Nickelodeon at some point.
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
The King Kong Show

When you call it the _____ Show, but assumption is that it is expected to be an acknowledgement of the artifice of the whole endeavour, which is to say, the fact that this won’t be a variety talk show hosted by Kong is going to be disappointing. I could see him as an old hat in showbiz, swapping stories with Bob Hope and orchestrating the comeback of Lillian Gish. At least this seems just left of being called “King Kong and Friends. But what kind of show is this going to be? Let's see.


We start with the shot of a mountain top in the jungle, only for the title character to rise up to reveal that he is actually carrying it. It would be a kind of clever reveal if Kong didn’t look dopey AF.

MwdzUjr.gif


It looks like a cardboard cut out and you can just HEAR the cheap hydraulics in your mind’s ear. Kong does not emote. He might be dead and stuffed. It’s a very bad looking glory shot.

“King Kong
You know the name of King Kong
You know the name of King Kong
Ten times as big as a man!”

Oof, this isn’t good. First of all, it seems to be drilling into us “Look, we have name recognition. Just fucking watch.” Also “Ten times as big as a man” is objectively impressive, so why does it feel limp? It must be that despite everything, it feels like Kong’s got to have a few dozen bigger brags in his back pocket. Or at least better ways to describe his impressive size.

Anyway, we have a seen of Kong staring down a dinosaur he looks like he didn’t want to be there in the first place and then Kong just judos his ass.

IOTiQr4.gif


That dinosaur is amazing. How has he not been memed. He should be up there with flummoxed Nathan Fillion or face palm Picard.

8eaHL1v.png


This was a dinosaur stunned into silence. Maybe it read a worst take Facebook post or a hug pillow that’s worse than most. It feels versatile. Do I have the courage to try to make this happen? Naw, I got other things to do today.

Anyway, then Kong howls into the Heavens. I’m not sure why because in this moment he seems to go from gormless to “REVENGE” in an instant.

lqTpFRS.gif


“Hmm… I wonder if I left a banana in my lai--- MENDOOZAAAAAAAAAA!”
Or they animated it like an actor taking his cue and this is the moment someone yells “action!”

“One day, a boy, too young to know the danger!
Made a friend of this giant fearsome stranger!”

We see Kong encountering a young boy in a tree and having a goofy surprised face.

srue69f.png


Kong picks up the boy and after this image…

ShwxJh7.png


I want him to just pop him in his mouth. Instead, he picks up the kid and makes a grunt that could easily be mistaken for a weird fart.

“And the life they live on their island home
Became a legend,
The legend of…”

We see a boat on some rough seas and then Kong does this.

KOlpjSQ.gif


OK, I’m not a good math-er but this ape is clearly bigger than ten men. Unless that’s a large model, there’s room for more than 10 on that boat. A lot more.

Again, this is another situation that’s funnier if Kong pops it in his mouth.

Kong then does this.

T00hzXO.gif


Which is badass and apparently a precision punch that makes the lava make a title. Why not. Also, I really hope there’s a whole village under the mountain. There’s something about this Kong where I want him to mindlessly kill everyone while looking somewhat friendly.

“King Kong
You know the name of King Kong
You know the name of King Kong
Ten times as big as a man.”



hAYmty2.png


“Yeah, boi!”

Did It Make Me Want To Watch It?

Kinda. It looks jank as Hell but if anything THAT’S the selling point. I’m not expecting to go on a I Am the Greatest-like deep dive but I’m kinda interested in this show that is both kind of generic but somehow odd and fascinating.


What Did You Find on Wikipedia?

I think I understand why it is so odd: it is a Japanese-American co-production so I’m wondering if there were some behind the scenes problems in terms of collaboration. And Toei and Rankin/Bass were both involved so weird/cheap animation is not too surprising.

The show also included a segment called “Tom of T.H.U.M.B.” about a shrunken boy-spy and his sidekick “Swinging Jack”. Jack is Asian so even working with Asians to animate it, I don’t trust the 60s to be non-racist in their portrayals.

