Shirt Tales
Shirt Tales are characters that were created in 1980 by greeting card designer Janet Elizabeth Manco and were featured on Hallmark Cards greeting cards. The characters were adapted into a 1982-1985 animated series for television, by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired on NBC.[1]
| Shirt Tales | |
|---|---|
Season one title card | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Janet Elizabeth Manco (original characters) |
| Directed by |
|
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Opening theme | "Shirt Tales" |
| Ending theme | "Shirt Tales" (Instrumental) |
| Composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 23 (46 segments) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producers |
|
| Editor | Gil Iverson |
| Running time | 22 minutes (11 minutes per segment) |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Color |
| Original release | September 18, 1982 – November 19, 1983 |
Cards
Hallmark Cards released the homonymous line of greeting cards with animal characters wearing T-shirts upon which was a message. Those cards were among Hallmark's best sellers at that time, which led the company to team with Hanna-Barbera Productions to adapt the Shirt Tales into a Saturday morning cartoon, which premiered on NBC on September 18, 1982.[2] The card line remained, but it faded shortly after the show left broadcast television in 1985.[3]
TV series
The animated Shirt Tales cartoon featured Tyg Tiger (in orange), Pammy Panda (in pink), Digger Mole (in light blue), Rick Raccoon (in red), and Bogey Orangutan (in green) (so-called because he spoke using a Humphrey Bogart-style voice). They lived in Oak Tree Park and wore shirts that flashed various brightly lit messages which reflected the characters' thoughts. They spent their time teasing the park custodian, Mr. Dinkel, and battling crime in and out of their hometown of Mid City. They zipped around the world in a vehicle known as the STSST (Shirt Tales' SuperSonic Transport) which could operate as a car, jet, boat, submarine, and other forms of transportation. Though most law enforcement agencies like the unnamed Commissioner knew of the Shirt Tales as crime fighters by reputation, few people seemed aware that they were talking animals—including Mr. Dinkel, whom the group often had to trick to keep their secret safe.
Each episode was divided into two 11–minute segments. After the success of the thirteen episodes in Season 1, ten episodes were created for Season 2. However, the show was semi-rebooted and Kip Kangaroo (in light yellow) was added to the cast of characters without context for her joining the Shirt Tales. There is also a difference in leadership among the Shirt Tales, in which for the first season Rick appeared to be the de facto leader, but in the second season is instead Tyg. Several stories in Season 2 either omit Rick altogether or give him a minor role in the story. The second season also added some superhero elements to the dynamic of the group as well, most notably the color of all their T-shirts changing to a bright red color when "Shirt Tale Time" is called for.
Buck Beaver (in whitish-blue) helped the Shirt Tales use a tree as a bridge in "The Big Foot Incident" and helped them build an ark in "Dinkel's Ark". In "Moving Time", four cousins from out west were introduced for this episode only: Prairie Dog Pete (in red, with a black vest), Filmore Coyote (in light green), Violette Skunk (in yellow) and Hoozit Owl (in lavender). In "Back to Nature", Cubby Bear (in red) helped the Shirt Tales when a wild bear had Mr. Dinkel chased up a tree.
Following the initial run on NBC, Shirt Tales aired on CBS during the 1984–1985 Saturday morning season, replacing The Biskitts in their time slot. CBS aired selected episodes from its two-season NBC run until March 23, 1985, when The Biskitts were returned to the time slot for the rest of the 1984–1985 season.
On March 23, 1985, Shirt Tales was pulled from broadcast television for good, and the Hallmark franchise faded not long after as well. The show continued for a number of years as part of USA Network's Cartoon Express block and on Cartoon Network, but also continues to be broadcast in selected countries around the world on various networks, including Boomerang.
Voice cast
Main
- Nancy Cartwright – Kip Kangaroo (Season 2 only)
- Robert Allen Ogle – Digger Mole
- Patricia Parris – Pammy Panda
- Steve Schatzberg – Tyg Tiger, Rick Raccoon (Episode 4 only)
- Ronnie Schell – Rick Raccoon
- Fred Travalena – Bogey Orangutan
- Herb Vigran – Mr. Dinkel
- William Woodson – Commissioner (Season 1 only)
Additional Voices
- Richard Balin (Season 1)
- Joe Besser (Season 1) – Elmo the Elephant (in "Elephant on the Loose")
- Joey Camen (Season 2)
- Victoria Carroll (Season 2)
- Brian Cummings
- Walker Edmiston (Season 1)
- Marshall Efron (Season 1)
- Bernard Erhard (Season 2)
- Ernest Harada (Season 2)
- Bob Holt (Season 2)
- Buster Jones (Season 2)
- Stanley Jones (Season 1)
- Sherry Lynn (Season 1)
- Tress MacNeille (Season 1)
- Kenneth Mars (Season 1)
- Joseph Medalis (Season 1)
- Howard Morris (Season 2) – Shutter McBugg (in "Double Exposure")
