As some of you already know, famous voice actor and comedian Gary Owens died yesterday. Most people knew of him only from "Laugh-In," while some of us fondly remember him as the voice of Roger Ramjet, the original Space Ghost, Blue Falcon, Powdered Toast Man, Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade and many others.

Personally, I loved his vocal contributions to the earliest seasons of Sesame Street:

H is for Hello:

https://youtu.be/wgG_3g4lYOw

I is for Impolite:

https://youtu.be/gjgAb-edYCc

K is For Kangaroo:

https://youtu.be/Wbo3hm7Zhww

Gary's regular voice in all of the above is instantly recognizable, of course. But did you know that he also did trick voices? One famous example that nobody knows Gary did was the voice of the guy doing the rocket countdown in every one of these classic Sesame Street segments:

https://youtu.be/i8sGsaxlNJg

And here's nearly all the rest of them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg07FuW29lE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIEaIe7DA7w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aoMFkx-dgI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIiFlU6Vsio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dECecuzYzOU

God bless you, Gary -- you made us laugh even when we didn't know it was you...

Originally I didn't think I was going to do any more seasonal Cartoon Spotlights, owing to the fact that I've already spotlighted so many others in the past. But today I came across this rare animated special from Great Britain:

https://youtu.be/9gdrn0pZFa0

According to Wikipedia, this was produced by Hibbert Ralph Entertainment and Link Entertainment and first aired on the BBC on December 25, 1998. While the story/characters/animation etc. are nothing to get really exited about, I personally am just so burnt out on CGI that I find it refreshing to see a cartoon that actually LOOKS like a cartoon!

...even though this film is not entirely free of computer effects (the airplane, etc). It was made in the late 90's, after all.

This clip is from a Walter Lantz short called "Jerky Turkey" (not to be confused with the MGM cartoon of the same name):

https://youtu.be/5y8Mg1e3o9U

As usual, the full cartoon is not available for watching on YouTube, because selfishness.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Also, thanks to everyone who sent me well-wishes for my birthday; they were all very much appreciated.

...but I'm getting there. Tomorrow I celebrate the completion of yet another year.

https://youtu.be/CqS2CLpkGMI

Learn all about the Kickstarter for  RGibson's upcoming novel here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14206974/

Speaking as one of the few who have actually gotten to read her entire novel in advance, I can honestly state that it's a very engaging story. I know money may be tight for many folks right now, but still, it would be terrific if we could help make this thing a reality!

Two familiar Warner Bros. characters are interviewed by the master of deadpan humor, Pat Paulsen:

https://youtu.be/TRjenm4JSJ4

Pat Paulsen's Half-a-Comedy Hour only lasted one season in 1970. It never went into syndication, but I remember seeing both of these interviews the days they aired. The series just recently was released on DVD.


And this concludes the CotW journals. Thanks for viewing.

Gabby, the excitable little character from the Fleischer Studios' animated Gulliver's Travels movie, had his own spinoff series of theatrical shorts. This one from 1941 features a strange hybrid animal called a Rubberneck Kango:

https://youtu.be/Yf2JQpBCGu0

Pinto Colvig provided all the voices in this cartoon (you'll probably recognize Goofy's voice coming from the delivery man).

I recently learned that there was an animated series based off of these popular manga books from the 90's:

https://youtu.be/rLkMf3CCY2Y

This episode is pretty easy to decipher without the need for subtitles. Michael encounters a stray kitten who looks a lot like him (an illegitimate son, perhaps, judging by the way Michael's wife Popo reacts to it). After his family begins to adopt the little one, Michael resents it at first -- but then...

Apparently, the series has been dubbed into Italian, but sadly, not into English. Seeing as how a translated version of Doremon is currently being aired on the Disney channels, I wish they would re-dub and run this series as well.

The only copy of this David Hand cartoon on YouTube was part of a Wubbcast episode. If you'd rather skip Wubbzy's bad flash animation, the actual "Ostrich" cartoon starts at 1:20 in the video:

https://youtu.be/rohECYJSMQQ

Other animated shorts by Dave Hand that I've spotlighted in the past can be found here, here, here and here.

Remember Private SNAFU? Here's another short featuring his two brothers, appropriately named named TARFU and FUBAR!

https://youtu.be/OzeFtq1ncl0

Happy Fourth of July!

