George of the Jungle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| George of the Jungle | |
|---|---|
 Cover to a George of the Jungle VHS tape |
|
| Format | Animated |
| Created by | Jay Ward |
| Starring | Bill Scott Paul Frees June Foray Daws Butler |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 17 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Jay Ward Bill Scott |
| Running time | 20 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 5, 1967 – December 26, 1967 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
George of the Jungle was an American animated television series produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, the same people responsible for Rocky & Bullwinkle. It ran for 17 episodes on Saturday mornings from September 5 to December 26, 1967, on the American TV network ABC. The half-hour program was distributed for many years by Worldvision Enterprises, currently part of CBS Television Distribution.
Contents |
[edit] Program format
The show actually featured three segments in each episode in the form of three unrelated cartoons. The cartoons were George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken. The voices were primarily handled by the same three people over all three segments, Bill Scott, June Foray, and Paul Frees. The complete series is available now on DVD. [1]
Unlike previous Ward series, the animation production was actually done in Hollywood. Some of the veteran animators who drew the series included Phil Duncan, Rod Scribner, and Rudy Zamora. Each segment's theme song was written by the team of Stan Worth and Sheldon Allman, though the cartoons themselves had little or no music scoring, as with Bullwinkle.
[edit] Segments
[edit] George of the Jungle
The title segment, George of the Jungle, is a spoof of the popular Tarzan story. The title character, George (voiced by Bill Scott), is a dim-witted but big-hearted "ape man" who lives in the jungle. He is called upon each episode to save its inhabitants from various threats. In the episode teaser, he is famous for not looking where he is swinging and thus slamming face-first into trees or other obstacles to the tune of, "George, George, George of the Jungle." Another running gag is that George keeps forgetting that he lives in a tree, and, as a result, falls to the ground from a high drop every time he leaves his house. George's love interest is Ursula (voiced by June Foray), whom George refers to as, "Fella." He has an ape for a friend, appropriately named Ape (voiced by Paul Frees), who is far more intelligent than George. Then there is Shep, George's pet elephant who acts like a lap dog, or as George calls him, "great big peanut-lovin' poochie." Also of note is the Tooky Tooky (or Tookie Tookie) bird famous for his call: "Ah ah ee ee tooky tooky."
In 1997, the segment was adapted into a live action film, titled George of the Jungle. Brendan Fraser played the title role, with Leslie Mann as Ursula, John Cleese as the voice of Ape, and Thomas Hayden Church as the villain. A direct-to-video sequel, George of the Jungle 2 (without Fraser and Mann), was released in 2003.
[edit] Tom Slick
Tom Slick features the title character, Tom Slick (voiced by Bill Scott), as a race-car driver who competes in races with his trusty vehicle, the Thunderbolt Greaseslapper. He is accompanied by his girlfriend, Marigold (voiced by June Foray, and his elderly mechanic, Gertie Growler (also voiced by Bill Scott). Tom's chief antagonists are Baron Otto Matic (voiced by Paul Frees) and his lackey, Clutcher (voiced by Daws Butler), whom the Baron often hits across the head with a monkey wrench.
[edit] Super Chicken
Super Chicken features the title character, Super Chicken (voiced by Bill Scott), as a superhero who has a lion sidekick named Fred (voiced by Paul Frees). Super Chicken usually begins their adventures with the battle cry, "Quick, Fred, to the Super Coop," and when Fred comments on his latest injury, responds with a variation of the theme, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it." Following his own mistakes, Super Chicken remarks, "I'm glad no one was here to see that!"
[edit] George of the Jungle episodes
George was featured in the following six-minute episodes: [2]
- The Sultan's Pearl (September 5, 1967)
- The Malady Lingers On (September 12, 1967)
- Oo-Oo Birds Of A Feather (September 19, 1967)
- Ungawa, The Gorilla God (September 26, 1967)
- Little Scissor (October 3, 1967)
- Monkey Business (October 10, 1967)
- Next Time, Take The Train (October 17, 1967)
- The Desperate Showers (October 24, 1967)
- The Treasure Of Sarah Madre (October 31, 1967)
- The Trouble I've Seed (November 7, 1967)
- Dr. Schpritzer, I Presume? (November 14, 1967)
- Rescue Is My Business (November 21, 1967)
- Big Flop at The Big Top (November 28, 1967)
- The Chi Chi Dog (December 5, 1967)
- A Man For All Hunting Seasons (December 12, 1967)
- The Forest's Prime Evil (December 19, 1967)
- Kings Back-To-Back (December 26, 1967)
[edit] 2007 Series
| George of the Jungle (2007 TV series) | |
|---|---|
| Format | Animated |
| Country of origin |  Canada |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Teletoon Canada (Canada) Cartoon Network (USA) Nicktoons (UK) |
| Original run | June 17, 2007 – present |
Classic Media developed a new George of the Jungle Flash animation series in 2007. The new version of the series is co-produced with Studio B Productions and Teletoon Canada, and currently airs on Teletoon in Canada and on Cartoon Network in the United States (starting with a Christmas-themed episode December 21st, 2007). The series is scheduled to air on Nicktoons in the United Kingdom and Disney Channel Asia in Southeast Asia. [3] [4] [5] The series officially premièred on Cartoon Network on January 18.
[edit] Cultural references
"Weird Al" Yankovic did a cover version of the George of the Jungle theme on his 1985 album Dare to Be Stupid, which later appeared on the soundtrack of the 1997 live-action film. Another cover of the theme by The Presidents of the United States of America also appeared on the soundtrack and was the title theme for the film.
[edit] References
- ^ Box Art for George of the Jungle - The Complete Series. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
- ^ Big Cartoon DataBase: George of the Jungle index
- ^ WGBH & Studio B to Produce Martha Speaks Animated Series For Public TV. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
- ^ Seven toons likely to draw an animated response from international buyers.. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
- ^ George returns to the jungle, with postmodernism in tow. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
