King Leonardo and His Short Subjects | |
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Genre | Animation |
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Narrated by |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
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Production | |
Executive producer | Peter M. Piech |
Producers |
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Running time | 30 minutes |
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Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | October 15, 1960 – December 23, 1961 |
Network | CBS |
Release | September 28, 1963 – March 21, 1964 |
King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (also known as The King and Odie Show) is an American Saturday-morning animated television series that aired on NBC from October 15, 1960 to December 23, 1961; the original Short Subjects package last aired on the network on September 28, 1963, when new segments of The King & Odie and The Hunter aired as part of Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales . The show was initially sponsored by General Mills. It was produced by Total Television Productions and Leonardo Productions, named after the main character, and has been referred to as the second original color Saturday-morning cartoon program after "The Ruff and Reddy Show". Leonardo Productions was actually Producers Associates for Television, aka P.A.T. [1]
The show focuses on Leonardo Lion (voiced by Jackson Beck), the well-meaning but often inept king of Bongo Congo, a fictional African nation notable for its bongos. [2] King Leonardo is assisted in all things by a calm, competent skunk named Odie Cologne (a play on Eau de Cologne ) or "Odie O. Cologne" (voiced by Allen Swift impersonating Ronald Colman). [3] Odie, the one who really keeps the kingdom on an even keel, has been by the king's side since they were children. [4]
King Leonardo's main archenemy is the gangster-type character Biggie Rat (voiced by Jackson Beck impersonating Edward G. Robinson), who routinely attempts to overthrow Leonardo and take over Bongo Congo for himself, with Leonardo's dimwitted sibling Itchy Brother (voiced by Allen Swift) being his puppet king. On occasion, Biggie and Itchy are assisted by an evil German inventor named Professor Messer (voiced by Jackson Beck). Biggie and Itchy's schemes always end with them either landing in the dungeon or escaping.
Episodes of The King and Odie that were exclusive to Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales feature Biggie Rat and Itchy Brother employed by Mr. Mad (voiced by Norman Rose), a mad scientist with a domineering personality. Mr. Mad has his own plans for Bongo Congo and indulges in his diabolical studies of behavior where he collected different types of people whilst lacking a King for his studies. Mr. Mad also threatened to throw Biggie and Itchy in "The Room" which contains unseen stuff that frightens both of them should they fail him. When his schemes fail, Mr. Mad disappears "as if by magic" before he can be apprehended.
Each half-hour episode of King Leonardo consisted of five animated segments. Each half-hour included a two-part King and Odie episode, with other characters featured in between:
Another segment of the original King Leonardo show was Twinkles, an orange elephant who served as the mascot of Twinkles Cereal, a product of the show's chief sponsor, General Mills. [6] The 90-second Twinkles segments continued to air in syndication during the 1960s, and were presented in a 15-minute format under the title The King and Odie with George S. Irving narrating each segment. It later phased out after a firefighter character replaced the elephant as the cereal's mascot. The segments also appeared during some NBC network rebroadcasts of Underdog . The Twinkles segments were not included when King Leonardo And His Short Subjects was syndicated in a half-hour format during the 1980s.
Early in the series' NBC run, selected Columbia Pictures theatrical cartoons were aired on the program, some featuring The Fox and the Crow and Li'l Abner.
These shorts were added to fill time when production of the early shows was delayed. The Columbia cartoons were featured during NBC showings of Hanna-Barbera's The Ruff and Reddy Show , but not included in subsequent syndicated versions of the series.
The animation for the show's early segments was produced by TV Spots, with later episodes by Gamma Productions, the same Mexican studio that did much of the work for Jay Ward Productions. For this reason, and due to shared sponsorship by General Mills, Gamma has often been associated with both Total Television and Jay Ward Productions. TV Spots was primarily a producer of animated commercials, but also was contracted for some segments of Rocky and His Friends for Jay Ward Productions.
After King Leonardo and his Short Subjects ended, one season of new segments of "The King and Odie" and "The Hunter" continued to be produced and aired on Total TV's Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales from September of 1963 to March of 1964. The following year, Total TV launched its most popular series, Underdog . When Underdog premiered in 1964, it featured repeats of The Hunter, while The Hunter's former spot on the Tennessee Tuxedo program was filled by repeats of Tooter Turtle.
In reruns, Total Television shorts often have been packaged alongside Jay Ward cartoons. Despite similar limited-animation styles, they were two separate studios. The animation for both studios was done by a small startup company called Gamma Productions; hence, the similar "look."
King Leonardo, despite its earlier episodes repackaged for syndication as The King and Odie during the mid-1960s, never attained the popularity of Total Television's other series, Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo, and is rarely seen on television today. Beginning in 2006, the Black Family Channel aired this show on its BFC Kids TV programming block until the channel's demise a year later. The characters of this show were also featured in an eight-issue comic book produced by Dell Comics and Gold Key. Currently, select episodes of The King & Odie, The Hunter, and Tooter Turtle are showcased as part of a 1996 Underdog syndication package distributed by Golden Books, which currently airs on MeTV Toons.
