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The Beatles (TV series)
Animated television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Beatles, also referred to as The Beatles Cartoon, is an animated television series featuring representations of the popular English rock band of the same name.[1] The series debuted on 25 September 1965, in the United States on ABC with new episodes airing until 21 October 1967.[2] The series continued with reruns until September 7, 1969.[3] A total of 39 episodes were produced. The series was shown on Saturdays at 10:30 AM EST until the third season in 1967, when it was moved to 12:00 PM EST. Reruns aired from 1968 to 1969 at 9:30 AM EST on Sundays.[4] Each episode is named after a Beatles song, with a plot based on its lyrics, and it is also played in the episode. The series was rerun on MTV in 1986 and 1987 and on The Disney Channel beginning in 1989 on Fridays at 5 PM.[4][5]
The series was a historical milestone, as it was the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people.[6][7]
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Production overview
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The series consisted of short animated stories intended to set up visual illustrations of Beatles songs. In addition, there were sing-along sequences with simpler imagery complementing the full lyrics of particular songs. The songs were taken from the albums up to Revolver as well as non-album singles up to "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane".
The Beatles borrowed Richard Lester's fast-cutting directorial style of A Hard Day's Night and its 1965 follow-up, Help!. Hal Erickson writes in Television Cartoon Shows that the frenetic cuts "[gave] the series its breezy pace and comic impudence — which often had to compensate for some distressingly sloppy animation and infantile scripting".[8]
The band members were not involved with the series' production beyond the use of their music recordings. US actor Paul Frees voiced John Lennon, George Harrison, and Brian Epstein (and provided additional voices), while Lance Percival voiced Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The female voices were provided by Julie Bennett and Carol Corbett. At first, the Beatles dismissed the series because of its poor quality.[9] It is reported that the band members enjoyed the cartoon in later years.[10]
Initially, the opening credits theme was a guitar riff from "A Hard Day's Night" segueing into "Can't Buy Me Love", over a cartoon sequence of the group running down a fire escape, echoing a scene in A Hard Day's Night. The second season's opening theme was "Help!", while the third season's opening theme was "And Your Bird Can Sing", over a different cartoon sequence.[11]
Uncredited, Dennis Marks, along with Jack Mendelsohn, Heywood Kling and Bruce Howard, wrote all 39 episodes of the series.[12]
Most of the episodes of the series were produced by Artransa Park Film Studios in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia,[13] and George Dunning's company TVC Animation in London,[14] with some episodes made in Hollywood,[10] with a crew supervised by veteran cartoon writer John W. Dunn.[10]
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List of episodes
Season 1 (1965–66)
Season 2 (1966)
Season 3 (1967)
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Reception
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The series was an instant ratings hit on ABC in the Saturday morning time slot after it debuted on 25 September 1965 at 10:30 AM ET.[4][15] It racked up a 13 score (or 52 share), then unheard of in daytime television. The series was sponsored by the A. C. Gilbert Company, the Quaker Oats Company and the Mars Candy Company.[16][4] For the third season in 1967, the series was moved to Saturdays at noon.
Originally, the Beatles disliked the cartoon; as time went on they grew to like it. In 1972, Lennon commented, "I still get a blast out of watching the Beatles cartoons on TV." In 1999, Harrison said, "I always kind of liked [the cartoons]. They were so bad or silly that they were good, if you know what I mean, and I think the passage of time might make them more fun now."[14]
The series was syndicated worldwide on television and cable after the original run ended in 1969. In 1986 and 1987, new generations were introduced to the series when it was rebroadcast by MTV and also by The Disney Channel. On MTV, the series was shown on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10 AM ET or 7 AM PT. On The Disney Channel, the series was shown on Fridays at 5 PM beginning in 1989. Mark Hamill was a guest host of the MTV run of the series in 1987.
Legacy
The Beatles' views of the cartoon series discouraged them from participating significantly in the later animated feature film, Yellow Submarine, whose producer, Al Brodax, and director, George Dunning, had also been involved in the production of the animated series. Only when the band saw and were impressed by the Yellow Submarine's finished footage did they realize the film was a more ambitious creation. As a result, they agreed to appear in a short live-action epilogue for it. Lance Percival provided the voice of Fred in that film.
In December 2004, McFarlane Toys released a line of figures based on the cartoon series, featuring all four band members with their instruments. In 2005, they released a boxed set featuring cartoon figures of all four band members with instruments, plus an alligator figure, speakers, and a radio. Apple Corps Ltd. purchased the rights to the series in the early 1990s. There has been popular demand for Apple Corps to issue a remastered release of the series on DVD.[17]
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