Its most interesting aspect is that it actually directly inspired elements of the Japanese film King Kong Escapes, including the boy’s sister, the recurring villain Dr. Who (no relation) and Mechani-Kong, better known as MechaKong.

Mechani-Kong.png

Fan Art

Since this is the origin of Mechani-Kong, all Mechani-Kong edition

mecha_kong_by_bozzerkazooers_d9goz63-fullview.jpg




ed97e1cd17021618110b17d8e47fc2b6.jpg




41b75c8b5922148d68cef17a26acaf0e.jpg
 

Dracula

Plastic Vampire
(He/His)
King Kong Escapes is one of those classic Toho films I still need to see. And wow, I'd never heard of this cartoon! It looks amazing!
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
King Leonardo and His Short Subjects

This is one I feel like I saw a bit of in one of the other intros, like maybe this is either a spin-off or was subsumed into another series down the line. Anyway, here it is. There are actually two. Here’s the first.


We start with a lion marching across the screen with a ridiculously long robe with the title in the foreground.

“Here comes Leonardo! Leonardo Lion!
King of Congo Bongo
A hero lion of mine.”

We then see the end of the robe is actually attached to another Leonardo, in a take on the classic “same person holding both ends of the ladder” gag.

Leonardo speaks

“Where Leonardo travels
His subjects all go too.”

“There’s Odie O. Colongey
Who’s loyal and true blue.”

We see Leonardo ascending a balloon, followed by a scholarly looking skunk who gets his tail stuck in the string of the balloon and is literally carried away. We then see a hound and a fox on a piece of wood attached to the balloon which is being carried away also. For some reason, they are chopping away at it.

“I say, there’s a booming hunter.”

“And a wiry, witty fox.”

Says the respective characters.

We then see the string carrying a short of elevator like box thing with a turtle in a straw boater and a lizard wizard (but not this one)

“There’s Tudor who brings fun to you.”

“Within this magic box.”

I think that’s what he said. Honestly, I hear a “Business magic box” which can’t be right so this is a guess.


Out of the box a cannon is fired, bringing down the balloon and everyone attached to it. King Leonardo lands on his throne in his throne room.

“Look at Leonardo and his enemies”

Enter a gangster rodent and a maneless lion, who say, respectively.

“Iggy with his pistols.”

“Itchy with his fleas.”

“They come into the castle, to overthrow the king
Looks like Leonardo’s had his royal fling.”

Leonardo is thrown out of the castle down to the ground. But there is Odie the skunk, who opens up a canopy and bounces Leo back into the air.

Sings Odie.
“But Odie O Colongey, steps in to change the play.”
“That loyal skunk with skill and spunk comes through to save the day.”

Odie rushes up the stairs and pushes the villains out the window. Killing them maybe? Also, do we know that Leonardo landed safely? Nope. He may be better at murder than life saving.

“You’ll find adventure and thrills
Laughter a minute, too.”

In the woods, a fox rights a sign that says “Detour for the hunter” and hides in a tree. The hunter dog follows the sign off a cliff. Hunter falls and shoots the tree fox is hiding in, which also falls off a cliff.

“You mustn’t miss, excitement like this
Or Hunter may hunt you.”

I don’t like being threatened, children’s cartoon show.

“Let’s watch Leonardo
Loyal subjects, too.
Odie O Cologney
Fox and Hunter, too.”

Well, they just rhymed too with too. Anyway, we see Odie dusting Leonardo when Fox and Hunter fall on the duo.

“Tudor and the wizard
They’re ready, set to go.”

Tudor and the wizard run from a barrage of bullets while the other characters understandably panic. Turns out the barrage is coming from the previously scene villains in a WWI style bi-plane. Everyone runs away.

“So everyone come join the fun on King Leonardo’s show!”


This one is called “The King and Odie” and it starts with Odie polishing the King’s crown (not a euphemism) and then the title comes up.

“It’s the King and Odie Show”

This seems to be the full intro but then we get an introductory interstitial.

