Saturday Supercast Episode 23, Halloween Cartoon Specials!

by Shawn Robare | Oct 27, 2009 | Branded in the 80s, Read

Well, technically, it’s not a Branded podcast, but the Saturday Supercast is back after a brief hiatus with episode 23. This time out Jerzy, Kevin, and I are filled with the spirit of the Great Pumpkin as we discuss some favorite Halloween specials from our youth. Throughout the 60s, 70s, & 80s kids all around the western hemisphere were treated with all sorts of cartoon and claymation specials in celebration of the creepiest of holidays. From branded mainstays like It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and Garfield’s Halloween Adventure, to one-off movies and shows like the Rankin/Bass Mad Monster Party or the Canadian gem the Devil and Daniel Mouse, cartoons have become a really great part of celebrating the spooky season. In this episode we focus on a couple of obscure specials that we feel gives a nice overview of the genre as a whole…

Raggedy Ann & Andy in the Pumpkin Who Couldn’t Smile…

…and the off-the-wall Canadian special Witch’s Night Out.

We also spend some time discussing the stable of General Mills’ Monster cereals, in particular the wonderful commercials, toy premiums, and the actors that the characters pay homage to including Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff (as well as some missed opportunities in using Vincent Price, Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing for the characters Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy.)

This episode is chock full of content including some reminiscing over great voice actors like Daws Butler, June Foray, Les Tremayne, as well as the voice talents of Gilda Radner & Catherine O’Hara. We also talk about James Mason’s wonderful performance in the UPA Studios amazing rendition of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Telltale Heart, the resurgence of the Universal Monsters in the late 50s through the 70s, Marvel and DC monster comics, Aurora monster model kits, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Mego Monster figures, Ben Cooper and Collegeville Halloween Costumes, the awesome skeleton costumes worn by Johnny and the Cobra Kai in the Karate Kid, the Drak Pack, the Groovie Goolies, Mary & Vincent Price’s Treasury of Recipes cookbook, Tom Sito’s Drawing the Line, the patented Chuck Jones devilish smile and his 60s & 70s specials including How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Cricket in Times Square and Rikki Tikki Tavi, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Banjo and Harmonica music, some Halloween history nuggets, Canadian animation and Canada’s National Film Board, Nickelodeon, Doug, Mr. Men & Little Misses, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, the Halloween Specials website, the Paul Lynde Halloween Special, the iconic CBS Specials intro, the Toon into Animation podcast, Halloween is Grinch Night, and the Ghettomation podcast.

Unfortunately Witch’s Night Out is out of print on VHS and currently not available for free viewing on the internet, but if you’re curious about watching the Pumpkin Who Couldn’t Smile, it’s on youtube (part 1, part 2, and part 3.)

As for us, well you can find more of Jerzy’s work at:
Make Like a Tree Comics
jdrozd.blogspot.com
Art & Story Podcast

Kevin is freelance illustrator, comic creator, and podcaster whose work can be found at:
Kevin Cross.net
Big Illustration Party Time Podcast
Ghettomation Podcast

…and well, you probably know me by now.

If you have any questions, comments, or heck, even complaints, you can drop us a line at Saturday Supercast!