THE Cartoon/Animation thread (Discussion)

(28-07-2019 18:10 )GMach1 Wrote:  Coming soon: THUNDERBIRDS!

Film 4 has been showing the original 1966 "Thunderbirds Are Go" film again recently, it's on again Wednesday afternoon.

Yeah I know I've got it on video from years ago when Channel 5 brought it out along with the not so great sequel Thunderbird Six.

Coming soon(although not technically a cartoon but certainly contained cartoons) one of the maddest kids shows of the 70's The Banana Splits!

I am doing this entirely from memory so if I get anything wrong I am sure someone will tell me
The Banana Splits, one of the daftest, weirdest, wackiest kids shows ever seen on British television in the 1970's. Usually shown here on Saturday mornings(well before Multi-coloured Swap Shop came along) or school holiday times, The Banana Splits(or Here Come the Banana Splits) was a mad, colourful world of weirdness. Set in a strange house and populated by Fleegle(dog) the leader of the bunch, Drooper(lion), Snorky(elephant) and Bingo(a gorilla) and for some unexplained reason they all wore fireman's hats!! They were musicians and regularly burst into song (musical interludes usually had them larking around with fans appearing at some big amusement park Coney Island & Six Flags Over Texas) they would also drive around in their own designer buggies(banana mobiles) usually racing each other. The comedy would come from silly situations. For instance whenever Drooper yelled "hey Fleegle take out the trash" Fleegle would do just that but something would happen like the bag would be dropped in and then be pushed out again OR if he has to take in the mail, he would open the mailbox, reach inside for a letter and pull it out, only for the letter to be stretched and then as if on an elastic band shoot back in. The other thing which today would be frowned upon was the Splits had a rival gang, seemingly made up entirely of young girls in very short dresses called The Sour Grapes Bunch. One very cute girl would knock at the door, dance in a very provocative way for a youngster and give them a message. This was usually some kind of daft challenge which they always accepted but would always end up in someone getting bonked on the head, hit in the face and other unpleasant yet comical accidents and usually by some kind of cartoon character.

Like British kids tv it relied on cartoon inserts(more of that in a minute) but it also had a thrilling serial called Danger Island which starred the late Jan-Michael Vincent marooned on an island with others. It led to a catchphrase "Uh oh, Chungo!" which usually meant the villain was going to do something rotten. The cartoon inserts consisted of shorts; these were The Three Musketeers whereby a young boy Tooley yearned to be a Musketeer like his heroes D'Artagnan, Porthos, Aramis and Athos, treated him well but would always rescue him from danger or trouble. The second one was Arabian Knights, which we all remember if not for magician Bez's "Size of a..." cry before he changed into an animal of some kind. Each of the Arabian Knights had a special power of some sort not least of which a donkey named Zazu, whose tail when pulled would turn him into a whirling dervish wreaking havoc and mayhem. The main villain was Vangore who was hell bent on helping his Caliph steal throne from Prince Turhan(skilled fighter). Princess Nydar helped him(mistress of disguise) helped by another magician Bakaar and muscleman Raseem.

The third cartoon would later involve a scientist and his two children. Micro Ventures would see them shrunk down to the size of ants by a huge ray machine and that would enable them to explore their garden which was now a jungle and get to know the insects and plant life(I think this was supposed to be the educational bit)

Stalwarts of Hanna-Barbera cartoons provided voices:
(names to be added)

Arabian Knights cast:
Henry Corden ... Bez
Don Messick ... Aramis.
Paul Frees ... Evil Vangore
Jay North ... Prince Turhan
Frank Gerstle ... Raseem
John Stephenson... Bakaar of the Arabian Knights.
Shari Lewis ... Princess Nidor.

Jean Vander Pyl ... Maw Rugg (The Hillbilly Bears)

Main characters-The Banana Splits
Daws Butler ... Bingo
Allan Melvin ... Drooper
Jay Larrimore ... Snorky the Elephant(didn't talk only hooted!)
Paul Winchell ... Fleegle

The Three Musketeers
Julie Bennett ... Lady Constance
Ted Eccles ... Tooly
Jonathan Harris ... Athos
Barney Phillips ... Porthos
Bruce Watson ... D'Artagnan

Allan Melvin would also do the voice of Magilla Gorilla and played Cpl Henshaw in The Phil Silvers Show(or Bilko)

Henry Corden started off comedy series Rowan and Martin's Laugh In.

Shari Lewis(Princess Nidor) would find fame as the first female ventriloquist with her puppets Lamb Chop and Charley Horse. She was a beautiful, clever woman and had her own entertainment show later.

Jonathan Harris did a few cartoon voices and also played the cowardly Dr Smith in the 60's series of Lost in Space (Never fear, Smith is here!)

Jean Vander Pyl was the voice of Wilma Flintstone for the whole run of that series.
Source for this IMDB.
Coming soon THUNDERBIRDS will be GO!

Veteran cartoonist Richard Williams who created the Pink Panther and worked on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? has died aged 86. Born in Toronto, Canada he moved to Britain in the 1950's. His cartoon characters were used for the opening titles of the Pink Panther films and the series that came along later.

Room where computer is just too hot to be sat at PC, so TBirds retrospective will be midweek when it is cooler.

If you have Sky Movies then watch out for a brand new animated cartoon film of Asterix and the Secret of the Magic Potion next Friday. It is a brand new imagining of the stories by Goscinny and Urderzo.

TBirds will be DEFINITELY GO! Saturday-watch out for it!

5...4...3...2...1...THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!