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC television networks. Produced by Jay Ward Productions, the series is structured as a variety show, with the main feature being the serialized adventures of the two title characters, the anthropomorphic flying squirrel Rocket J. ("Rocky") Squirrel and moose Bullwinkle J. Moose. The main antagonists in most of their adventures are the two Russian-like spies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, both working for the Nazi-like dictator Fearless Leader. Supporting segments include "Dudley Do-Right", "Peabody's Improbable History", and "Fractured Fairy Tales", among others. The current blanket title was imposed for home video releases more than 40 years after the series originally aired and was never used when the show was televised; television airings of the show were broadcast under the titles of Rocky and His Friends from 1959 to 1961 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons on ABC, The Bullwinkle Show from 1961 to 1964 on Sunday evening and then late Sunday afternoon on NBC, and The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show as repeats from 1964-73 on Sunday mornings on ABC and in syndication following this.
Dudley Do-Right is a fictional character created by Alex Anderson, Chris Hayward, Allan Burns, Jay Ward, and Bill Scott, who appears as the main protagonist of "Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties", a segment on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
Underdog, also known as The Underdog Show, is an American Saturday morning animated television series that ran from October 3, 1964, to March 4, 1967, starting on the NBC network until 1966, with the rest of the run on CBS, under the primary sponsorship of General Mills, for a run of 62 episodes. It is one of the early Saturday morning cartoons. The show continued in syndication until 1973.
Tooter Turtle is an American animated television series about a turtle which first appeared on TV in 1960, as a segment of the King Leonardo and His Short Subjects program. "Tooter Turtle" debuted on NBC, on Saturday, October 15, 1960, and ran for 39 original episodes through July 22, 1961. These episodes were later rerun as backups on other cartoon shows, but no more original episodes were made.
Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks is one of the three segments of The Huckleberry Hound Show. This show was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions between October 2, 1958, and October 13, 1961, and consist of 57 episodes.
Dayton Allen was an American comedian and voice actor. He was one of the "men in the street" on The Steve Allen Show. His catchphrase was "Why not, Bubbe?"
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"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 9, 1997. In the episode, The Itchy & Scratchy Show attempts to regain lost viewers by introducing a new character named Poochie, voiced by Homer. The episode is largely self-referential and satirizes the world of television production, fans of The Simpsons, and the series itself. It was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Steven Dean Moore. Alex Rocco is a credited guest voice as Roger Meyers Jr. for the third and final time ; Phil Hartman also guest stars as Troy McClure. Poochie became a minor recurring character and Comic Book Guy's catchphrase, "Worst episode ever", is introduced in this episode.
William Watts "Buck" Biggers was an American novelist and co-creator of the long-running animated television series Underdog.
Bullwinkle's Entertainment, previously known as Family Fun Centers & Bullwinkle's Restaurant and formerly Bullwinkle's Family Food n' Fun is a chain of family entertainment centers. Locations feature a sit-down restaurant, complemented by arcade games, go-karts, bumper boats, mini golf, laser tag, a ropes course, a zip line, and small rides for children. Games and activities are generally themed around the company's namesake, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
Commander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments produced by Total Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions. These segments first appeared in 1963 on the animated series Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, then on the Underdog animated television show from 1964 to 1973, and have appeared in some syndicated prints of The Bullwinkle Show, Hoppity Hooper and Uncle Waldo's Cartoon Show.
Klondike Kat is a cartoon produced by Total Television and originally aired as part of The Beagles on CBS-TV in 1966, and later found in the U.S. syndicated Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo cartoon series, in between episodes as an animated short.
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The Beagles is a Saturday morning animated television series that aired on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 2, 1967. The show was produced by Total Television, which created King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, and Underdog. The show was cancelled by CBS after one season, despite finishing in the top 10 for Saturday mornings. It then went into reruns on ABC from September 9, 1967, to September 2, 1968. It was also the last animated series produced by Total Television before it was dissolved in 1969.
Mark Arnold is an American writer and commentator who grew up in Saratoga, California. He has contributed to several publications in the United States, including The Comics Journal, Hogan's Alley, Back Issue!, and Comics Buyer's Guide. Arnold also worked with Jerry Beck and Leslie Cabarga on their Harvey Comics Classics series for Dark Horse Comics.
Total Television was an American animation studio founded in 1959 by Buck Biggers, Chester "Chet" Stover, Joe Harris, and Treadwell D. Covington. They were executives in the advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample who had the account for the General Mills food corporation. Total was formed to create cartoon characters encouraging children to buy General Mills breakfast cereals and other products. The company mostly created cartoons for television networks such as NBC. Underdog, King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, and Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales were among the most popular series made by the studio.
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales is an animated television series that originally aired Saturday mornings on CBS from 1963 to 1966 as one of the earliest Saturday morning cartoons. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills. A co-sponsor was Pillsbury's Funny Face Drinks. The title is a play on the “tuxedo” dinner jacket worn as formal wear.
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Joseph Benjamin Harris III was an American illustrator and storyboard artist. He is best known for creating the Trix Rabbit, the cartoon mascot for General Mills' Trix breakfast cereal, who debuted in 1959. He also penned the Trix rabbit's memorable commercial tagline, "Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids", which is still utilized in General Mills' advertising campaign, as of 2017. Additionally, in 1959 Harris, Chet Stover, and W. Watts Biggers co-founded Total Television, which produced Saturday morning cartoons. Harris created some of Total Television's best known characters and series, including King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (1960–1963), Klondike Kat (1963–1965), and Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1966). His best known character creation aside from the Trix Rabbit was Underdog, the canine star of the animated series, Underdog, from 1964 to 1967.