Here's an obscure series from DePatie-Freleng studios that I enjoyed watching on Saturday mornings back in 1969-70.

Opening Title:

https://youtu.be/OK7v4vAXdiA

In the following full episode, some may recognize the voice of Princess Dawn as Stefanianna Christopherson, who also voiced Daphne on the original Scooby-Doo series.

https://youtu.be/IRHggDeQxow

Does the Grump's dragon seem familiar (not to mention the Grump himself)? That's because they're basically expy versions of Yosemite Sam and his dragon from "Knighty Knight Bugs," also directed by Friz Freleng.

https://youtu.be/yobj1Zv91KA

I still like the "Grump" show for its whimsical locations and characters (anybody else think that the Shushers of Sleeping Town looked like crazily distorted Smurfs?). My only regret is that they never did a "final" episode where Terry and Princess Dawn finally reached the Cave of the Whispering Orchids. It would have been nice to have brought the series to a close like that.

As many of you know, we lost vocal performer Casey Kasem earlier this week. Think all he did was host American Top 40 and provide the voice of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo? Think again:

https://youtu.be/6Dex1JJ3bos

He was also the voice of Robin in one of the early Batman animated series:

https://youtu.be/VUQfNxeKqjY

The following clip appeared on a TV in the background of the movie E.T - The Extra-Terrestrial:

https://youtu.be/Q8ZMlsFV1gc

This next clip has no animals in it, but it's too funny to leave out:

https://youtu.be/-2FTMCJ91rM

Finally, although I included this one in an earlier spotlight, let's view it one last time:

https://youtu.be/1_7czzq6Rk8

Casey voiced countless other short animated vignettes for Sesame Street (one of my favorites was "Goat Begins with the Letter G" which unfortunately was taken down from YouTube). He also voiced Groove, the drummer cat who always spoke in rhyme from The Cattanooga Cats Show. And many more...

Farewell, Casey. You've finally reached the stars.

Another Rick Reinert ABC Weekend Special.
 mkaz did a lot of layout work on this one:

https://youtu.be/MeMgZOaYQgE

Made in 1992, a good dozen years or so before Disney made their CGI feature film which used the premise that maybe the "falling sky" was caused by aliens...

While browsing YouTube to see what I could spotlight this week, I came across this oddity:

https://youtu.be/ODLQi1eO5Qw

Can anybody tell me who made this cartoon, or where it's from? I'm guessing Great Britain, but there's no studio identification to be found either at the beginning or the end of the film. (It doesn't help that there's a glitch near the end where the video freezes for a few seconds before jumping ahead.)

A UPA short from 1953 about a little boy who happens to be a ... werechicken??

https://youtu.be/Xo3EictfbgY

This is one of those videos where the cartoon was accidentally uploaded twice, so you can stop watching after the first showing (unless you want to watch the same cartoon over again).

UPA made a sequel in 1955 called "Christopher Crumpet's Playmate." In it, Christopher doesn't get cross enough to use his powers of feathery lycanthropy, but he does conjure up a semi-invisible animal friend...:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1.....955_shortfilms

An old Terrytoons short from 1942 near the start of America's involvement in World War II:

https://youtu.be/kG94WJy8hmE

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Does anybody out there remember this Sunday morning series from the late 70s to the early 80s?

Opening theme and closing:
https://youtu.be/1LglQxEmPH0

Every episode featured Lynn Kellogg singing a song about the designated animal of the week. Here's a clip where she sings about cats:
https://youtu.be/rnXK8TfVUvo

The animation for the internal segments was pretty primitive, even for back then. But there sure was a lot of lovely live-action animal footage!

A classic Disney Featurette that won an Oscar for Best Short Subject in 1970:

Part 1:
https://youtu.be/al_Zxx6HUG0

To my knowledge, this has never been officially released on DVD or Blu-Ray:

Part 2:
https://youtu.be/Zv6Z6m2WCM4

Part 3 has the least animation, but don't miss the grand finale (i.e. the last 2 and a half minutes):

https://youtu.be/RtQ1etI3zhA

It is interesting to note that this was made at the same time as Monty Python's Flying Circus -- so close that I don't think it was possible that either side was influenced by the other. Great minds thinking alike, I guess.

A Saturday Morning Cartoon series put out by Rankin-Bass (animated by Toei Studios) in 1969.

