Muppet Babies started a trend

[MJTaylor]

I really believe that this show started a trend, because soon afterwards we started seeing shows like The Flinstone Kids and A Pup Named Scooby Doo which had establised cartoon characters as children. This may also have led to Rugrats All Growed Up which took the reverse approach.

[redBoobergurl]

I never thought of it that way before, but you're right. I remember the Flinstone kids cartoon. It really wasn't that good! There is also a Baby Bugs Bunny cartoon on Cartoon Network in the mornings right now. I guess Muppet Babies did start a trend!

[AbbessBryony]

I also remember the Flintstone Kids, and I agree about it not being that good.

Don't forget Tom and Jerry Kids [T&J when they were younger]. It was a ok cartoon, but I really don't like it now.

[Vic Romano]

Muppet Babies is really the Cadilac of 'stars to babies' show.
Flintstone Kid's was good for the time period I thought, Tom and Jerry's Kids was okay but poorly animated, A Pup Named Scooby Doo was cool in the sense that Fred and Daffney had much more well rounded personalities and those dance segments were hysterical, but those Looney Tunes Babies suck oh so very hard. So I guess when you look at those shows verses Muppet Babies, I hafta' agree although I never noticed: MB set the standard and started the trend!

[McFraggle]

Muppet Babies is really the Cadilac of 'stars to babies' show.

I agree, and "Muppet Babies" was really the only one of those shows that lasted for a prolonged period of time. :)

[Phillip Chapman]

Muppet Babies ran for EIGHT seasons. Outside of Sesame Street, nothing else has come close. Even The Muppet Show only ran for five seasons.

[GonzoLeaper]

Muppet Babies definitely started a trend. I totally loved The Flinstone Kids!!! (They had the great Captain Caveman and Son segments!!!) I also loved Tom and Jerry Kids, which was hysterical. The Droopy segments were always great too. And A Pup Named Scooby Doo rules!!! That is incredibly funny and I loved the dance segments, the music, and Scooby not getting Shaggy's jokes. There's still lines I quote from the show today and my brother and I laugh at it.

"Why do you keep calling me 'Raggy'"? - Shaggy to Scooby, after losing his memory and thinking he's Commander Cool

Nowadays, there's also Baby Looney Tunes, which even I'll admit is just kind of okay, but not quite as good as the adult counterparts. You could even count X-Men Evolution as another cartoon inspired by Muppet Babies. Because the whole thing of the X-Men growing up together at Professor X's School for the Gifted just didn't happen in the comics. As far as I know, they were already adults when they were recruited. True, some teenagers like Kitty Pryde were there and that would be okay. But even though there are some issues like that, I still like the series because it really works.

I'm sure there's even more examples I'm forgetting. Like "Young Hercules", the live action Fox Kids version of Kevin Sorbo's "Hercules". Or "The New Archies"- the great late 80s cartoon that had all the Archie Comics gang as middle schoolers. Archie, Jughead, Reggie, Betty, Veronica, Mr. Lodge, Mr. Weatherbee, Ms. Grundy, Moose and Hot Dog were all there. For some reason, Dilton and Chuck Clayton weren't. However, there was a black boy who was smart like Dilton called Eugene that was on the show whose girlfriend was Nancy. So they more or less combined Chuck and Dilton to create Eugene. (Bascially, have the token black character there. But he did have an important role on the series and was one of the gang, so he wasn't totally a "token black character". Anyway...)

Of course, I can't forget one of my favorite series based on one of my favorite movies. "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" gave us the adventures of Indiana Jones as a kid, teenager, and young adult. (Not to mention a 93 year old grandfather!) Very cool show.

Believe me, I'm sure there's other examples too. :) The list goes on. :sleep:

[Vic Romano]

Of course, I can't forget one of my favorite series based on one of my favorite movies. "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" gave us the adventures of Indiana Jones as a kid, teenager, and young adult. (Not to mention a 93 year old grandfather!) Very cool show.
I don't know if I'd count the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as an inspired spin from the MB, but I'll agree, that show was great, really great... I was just always disapointed River Phoenix was gone because if he played the teen Indy, it would have been so perfect. And I also loved the episode where Harrison Ford guest starred and played the saxaphone.

