The Mumbly Cartoon Show
| The Mumbly Cartoon Show | |
|---|---|
 On-screen title card. | |
| Network | ABC |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera |
| Original release | September 11–December 18, 1976 |
| Run time | 30 minutes |
| Starring | Don Messick John Stephenson |
| Executive producer(s) | Joseph Barbera William Hanna |
| Producer(s) | Iwao Takamoto (creative) Alex Lovy (associate) |
| Music composed by | Hoyt Curtin Paul De Korte (supervising) |
| Writer(s) | Bill Ackerman Don Jurwich Larz Bourne Joel Kane Tom Dagenais Dick Kinney Alan Dinehart Frank Ridgeway |
| Director(s) | Charles A. Nichols |
The Mumbly Cartoon Show is an animated American television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for ABC's Saturday morning children's programming. It ran in 1976, airing 16 episodes that spanned one season.
The show was featured as a segment of The Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape Show, specifically featured during the second season of the show, when it was eventually retitled as The Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show, unlike its costars however, the series only featured one segment per episode.
The show centered around lieutenant Mumbly, who works at the police station as a "dog detective" tracking down bad guys and either putting them behind bars or causing them to redeem themselves. Mumbly's hotheaded boss, Chief Shnooker, often tells Mumbly to do the mission of bringing in the crook(s), but would later take credit for Mumbly's work.
The series never saw a home media release, and neither Warner Home Video nor Warner Archive have made any sort of announcements about its release. At this point in time, it is unlikely that the series will be released in any form anytime soon.
Production
Development
Hanna-Barbera borrowed the design of the title character of Mumbly from the similarly named Wacky Races character Muttley, with Mumbly even using Muttley's voice actor, Don Messick for the series. It's unknown if the original intention of the character was that he was originally going to be Muttley for the series, and if Hanna-Barbera borrowed the character's design from Muttley in response to the then-ongoing copyright dispute with Heatter Quigley Inc. for the Wacky Races IP, since history of the show is scarce.
Mumbly was likely inspired by Columbo, the title character played by Peter Falk in the TV series of the same name, as the two share similar clothing and personality traits. His ability to track down criminals may have also been similar to the Droopy cartoons; specifically Dumb-Hounded and Northwest Hounded Police, both of which involve Droopy ceaselessly hounding a crook across the world. Chief Shnooker is likely inspired by Kojak from the series of the same name, even barring similarities between personality and appearance.
Music
The music and opening intro were composed by Hoyt Curtin.
- Opening theme song lyrics
Set your dial for a while!
Have a laugh, wear a smile!
It's The Mumbly Cartoon Show!
You'll begin with a grin
When you first tune us in
On The Mumbly Cartoon Show!
Introducing that super-duper detective, lieutenant Mumbly!
He's the greatest!
He's the latest!
Lots of zing, lots to sing!
Everything's gonna swing!
So, get ready - here we go!
Big or small, short or tall,
You will all have a ball
On The Mumbly Cartoon Show!
Episodes
| Episode | Original air date |
|---|---|
| 1x01 | September 11, 1976 |
| 1x02 | September 18, 1976 |
| 1x03 | September 25, 1976 |
| 1x04 | October 2, 1976 |
| 1x05 | October 9, 1976 |
| 1x06 | October 16, 1976 |
| 1x07 | October 23, 1976 |
| 1x08 | October 30, 1976 |
| 1x09 | November 6, 1976 |
| 1x10 | November 13, 1976 |
| 1x11 | November 20, 1976 |
| 1x12 | November 25, 1976 |
| 1x13 | November 27, 1976 |
| 1x14 | December 4, 1976 |
| 1x15 | December 11, 1976 |
| 1x16 | December 18, 1976 |
Cast
Credits
These identical credits appeared at the end of every episode.