Opening Title:

https://youtu.be/9XXEq-IvOLc

The second half of the show featured Smokey and his pals when they were youngsters.

2nd Half Intro:

https://youtu.be/dV3evTen_HI

If Young Smokey's voice sounds familiar, it's because Billie Richards, the voice of Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, was doing it.


Ending Title (back when they actually had such things):

https://youtu.be/ZS8c6lgq5EY

In my opinion, the show had great promise but admittedly poor execution. Still, with anthropomorphic characters like Floyd the Fox, Gabby the Mountain Lion, Freddie Fume the Skunk, O.O. Otter the Shopkeeper and of course Smokey himself, it was probably the furriest show on TV at the time.

This is a classic Chinese animated feature film from 1979. It is based on a character from Taoist mythology.


Opening Title -- an introduction to the four Dragon Kings:

https://youtu.be/i7vw3-TrCKU


In this scene, Nezha battles the son of one of the dragons, for having stolen (and eaten) a child:

https://youtu.be/PgTUNN9kSDc

The rest of the movie is available on YouTube, and I highly recommend it. There's also a version dubbed into English (called "Little Nezha Fights Great Dragon Kings"), but as is typical for most English dubs, it suffers from poor voice acting and gratuitous jokes and puns that weren't in the original script. At least the subtitled version tells you exactly what was really being said.

Back around 1971, Filmation made a special that was part live-action and part animation with Bill Cosby cast in the title role. It's a three-parter, but I'm focusing on the second and third parts, as these are the most interesting:

(If you're curious about Part 1, here's the link to it.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jON9jB6KPws

Part Two has the most animation. The two fables told here are "The Eagle and the Tortoise" and the ever-popular "Tortoise and the Hare." Note all the furry characters, especially the Hare's "cheerleaders." (Filmation loved furries!)

https://youtu.be/I0ELfr6VrY8

Part Three, wrapping up the "Tortoise & Hare" story and the special.

https://youtu.be/WK7WGaWm04Y

Of course, if you lack the patience to watch the above, here's another "Tortoise and the Hare" retelling, one of the funniest and best Bugs Bunny cartoons ever made, IMO:

https://youtu.be/gL_mR5h_siM

(Wait ... let's see that ending again in full color...)

https://youtu.be/FN9IrnhFwP0

Oh, and have a Happy Easter, everyone!

It's that time of year -- chocolate bunnies are in the stores again, so here's a trio of vintage commercials featuring that cocoa-loving rabbit who's in the stores year-round:

First Appearance:
https://youtu.be/p26ORXYBFxw

Second Appearance:
https://youtu.be/FMWKknxNbBU

Third Appearance:
https://youtu.be/-f_kuI5ZY4E

I wish I could have found and included commercials featuring the retired Strawberry Quik rabbit (who got the giggles whenever he took a sip of the strawberry-flavored milk) and the rarely-seen Banana Quik rabbit, (who would progressively become more banana-like with each sip he took of his namesake). Bizarre bunnies, indeed.

In honor of Eddie Lawrence who died earlier this week, here's a cartoon he voiced featuring an anthropomorphic baseball.

https://youtu.be/Cp2czf5RMVI

Eddie Lawrence was perhaps best known for his character of The Old Philosopher.

Winter's been pretty harsh in parts of the world this year (though not where I am, thankfully). So here's a little reminder that it won't last forever:

https://youtu.be/RBEim0Rx7jM

The tune of this song is something we've all heard in numerous other cartoons, but how many people knew that this familiar melody actually had lyrics? I certainly didn't.

I'm guessing we've pretty much all seen the Chuck Jones version of Kipling's famous short story. But the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Russia did their own version 10 years before Jones.

https://youtu.be/ar-lv03ElXI

While this version of Rikk-Tikki may look suspiciously more like a Siberian sable than a mongoose, I still find his design vastly more appealing than that other one. I'll never forget the time Chuck Jones came to CalArts in 1986 to give a lecture to the Character Animation class. He started talking about his version of the story, and how he went to great pains to "come up with a design for Rikki that didn't look like a weasel." (Because everyone knows that weasels can never be heroic or sympathetic.) That's why Chuck's "mongoose" has rodent teeth and hairless paws like a rat. Way to go, Chucko.