[Beauregard]

You could even count X-Men Evolution as another cartoon inspired by Muppet Babies. Because the whole thing of the X-Men growing up together at Professor X's School for the Gifted just didn't happen in the comics. As far as I know, they were already adults when they were recruited. True, some teenagers like Kitty Pryde were there and that would be okay. But even though there are some issues like that, I still like the series because it really works.

I havn't seen X-men evelotion, but I do know that certainly Jean Grey was there as a child, in the 'hint' school for the gifted.

__

Interprited:

Do I have to do this on every post now? It gets very boring...

[lowercasegods]

Disney Babies was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon back in the late 80s. And there was another cartoon show in the late 80s with the old Hanna Barbera characters as kids (something like "Yogi Bear Bunch"). And don't forget the semi-recent wave of Sesame Street babies (which have actually been around for a few years).

[Beauregard]

What was Disney babies? Mickey, Donald, etc?

__

Interprited:

I'm a Gnu, looking at you. Disney Babies? G'gosh what g'next?

[lowercasegods]

Disney Babies was more of a marketing concept than an actual cartoon. They promoted baby toys and other baby related itmes like diapers and pajamas. The commercial I recall shows a baby sitting on the floor while animed Disney babies cavort around him. I think it was a commercial for diapers. At any rate, Disney Babies are still used to market many products. Go into the baby section of any major department store and your bound to find a baby Mickey bib or juice bottle at least, as well as other Disney Baby merchandise. And baby Winnie the Pooh merchandise has been popular lately as well. They have a new baby Eyore doll that talks and vibrates, and a baby Pooh doll that talks and, I think, crawls around.

[zanimum]

Little Alvin and the Minimunks was actually pretty good.

[MJTaylor]

I said at the beginning that Muppet Babies started a trend. I had no idea that I myself was starting something! What a lot of replies!
I used to like The Flinstone Kids, but as the old saying goes, "Nothing beats the original." Same goes for Tom and Jerry Kids. As for A Pup Named Scooby Doo, I loved it! Espically when Freddy blamed Red Hering for something and Red would ring up or something and say something like, "I'm not even in this episode!"

[lowercasegods]

A Pup Named Scooby Doo was, in my view, the only one besides Muppet Babies that actually worked. Pup was so much fun, and actually made sense, like it could have happened that way and would logically lead to the team as they were in their original, older incarnations. If we want to be technical, Tiny Toons could be considered a hybrid of the "baby phenomenon." Though they had different names and were touted as entirely new characters, the Tiny Toons were obviously child representations of Bugs and his pals (except for Babs, who was the most original character on the show with no adult connection at all). And mad props to Zanimum, because for as knowledgable in cartoons as I am, I've never heard of Little Alvin and the Minimunks. Way to introduce me to something new, my friend.

[GonzoLeaper]

as knowledgable in cartoons as I am, I've never heard of Little Alvin and the Minimunks.

That's probably because it's brand new. Check out www.chipmunks.com

It's a new project out from Bagdasarian.

It sounds interesting. I haven't had a chance to see it yet myself.
And yes, I think Tiny Toon Adventures could count. It's not technically young versions of the Looney Tunes gang (we have Baby Looney Tunes for that!) but Buster is obviously a "Bugs" character, Plucky is a "Daffy" character, Hamton is a "Porky" character, Little Beeper is a "Road Runner" character, Calamity Coyote is a "Wile E. Coyote" character, Dizzy Devil is a "Tazmanian Devil" character, Furball is a "Sylvester" character, and Sweety is a "Tweety" character. Babs doesn't exactly have an adult counterpart, but there is the character of Lola Bunny and I would consider her Babs' adult counterpart. Lola didn't show up until "Space Jam" as far as I know, but she has definitely shown up as one of the main or at least supporting characters in the ongoing Looney Tunes comic book from DC. Shirley MacLoon isn't really based on a Looney Tunes character that I know of, but she is a parody of real life personality Shirley MacLaine (who started the New Age movement). Elmyra is another character that's pretty well original. I might almost say that Montana Max could be a young version of Elmer Fudd, since they're the two main villians for Bugs and Buster, but Montana could also be likened to Yosemite Sam. I don't know.

Hey, anyone know if there was ever a "young" version of Foghorn Leghorn? I can't remember any off hand.

This same kind of concept was used on the Saved By the Bell: The New Class show.

