Icons of Saturday Morning: A Potomas as in Hippo-plus A Squirrel, a very secret one at that…
Warner Archive-just one of many of Warner Bros DVD/Bluray labels. But one with distinction. It has been the home of lost and rare Warner Bros, MGM and Lorimar Film/Television classic fare for several years. They also are responsible for special editions and the Hanna Barbera Classic Collection. And this is where we start our coverage on this wonderful library of fantastic and entertaining animation that sparked the imagination so many kids and families on the late 50’s, 60’s and 70’s during prime time, week day afternoons and Saturday mornings.
***Dig those crazy prime time commercials..at least we had all the toy and cereal ads on Saturday Mornings..the one to watch is the Jenos Pizza Rolls… it is hilarious..
Hanna-Barbera made their entry into animated programming with Ruff and Reddy and Huckleberry Hound and then quickly followed by the highly successful Quick Draw McGraw as their third series and it made its way into syndication in 1959 and ran for 3 seasons.
A cartoon show featuring a no nonsense U.S. Marshall and quick witted and loyal deputy who set out to tame the west and their tow. Protecting from all sorts of would be robbers, unsavory characters and desperados. It was also where Hanna-Barbera put into effect a unique format. 3 cartoons per episode- The main star that the show was named after would be aired first with 2 supporting characters headlining a 7 -minute story to follow. This format was mastered over the years and carried on thru most of the 60’s and into the early 70’s. However more and more 30 minute blocks featuring one storyline would become the more dominant production during the 70’s thanks to a dog named Scooby Doo- the 30 minute mysteries.
Warner Archive over the last several years has been releasing the Hanna-Barbera treasure trove of animation. Two of their most brilliant concepts that I share with you here and are more than likely part of your fondest memories if you were home afternoons in the 60’s and camped out on a Saturday morning. One is Secret Squirrel and the other a very animated hippo- Peter Potamus- The Complete Series.
Peter hails from the early 60’s and offers one of the more unique hero/adventurers in cartoon history. This was part of the weekday afternoon airings for the syndicated markets and that is when I caught Peter Potamus originally as I recall which makes me about 4 years old at the time so I didn’t have to run home from school to catch this hilarious and smart show which provided some very clever ways of weaving some historical characters from time to time within the context of the series upon occasion.
Peter Potamus is not just any animal hero, no dog, cat or mouse. This guy is the hippest hippo and a purple one at that. Sporting a yellow safari pith helmet. Peter has the coolest mode of transportation- a time traveling balloon with a boat for the gondola. A get out of trouble hurricane holler which can blow the roof off a building or even give the balloon an extra boost when the occasion calls for it. He is a charmer as the opening and closing credits reveal as the gondola makes its thru the skies of various cities and towns as the local ladies hang out their windows and all gaze dreamily at our her as he floats by. His best friend and sidekick So So is a monkey. So So also is usually the voice of reason.
Below: the old hurricane holler…give it to him Peter
Peter was always a short hop from adventure with just a spin on the magic dial mounted in their gondola and they are either transported to any place in the world or some unique period in history.
One episode may find him either rescuing Caesar from jumping off a pyramid with a rock attached to his foot trying to end his sorrow over Cleopatra and Peter having to play cupid or discovering a pirate’s treasure on a deserted isle and proclaiming it and the isle for himself. Not realizing the place was not deserted but the real owner of the loot or booty was a pirate who had only left the island to return to his ship because he forgot a shovel. So So had tried to explain to Peter that the treasure was not theirs … Our wonderfully resourceful purple hippo has implemented the old “I’m proclaiming this land in the name of” myself and So So. Since no one is around that makes anything on the island ours. Well we all know where this is heading. Our would be adventurers are soon to be tasting the end of a sword and maybe the plank. but you’ll have to tune in to find out what happens next.
Rounding out the series and giving Peter and So So support are 2 funny shows Breezly (Bruin) and Sneezly (Seal)- the first a polar bear bent on various mischievous hijinks concerning attempts to sneak into the local Army Camp all the while trying hard not to be caught by Colonel Fuzzby. The anchor episode each week was Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey who are 3 inept guards who bear more than a striking resemblance to man’s best friend — the canine. And do their utmost to provide protection for the King.
Below: It’s time to take a Quick break!!
By the mid Sixties H-B had conquered the weekday afternoon crowd and prime time with hits like The Flintstones, Jonny Quest and The Jetsons. So what next-well the logical step the weekends. I mean who else could rescue those kids that lived for Saturday and Sunday. Those munchkins who had to let off some steam from working their brains all those hours “slaving” behind a desk practicing writing their alphabet in cursive for what probably seemed like an eternity. Not to fear it’s 1965 and Secret Squirrel is here.
