- The Ant and the Aardvark
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The Ant and the Aardvark is a series of 17 theatrical short cartoons produced at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and released by United Artists from 1969 to 1971.
Contents
Production
The cartoons were released by United Artists. Directors included Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt. 17 theatrical shorts were produced in the original series, and were subsequently featured in various television syndication packages, usually shown with DFE's other characters such as the Pink Panther and the Inspector. Four of the 17 entries (The Ant and the Aardvark, Never Bug an Ant, Scratch a Tiger and Don't Hustle an Ant with Muscle) appear in their television syndication form, complete with an audible laugh track when released onto DVD.
When the Ant And The Aardvark first appeared on The Pink Panther Show (1970), the cartoons gained a tremendous amount of attention; so much in fact that the Ant And Aardvark became a featured part of the NBC series. Even though the series was successful throughout the 1970s, the same 17 cartoons would continue in repeats with no new cartoons ever being produced.
Plot
The cartoon follows attempts of a blue aardvark named Aardvark (voiced by John Byner,[1][2][3] impersonating Jackie Mason) to catch and eat a red ant named Charlie (also voiced by John Byner[1][2][3] but impersonating Dean Martin), usually doing so by inhaling with a loud vacuum cleaner sound. The character goes unnamed until Rough Brunch, where he states his name is indeed Aardvark. The ant has given him names as well, always beginning with "Old" ("Old Sam," "Old Ben,"...etc.). In The Ant From Uncle, Charlie calls Aardvark "Dad" the entire episode.
The Ant and the Aardvark was also the name of the first cartoon in the series.
In the episodes I've Got Ants in My Plans and Odd Ant Out, the Aardvark tussled against a rival Green Aardvark (also voiced by Byner) with a "tough-guy" attitude, similar to the way Sylvester fought other cats over Tweety in a few of Freleng's earlier shorts at Warner Brothers. Because many Warner alumni worked for DFE, a lot of familiar plots were recycled in the latter studio's cartoons. In Technology, Phooey, the Aardvark utilizes a computer to help think up ideas to catch the ant — very similar in concept to a Chuck Jones short with Wile E. Coyote. This cartoon also features yet another vocal impersonation from Byner, as the Paul Lynde-esque computer. Also, the last short ever made, From Bed to Worse, borrowed heavily from the Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes short, Greedy For Tweety.
There were many minor characters in the series. Among them was Cousin Term the Termite, the unnamed cousin ant, Aunt Minerva (one of the Gi-Ants), Tiny the Elephant (Ant's lodge brother), Tiger (voiced by Marvin Miller), the faceless scientist with a Boris Karloff-like voice, the unnamed nurse (voiced by Athena Lorde), the mischievous dog, the anteater-eating shark, the lifeguard who mistook Aardvark for a dog (he always said, "OFF THE BEACH!"), an unnamed bear that always hurts Aardvark and even a Tarzan character (another lodge brother). Most of the minor characters were also voiced by John Byner.
The German Version
In German-dubbed versions of the cartoon, the protagonists no longer imitate well-known actors. The male aardvark is transformed into a female anteater named Elise (Eliza). Charlie (voiced by Fred Maire) remains male, but is no longer a Dean Martin parody. Elise is voiced by Marianne Wischmann, one of Germany's most renowned voice actresses.
The German-dubbed versions of the cartoons have gained a huge fan community over the decades [4][dubious ],[5] mainly because of Wischmann's incomparable dry and matter-of-fact delivery of Elise's punch lines, as well as the distinctive vacuum cleaner sound Elise makes with the nose. Thus, the cartoons are commonly known under the title Die blaue Elise (Blue Eliza), leaving out the mentioning of Charlie the ant completely.