One other example of this is Disney's "Jungle Cubs" series. I used to watch it some and it's pretty good. It's the story of The Jungle Book when they were all young cubs, thus "Jungle Cubs". Of course, Mowgli hadn't come along yet, but Bagheera had his hands full keeping Baloo out of trouble. I'm pretty sure the baby elephant (the one who was a young kid in the movie) was there too, along with Kaa and Shere Khan. I'm thinking the monkeys and vultures might have been in there too. And King Louie was definitely there.

While I'm talking about The Jungle Book, I might as well mention Talespin. This is an awesome Disney cartoon that I well remember discovering by accident around 1990 or so. I mainly was interested because I saw Shere Khan, Baloo and Louie all there and all still called their same names. Although this Shere Khan, Baloo, and Louie wore clothes, they were very similar to their Jungle Book characters in personality traits. Anyway, it's a great cartoon, but not an example of a "Young" or "Baby" cartoon series. That's just an example of Disney reusing their hit characters. (But let's not start on Disney. I still love Disney cartoons and movies, but seriously, do we really need a Bambi II? Well, whether your answer is yes or not, Disney is making it. I've long since determined that Disney is determined to make a sequel to every animated movie they've ever made. Basically to squeeze every bit of money they can out of all their franchises. Most of the time the sequels really aren't needed and really aren't all that good. The only exception I've really noticed is Toy Story 2, which was awesome and quite possibly better than the first. That's a rare thing, there.)

Anyway, yes, I think Muppet Babies really did get a trend going. I think it worked out well for most shows and maybe not for some others. There were probably examples of this before Muppet Babies but I'm too tired to think of it right now.

Let's just be glad we didn't see this trend on some other great cartoons. I'm sure Baby G.I. Joe and Baby Transformers would have gone over real well. :rolleyes: ;) :)

[lowercasegods]

Elmyra was meant as a younger version of Elmer Fudd (you cans see it in her face, and when her hair is occassionally knocked off, she looks just like him), and Montana Max is meant to symbolize Yosemite Sam.

As for Foghorn, voice actor Ron Paulsen voiced a character called Fowlmouth, who was meant as a very loose child version of Foghorn. The character didn't have a southern accent, but he was a chicken, and his schtick was that he swore a LOT (obviously bleeped out creatively).

I think Shirley the Loon was added so Plucky would have a girl counterpart like Buster. And I suppose it's fair to say that babs is the child version of Lola, Though Babs predates her by almost ten years.

And don't forget Fifi LeFume, Pepe LePew's child connection. She wa sa cute character.

[lowercasegods]

Okay, I was skeptical of Alvin and the Minimunks at first. But when I saw that the characters were puppets, my interest was aroused. The concept may be stupid (they're kids already, for prete's sake! How much younger do they need to get?!), but one more puppet show isn't going to hurt anyone.

I'm an old school Alvin and the Chipmunk's fan, from the early 60s "Alvin Show" (which I had to watch in re-runs in the 80s because I'm not old enough to have seen it first aired) to The Chipmunks cartoons beginning with the Chuck Jones produced Christmas special from 1980 to the Ruby Spears cartoon which ran from'81 until the mid 90s (switching hands with DIC animation towards the end, with disasterous results). I even saw their theatrical cartoon in the late 80s, which was actually pretty cool. And I've still got The Chipmunk's Chistmas album, Chipmunk Rock, Urban Chipmunk (a country album) and an album of songs from their show which I listened to religiously (man it was great to be a kid in the 80s).

[Bean Bunny]

The Muppet Babies also helped spawned Popeye and Son, Yo Yogi!, and Baby Popeye. Of course in Yo Yogi, Yogi bear was teenage security guard at Jellystone Mall along with his pals, Boo-Boo, Cindy, Huck & Snaggle Puss.

[GonzoLeaper]

There was also the James Bond, Jr. cartoon. I'm not sure how good it was, but apparently it was good enough to merit a Nintendo Entertainment System video game.

:cool:

[Erine81981]

The young Elephant was Colonel Hathey. The dad who had the young elephant from the "Jungle Book." I loved all those old cartoons. Loved everyone of them.

[McFraggle]

"Tale Spin" was a unique concept and I liked it quite a bit. :)

[lowercasegods]

The Muppet Babies also helped spawned Popeye and Son, Yo Yogi!, and Baby Popeye. Of course in Yo Yogi, Yogi bear was teenage security guard at Jellystone Mall along with his pals, Boo-Boo, Cindy, Huck & Snaggle Puss.