We see a parade with a “Congo Bongo” parade. The music is very Latin. I don’t know the actual genre name but its basically whatever Ricky plays in I Love Lucy, I think.

“Congo Bongo Conga
Meet the ruling king
Good King Leonardo
Has that King-ah Swing”

Leonardo is dancing and snapping his fingers while Odie plays the bongos and a large conga line follows behind.

“He and true blue Odie
All his subjects, too.”

We hear a cheer and see confetti float down from the sky.

“Dance the Congo Bongo
Its all good for you.”

We then see the characters conga into the castle.

Did It Make Me Want To Watch It?

Not really. It helps that it looks like a Jay Ward show is. I’m not certain if it is or isn’t, though.

What Did You Find on Wikipedia?

This is, in fact, not a Jay Ward show but is probably mistaken for one due to similar styles. In fact, they were even packaged together in syndication but the creator and studios were different. Notably, Tooter Turtle (not Tudor) is often referenced on classic MST3k. "Drizzle drazzle druzzle drome, time for this one to come home."

Also worth noting that the voice of the Hunter is Kenny Delmar, reprising his Senator Claghorn voice. If this means nothing to you, you are not alone, but that voice was in fact stolen wholesale for the much more famous character Foghorn Leghorn.

Fan Art

Only one.

1316771659.blueeyedwolf_kingleonardo.png
 

JBear

Internet's foremost Bertolli cosplayer
(He/Him)
I actually really like the character designs here. A lot of these shows sort of run together, but an aristocratic skunk and a lizard wizard really stand out as unique. I think *I* would have really enjoyed this show if I'd seen it as a kid.
 

Dracula

Plastic Vampire
(He/His)
I always wondered where that MST3K reference came from! It felt vaguely familiar, like a lot of the obscure references they made on the show, but I don't think I've ever seen or heard of this cartoon before.
 

Kirin

Summon for hire
(he/him)
(King Kong) I think I understand why it is so odd: it is a Japanese-American co-production
I wonder if that also explains the Yamato/Star-Blazers-esque stoic male choir opening song.


Also, having recently caught up on the earlier posts in the thread, a whole bunch of that first King Leo opening definitely showed up as part of some other compilation show a few pages back. It makes a bit more sense when it's all put together in the context of its own show, I remember everything just seeming like complete non-sequiturs before.
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Klondike Kat

I have no idea what this is but the title alone makes me think of this.

661761.jpg
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So lets see…


Before we begin, I’ll say I am not certain if this is a cold open for this particular episode or if is an introduction to the show. I think it might be the former but I’m not certain.

We start with a shot of a small village at night in a wintry rural setting.

Via the narrator: “For months, the Klondike Country has been terrorized by the most notorious of all bandits, Savoir Faire”.

We then see a shadow run out of town, which turns out to be a mouse in a toque and a big bag of swag.

Light turn on over town.

An unseen townsperson: “Savoir Faire stolen my dinner.”

A woman from the window with an empty box: “He’s stolen my bonbons!”

A man rushes out of his shop: “He’s stolen my cheeses!”

Everyone rushes into the middle of town: “Savoir Faire is everywhere!”

Cut to precinct of the Klondike Kops. Inside, we see a man jabbering in silence as the camera moves in on him.

Narrator: “Major Minor, in charge of all the Klondike Kops at Fort Frazzle, made a drastic announcement.”

Inside the precinct, Minor speaks to his Mounties. “We must call upon the one Klondike Kop who always gets his mouse Klondike Kat!” He then gestures towards a picture of a cat dressed as a Mountie, saluting.

AHY2Fag.png


We then fade out into the episode title.

So I THINK its just setting up the premise, assuming that Savoir Faire is the series recurring antagonist. Or maybe more the Road Runner to Kat’s Coyote.

Here’s the other intro.

Oh, here’s the more traditional intro. Lets see if it clears things up.