- Henry Polic II (Season 1)
- Tony Pope
- Robert Ridgely (Season 1)
- Michael Rye (Season 1)
- Marilyn Schreffler
- Rick Segall (Season 1)
- Michael Sheehan (Season 1)
- Hal Smith
- John Stephenson (Season 1) – Game Master (in "The Game Masters"), Museum Tour Guide (in "The Humboldt Ghost"), The Humboldt Ghost (in "The Humboldt Ghost"), Ebenezer Creepling (in "The Humboldt Ghost")
- Andre Stojka (Season 1)
- Jimmy Weldon (Season 2)
- Frank Welker (Season 1) – Figby the Cat (in "Figby, the Spoiled Brat Cat")
- Ted Zeigler (Season 1)
Episodes
Season 1 (1982–83)
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Story by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Case of the Golden Armor / Crumbling's Circus Caper" | The Case of the Golden Armor: Bob Ogle Crumbling's Circus Caper: Tom Dagenais | September 18, 1982 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Game Masters / Shirt Napped" | Shirt Napped: Jim Ryan The Game Masters: Tom Dagenais | September 25, 1982 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Big Foot Incident / Elephant on the Loose" | Elephant on the Loose: Bob Ogle The Big Foot Incident: Tom Dagenais | October 2, 1982 |
| 4 | 4 | "Horsin' Around / Mission Mutt" | Horsin' Around: Bob Ogle Mission Mutt: Jim Ryan | October 9, 1982 |
| 5 | 5 | "Vacation for Dinkel / Wingman" | Wingman: Jim Ryan Vacation for Dinkel: Tedd Anasti | October 16, 1982 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Humboldt Ghost / Figby, the Spoiled Brat Cat" | The Humboldt Ghost: Bob Ogle Figby, the Spoiled Brat Cat: Hank Saroyan | October 23, 1982 |
| 7 | 7 | "Digger Runs Away / The Commissioner Is Missing" | Digger Runs Away: Tedd Anasti The Commissioner Is Missing: Misty Stewart | October 30, 1982 |
| 8 | 8 | "Raiders of the Lost Shark / The Terrible Termites" | The Terrible Termites: Jim Ryan Raiders of the Lost Shark: Tedd Anasti | November 6, 1982 |
| 9 | 9 | "Moving Time / Back to Nature" | Moving Time: Tom Ruegger Back to Nature: Gary Stamm | November 13, 1982 |
| 10 | 10 | "Save the Park / Pam-dora's Box" | Save the Park: Tom Dagenais Pam-dora's Box: William Hasley | November 20, 1982 |
| 11 | 11 | "Hapless Hound / The Very Buried Treasure" | Hapless Hound: John Graham The Very Buried Treasure: Janis Diamond, Allan Heldfond | November 27, 1982 |
| 12 | 12 | "Nearsighted Bear / The Magical Musical Caper" | The Magical Musical Caper: Janis Diamond, Allan Heldfond Nearsighted Bear: Jim Ryan | December 4, 1982 |
| 13 | 13 | "Dinkel's Ark / The Duke of Dinkel" | Dinkel's Ark: Tom Dagenais The Duke of Dinkel: Tom Ruegger | December 11, 1982 |
Season 2 (1983–84)
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Story by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Bogey Goes Ape / The Rain, the Park and the Robot" | Bogey Goes Ape: Glenn Leopold The Rain, the Park and the Robot: Glenn Leopold, Cliff Roberts | September 17, 1983 |
| 15 | 2 | "Digger's Three Wishes / Digger's Double" | Bob Ogle | September 24, 1983 |
| 16 | 3 | "Kip's Dragon / Double Exposure" | Kip's Dragon: David Detiege Double Exposure: Jim Ryan | October 1, 1983 |
| 17 | 4 | "Taj Mahal Tyg / Brass Bogey" | Taj Mahal Tyg: Glenn Leopold, Cliff Roberts Brass Bogey: Bob Ogle | October 8, 1983 |
| 18 | 5 | "The Outer Space Connection / The Forbidden Island" | The Outer Space Connection: Janis Diamond The Forbidden Island: John Bates | October 15, 1983 |
| 19 | 6 | "Saturday Night Shirt Tales / Dinkel's Buddy" | Saturday Night Shirt Tales: Cynthia Friedlob, John Semper Dinkel's Buddy: Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal | October 22, 1983 |
| 20 | 7 | "Pleasure Valley / The Ghost Out West" | Pleasure Valley: Dan DiStefano The Ghost Out West: David Detiege | October 29, 1983 |
| 21 | 8 | "T.J.'s Visit / The Big Set-up" | T.J.'s Visit: David Detiege The Big Set-up: Jim Ryan | November 5, 1983 |
| 22 | 9 | "Kip's Toy Caper / Dinkel's Gift" | Kip's Toy Caper: Cynthia Friedlob, Glenn Leopold, Cliff Roberts, John Semper Dinkel's Gift: Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal | November 12, 1983 |
| 23 | 10 | "Mayhem on the Orient Express / The Cuckoo Count Caper" | Cynthia Friedlob, John Semper | November 19, 1983 |
Other media
There were also two musical book-and-record sets released by K-tel International under the "Castle Rock" imprint: A Song Saves the Park, and Sunrise Surprise. However, both sets use sound-alikes for the voices, and are presented differently from typical read-alongs.
Home media
In 1986, a VHS release of the series was issued by Worldvision Home Video and Kids Klassics, it contained the first full-length episode from Season 2 and the first segment of another episode from that season.
On September 16, 2014, Warner Archive released Shirt Tales: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection.[4]
References
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 549. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 274. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 737–738. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "The Shirt Tales - 'The Complete Series' of the '80s Cartoon is Now on DVD!". tvshowsondvd.com.
External links
- Shirt Tales at IMDb