Thank you! I knew I wasn't imagining a Yogi Bear cartoon where they were kids! Yo, Yogi! I can finally sleep now!
And to add to this rapidly growing list, since the death of Charles Schulz in 2000, there have been several baby Snoopy and Woodstock products, from greeting cards to baby bibs.

[redBoobergurl]

I started thinking about this and thought of other shows that spawned cartoons, even if they weren't babies, but still similar to the Muppet Babies concept. Specifically I'm remembering that there was the real Punky Brewster show in the 80's and then there was a Punky cartoon. Does anyone else remember that cartoon? And of course, there was the Fraggle Rock cartoon. I think there may have also been an Alf cartoon, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it's just one more angle to look at the Muppet Babies trend, that it not only spawned shows about baby characters but also cartoon versions of original live action type shows. There's probably more examples of this concept as well, I just can't think of them right now.

[lowercasegods]

I do remember the Punky Brewster cartoon. The kids from the original TV show all came back to voice their characters, and Frank Welker voiced a magical little creature called Glomer, and always said, "Ooohhhh, Punky Friend!" Aside from Frank, the cartoon wasn't that great.

[GonzoLeaper]

I liked the "It's Punky Brewster" cartoon! In fact, I grew up watching that cartoon and didn't even know a live action version existed until many years later. I still haven't seen the live action version! However, when I get some money I've been wanting to get the Season DVDs for the live action Punky Brewster show, which do come with a few hours worth of the cartoon, by the way.
There definitely was the Fraggle Rock cartoon and there was actually 2 ALF cartoons. There was one just called "ALF", which revolved around Gordon Shumway's adventures of Melmac with his family and Skip and Rhonda before Melmac exploded. There was also a later series called "ALF Tales", which had ALF and family and friends acting out fairy tales. I used to watch both, as well as the original live action ALF series. They're all great.

Live action shows and movies inspiring cartoons could be a whole new category. Here's a few more I can think of off hand. The Back to the Future trilogy of movies brought a really great cartoon series called "Back to the Future". (It ran from about 1991-2 or so and did have live action segments with Christopher Lloyd as Doc and Bill Nye, the Science Guy as his assistant.)
Then there's the Teen Wolf movies and the Teen Wolf cartoon, which I used to catch some of. It's not too bad.
And of course, the 7 Police Academy movies (possibly 8 by next year) had a great Police Academy cartoon series running from about 1988 I think through the early 90s.
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure inspired both a cartoon and live action series in the early 90s. I never saw the live action version, but I definitely remember watching the cartoon and it was quite good.
Of course, the Ghostbusters movies inspired "The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon. (I have to differentiate because there was a live action Ghostbusters show in the late 70s as well a different Ghostbusters cartoon in the early 80s. Neither one had anything to do with the 2 live action Ghostbusters movies.)

A couple of earlier examples also include "The Planet of the Apes" movies, which inspired both a 1974 live action series and a cartoon series called "Return to the Planet of the Apes" in the late 70s.

And from the Happy Days show and its spinoffs, we have the "Fonz and the Happy Days Gang" cartoon show, "Laverne and Shirley in the Army" cartoon, and a "Mork and Mindy" cartoon.

Gilligan's Island also inspired a cartoon called "Gilligan's Planet"!

I don't know if this exactly counts, but there was a cartoon in the 80s called "Bionic Six", which looks like it might have been inspired by The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, even though neither character was actually in the cartoon.

You could also say that the Batman cartoons on in the late 60s and the newer one in 1977 were inspired by the success of the 1966-1968 live action Batman show, seeing as how Adam West and Burt Ward voiced the characters.

And of course, the "Droids", "Ewoks", and "Star Wars: Clone Wars" are all cartoons inspired from the Star Wars movies.

In 1973-1974, there was a cartoon version of Star Trek, starring most of the original voices of the original series. The cartoon was an animated version of the original series with Captain Kirk and crew.

Jim Carrey has actually had a few cartoon series inspired by his movies. One of the biggest ones would be "The Mask" cartoon, inspired by the 1994 movie "The Mask". I used to watch this cartoon some. He also had another big hit in 1994 with "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and there was an "Ace Ventura" cartoon series as well, right around 1994-1995. In this same time period, he had one other cartoon series made for one of his biggest hits and one of my brother's and my favorite movies, "Dumb and Dumber". The "Dumb and Dumber" cartoon was rather short-lived, but it was around for a while around 1994 and 1995.

