Snorks

Infobox television
show_name = Snorks


caption =
format = Animated series
runtime = 12 minutes per episode / 24 minutes per episode (later episodes)
executive_producer = William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Freddy Monnickendam
starring =
country = USA
network = NBC, Syndicated
first_aired = 1984
last_aired = 1988
num_episodes = 65
|

"Snorks" is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1986, and in syndication from 1987 to 1988. The Snorks were created by Belgian comics artist Nic Broca in 1982. [ [http://lambiek.net/artists/b/broca.htm Broca biography] on Lambiek Comiclopedia] Freddy Monnickendam of Belgian character licensing firm SEPP achieved the rights to the characters to start a new franchise which could hopefully equal the success of SEPP's Smurfs franchise, and at the same time be free from the creative and legal problems that had arisen between SEPP and Peyo over the Smurfs. The Snorks were never able to match the success of the Smurfs; though the cartoon was relatively successful and has a considerable fan following, the characters never became the merchandising success Monnickendam had hoped for.

ynopsis

Snorks are a race of small, colorful, fictional beings that live in the underwater world of Snorkland. They have snorkels on their heads, which are used to propel them swiftly through the water. As evidenced by the cartoon series, when a Snork becomes excited their tube makes a "snork" sound. Like the Flintstones or the Smurfs, they have much of the same technology as contemporary humans, adapted to their own aquatic environment. The Snorks use clams as currency, a reference to the slang word "clam", meaning "dollar."

According to the Snork back-story, a few ventured to the surface in 1643, and watched a ship being attacked by pirates. The captain wound up in the water, and that was the first contact between the species. Since then, Snorks have adopted several human habits, such as wearing clothes.

Main characters

For the third season (which premiered in syndication) in 1987, several changes were made to the series. The character Dimmy Finster was written out of the storylines, and three new characters were introduced: Corky (the Snork Patrol Officer), and the series' new chief villains, Bigweed & his sidekick, Lil' Seaweed. Also, there are some episodes which take place on dry land, and the later episodes run in two parts.

The Snorks

* AllStar Seaworthy (voiced by Michael Bell) - An athletic, yellow-skinned, male Snork. More or less the hero of the series. As well as being athletic and heroic, he's interested in Science and also an inventor. He helps his uncle, Dr. Gallio, with his projects whenever he can. Whenever he has an important idea or comes to an important conclusion the star on his belt buckle starts to spin - his "startbright idea". " He's believed to be Casey's love interest.

* Mr. Seaworthy (voiced by Bob Holt) - Mr. Seaworthy is a yellow-skinned, male Snork. He is AllStar & "Baby" SmallStar's father. Mr Seaworthy is the manager of the Snorkland Steam Plant. The Steam Plant is responsible for providing energy for buildings & automobiles, as well as heat for heating & cooking needs for the residents of Snorktown.

* Mrs. Seaworthy -

* Occy (voiced by Frank Welker) - Allstar's male, red, pet octopus. He was once owned by Junior until he abandoned him. Occy does NOT get along with Junior whatsoever and will go out of his way to embarrass and/or chase Junior.

* Dr. Gallio (voiced by Clive Revill) - A purple-skinned, male Snork with white hair. He is involved in all things scientific, medical and technical. He has saved Snorktown numerous times from villains and natural disasters. He is AllStar's & SmallStar's Uncle and a friend to AllStar's gang. It is unknown if he's a sibling to AllStar's Father or Mother.

* "Baby" SmallStar Seaworthy (voiced by Gail Matthius) - A yellow-skinned, infant, female Snork. She is AllStar's baby sister and friends with Willie.

* Casey Kelp (voiced by B.J. Ward) - A light pink-skinned, female Snork with reddish hair and generally believed to be AllStar's love interest. She's intelligent, brave and strongwilled. She dislikes bullies or being bullied and will stand up for herself as well as others. She is best friends with Daffney Gillfin.

* Auntie Marina (voiced by Mitzi McCall) - A light pink-skinned, female Snork with reddish hair. She is an actress that's always trying to perform for people; no matter where she is or what the situation is. She is Casey's aunt.