We start with Klondike Kat putting up “Dead or Alive” posters for Savoir Fare (not Faire) and keeping with my current ACAB beliefs, I am already siding with the fucking smug mouse. Yeah, he’s a jerk who steals food but “DEAD?”

“Klondike Kat
He’s after Savoir Fare”

We see Savoir Fare doing some safe cracking.

“What a rat
He’s stealing everywhere.”

Seems like he’s stealing in the Klondike. Everywhere is more like a Carmen Sandiego thing.

We then see Klondike literally chasing Savoir in a rocket sled, chasing Savoir and a big sheepdog. This should be cool but it is another case of militarizing our police force.

We then see Klondike, Savoir and the Sheepdog in a restaurant where Klondike attacks them with pies.

“Klondike Kat’ll
Track him to his lair.
He always gets his mouse.”

We then see Klondike pushing something up a hill which turns out to be a cannon and I am way standing behind my stance that whatever the show might intend, I am siding with the thief.

x3lA6Xk.png


But the cannon fails when Savoir digs the show beneath it, causing it to miss his lair and the recoil sends the cannon careening down the mountain. But Klondike, who is not sent sliding, eventually rams into Savoir, and the two crash into his lair and Kat nabs Savoir before a door slams on his head.

“Klondike Kat
He’s always on the trail
Klondike Kat
Through rain or snow or hail.
Klondike Kat
That Kat will never fail.
He always gets his mouse.”


Did It Make Me Want To Watch It?

This looks a bit Jay Ward-y but there’s also an early Rankin Bass quality. Either way, if this is Ward, I might watch a little but this seems like a less interesting Ward production.

What Did You Find on Wikipedia?

Its from the creator of the Beagles and while it doesn’t seem to be a Ward production, it was packaged with Ward productions, presumably due to similar character designs.

Fan Art

Found some

klondike_kat__12_5_20__by_smashgamer16_de9yomn-fullview.jpg


This one is decent enough for an MS painting and it looks like he wants a hug.

klondike_kirk_the_cat_by_rattlerjones_dcvfok8-fullview.jpg

Um… someone didn’t think their colouring through. Or, worse, they did.

d7x40hz-402fc073-4bfe-4fe2-8102-8a68c482d9ad.png


This is good but I don’t like that it made him regular French instead of French-Canadian. But maybe he’s on vacay, in post pandemic times.
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy were a legendary comedy team that managed to bridge the gap of the silent and sound eras of movies. But to be honest, their work never spoke to me. When I was on another message board, we did a top 50 list of Laurel and Hardy and I decided to watch a few to make a small list. And the guy hosting it was all like “Well, you saw the LESSER ones. You should check out the real good stuff.” And it… basically also left me flat. I appreciate that it was more inventive but it wasn’t actually funny to me. And I kind of don’t like Hardy, who is just a bully. Anyway, they had a cartoon.


We start with the title character’s classic gestures: Laurel scratching his head and Hardy fidgeting his fingers, then Laurel looking upset, apropos of nothing while Hardy looks annoyed. When then iris out and see a screen split into quarters with various shenanigans happening in each corner as the theme plays and the credits roll. Things we see include…

Hardy walking Laurel like a dog (don’t kink shame), who chases a cat, a cowboy on a chariot using the nearly naked duo as horses (don’t kink shame), the duo sharing a small motorcycle, the duo sharing a helicopter car, the individual characters in their own boxes, the duo on a scooter, the cowboy again, something I can’t make out due to the credits, the duo on a fire engine, Hardy jumping over Laurel, the duo being bounced around by… sea animals, the duo on a plane, the duo on a flying carpet, the duo on a bull, Hardy in a hole, Hardy fighting a dog, the bike again, Hardy being chased by a shark and Laurel stifling a laugh. When then have an iris expand and the duo run towards the audience. The end.

But that’s not the only intro. Here’s another for what I assume is syndication in the 80s.


We start with the duo getting bounced by what looks to me like very sickly looking dolphins.