Also, coming originally from a trading card series and a 1987 live action movie, there was also a 1988 cartoon series called "Garbage Pail Kids". I used to watch this cartoon as well, and though banned in America, it's actually not nearly as bad as you might think. It was actually quite clean (well, not too clean since they were coming out of the garbage pail and all ;) ) and pretty funny.

I should also mention that there's been both 2 live action movies and a cartoon series of "Men in Black".

And there was also a cartoon at least somewhat inspired by the success of The A-Team. One of the main stars, Mr. T had a cartoon called "Mr. T", which featured Mr. T in live action scenes as well as a cartoon adventure of him and some kids who I think were gymnasts or something. They had lots of adventures, of course. Technically, the "Mr. T" cartoon did not feature the character of B.A. Baracus, so it wasn't a cartoon version of "The A-Team", but the "Mr. T" cartoon only came about because of the huge success of Mr. T on The A-Team.
The only other example I can think of this off hand is the Macaulay Culkin cartoon "Wish Kid", though I'm not sure that Culkin was actually in the cartoon as himself.
And then there's also the "Harlem Globetrotters" cartoon. They also met Scooby Doo three times on The Scooby Doo Movie Mysteries series.


The 1964 live action series The Addams Family also inspired both a late 1970s cartoon (there was also an episode where they met Scooby Doo and the gang on The Scooby Doo Movie Mysteries series). There was also a cartoon series for The Addams Family in the late 80s-early 90s. Somewhere in the early 90s, there was also a cartoon based on the 1988 movie Beetlejuice. There was also a cartoon version of Beethoven, based on the 1992 movie of the same name about the St. Bernard dog.

I'm sure there's probably even more than this that I've forgotten. Like the episode of "The Scooby Doo Movie Mysteries" where he met Jeannie, from "I Dream of Jeannie". I don't know that any cartoon version was done of that show, beyond that one appearance. Okay, well someone else add to the list. I've rambled on long enough now. :concern: :D

[McFraggle]

Don't forget about the time he met Batman and the Harlem Globetrotters. :)

[Beauregard]

There was also the James Bond, Jr. cartoon. I'm not sure how good it was, but apparently it was good enough to merit a Nintendo Entertainment System video game.

:cool:
And there are books of Young James Bond coming out thsi year, with him at Eton.

Also, has anyone heard of Baby Einstin? I wonder if that is related to the Muppet Babies too.

[lowercasegods]

To Gonzoleaper: I'm impressed! You've really done your homework! On a related note, the live action Ghostbusters show that was on TV in the 70s was produced by Filmation, who also produced He-Man and She-Ra years later. That show wasn't exactly a hit, and it was mostly forgotten in the preceeding years.

Shoot ahead to 1984: The Bill Murray/Dan Akroyd comedy classic Ghostbusters hits theatres (completely unrelated to the 70s show). As the name hadn't been in use since Filmation employed it in the 70s, it served as the perfect title for this film.

Jump ahead to 1986: DIC (Inspector Gadget) plans to produce a cartoon based on the Bill Murray Ghostbusters. Filmation, whose He-Man franchise is fast losing steam, decide they can turn a buck by cashing in on The SNL Ghostbusters' fame, so they hustle out their own Ghostbusters cartoon, loosely based on their live action 70s show and more than slightly ripping off the SNL Ghostbusters. Somehow Filmation makes it to the finish line with their title before DIC can, forcing DIC to adopt the title, "The REAL Ghostbusters."

Postscript: The Real Ghostbusters ended up being a hit, lasting from '86 to '91, while Filmations' weak-kneed Ghostbusters cartoon lasted from '86 to '87, one lousy little season.

Not surprisingly, DIC is still an active animation studio today, while Filmation, to the best of my knowledge, has been defunct since the late 80s.

[GonzoLeaper]

Not surprisingly, DIC is still an active animation studio today, while Filmation, to the best of my knowledge, has been defunct since the late 80s.