Filmography
№ Title Directed by: Story: Released: 1 "The Ant and the Aardvark" Friz Freleng John W. Dunn 1969 2 "Hasty But Tasty" Gerry Chiniquy John W. Dunn 1969 3 "The Ant From Uncle" George Gordon John W. Dunn 1969 4 "I've Got Ants in My Plans" Gerry Chiniquy John W. Dunn 1969 5 "Technology, Phooey" Gerry Chiniquy Irv Spector 1969 6 "Never Bug an Ant" Gerry Chiniquy David Detiege 1969 7 "Dune Bug" Art Davis John W. Dunn 1969 8 "Isle of Caprice" Gerry Chiniquy David Detiege 1969 9 "Scratch a Tiger" Hawley Pratt Irv Spector 1970 10 "Odd Ant Out" Gerry Chiniquy Sid Marcus 1970 11 "Ants in the Pantry" Hawley Pratt John W. Dunn 1970 12 "Science Friction" Gerry Chiniquy Larz Bourne 1970 13 "Mumbo Jumbo" Art Davis John W. Dunn 1970 14 "The Froze Nose Knows" Gerry Chiniquy Dale Hale 1970 15 "Don't Hustle an Ant with Muscle" Art Davis Dale Hale 1970 16 "Rough Brunch" Art Davis Sid Marcus 1971 17 "From Bed to Worse" Art Davis John W. Dunn 1971 Credits
- Produced by: David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng
- Directed by: Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt, Gerry Chiniquy, Art Davis
- Story: John W. Dunn, Irv Spector, Dave Detiege, Sid Marcus, Larz Bourne, Dale Hale
- Animation: Warren Batchelder, Manny Gould, Manny Perez, Don Williams, Art Leonardi, Robert Taylor, Bob Goe, Tom Ray, Lloyd Vaughan, Bob Richardson, John Gibbs, Phil Roman, Robert Bentley, Ken Muse, Irv Spence
- Graphic Designers: Corny Cole, Dick Ung, Al Wilson, Lin Larsen
- Voices: John Byner, Marvin Miller, Athena Lorde
- Color Designer: Tom O'Laughlin, Richard H. Thomas
- Title Cards: Art Leonardi
- Musicians: Ray Brown, Billy Byers, Pete Candoli, Shelly Manne, Jimmy Rowles, Tommy Tedesco
- Production Supervisor: Jim Foss
- Coordinator: Harry Love
- Camera: John Burton Jr.
- Film Editor: Lee Gunther
- Music by: Doug Goodwin
Other appearances
- John Byner reprises his roles of Charlie Ant and the Aardvark in the 1990s The Pink Panther TV series.
- The Ant and the Aardvark return in the Pink Panther and Pals in their own shorts like the original cartoon. Charlie Ant has not been referred as "Charlie" in any episode and has been aged down to a young teenager, and John Byner no longer reprises their role. Instead, the Ant is voiced by Kel Mitchell and the Aardvark is voiced by Eddie Garvar in the style of John Byner's Jackie Mason impersonation.
DVD releases
The shorts were also digitally remastered and issued on its own single-disc DVD collection by MGM Home Entertainment/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in 2007.
Also on January 27, 2009 the shorts were released again as part of a DVD collection entitled Pink Panther & Friends Classic Cartoon Collection by MGM Home Entertainment, a 9 DVD set containing 5 discs of The Pink Panther, 1 disc of The Ant & The Aardvark, 2 discs of The Inspector and 1 disc of Roland and Rattfink.
References
- ^ a b Simonson, Robert (22 June 2004). "Sondheim, Lane and Stroman's The Frogs Finds a Lily Pad at Lincoln Center Beginning June 22". Playbill. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/86919-Sondheim_Lane_and_Stroman%27s_The_Frogs_Finds_a_Lily_Pad_at_Lincoln_Center_Beginning_June_22. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ a b Scott, Vernon (26 July 1985). "JOHN BYNER IS THE MAN BEHIND CHARACTER'S VOICE". Sun-Sentinel. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sun_sentinel/access/90961544.html?dids=90961544:90961544&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+26%2C+1985&author=Vernon+Scott%2C+United+Press+International&pub=South+Florida+Sun+-+Sentinel&desc=JOHN+BYNER+IS+THE+MAN+BEHIND+CHARACTER'S+VOICE&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ a b Jefferson, Graham (7 December 1993). "Pink Panther breaks silence // The cool cat acquires a voice from Matt Frewer". USA Today (subscription required). http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/55222440.html?dids=55222440:55222440&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+07%2C+1993&author=Jefferson+Graham&pub=USA+TODAY+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Pink+Panther+breaks+silence+%2F%2F+The+cool+cat+acquires+a+voice+from+Matt+Frewer&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ This page on the German site wunschliste.de (a site for old TV series) contains forum postings by fans discussing the series, with multiple mentioning of the series popularity.