We hear “characters”…

“Here’s another fine song you got us into, Stanley.”
“I certainly did.”

Look, I’m only somewhat familiar with the duo but these are definitely bad, not-even-trying expressions.

We then see the duo in a Robin Hood setting, then a scene where the two run into each other.

“One’s slim and dumb
One weighs a ton
Its time for Laurel and Hardy.”

I mean, I think they are both pretty dumb. The difference is Laurel is likeable. The music, meanwhile, is clearly of a different era of the show and feels like it was composed for a local grocery store.

We then see the two playing hot potato with dynamite before exploding. Then we see one chasing the other in the vague Middle East. Then Laurel spraying a hose at Hardy. Then the two emerging from water wearing sailor clothes.

“If you want some fun, we’ll give you some
Its time for Laurel and Hardy.”

I feel like I should be hearing if chicken drumsticks and apples are on sale.

“Not sure how they live through
Every single show.”

This is a darker musing than I expected.

“But we’ll make sure, you’re going to roar
Cause these two always come back for more.”

We see Laurel stepping on a hoe, bonking his nose and hitting Hardy into a basket of soil. Then we see them in a supercar that extends itself to dodge a train, only to run straight into the top of a train tunnel.

We then see the two and some other guy scared by a roaring lion and then running away. Someone then bonks their heads together while they are in their Robin Hood garb. Then Hardy’s entire hard is devoured as he tries to feed a dog.

We then see them settling in to watch TV, then them being used as a centurion’s horses (which makes more sense but my brain still parses the character from the first intro as a cowboy), then we see a sea monster who scares the duo wearing a sea monster disguise.

“So just tune in,
Get set to grin,
Get ready to have a party.”

This feels less like a party show and more like a “Well, I guess nothing else is on at 6 AM on a Sunday.”

We then see them sadly taking each other’s hats in one of those French Foreign Legion-type forts (remember when the French Foreign Legion got a LOT of play as a thing in cartoons? No one even talks about it anymore), followed by Hardy head palming in front of a peasant’s house while Laurel is shrugging in a… science place? A lab? A rocket? There’s a console and a big lever at any rate.

“With two good friends,
Through thick and thin
Our heroes Laurel and Hardy.”

We then see the characters in front of a green background doing the general iconic gesture animations they’ve done before while the title pops up.


Did It Make Me Want To Watch It?

I don’t even like regular Laurel and Hardy. Neither intro is very good but the latter has an extra feel of being made by someone who has only read about fun and music in books written by Christians.

What Did You Find on Wikipedia?

For some reason, Leonard Maltin took time to through shade on this when he took be discussing good movies. But so could I, I guess so who am I too through stones in a glass house?

"To criticize these cartoons is pointless. Any imitation, even a good one, simply cannot be Laurel and Hardy... No one can duplicate Laurel and Hardy's greatness because they were unique."

Fan Art

Most of these add nothing new.

a6d76e18ef5ccb35bf2617eb8b02b2a4.jpg
b8fc94ac1407883f93765d1a38426e70.jpg


But this is not a bad Hardy

0676f474042147d08d49be5a18d507c4.jpg
 

Daikaiju

Rated Ages 6+
(He, Him)
Fun Fact: They did a short where Laurel snapped and literally brought the house down on Hardy (slient era I think).
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Linus the Lionhearted

No idea but hey, another lion cartoon, I assume.


This copy of the theme is a bit raw and alternates between color and black and white. I’m wondering if this was a demo version to show networks it looks both good in black and white and in colour.

We start with a lion on a stage on a pedestal, who takes out a spritzer bottle and sprays it into his mouth. Then he roars, which causes a stampede of various African animals that stomps all over our lion.

“Roar roar roar roar
Linus the Lionhearted”

A spotlight falls on our hero as the title appears.

“Roar roar roar roar
That’s how the show gets started.”

Linus smiles and mugs for the camera and suddenly onto the stage comes a mailman and a small… Asian boy. Oooo, this ain’t good.