That's unfortunate. While I love DIC animation (for providing shows like Inspector Gadget, Dennis the Menace, and The New Archies, if I'm not mistaken), I also love a lot of Filmation shows. And yeah, they did quit around the late 80s. They had some good shows like Blackstar and a bigger hit with its descendent, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. She-Ra, Princess of Power soon followed. They probably did some other good ones too, but one of my favorites by Filmation was their last one, which was Bravestarr, which ended by 1987. 1988 saw the Bravestarr: The Legend movie (I think this was in theaters) and then that was the end of Filmation. :concern:

:sympathy: :cry:

[T-Bird Chick]

I never thought of it that way before, but you're right. I remember the Flinstone kids cartoon. It really wasn't that good! There is also a Baby Bugs Bunny cartoon on Cartoon Network in the mornings right now. I guess Muppet Babies did start a trend!
I LOVE THAT SHOW! I'm sick now so i am home from school i am watching it right now! :crazy:

[lowercasegods]

That's unfortunate. While I love DIC animation (for providing shows like Inspector Gadget, Dennis the Menace, and The New Archies, if I'm not mistaken), I also love a lot of Filmation shows. And yeah, they did quit around the late 80s. They had some good shows like Blackstar and a bigger hit with its descendent, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. She-Ra, Princess of Power soon followed. They probably did some other good ones too, but one of my favorites by Filmation was their last one, which was Bravestarr, which ended by 1987. 1988 saw the Bravestarr: The Legend movie (I think this was in theaters) and then that was the end of Filmation. :concern:

:sympathy: :cry:
Do you remember a cartoon from around 1986 called "The Galaxy Rangers?" It wasn't done by any of the major animation houses of the day, but it was so cool! I loved it! It used to come on at 6:30 in the morning before I left for school. Just a great show with great animation, characters and storylines. It kind of predated Joss Whedon's "Firefly" in it's merging of sci fi and westerns, which was also pretty sweet.

[GonzoLeaper]

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers!!!!!!! :)
Sweet! I totally remember that! (to use the phrase from Noggin!)

Yes, I used to watch that one all the time as well. Zach, Doc, Niko and Goose! Good times! (There's another show right there! ;) )

But yeah, I love that cartoon. I've got a few episodes. In fact, if you check on Amazon.com there have been a few episodes released on DVD!

The show also had a rocking theme song!
"No guts, no glory!"

:sing:

[lowercasegods]

Staying on the animation topic, have you ever noticed how many cartoons from the 80s and 90s switched animation studios? Heathcliff started off in the early 80s with the long defunct Ruby Spears studio, then resurfaced a few years later at DIC animation with some new designs and additions to its cast, though retaining Mel Blanc as Heathcliff's voice. Alvin and the Chipmunks also started out at Ruby Spears, but by the late 80s, DIC had picked them up as well (which is when their cartoons started to suck). And DIC had originally produced Captain Planet, but eventually Hanna Barbera took that show over. That sort of thing had never happened before the 80s, and has only happened again recently, when Warners Brothers bought the rights to the entire Hanna Barbera pantheon of characters. Just kind of interesting to me.

And I'll be on the lookout for those Galaxy Rangers dvds!

[McFraggle]

:sing: ""Captain Planet" he's our hero..." :sing:

[Erine81981]

I'm sure there's probably even more than this that I've forgotten. Like the episode of "The Scooby Doo Movie Mysteries" where he met Jeannie, from "I Dream of Jeannie". I don't know that any cartoon version was done of that show, beyond that one appearance. Okay, well someone else add to the list. I've rambled on long enough now. :concern: :D

Yes there was a cartoon series of "I dream of Jeannie." It was produce by Hanna Barbera. I didn't ever see the show but I do remember it some how.

[Drtooth]

Staying on the animation topic, have you ever noticed how many cartoons from the 80s and 90s switched animation studios? Heathcliff started off in the early 80s with the long defunct Ruby Spears studio, then resurfaced a few years later at DIC animation with some new designs and additions to its cast, though retaining Mel Blanc as Heathcliff's voice. Alvin and the Chipmunks also started out at Ruby Spears, but by the late 80s, DIC had picked them up as well (which is when their cartoons started to suck).

Actually, the last cartoon Ruby Spears (to my knowledge) produced was "Mega Man" back in 95.


Anyway, I think the Dic Heathcliff was much more widely remembered than the R/S version (I never even heard of it until 2001). Possibly because of the Cattilac cats, which was the most beloved by the show's fans . Heathcliff never had his own show. He had to share top billing with something called Dingbat and the Creeps and Marmaduke in the older shows before the DIC series. Of course, I guess the Dic series lasted longer, probably via syndication.