Secret Squirrel was part of a slew of cartoons that helped launch Saturday Morning programming. With a real driving home of the notion that this was the kid’s domain. He actually debuted as part of a prime time special entitled The World of Atom Ant/ Secret Squirrel which was used to promote both of Hanna-Barbera’s newest shows for its 1965 Saturday lineup. Secret and Atom were the main stars which was an hour show with both stars supported each by 2 other cartoon shorts. It was set up in such a way that it could be split into 2 half hour blocks. Everyone from the animation house, cereal & toy companies to the networks pulled out all the stops to get the word out. Heavy marketing campaigns including full page ads in was placed in every comic book produced during the mid- 60’s thru the 70's.This was a serious business.
Secret arrived right at the height of the James Bond craze. 1965. Not only was the British spy popular here and of course the United Kingdom but across the globe. Ian Fleming’s character helped spawn countless imitations and spoofs as well as launch the Euro Spy genre. So why not an action comedy cartoon about a somewhat bumbling spy and his assistant sidekick? And why not a squirrel who is a master of disguises and his partner Morocco Mole is …you guessed it a mole? Well thank Hanna-Barbera again for assembling a top notch crew to do just that. From Mel Blanc, Henry Corden, Don Messick, Jean Vander Pyl and the great Paul Frees in the voice department. Our previously discussed Iwao Takamoto as part of the Layout team. Ken Spears in Editing. To name a few and Ted Nichols providing a spectacular theme and music score with just the right cues for the action vs the comedic moments. Which by this time Ted was the music director in charge for all of HB’s Television and Film production. Hoyt Curtin who was the previous director and had put his stamp of talented genius on The Flintstones and Jonny Quest had parted company with the company.
Secret Squirrel was nothing short of the coolest agent this side of Bond and Matt Helm. And all the while putting a tongue in cheek spin on the cloak and dagger genre. Dressed in a bulletproof trench coat and a fedora hat with mini cannon tucked underneath. And he had everything from a car that not only could fly but folded up into a lightweight briefcase at the touch of a button. So remember that for the next time you can’t find a parking space. And speaking of convenience what’s an agent to do when he’s all tied up and no place to go. Well resort to your handy dandy wrist watch/mini flamethrower always ready when you need to get yourself untied from no uncertain doom. And for the record if you listen to his theme song during the opening credits of the show much of his incredible arsenal is mentioned as is the fact that Secret is a master of disguise and expert in martial arts-judo and Jiu Jitsu. As you can see our hero makes a very formidable for to any would be criminal or foreign power trying to relinquish any valuable asset, resource or invention of any kind from the United States government or any of our allies.
Secret Squirrel had an ingenious and clever group of writers which resulted in some of the most creative ideas for a cartoon show. Scripts that were aimed not only at a younger audience but the older crowd with characters that paid homage to some of the greatest screen persona in screen history. Goldfinger, Mr Gutman from The Maltese Falcon, Roger Morley, Alfred Hitchcock, Get Smart and anyone who ever held the title Chief and was in charge of handing out special assignments for possible no return cases. This show embraced every bit of what being a secret agent meant with more than tongue in cheek and had fun right along with the viewer. Imagine major villains with names like Yellow Pinkie who just happens to look a lot like Goldfinger and sound like Sidney Greenstreet. And his “partner in crime” with a voice patterned after Peter Lorre and an accent from the Middle East. Paul Frees at his best.
Left-: some of Secret’s gadgets
The comic moments in the series arouse from various sources. At times it would be a reflection on the ways Secret would enter the Chief’s(codename- Double Q) office. Sometimes via a drawer in one of the filing cabinets or popping out of the phone as it was being answered. The Chief would more than likely end up getting splashed, blasted or shocked with whatever method Secret devised. And would be left muttering how he and the world might be better off without Squirrels help all together. Something that was all too evident in the Get Smart series that was on the air during the same years. The fun was guessing on each episode where and how he was going to retrieve his assignment. Other times it would be the banter between him and Morocco about how to approach the villain to be apprehended. Morocco was usually the voice of reason and could predict that Secrets attempt would fail, at least his first attempt. But this is where all those crazy and at times outrageous gadgets would come into to play. One of the funniest and smartest episodes dealt with a master arch nemesis that was a brilliant inventor when it came to robotics. To carry off his latest scheme he needed Secret out of the way so he decided to discredit our hero by creating a several duplicates of him. And had the new and” improved” versions carry out crimes that would smear the squirrels good name and even ruin his relationship ship with Morocco. This particular episode has a clever take on Secrets skills as master of disguise. After Secret has exhausted just about every trick in the book trying to put an end to these evil duplicates he uses his abilities as a mimic blending in the faux squirrels and squash the plans of Dr Dangit. Chalk up one for our side and the Sneaky Super Service. The world is safe once more.
