"Do you want to try it, Pokey?" "No thanks, I prefer The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show."

Claymation rules! Today is Gumby day, so hopefully you lot are in the mood for some short, but action packed clay-based adventures.

Begun as a student project at USC by creator and Michigan native Art Clokey,  Gumby ended up being not just a beloved TV show, but a merchandizing machine. The 233 episode run inspired everything from lunch boxes and figurines to endorsement deals from the Library of Congress and a video game, made nearly fifty years after the first cartoon air. That's some mighty powerful mojo, my friends. 

Podcast for 11/28/09 - Gumby

And as promised, here are a couple of episodes that don't really work on the air, but are super cool nonetheless. Plus what's Gumby without at least a little bit of visual? You can totally see Davey & Goliath in these designs.

Don't forget to put in your requests for holiday specials, as next week is our big kick-off and we want to have plenty of time to find the ones you want that we may not already have.

And for those of you who might've missed the announcement on the show, Cookie Jar Entertainment finally did something with all the amazing properties they own and it is called (for better or worse) Jaroo. It's essentially a Hulu for cartoons and it's awesome. We're not getting anything from them for mentioning it or saying we like it, I'm just really happy with what's been made available (DREAMSTONE!!!) and couldn't not share with you guys. :)

Enjoy!

- DJ Muppet

"Nothing up my Saturday Morning Cartoon Show...Presto!"

Good news, everyone! The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show has perfected  time machine and gone back into the past fifty years! No, we didn't do anything to Castro, but we did score a load of most excellent cartoonery and are, therefore, especially proud to bring you a day of Rocky & Bullwinkle.

As far back as I can remember, my life was filled with the adventures of a dim-witted but lovable moose and an eternally patient flying squirrel. I had View Master discs, coloring books (which I still have), figurines, and a host of other doodads sporting their likenesses. The only animated show that came close in amount of love I had for it was Beany & Cecil, which makes a whole mess of sense when you put the two side by side. Both were sharply written for child and adult audiences, both had crackerjack voice actors, and both made liberal use of the pop culture of their times, but where Rocky & Bullwinkle truly stand out is in the way stories, and therefore adventures, were constructed in serial format, much like the popular radio and film series that had captured the imagination of the nation for so many years.

As you listen to today's show, take the time to sit down and really focus on it. It's rare to have a cartoon so well made that functions as well over the air as it does on the screen and I think you'll enjoy the inherent lushness, the luxury of being able to enjoy such a richly layered piece of American animation. Voices from luminaries like June Foray, Bill Scott, Charles Ruggles (you may know him as the grandfather from the original The Parent Trap), Daws Butler, Paul Frees, and their contemporaries make for an incredibly pleasing aural experience. Just don't drink anything during the show segments, as it will come out of your nose.

Podcast for 11/07/09 - Rocky & Bullwinkle

Below, as promised, you'll see a couple of extra bits from the series. The first is a call to action for kids to save their pennies for the future, which is not only highly entertaining, but also a wonderful slice of life that might otherwise go unheard of by future generations.

This second video is the puppet segment that occasionally got Jay ward and his pals into hot water with the parents of children who did what the TV told them too. Hee hee hee. :) Big Ears & Noodle Noggin learned not quite enough.

That's all we've got for this week, boys and girls, but tune in next week when The Saturday Cartoon Show celebrates the 40th birthday of Sesame Street old school style, because we love anarchy the most when in involves Muppets and musical numbers. If you've got a favorite sketch, song, or animated segment from everyone's favorite street, leave a comment or shoot us an e-mail so we can add it to the line up. Heeeeeeeeeere fishy fishy fish!

Have a wonderful week an enjoy!

- DJ Muppet

"The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show had a little lamb...BUT I ATE IT!"

Hey all! Sorry about the delay is getting the podcast up. You may or may not know that my car and I were hit last week and dealt a rather nasty blow. I'm safe and, thanks to my dad being awesome, my car is at least drivable, but because of the setbacks in my schedule I wasn't able to get back to the studio and get the podcast uploaded. But I have now!

This show features some truly classic cartoons from the Warner Bros. universe. Both Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes are represented, as well as some of the newer offerings that will send listeners of a certain age back to footy pyjama evenings hiding under a blanker in front of the TV. Since long time WB animation fans are no doubt familiar with most of today's offerings I won't go into great detail commentary wise, however, I do want you to pay special attention to the orchestration and sound effects on the Porky Pig/Sylvester shorts. There's a suitably other worldly quality to these cartoons that I've never heard anyone able to match Carl Stalling on and these are pieces worth taking special note of.

Podcast for 10/17/09 - Halloween 3 - Looney Tunes

I did want to share one of my favorite spooky Bugs Bunny cartoons with you, but alas, we didn't have the time, so below the entry you'll find it in video form. What's a Halloween celebration without Gossamer, after all? ;)

Tomorrow morning we'll be featuring two more full length Halloween specials from our collection, one of which is even a request, so make sure to tune in and, if you've got 'em, send us your requests for music and cartoons for the final week of the SMCS Halloween Extravaganza!

Enjoy!

- DJ Muppet

The Saturday Morning Cartoon Show, what a name. Kind of odd, but nice just the same.

Welcome to the first day of the Saturday Morning Cartoon Show month long celebration of the animated Halloween special! Twice a year we take a full thirty days worth of Saturdays and devote them to the most memorable and the most holiday underrated specials, and October is such a month. Hooray for Halloween! I'm unusually excited this year and not just because of 

Before we get into the meet of the show, I want to pass on a wonderful site run by my digital pal Adam Selzer. In addition to being an accomplished author, tour guide for Weird Chicago, and nattily dressed musician, Adam has also put together the wicked useful blog HalloweenSpecials.net, chock full of not only write-ups of specials past, but also an impressive collection of video clips. If you're looking for a refresher on a partially remembered show or a summary of a completely forgotten eerie TV offering, this is the site you'll want to spend some time on. He does good work and knows Mr. Boogedy, which would have endeared him too me if I didn't already know how awesome he is. So go poke around there for a spell once you're done here and if anything tickles your fancy, let us know.

In our first hour, we bring you three classic Disney shorts: Pluto's Judgement Day, Trick Or Treat, and Lonesome Ghosts. You can make your own Ghostbusters jokes. He'll slime you, Mickey. The second hour? Oh, my friends, the second hour is one of the best cartoons to come out of the Disney machine, as well as a great adaptation of some of the earliest American literature in existance. If you guessed The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, you're so right and deserve a cookie. Curl up with your loved ones, leave a light or two on, and enjoy day one of our spooktacular offerings.

Podcast for 10/03/09 - Halloween Day 1 - Disney shorts and Sleepy Hollow

Tune in next week for more ghoulish delights, many of which our listeners specifically requested. There's still time to let us know what Halloween specials you'd like to hear, so feel free to e-mail us (address above to your left), leave a comment here, or on our newly formed Facebook group. We'd love it if you joined and we'd love it even more if you said hello. :) 

I ain't afraid of no ghosts! But I might be next week. Tune in to find my terror.

- DJ Muppet