The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo

Last updated
The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo
Genre Animation
Written byWalter Black
Barbara Chain
Directed by Abe Levitow (supervising)
Bob McKimson
Grant Simmons
Steve Clark (sequence)
Ray Patterson (sequence)
Voices of Jim Backus
Marvin Miller
Paul Frees
Dal McKennon
Joan Gardner
Howard Morris
Shepard Menken
Everett Sloane
Julie Bennett
Theme music composer Carl Brandt
Composer Carl Brandt
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer Henry G. Saperstein
EditorSam Horta
Running time30 minutes
Production company United Productions of America
Original release
Network NBC
Release19 September 1964 (1964-09-19) 
24 April 1965 (1965-04-24)

The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo is an American animated television series produced by United Productions of America that aired for one season on NBC from September 19, 1964 to April 24, 1965. [1] The television series was based on the original cartoon of the same name, with Jim Backus reprising the voiceover of the role he did on TV: while doing this show, he continued with the prime time TV show Gilligan's Island . This was a follow-up to the original Mister Magoo series which aired from 1960-1961. [2]

Contents

Unlike the theatrical cartoons, which focused on the extremely nearsighted Quincy Magoo's bumbling, the show featured the Magoo character as an actor in adaptations of such literary classics as Don Quixote and "Gunga Din". [3] Each of these roles was played seriously, with few if any references to Magoo's nearsightedness; however, introductory segments in each program featured Magoo backstage stumbling into scenery and talking to props, thus connecting the older cartoons to this series. Some stories were contained in a single half-hour episode, but others ran for two and even four episodes. As UPA did not have its own studio facility, the production was farmed out to the Grantray-Lawrence and Format Films studios.

Among the most ambitious adaptations mounted in this format were the four-part Robin Hood , in which he took the role of Friar Tuck; Treasure Island , in which he played the villainous Long John Silver; and a version of Snow White in which he portrayed all seven of the Seven Dwarfs (much easier in an animated setting, with no trick photography needed).

The series was inspired by the success of the 1962 television special Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol , a serious remake of the Charles Dickens classic novel with Magoo playing Ebenezer Scrooge.

The series was re-shown in the early 1970s on early Saturday mornings and the early 1980s as part of certain channels' weekday afternoon cartoon blocs. Certain episodes were released on VHS, but these have since gone out of print.

The series was originally shown in prime time and not as part of an animated block for juvenile viewers; therefore, certain more mature elements were present. These included death threats (William Tell, Robin Hood, Don Quixote, The Three Musketeers, Sherlock Holmes), children in danger (Treasure Island, Gunga Din, William Tell), insanity (Don Quixote, Moby Dick), heroic self-sacrifice (Gunga Din), religious themes (Noah's Ark), and realistic, although mostly bloodless, violence; including swordplay, shooting, clubbing, drowning and character deaths in most of the episodes.

Episodes

#Broadcast dateTitleAdapted for Television by
01September 19, 1964"William Tell"Barbara Chain
02September 26, 1964"Treasure Island" Part 1Walter Black
03October 3, 1964"Treasure Island" Part 2Walter Black
04October 10, 1964"Gunga Din"Sloan Nibley
05October 17, 1964"Moby Dick"True Boardman
06October 24, 1964"The Three Musketeers" Part 1Joanna Lee
07November 7, 1964"The Three Musketeers" Part 2Joanna Lee
08November 14, 1964"Robin Hood" Episode 1Walter Black
09November 21, 1964"Robin Hood" Episode 2Walter Black
10November 28, 1964"Robin Hood" Episode 3Walter Black
11December 5, 1964"Robin Hood" Episode 4Walter Black
12December 19, 1964"Don Quixote de la Mancha" Episode 1True Boardman
13December 26, 1964"Cyrano de Bergerac"True Boardman
14January 2, 1965"Snow White" Episode 1Barbara Chain
15January 9, 1965"Snow White" Episode 2Barbara Chain
16January 16, 1965"Rip Van Winkle"Barbara Chain
17February 6, 1965"Dick Tracy and the Mob"Sloan Nibley
18February 13, 1965"A Midsummer Night's Dream"Barbara Chain
19February 27, 1965"The Count of Monte Cristo"Walter Black
20March 13, 1965"Doctor Frankenstein"Sloan Nibley
21March 20, 1965"Don Quixote de la Mancha" Episode 2True Boardman
22March 27, 1965"Captain Kidd"Walter Black
23April 3, 1965"Noah's Ark"Barbara Chain
24April 10, 1965"Sherlock Holmes"True Boardman
25April 17, 1965"King Arthur"Sloan Nibley
26April 24, 1965"Paul Revere"Jerry D. Lewis

Home video

In November 2011, Shout! Factory released Mr. Magoo: The Television Collection 1960-1977 on DVD in Region 1. [4] This 11-disc collection contains all the episodes from all three Mr. Magoo television series, including all 26 episodes of The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo.

Related Research Articles

<i>Gerald McBoing-Boing</i> 1950 short film

Gerald McBoing-Boing is an animated short film about a little boy who speaks through sound effects instead of spoken words. It was produced by United Productions of America (UPA) and given wide release by Columbia Pictures on November 2, 1950. It was adapted by Phil Eastman and Bill Scott from a story by Dr. Seuss, directed by Robert Cannon, and produced by John Hubley.