* Daffney Gillfin (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) - A vain, coral colored, female Snork with brown hair who was always concerned with her looks and appears to be Dimmy's love interest. She has ambitions of becoming an actress. In one of the episodes, she understudies for a famous female, Broadway Theatre Actress (from New Snork City) and becomes the star of the show. She is known for having a big heart and for being extremely tactful, especiall when it comes to breaking bad news to others. She is best friends with Casey Kelp.

* Demitrius "Dimmy" Finster (voiced by Brian Cummings) - An athletic, orange-skinned, male Snork who seems to have a crush on Daffney. He fancies himself to be a comedian as well as a fighter. He also appears to have an insatiable appetite. Whenever Dimmy talks it sounds like he has a cold. He hates being called by his full name.

* Tooter Shellby (voiced by Frank Welker) - A green-skinned, male Snork with dark green hair who could only communicate through "tooting". He has the ability to communicate with some of the sealife.

* Corky (voiced by Rob Paulsen) - An orange-skinned, male Snork. He's The Snork Patrol Officer and a workaholic, with a Type A personality. He is liked by all Snorks and gets along with AllStar & his friends.

* JoJo (voiced by Roger DeWitt) - A male, tan-skinned, two-snorked Snork who was raised and lives in the wild, he's the Snork equivalent of Tarzan, King of the Jungle. He's incredibly strong and can communicate with all the sealife. JoJo isn't very good at grammar.

* Fengy - A dogfish which is JoJo's companion since he was a child.

* Wellington Wetworth Jr. aka: "Junior" (voiced by Barry Gordon) - An orange-skinned, male Snork with bluish hair who's a nice and spoiled snob that takes after his parents, especially his father. Before Bigweed became the villain in season 3, Junior was seen as villain-like, due to his rude attitude towards other Snorks, especially AllStar & his friends. His ambition are to become the Governor of Snorktown, to become rich, and to outperform AllStar (in everything). Usually learns lesson at the end of the episode. Junior used to be best friends with AllStar (when he was younger and starting off in school) until standing up for himself went to his head.

* Willie Wetworth (voiced by Fredricka Weber) - An orange-skinned infant, male Snork. Even though Junior picks on him, Willie looks up to his big brother, Junior. He is the opposite of Junior - nice, friendly, generous, and well liked by all. He is friends with SmallStar. Takes after Grandpa Wetworth.

* Governor Wellington Wetworth (voiced by Frank Nelson) - An orange-skinned, male Snork with lavender colored hair. He is the governor of Snorktown. Governor Wentworth is a stereotypical politician that resorts to double talk, tries to abuse his power, blames others when things go wrong, sends others to do the work while he tries to take the credit, cowardly, thinks of himself first, and a social climber who thinks that he and his family are better than others. He's also an egomaniac who raises taxes in order to build monuments to himself; all of which causes him to be disliked by the majority of Snorks. He's Junior & Willie's father. He wants Junior to succeed (and be governor) to the extent that he turns a blind eye to Junior's underhanded tricks until they cause trouble and/or are exposed. He doesn't like Dr Gallio, AllStar & his friends because they're in the spotlight more than his son (He secretly has an older brother, Captain Long John, that's a kindly, old pirate. Is friends with AllStar & Casie).

* Mrs. Wetworth (voiced by Joan Gardner) - A female Snork with bluish hair. She is Junior & Willie's mother. Just like her husband & oldest son (Junior), she aspires to be a social climber and a snob which believes that she's better than other Snorks. She's always correcting her husband, Governor Wellington Wetworth, whenever he's making a speech (which he always either forgetting or mixing up).

* Grandpa Wetworth (also voiced by Frank Welker) - An orange-skinned Snork. He's Junior & Willie's grandfather. He's a smart trickster that acts as if he knows less than what he does. He's an elderly male that is young at heart & spirit, as well as being technologically savy. Junior always tries to get scams, stunts & tricks past him but Grandpa Wetworth is always one step ahead. He's liked by all and likes AllStar & his friends.

