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George of the Jungle was an American animated television series produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who created Rocky & Bullwinkle. It ran for 17 episodes on Saturday mornings from September 9 to December 30, 1967, on the American TV network ABC. The half-hour program was distributed for many years by Worldvision Enterprises, currently part of CBS Television Distribution

Program format

Each episode featured three segments in the form of three unrelated cartoons: George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken.

Unlike previous Ward series, the animation production was done in Hollywood using veteran animators Phil Duncan, Rod Scribner, and Rudy Zamora, among others. Each segment's theme song was written by the team of Stan Worth and Sheldon Allman, though the cartoons themselves had little or no music scoring, as with Bullwinkle. Ward mainstays Bill Scott, June Foray, and Paul Frees provided most of the character voices over all three segments.

The cartoons are technically more advanced than the crude animation in Ward's earlier series, which originated from a Mexican studio sponsored by Ward. He was so pleased with George of the Jungle that he allowed production to go over-budget, which unfortunately resulted in considerable financial loss, ultimately limiting the series to 17 episodes.

The complete series is available now on DVD.^[1]

[edit] Segments

[edit] George of the Jungle

The title segment, George of the Jungle, is a parody of the popular Tarzan stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs. George (voiced by Bill Scott), is a dim-witted but big-hearted "ape man" who is called upon each episode to save inhabitants of the jungle from various threats.

In the opening title, George is depicted swinging on vines, repeatedly slamming face-first into trees or other obstacles even as theme-song singers warn him to "watch out for that tree!" Another running gag is that George keeps forgetting that he lives in a treehouse, falling to the ground every time he leaves home.

George's two most frequent foes are a pair of hunters named Tiger and Weevil (as were Boris and Natasha to Rocky and Bullwinkle). Tiger, the taller of the two, wears a pith helmet and khakis and has a pencil moustache; while Weevil wears a white t-shirt and shorts with a hat. George's "beloved mate" is Ursula (voiced by June Foray), a Jane-like character far brighter than George, whom George refers to as "Fella." George's closest friend is an ape named Ape (voiced by Paul Frees), who speaks with a cultured British accent and, like Ursula, is far more intelligent than George. George has a pet elephant named Shep, who behaves like a lap dog or, as George refers to him, a "great big peanut-lovin' poochie," and whom George thinks is a dog. 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 Haden Church as the villain. A direct-to-video sequel, George of the Jungle 2, without either Fraser or Mann, was released in 2003.

[edit] Tom Slick

Tom Slick features the title character (voiced by Bill Scott), 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, Gertie Growler (also voiced by Bill Scott). Tom's chief antagonists are Baron Otto Matic (voiced by Paul Frees) and his lackey, Clutcher (voiced by Daws Butler), whom the Baron often hits across the head with a monkey wrench.

[edit] Super Chicken

Super Chicken features the title character (voiced by Bill Scott), a superhero [who, in "real life", is wealthy Henry Cabot Henhouse III) with a lion sidekick named Fred (voiced by Paul Frees). Super Chicken usually begins their adventures with the battle cry, "Quick, Fred, to the Super Coop," and when Fred comments on his latest injury, responds with a variation of the theme, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it." Following his own mistakes, Super Chicken remarks, "I'm glad no one was here to see that!"

[edit] George of the Jungle episodes

[edit] 2007 Series

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 21, 2007). The series is scheduled to air on Nicktoons in the United Kingdom and Disney Channel Asia in Southeast Asia.^[2][3][4] The series officially premièred on Cartoon Network on January 18.

[edit] 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.

The Rhino Records 1989 release 'Rerun Rock: Superstars Sing Television Themes^[5]' included a cover version performed in the style of Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin and sung by Scott Shaw.