"Gunga Din" is an 1890 poem by Rudyard Kipling set in British India. The poem was published alongside "Mandalay" and "Danny Deever" in the collection "Barrack-Room Ballads".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Productions of America</span> American film production company

United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio and later distribution company founded in 1941 as Industrial Film and Poster Service by former Walt Disney Productions employees. Beginning with industrial and World War II training films, UPA eventually produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures such as the Mr. Magoo series. In 1956, UPA produced a television series for CBS, The Boing-Boing Show, hosted by Gerald McBoing Boing. In the 1960s, UPA produced syndicated Mr. Magoo and Dick Tracy television series and other series and specials, including Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. UPA also produced two animated features, 1001 Arabian Nights and Gay Purr-ee, and distributed Japanese films from Toho Studios in the 1970s and 1980s.

<i>Mister Magoos Christmas Carol</i> 1962 animated musical holiday television special

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol is a 1962 animated musical holiday television special produced by UPA. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, and it features UPA's character Mr. Magoo as Ebenezer Scrooge. The special first aired on December 18, 1962, on NBC and was the first animated Christmas special to be produced specifically for television.

Animation in the United States in the television era was a period in the history of American animation that slowly set in with the decline of theatrical animated shorts and the popularization of television animation that started in the late 1950s, reached its peak during the 1970s, and ended around the mid-1980s. This era is characterized by low budgets, limited animation, an emphasis on television over the theater, and the general perception of cartoons being primarily for children. Due to the perceived cheap production values, poor animation, and mixed critical and commercial reception, the era is generally looked back upon negatively by critics and animation historians. The television animation of this period is often referred to as the dark age of American animation, while the theatrical animation from the time is sometimes referred as the bronze age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Backus</span> American actor (1913–1989)

James Gilmore Backus was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island, the father of James Dean's character in Rebel Without a Cause, the voice of the near-sighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo, the rich Hubert Updike III on the radio version of The Alan Young Show, and Joan Davis' character's husband on TV's I Married Joan. He also starred in his own show of one season, The Jim Backus Show, also known as Hot Off the Wire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Magoo</span> Fictional cartoon character

J. Quincy Magoo, better known as Mr. Magoo, is a fictional cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Mr. Magoo is an elderly, wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of comical situations as a result of his extreme near-sightedness, compounded by his stubborn refusal to admit the problem. However, through uncanny streaks of luck, the situation always seems to work itself out for him, leaving him no worse than before. Bystanders consequently tend to think that he is a lunatic, rather than just being near-sighted. In later cartoons, he is also an actor, and generally a competent one, except for his visual impairment.

Mister Magoo is an American animated television series which was produced from November 7, 1960 to February 2, 1962. A single episode included five four-minute shorts and could either be aired together with bumpers as a single half-hour show, or it could be split up with one short aired each weekday, along with other cartoons. It was produced by United Productions of America. The series' voices were Jim Backus, Mel Blanc, Jerry Hausner, Benny Rubin, Paul Frees, and Frank Nelson.

<i>Mister T</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Mister T is an American animated series that aired on NBC on Saturday morning from 1983 to 1986, featuring the popular actor Mr. T. A total of 30 episodes were produced during all three seasons, with the thirteen episodes for Season 1, eleven for Season 2, and six episodes for the third and final season. The series was produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises.

Darrell Van Citters is an American director, animator, and author, whose credits include directing the animated television series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and directing popular Looney Tunes cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety, and Foghorn Leghorn. He partnered with Ashley Postelwaite in 1992 to form Renegade Animation. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts.

<i>Mel-O-Toons</i> Public domain animated series

Mel-O-Toons was a series of six-minute animated cartoons, using limited animation, and were produced starting in 1959 by New World Productions and syndicated by United Artists.

The Dick Tracy Show is an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA.

Alan Louis Zaslove was an American animator, producer and director of animated series.

Joan Gardner was an American voice actress who was most active in voice over roles. She was also a screenwriter, songwriter, author and composer.

Robert Jarvis Bentley was an American animator who worked for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Fleischer Studios, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, Tex Avery, Walter Lantz Productions, UPA, Hanna-Barbera and Filmation among others.

<i>1001 Arabian Nights</i> (1959 film) 1959 film

1001 Arabian Nights is a 1959 American animated comedy film produced by United Productions of America (UPA) and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Released to theaters on December 1, 1959, the film is a loose adaptation of the Arab folktale of "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights, albeit with the addition of UPA's star cartoon character, Mr. Magoo, to the story as Aladdin's uncle, "Abdul Azziz Magoo". It is the first animated feature to be released by Columbia Pictures.

What's New, Mr. Magoo? is an American animated television series which aired on Saturday mornings from September 10 to December 24, 1977, on CBS. It was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and United Productions of America. The series has the voices of Jim Backus, Bob Ogle, Casey Kasem, Hal Smith and Frank Welker.

<i>Uncle Sam Magoo</i> American TV series or program

Uncle Sam Magoo is a 1970 television special directed by Abe Levitow, written by Larry Markes, Henry G. Saperstein and Sam Rosen, and musical score by Walter Scharf. The special stars Jim Backus as Mr. Magoo, Lennie Weinrib, Bob Holt, Patti Gilbert, Sid Grossfeld and Barney Phillips. The special aired on February 15, 1970, on NBC.

References

  1. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series . Scarecrow Press. pp.  193–196. ISBN   0-8108-1557-5 . Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  2. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 401–403. ISBN   978-1538103739.
  3. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 554–559. ISBN   978-1476665993.
  4. "Mr. Magoo DVD news: Box Art and Contents for Mr. Magoo on TV Collection: 1960-1977". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2012-06-13.