I did like the Chipmunks go to the movies, however. Especially the Back to the Future parody.

While we're at it...

Disney babies WAS at one point, to become a series. The pilot probably flopped, and that's why no one has heard of it.

Another series called "Felix babies" (that's right.... Felix the cat) never really materialized, though it was publicized on their web site and comic books for a while.

Jeffery Scott, the grandson of Moe, wrote a pilot for "wee Stooges" that never went anywhere, plus the original concept for "Gagdet Boy" (the worst of the bunch, if you ask me) called "Goo Goo gadget."

I'm pretty sure there are a few more as well, but I can't recall them at this time.

[lowercasegods]

Y'know, a couple years ago, voice actor Maurice LaMarche (the original voice of Chief Quimby from Inspector Gadget) announced he'd be voicing the Inspector himself in a new series called, "Inspector Gadget and The Gadgeteenies" or something to that effect. I don't recall seeing it anywhere after that, though. Too bad. LaMarche did a wicked Don Adams impression.

[McFraggle]

While I was a big "IG" fan, I don't think I would have wanted to see that show.

[GonzoLeaper]

There actually were some Inspector Gadget cartoon spin-offs. Besides the 2 live action movies (and both were actually really good), there was also this 1996 series.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0262963/
(Inspector Gadget's Field Trips - in which Inspector Gadget explored various regions of the worlds with kids)

And there's the aforementioned Gadget Boy and Heather show
http://imdb.com/title/tt0155430/

And there's the Gadget Boy's Adventures in History series.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0156209/


And the latest series.
Gadget and the Gadgetinis
http://imdb.com/title/tt0387741/

And there's separate adventures only on video like "Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas", "Inspector Gadget's Greatest Gadgets" (well, that one's just a collection of episodes but I think there's some original segments on it too), and "Inspector Gadget's Last Case".


And Maurice LaMarche has had an amazing career of voicing cartoon characters. I think the only live action appearances I saw listed for him were in guest spots on The Facts of Life, Boy Meets World and Teen Angel. (And on Boy Meets World and Teen Angel, he was a narrator or radio announcer!)

Weird that "Chief Quimby" has taken on voicing Inspector Gadget. I wonder why Don Adams didn't return to do the voice.
Maybe he's just retired. Although he did do the Gadget Boy and Inspector Gadget voice for the 3 Inspector Gadget spin-off series. And he even had a role in the first Inspector Gadget live action movie. Apparently, he was the voice of Brain! I didn't even realize this. That's pretty cool that he was still involved in some capacity. :)

[unclematt]

I dont want this to be taken badly at all but I think A Pup Named Scooby Doo holds up better than Muppet Babies. I can still watch A pup today where as watching Kermit and the gang is a lttle harder.

What I would like to see is Muppet Babies come back as actual Muppets like in TMTM.

[lowercasegods]

There actually were some Inspector Gadget cartoon spin-offs. Besides the 2 live action movies (and both were actually really good), there was also this 1996 series.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0262963/
(Inspector Gadget's Field Trips - in which Inspector Gadget explored various regions of the worlds with kids)

And there's the aforementioned Gadget Boy and Heather show
http://imdb.com/title/tt0155430/

And there's the Gadget Boy's Adventures in History series.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0156209/


And the latest series.
Gadget and the Gadgetinis
http://imdb.com/title/tt0387741/

And there's separate adventures only on video like "Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas", "Inspector Gadget's Greatest Gadgets" (well, that one's just a collection of episodes but I think there's some original segments on it too), and "Inspector Gadget's Last Case".


And Maurice LaMarche has had an amazing career of voicing cartoon characters. I think the only live action appearances I saw listed for him were in guest spots on The Facts of Life, Boy Meets World and Teen Angel. (And on Boy Meets World and Teen Angel, he was a narrator or radio announcer!)