- *** Time for a commercial break and what better way to relive Saturday Mornings . Oh man I gotta go for that second bowl of cereal…
Secret Squirrel also dished out two supporting stories each week starring Squiddly Diddly and the Winsome Witch. The latter was truly the anchor for the series and kept me hanging on until the very end. An extremely funny take on witches and showing that not all are sitting around a cauldron plotting some malevolent consequences for the unsuspecting public. Winnie is a cute and most thoughtful witch in fact more so than most humans. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that she won’t lift her wand and speak some mystical incantations to turn you into a dragon or a dog…And she spent most her time helping someone be it some of the characters from the realm of fairy tales like Tom Thumb trying to get accepted into the Boy Scouts — one of my favorites with a really neat message that big or small everyone has something they can contribute and to not always judge a book by its cover. Tom is thought to be too small to be a scout and would actually be a danger to himself on camp outs. Winnie not only helps give Tom the confidence in himself that he can make a fine scout but Tom actually ends up saving some of the kids from the very troupe he is trying to join. He ends up preventing their being swept over a water falls to an almost certain doom. Another time she helps the Three Little Pigs protect themselves from the Big Bad Wolf. Winnie indeed had quite a reputation and even the government called upon her to help out to catch spies from time to time. So if you ever happen to be around Winnie while she utters Ippity Pippity Pow more than likely something or someone is about to change into something else- be it a six shooter to Witchcraft # 5 perfume dispenser for example in the episode entitled Sheriff Winnie when she is zapped by a bolt of lightning and ends up back in the old west.
The show had very smart writing and great art work. One of the funniest adventures found her not only back in the old west, but in a town populated by men only. Well this made Winnie the most popular girl around and so well liked that …you guessed it they elected her sheriff and she drove out all the varmints and rascals out of town. As much as Winnie enjoyed being well liked and thought of, it got to point that she could barely breathe let alone grab some me time. So she did what any good decent self-respecting witch would do she cast a spell and summed up a stagecoach full of women and sneaked out of town and back to her cozy little cottage and her dog and Spooky her adopted son. Now that doesn’t mean Winnie didn’t date. For at the end of one episode after helping out a nice stewardess that had been so nice to her on her flight out to Hollywood by fixing the stewardess up with one of the leading men. Well every story has a silver lining and this is no exception for every good deed performed by Winnie usually resulted in turn with good fortune shining down on her. So as the stewardess ventured out on her date the Frankenstein Monster happened to be strolling by on the set. Winnie and Frankie -an instant attraction together and low and behold off they ride or is it fly on Winnie’s broom into the moonlight. And as they headed out of sight Winnie commented “ it just goes to show that there is someone for everyone.”
TO BE CONTINUED-
This story is so big a part 4/5 are in the works…Whew!!! So til next time this is Doc saying be Dangerous & Diabolik….as well as safe & healthy …
Coming Soon- a review of Space Ghost-The Complete Series-Bluray . On the same program a retrospect on Alex Toth’s Quasar World….
A sneak peek at Alex-
Alex Toth (1928–2006). a legendary character designer, animator, cartoonist, artist and comic book creator. Alex at the urging of a high school teacher enrolled in art school with the goal of working in the comic strip biz along with some of his boyhood inspirations Alex Raymond(Flash Gordon), Caniff(Terry and the Pirates) and Hal Foster(Prince Valiant). By the time Alex graduated in 1947 from School of Industrial Art the strips were starting to wind down and he decided to make a leap into comic books.
As we speak…
2 new releases on Bluray-The Pussycats and The Flintstones all from Warner Archive…and Warner Home Entertainment
If you are still ion the mood for scary then -This Bluray release also includes the original Mystery at the Wax Museum starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray
Warner Archive on Twitter and Facebook-
https://twitter.com/WarnerArchive
Related articles -
Links to related material-
Where you can be a kid all over again at any age …bringing familes to together for all generations and spanning the many decades across the cartoon universe…Popeye, Atom Ant, Jonny Quest, The Flintstones….to Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry, Bugs & Daffy…the animated series and films of yesterday along with new & original programming.