- Executive Producers: Joseph Barbera and William Hanna
- Directed by: Charles A. Nichols
- Creative Producer: Iwao Takamoto
- Associate Producer: Alex Lovy
- Story Editor: Ray Parker
- Associate Story: Larz Bourne
- Written by: Bill Ackerman, Don Jurwich, Larz Bourne, Joel Kane, Tom Dagenais, Dick Kinney, Alan Dinehart, Frank Ridgeway
- Recording Directed by: Wally Burr and Alex Lovy
- Story Directed by: Tom Dagenais, Howard Post, Art Scott, Don Sheppard, Paul Sommer
- Voices: Norman Alden, Alan Oppenheimer, Henry Corden, Joe E. Ross, Joan Gerber, Hal Smith, Kathy Gori, John Stephenson, Virginia Gregg, Jean Vander Pyl, Bob Holt, Janet Waldo, Allan Melvin, Lennie Weinrib, Don Messick, Frank Welker
- Production Designer: Bob Singer
- Production Supervision: Victor O. Schipek
- Graphics: Iraj Paran
- Character Design: Marty Murphy
- Musical Director: Hoyt Curtin
- Musical Supervision: Paul De Korte
- Layout by: John Ahern, Ed Benedict, Jaime Diaz, Hak Ficq, Owen Fitzgerald, Mo Gollub, Gary Hoffman, Jack Huber, Larry Huber, Alex Ignatiev, Ray Jacobs, Homer Jonas, Lin Larsen, Warren Marshall, Greg Nocon, Tony Rivera, Linda Rowley, Bob Singer, Terry Slade, Al Wilson, Donna Zeller
- Animation Supervision: Ed Barge and Bill Keil
- Animation: Carlos Alfonso, Ed Barge, O.E. Callahan, Lars Calonius, Rudy Cataldi, Steve Clark, Bob Goe, Bill Hutten, Volus Jones, Ed Love, Tony Love, Ken Muse, Margaret Nichols, Don Patterson, Juan Pina, Tom Ray, Veve Risto, Jay Sarbry, Ken Southworth, Dave Tendlar, Dick Thompson, Carlo Vinci, Xenia
- Backgrounds: John Currin, Dennis Durrell, Robert Gentle, Al Gmuer, Richard Khim, Fernando Montealegre, Bill Proctor, Marilyn Shimokochi, Dennis Venizelos
- Technical Supervision: Frank Paiker
- Checking and Scene Planning: Evelyn Sherwood
- Ink and Paint Supervision: Billie Kerns
- Xerography: Robert "Tiger" West, Star Wirth
- Sound Direction: Richard Olson, Bill Getty
- Supervision Film Editor: Chip Yaras
- Music Editors: Pat Foley and Greg Watson
- Effects Editors: Richard Allen and Terry Moore
- Negative Consultant: William E. DeBoer
- Post Production Supervision: Joed Eaton
- Camera: George Epperson, Charles Flekal, John Curtis Hall, Ron Jackson, Jerry Smith, Norman Stainback, Roy Wade, Dennis Weaver
- Production Manager: Jayne Barbera
Legacy
Despite the series being a ratings flop, Mumbly and Shnooker would still show up every now and then, such as when Mumbly would later most notably be featured in the Laff-a-Lympics TV series. Mumbly served as a replacement for Muttley, who was originally featured as the captain of the Really Rottens, though he in this series divides from his original show since he is depicted as villainous instead of lawful. Mumbly also appears in the Marvel Comics series of the same name, still with an antagonistic role. The character description for Mumbly featured in the comics reveals that he is the cousin of Muttley.
In the same year the series was going, Mumbly made a surprise guest appearance in the Dynomutt, Dog Wonder episode, "The Great Brain...Train Robbery." Mumbly also appeared for the Super Secret Secret Squirrel episode, "Agent Penny," and his name appears under Daphne's list for private eyes in the Velma episode, "Velma Makes a List." Mumbly also appeared back in 1987, for the TV movie, Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose, again carrying his villainous nature from the Laff-a-Lympics cartoon, and is paired up with the Dread Baron as main antagonists of the film.
Shnooker makes non-speaking guest cameo appearances in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episodes, "SPF" and "Juror in Court." in "SPF" specifically, he is a victim of cybersquatting.
In popular culture
- As the film Being There opens up, it begins with Chance waking up and flipping through TV channels, briefly watching the episode "The Great Hot Car Heist."
In other languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Brazilian | Rabugento, o Cão Detetive |