- ^ This review of the German DVD release briefly mentions the cult status of the series.
External links
- Big Cartoon Database
- Retrô TV (Portuguese)
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises Founders Theatrical shorts (Original) The Pink Panther (theatrical, 1964–1980) • The Inspector (theatrical, 1965–1969) • Roland and Rattfink (theatrical, 1968–1971) • The Ant and the Aardvark (theatrical, 1969–1971) • Tijuana Toads (theatrical, 1969–1972) • The Blue Racer (theatrical, 1972–1974) • Hoot Kloot (theatrical, 1973–1974) • The Dogfather (theatrical, 1974–1976) •Theatrical shorts and Television specials
commissioned for Warner Bros.Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes (theatrical, 1964-1967) Bugs Bunny's Easter Special (CBS/TV special, 1977) Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (CBS/TV special, 1979) Daffy Duck's Easter Show (NBC/TV special, 1980)Television shorts Misterjaw (television, 1976) • Crazylegs Crane (television, 1978)Television shows The Super 6 (NBC, 1966–1969) • Super President (NBC, 1967–1968) • Here Comes The Grump (NBC, 1969–1970) • The Pink Panther Show (NBC, 1969–1971) • The Pink Panther Meets The Ant and the Aardvark (NBC, 1970–1971) • Doctor Dolittle (NBC, 1970–1971) • The New Pink Panther Show (NBC, 1971–1976) • The Barkleys (NBC, 1972–1973) • The Houndcats (NBC, 1972–1973) • Bailey's Comets (CBS, 1973–1975) • The Oddball Couple (ABC, 1975–1977) • Return to the Planet of the Apes (NBC, 1975–1976) The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half-Hour and a Half Show (NBC, 1976–1977) Baggy Pants and the Nitwits (NBC, 1977–1978) What's New Mr. Magoo? (CBS, 1977–1979) Think! Pink Panther (NBC, 1978) The All New Pink Panther Show (ABC, 1978–1979) The Fantastic Four (NBC, 1978–1979) Spider-Woman (ABC, 1979–1980)Television specials Clerow Wilson and the Miracle of P.S. 14 (CBS/TV special, 1972) Luvcast U.S.A. (ABC/TV special) The Incredible, Indelible, Magical Physical, Mystery Trip (ABC/TV special, 1973) The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (NBC/TV special, 1973) Clerow Wilson's Great Escape (NBC/TV special, 1974) The Magical Mystery Trip Through Little Red's Head (ABC/TV special, 1974) The Tiny Tree (NBC/TV special, 1975) My Mom's Having a Baby (ABC/TV special, 1977) Where Do Teenagers Come From? (ABC/TV special, 1980)Dr. Seuss
Television specialsThe Cat in the Hat (CBS/TV special, 1971) • The Lorax (CBS/TV special, 1972) • Dr. Seuss on the Loose (CBS/TV special, 1973) • The Hoober-Bloob Highway (CBS/TV special, 1975) • Halloween Is Grinch Night (ABC/TV special, 1977) • Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? (ABC/TV special, 1980)See also The Pink Panther Films The Pink Panther (1963) · A Shot in the Dark (1964) · The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) · The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) · Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) · Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)Inspector Clouseau (1968)Roger Moore (cameo)Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)Roberto Benigni
as Clouseau's sonSon of the Pink Panther (1993)The Pink Panther (2006) · The Pink Panther 2 (2009)Animated shorts The original Pink Panther shorts (1964–1980) · Driving Mr. Pink (1995)Animated
TV showsThe Pink Panther Show (1969–1980) · Pink Panther and Sons (1984–1985) · The Pink Panther (1993–1995) · Pink Panther and Pals (2010)Animated
TV specialsA Pink Christmas (1978) · Olym-Pinks (1980) · Pink at First Sight (1981)Characters Music Other 1970 Scratch a Tiger (009) • Odd Ant Out (010) • Ants in the Pantry (011) • Science Friction (012) • Mumbo Jumbo (013) • The Froze Nose Knows (014) • Don't Hustle an Ant with Muscle (015)1971 Rough Brunch (016) • From Bed to Worse (017))Categories:- Animated film series
- Fictional ants
- Animated duos
- Fictional aardvarks
- 1969 television series debuts
- DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
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