Weird that "Chief Quimby" has taken on voicing Inspector Gadget. I wonder why Don Adams didn't return to do the voice.
Maybe he's just retired. Although he did do the Gadget Boy and Inspector Gadget voice for the 3 Inspector Gadget spin-off series. And he even had a role in the first Inspector Gadget live action movie. Apparently, he was the voice of Brain! I didn't even realize this. That's pretty cool that he was still involved in some capacity. :)

Thanks for the update on Inspector Gadget. And as in interesting addition to the trivia, Frank Welker, who voiced Brain in the original cartoon, voiced the live action Brain, in the first movie at least. And if you're interested in seeing more live action footage of LeMarche, rent "Comic Book: The Movie", a mockumentary written and directed by Mark Hamill. LeMarche, Jim Cummings, Billy West, and several other voice artist greats are featured in a panel discussion in an extensive scene (the only scene that was real and not intended as part of the mockumentary). Some of these guys also play characters in the film. It's a lot of fun, and the panel discussion is a must see for any voice actor fanatic.

[lowercasegods]

I dont want this to be taken badly at all but I think A Pup Named Scooby Doo holds up better than Muppet Babies. I can still watch A pup today where as watching Kermit and the gang is a lttle harder.

What I would like to see is Muppet Babies come back as actual Muppets like in TMTM.
Though I figure you may have some Muppet Babies fan up in arms over your opinion of "pup" holding up better than "Babies", I absolutely agree that having Muppet Babies as actual puppets would be wonderful. I remember when Muppet Babies was first announced for CBS' Saturday morning line up back in 1984, and how excited I was, thinking it would be a puppet show like TMTM. Sure, I was dissapointed at first when I saw it would be a cartoon instead (without the original voices, no less), but like the rest of us, it didn't take me long to be won over by the quality of the show.
And for the record, I really enjoyed "Pup" as well.

[Drtooth]

Y'know, a couple years ago, voice actor Maurice LaMarche (the original voice of Chief Quimby from Inspector Gadget) announced he'd be voicing the Inspector himself in a new series called, "Inspector Gadget and The Gadgeteenies" or something to that effect. I don't recall seeing it anywhere after that, though. Too bad. LaMarche did a wicked Don Adams impression.

Actually, the show DOES exist, but only in Europe. For some stupid reason, they haven't been able to put it on TV in the US, not even on the syndicated "World of DIC," which is oddly enough Berenstain bears (which Hanna Barbara's Autrailian animation studio made) Sabrina, and a couple other things.

I've heard pretty negative things about it, including this odd twist. Brain the dog got pretty frazzle after rescuing Gadget so many times, he left the house, and even the mear mention of Gadget sends him into a frenzy of fear. I am not making this up, I swear!

[MJTaylor]

.
I'm sure there's probably even more than this that I've forgotten. Like the episode of "The Scooby Doo Movie Mysteries" where he met Jeannie, from "I Dream of Jeannie". I don't know that any cartoon version was done of that show, beyond that one appearance. Okay, well someone else add to the list. I've rambled on long enough now. :concern: :D
There was a cartoon version of I Dream Of Jeannie. It was made by Hanna-Barbara in 1973. It wasn't a great cartoon really, it didn't bear any relation to the original sitcom. For one thing, we didn't have Major Nelson, instead, we had a teenage surfie named Corey.

[erniebert1234ss]

Hey, have any of y'all heard of this:

http://www.cartoonradionetwork.com/

Basically, it's called the Cartoon Radio Network Podcast and Dr. Don Schockow is the host (he also hosts the Magical Theme Park podcast) and he's got all sorts of cool children's TV themes, including (among others) an EXTENDED VERSION of the Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers theme!!!!

If y'all want to send him an e-mail or leave a message on his voicemail line, go to the website to learn how! Also, if ya have the latest version of Apple's iTunes, you can get the Cartoon Radio Network Podcast on iTunes!!

Man, memories! I remember the REAL inspector gadget. I really need to get some of those old eps to see the sheer genius of Don Adams, who passed away recently.

BJ

[unclematt]

How do you have I Dream of Genie without Major Nelson

[erniebert1234ss]

How do you have I Dream of Genie without Major Nelson

First of all, I think you mean I Dream of Jeannie.

Secondly, Major Nelson was an incidental character (if I remember correctly) and Dave Hryb took it as his "Gamertag" when he started working at Microsoft. The story behind that goes that his TiVo recommended that show and he had been asked for a "great" Gamertag. So he sees Major Nelson and decides to make that his Official Microsoft Gamertag. Don't ask me who Major Nelson is, I just know about his "supposed" role in the above story.

Thirdly, I don't see an answer to the previous post. The Cartoon Radio Network Podcast is a great little ditty of a show, AND some cool cartoon music filters in!

Just my opinion. Everybody's got one.

BJ