| 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 | 1967 – 1968 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
George of the Jungle was a Saturday-morning animated television program produced by Jay Ward, and Bill Scott, the same people responsible for Rocky & Bullwinkle. It ran for 17 episodes from 1967 to 1968 on the American TV network ABC. The half-hour program was for many years distributed by Worldvision Enterprises, currently part of CBS Paramount Domestic Television.
Contents |
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 planned to be released on DVD in February 2008. [1]
Segments
George of the Jungle
The title segment, George of the Jungle, was a spoof of the popular Tarzan story. The title character, George (voiced by Bill Scott), was a dim-witted but big-hearted "ape man" who lived in the jungle. He is called upon each episode to save its inhabitants from various threats. He is famous for not looking where he is swinging and thus slamming face-first into trees or other obstacles. 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-luvin' 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.
Tom Slick
Tom Slick features the title character, Tom Slick (voiced by Bill Scott) as a racecar 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, who is also Marigold's mother, Gertie Growler (also voiced by Bill Scott). His antagonist is Baron Otto Matic (voiced by Paul Frees) and his lackey Clutcher (voiced by Daws Butler}, whom the Baron often hit across the head with a monkey wrench.
Super Chicken
Super Chicken features the title character, Super Chicken (voiced by Bill Scott), as a superhero who had a lion sidekick named Fred (voiced by Paul Frees). Super Chicken would usually begin their adventures with the battlecry "Quick, Fred, to the Super Coop," and when Fred would comment on his latest injury, would respond with a variation of the theme "you knew the job was dangerous when you took it." Following his own mistakes, Super Chicken would remark "I'm glad no one was here to see that!"
2007 Series
| George of the Jungle (2007) | |
|---|---|
| Format | Animated |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Teletoon Canada (Canada) Cartoon Network (USA) Nicktoons (UK) |
| Original airing | December 21, 2007 |
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. [2][3][4]
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.
