This week I thought we would go back to the 1960s for some vintage cartoons. From 1965 until 1969, ABC ran The Beatles, an animated series based on the music of the Fab Four. The series was writtten by Oscar nominated writer John Dunn. It was produced by Alex Brodax and George Dunning, who also created Yellow Submarine. The voices were not actually the Beatles, but were voiced by American Paul Frees (who also did Boris Badenov in Bullwinkle), and Englishman Lance Percival (who also wrote children’s books).
The format was simple. Each episode followed the band on an adventure (think Scooby Doo) that featured a full-length animation to a Beatles song. Featured songs included hits like Twist and Shout, Drive my Car, and Day Tripper. The Beatles were depicted as they were at the time of the British Invasion with mop tops and Beatle boots. The cartoon has a sweet, silly feel to it, with lots of wise cracks by the band. Even as the social change of the 1960s rocked the world and cynicism spread, the cartoon Beatles still maintained their innocent feel.
Here is the very first episode.
In this one the band goes on a trip to outer space.
Here’s a fun take on the Cold War.
The series ran until 1969. However, it was picked up by MTV and Nickelodean in 1986, and ran in syndication for two more years. Most episodes can be viewed on You Tube. Or you can purchase the DVD through the Crasstalk Amazon store.