* Ms. Seabottom (voiced by Edie McClurg) - A yellow-skinned, female Snork who wears glasses. She is a high school teacher and appears to be the only teacher to take the students on field trips.

* Ms. Buckfish - A female Snork with reddish hair. She is the richest and most powerful Snork in Snorktown. She is not a social snob and likes All-Star & his friends. She does not think highly of Junior or his family (except for Willie) who aspire to be in the same social level that she is.

* SNIP & SNAP - SNIP & SNAP are a pair of Robotic Snorks. The male Robotic Snork is named SNIP, while the Female Robotic Snork is named SNAP. They were created by Bigweed in order to infiltrate and make it easier for him to takeover Snorkland by getting rid of Corkey - head of The Snork Patrol. They first appeared to AllStar insinuating that they were UFOs ("Unidentified Floating Objects"). After they succeeded in having Governor Wetworth take away The Hero of the Year Award from Corkey and in making Corkey leave Snorktown, after he felt unwanted & unappreciated, they allowed Bigwig & Lil' Seaweed to take over Snorkland. After SNIP & SNAP had a change of heart (which earned the wrath of Bigwig & led to SNAP being dismantled by Lil' Seaweed), NIP helped Corkey, Tooter, AllStar & Casey run Bigweed & Lil' Seaweed out of town. Dr. Gallio was able to successfully rebuild SNAP. Later on, Dr Gallio builds a communication device for SNIP & SNAP which allows them to make basic sounds and words.

* Serena the Mermaid - A small mermaid with blonde hair. She was saved from a storm and later from Dr. Strangesnork by Dimmy. Dr. Strangesnork's shrinking device works in reverse on her, and she becomes regular mermaid sized.

Villains

* Bigweed (voiced by Michael Bell) - The villain of the series. He is suppose to be an evil, green, seaweed-like creature with magical abilities. Bigweed can magically disguise himself to look like a Snork or any form of sealife.

* Lil' Seaweed (voiced by B.J. Ward) - Bigweed's female sidekick. Also an evil, green, seaweed-like creature with magical abilities. She is supposed to have the same magical abilities as Bigweed but on a diminished scale. She is about the same age as AllStar & his friends. Later on, Lil' Seaweed is forced by Snorktown Social Services to attend school in Snorktown because of her age.

* Dr. Strangesnork (voiced by Rene Auberjonois) - A purple-skinned, male Snork with white hair that has a black lightning shaped streak going down the center. He is a villainous, forgetful, absent-minded scientist that can't remember his own name at times. He wants to take over Snorktown. He is jealous of his brother, Dr. Gallio, and want to get revenge upon him and his nephew, AllStar. It is unknown if he's a sibling to AllStar's Father or Mother.

* Finneus - A catfish that's orange in color with black striping. He's Dr StrangeSnork's sidekick and companion from childhood. He's always reminding Dr StrangeSnork of everything that he forgets.

* The Great Snork Nork (voiced by Frank Welker) - He is a purple and indigo colored male Snork. Unlike other Snorks, his snork is on the front of his face, facing down, not on the top of his head. He's the Snork's equivalent of Dracula, the Prince of Darkness. He sleeps upside-down, hanging from the ceiling, just like a bat, and has fangs. He has magical abilities and is able to hurl electrical bolts from his hands. He hates sunlight & bright light, avoiding it at all cost. He's an evil vampire villain, that wants to take over Snorktown, and is always accompanied by two sidekicks. His sidekicks are a miniature version of him minus the magical abilities, they're purple & coral colored.

* The Snork-Eaters - Large, red creatures that are known to prey off Snorks. They are led by a Snorkeater named Spike. The only thing that scares them are fishes called Snork-Eater Eaters, which are tiny fish with enormously large mouths.

Others

* King Neptune - A mythological figure from Greek Mythology & Roman Mythology that is the ruler of the seas. He's portrayed as a merman which controls the rise & falls of the tides with a magical conch shell. Most Snorks believed King Neptune was a myth until he appeared after losing his magical conch shell which Willie later finds.