So started the most exciting children's series ever made with puppets and models. Although made in 1965 I was born a year later and so I would have come into this as a repeat series in the early 70's but it made a big impression on me(as you will find out later) This is too big to do in one go so I have split it into two parts-possibly three, depending on how much is added. So let's get on with it.

Set between 2065 and 2067, Thunderbirds follows the exploits of the Tracy family, headed by American ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy. Jeff is a widower with five adult sons: Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan. The Tracys make up International Rescue (IR), a secret organisation founded to save human life. They are aided in this mission by technologically-advanced land, sea, air and space vehicles that are called into service when conventional rescue methods prove ineffective. The most important of these vehicles are the five "Thunderbird machines", each assigned to one of the five Tracy brothers:



Thunderbird 1: a hypersonic rocket plane used for fast response and disaster zone reconnaissance. Piloted by Scott, IR's rescue co-ordinator.

Thunderbird 2: a supersonic carrier aircraft that transports rescue vehicles and equipment in detachable capsules called "pods". Piloted by Virgil.

Thunderbird 3: a single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft. Piloted alternately by Alan and John, with Scott as co-pilot.

Thunderbird 4: a utility submersible. Piloted by Gordon and usually launched from Thunderbird 2.

Thunderbird 5: a space station that relays distress calls from around the world. Manned alternately by "space monitors" John and Alan.

The family live on Tracy Island, IR's base in the South Pacific Ocean, in a luxurious villa that they share with Jeff's mother,only known as Grandma, engineer Brains, Brains' assistant Tin-Tin and Tin-Tin's father, Malaysian retainer Kyrano. In this remote location, IR is safe from spies and criminals who envy the organisation's technology and try to acquire the secrets of the Thunderbird machines.

Some of IR's missions are prompted not by innocent misadventure, but sabotage or negligence. For missions requiring criminal investigation or intelligence-gathering, the organisation incorporates a network of undercover agents headed by English aristocrat Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her butler Aloysius 'Nosey' Parker. Based at Creighton-Ward Mansion in Kent, Penelope and Parker travel in FAB 1, a specially-modified Rolls-Royce.

IR's most persistent opponent is a master criminal known only as "The Hood". Operating from a temple in the Malaysian jungle, and possessing powers of hypnosis and dark magic, The Hood exerts telepathic control over Kyrano, his estranged half-brother, and manipulates the Tracys into rescue situations that unfold according to his own designs. This gives him opportunities to spy on the Thunderbird machines and, by selling their secrets, make himself rich.

The series was called Thunderbirds after the airbase in the US, Thunderbird Field where Gerry Anderson's beloved brother Lionel was stationed during his days in the RAF. Gerry got the idea for the rescue association from watching footage that happened from the West German mining disaster known as the Wunder von Lengede ("Miracle of Lengede"). In October 1963, the collapse of a nearby dam flooded an iron mine in the municipality of Lengede, killing 29 miners and trapping 21 others underground. Lacking the means to drill an escape shaft, the authorities were forced to requisition a heavy-duty bore from Bremen; despite the considerable time necessary to transport the bore by rail significantly reducing the chances of a successful rescue, 11 of the trapped miners were eventually saved. Recognising the advantages of swifter crisis response, Anderson conceived the idea of an "international rescue" organisation that could use supersonic aircraft to transport specialised rescue equipment quickly over long distances.

The Tracy brothers were named after the US Mercury Seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, John Glenn, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Gordon Cooper and Alan Shepard.

Cast/Voice actors:
Jeff Tracy Leader of IR Peter Dyneley
Scott Tracy Thunderbird 1 pilot, Thunderbird 3 co-pilot Shane Rimmer
Virgil Tracy Thunderbird 2 pilot David Holliday (Series One) Jeremy Wilkin (Series Two)
Alan Tracy Thunderbird 3 astronaut, Thunderbird 5 Space Monitor Matt Zimmerman
Gordon Tracy Thunderbird 4 aquanaut, Thunderbird 2 co-pilot David Graham
John Tracy Thunderbird 5 Space Monitor, Thunderbird 3 astronaut Ray Barrett
Brains Engineer, scientist, inventor David Graham
Tin-Tin Kyrano Maintenance technician, laboratory assistant Christine Finn
Kyrano Manservant, cook David Graham
Grandma Tracy Housekeeper, cook Christine Finn
Lady Penelope IR's London agent Sylvia Anderson
Aloysius 'Nosey' Parker Penelope's butler & chauffeur David Graham
The Hood Criminal, dark magician Ray Barrett

The appearances of the main characters were inspired by those of actors and other entertainers, who were typically selected from the show business directory Spotlight. According to Christine Glanville one of the chief puppeteers, as part of a trend away from the strong caricature of previous series, APF(Athur Provis Films) was seeking "more natural faces" for the puppets. The face of Jeff Tracy was based on that of Lorne Greene(Bonanza), Scott on Sean Connery, Alan on Robert Reed(The Brady Bunch), John on singer Adam Faith & actor Charlton Heston, Brains on Psycho actor Anthony Perkins and Parker on Ben Warriss(one half of a success music hall double act Jimmy Jewel and Warriss). Sylvia Anderson(co-prodcuer and Gerry's wife) brought the character of Penelope to life in likeness as well as voice: after her test moulds were rejected, sculptor Mary Turner decided to use Anderson herself as a template.

Next time...new incarnations of Thunderbirds including a Japanese version which Gerry didn't put his name to.
Sources: My memory, various books I have and Wikipedia(although not always 100% accurate)