“Linus is the one
Who has tons of fun.
He’s the host
Of which we boast”

Linus is picked by some kind of raccoon detective and Linus brings out the wackiest paraphernalia he can to INSIST that he’s the most fun. He’s like the guy at school who tries too hard to create eccentricities for himself before really finding himself in university, I hope.

“He’s a work of art
with a lionheart
He’s the biggest
The greatest
The sweetest
The most!”

Linus falls from where he was vamping but gets up to get framed in a heart. Then he begins holding the mailman with one hand, juggling balls and the little Asian boy with the other while being picked up again by Detective Raccoon (he does one thing but he does it well). They all fall down and Linus is hit with a single ball (not all of them? Isn’t that the cartoon rule?) before getting stampeded again.

We then see a clamoring mass of animals and a bear chucks a crown on his head. The other established characters and Linus accept the audiences cheers, waving to them. They skedaddle and the bear shows up again playing the banjo and… say, something looks similar about this bear.

DwJuKyyWoAIqbEW.jpg:large


Is… is that…

DwJuG-LWkAEeN2l.jpg:large


COMPUTER! ENHANCE!
*goes to paint program, crops picture*

ulZOS9Bl.jpg


Huh. I guess I remembered that some cereal mascots appeared as cartoon characters but I wasn’t expecting it. I guess the Postman is post cereal and the Asian… OMG. Unfortunately, I remember what this one is from.

c_314_rice_krinkles_cereal.jpg


*sigh* I mean, it was already bad but this is the extra dash racist sugar on the rice krinkles.

Anyway, Sugar Bear waves towards Linus and we see the animals cheering for him again.

“Linus is the one
Who has tons of fun
He’s the host
Of which we boast!
He’s a work of art
with a lionheart
He’s the biggest
The greatest
The sweetest
The most!”

Linus has the Asian caricature on his head and an admiral’s hat falls over him and gets some sort of medal and he’s cheered on by the other characters.

He’s carried off in a giant stroller as the crowd cheers on.

“Roar roar roar roar
Linus the king! Linus the king!
Linus the lionhearted!”

Did It Make Me Want To Watch It?

Its not a bad opening but its not terribly compelling either.

What Did You Find on Wikipedia?

Post cereal made this to sell cereal. Really. All the characters were various cereal mascots. The mailman was named “Loveable Truly” (?!) for Alpha-Bits, the Asian Kid was “So-Hi” and the Raccoon was “Rory Raccon” for Post Toasties. Apparently the show aired for two seasons and about 4 years later, reruns were pulled off the air by the FCC for ALL the reasons.

Fan Art

I actually did find some!

Linus-newcolor-550.jpg


Is this true? I’ve never had Crispy Critters, which is apparently Linus’ cereal.

1244107112.blueeyedwolf_linusthelion.jpg


That tail is giving me the finger.
linus_and_sugar_bear_by_toony_lunarry_ddu108v-pre.png

Buff lion. But my attention is drawn to Sugar Bear’s Wesley Crusher-esque sweater.
 

MetManMas

Me and My Bestie
(He, him)
SUGAR BEAR WHY

WHY ARE YOU HOLDING A GRENADE

WHY ARE YOU DOING A NAKED ON AN ELEPHANT'S HEAD WITH A GIANT LION

WHY

I knew all about the toy-selling cartoons of the 80s but I did not know about the cereal-selling cartoons of the 60s.

Like, I knew about cereal commercials using cartoon characters and bits and how The Flintstones have cereal (and vitamin) lines that long outlived the original 60s show that spawned them*, but I didn't know they had their own actual cartoon shows taking up time slots on the TV.

* I know The Flintstones still regularly see cameos every now and then and occasionally have stuff like that direct-to-DVD cartoon with wrestlers and that one Social Justice Fred comic, but they don't see direct-to-DVD/streaming "movies" and new TV shows as often as Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry too do.
 

Büge

Arm Candy
(she/her)
To be fair, the Flintstones also did ads for cigarettes, which are kind of like cereal
 
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