Posts Tagged ‘Animation’

Before Spice Girls there was Josie, Melody and Valerie better known as Josie and the Pussycats. An animated all girl bubble gum band that first aired on CBS in 1970 and was running for 7 long years but it was however re-conceptualized in 1972 as Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space. And who knew that the singing voice of Melody was non-other than Cheryl Ladd that we came to love in Charlie’s Angels.

Love those Beatles Cartoons!

We discovered these old Beatles cartoons on-line and just had to have them. My 2 1/2 year old son is crazy about them and now knows loads of Beatles songs. The content is very child-friendly, but please be aware that the quality of the DVDs may vary. The copy we purchased was not great, but we enjoy them anyway.

The Beatles cartoon ran from 1965 to 1967 on ABC and a total of 39 episodes were produced. The Beatles themselves wanted nothing to do with the series. Actor, Paul Frees did the voices of John and George, while Lance Percival did the the voices of Paul and Ringo. Supposedly, the band hated their depictions on TV, although it is rumored their stance softened in later years.

We particularly recommend Season 3 (9-10/1967) Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields. This episode contains a fantastic sequence animated to Strawberry Fields. In this episode the band brings color to some lonely orphans. The Beatles actually take to the air and fly over the countryside in a artistic montage of color and sound that should not be missed.

This is the site where they sell hand painted cartoon panels signed by the original artists and directors.

Check out some of our own Beatles related products here.

There is nothing like being a Rock and Roller by night and a Super Hero by day:

The Impossibles was a series of animated cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1966 and aired on American television by CBS. The series of shorts appeared as part of Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles.” - Wikipedia

Read the rest of the Wikipedia article here.

The Archies cartoon started in 1968 and they are considered one of the first animated Bubble Gum Rock band to jam during their show. The actual music for the band was sung by Ron Dante and was released as singles and records. The song Sugar, Sugar was a huge hit and a number 1 single for 4 weeks in 1969. The song was supposedly offered by the producer, Ron Kushner to the Monkees who refused to record it.

You can read more about it here.

The Archies, they’re not. They are, however, four hillbilly cats who love to rock. Yeah, yeah, we know how some of you feel about animated Bubblegum Rock bands. Are you forgetting that this is a site for kids after all?

One of Hanna-Barbera’s least known shows, the Cattanooga Cats, never had the popularity of the very similar, Banana Splits. Lead singer/guitarist Country was voiced by Bill Callaway, who also was the voice of Aquaman on the Superfriends. The drummer Groove was voiced by none other than Casey Kasem, who was also on the Superfriends, as the voice of Robin.

The show’s catchy tunes were penned and performed by music legend Mike Curb, who also produced for the likes of Roy Orbison and Sammy Davis Jr.  Curb is also known to be responsible for signing the group WAR to a contract as well as becoming Lieutenant Governor of California from 1979-1983.