Episode list

"Season 1 (1984)"
# Journey To the Source / Vandal Scandal (09.15.1984)
# Hooked on a Felling/ The New Neighbors (09.22.1984)
# Das Boot / Which Snork Snitched (09.29.1984)
# Allstar's All-Star Band / Snorkymania (10.06.1984)
# A Snorking We Will Go/ Now You Seahorse, Now You Don't (10.13.1984)
# Snork Dance / Snork Marks the Spot (10.20.1984)
# Junior's Secret / The Big Scoop (10.27.1984)
# The Blue Coral Necklace / Up, Up and A Wave(11.03.1984)
# Snorkin Surf Party / The Snorkness Monster (11.10.1984)
# A Snork on the Wild Side / Allstar's Double Trouble (11.17.1984)
# Fine Fettered Friends / Time Out for Sissies (11.24.1984)
# Me Jo-Jo, You Daffney / The Old Shell Game (12.01.1984)
# The King of Kelp/ Whale Tales (12.08.1984)

"Season 2 (1985)"
# Snorkitis is Nothing to Sneeze At / The Whole Toot and Nothing But the Toot (09.14.1985)
# Chicken's of the Sea / Never Cry Wolf-fish (09.21.1985)
# A Hard Day's Snork / Learn to Love Your Snork (09.28.1985)
# Allstar's Fresh Water Adventure / Dr. Strangesnork (10.05.1985)
# It's Just a Matter of Slime / Water Friends For? (10.12.1985)
# Junior's Octopuppy / The Shape of Snorks To Come (10.19.1985)
# Casey and the Doubleheader / The Ugly Yuckfish (10.26.1985)
# Gills Just Wanna Have Fun / Guess What's Coming to Dinner (11.02.1985)
# A Sign of the Tides / The Littlest Mermaid (11.09.1985)
# I Squid You Not / The Backwards Snork (11.16.1985)

"Season 3 (1987)"
# All's Whale that Ends Well / Allstar's Last Hour (09.12.1987)
# A Willie Scary Shalloween / Sea Shore Sideshow (09.19.1987)
# Freeze Save our Town / Snip and Snap (09.26.1987)
# Junior's Empire / The Golden Dolphin (10.03.1987)
# It's Always Darkest Before the Snork / The Sand Witch (10.10.1987)
# The Shady Shadow / Tooter Loves Tadah (10.17.1987)
# Daffney's Ransom / Salmon Chanted Evening (10.24.1987)
# Casey in Sandland / Reefberry Madness (10.31.1987)
# A Farewell of Arms / Mummy Snorkest (11.07.1987)
# Jo-Jo in Control / The Day the Ocean Stood Still (11.14.1987)
# Chills, Drills and Spills / The Longest Shortcut (11.21.1987)
# Taming of the Snork / Willie & Smallstar's Big Adventure (11.28.1987)
# A Snork in a Gilded Cage / The Snorkshire Spooking (12.05.1987)

"Season 4 (1988)"
# Daffney's Not so Great Escape / Willie's Best Fiend (10.24.1988)
# Day of the Juniors / Dr. Strangsnork's Bomb (10.25.1988)
# A Starfish is Born / Ooze Got the Snorks (10.26.1988)
# The Silly Snorkasaurus / Who's Who? (10.27.1988)
# Battle of the Gadgets / Little Lord Occy (10.28.1988)
# Junior's Fuelish Kelp Rush / The Boo Lagoon (10.31.1988)
# How the Snork was Won / In Junior's Image (11.01.1988)
# Robosnork (11.02.1988)
# Summer and Snork (11.03.1988)
# Allstar's Odyssey (11.04.1988)
# In Greed we Trust (11.08.1988)
# Jaws Says the Word (11.09.1988)
# Prehissnorkic (11.10.1988)
# Rhyme and Punishment (11.11.1988)
# The Wizard of Ice (11.14.1988)
# Big City Snorks (11.15.1988)
# Nightmare on Snorkstreet (11.16.1988)
# Robin Snork (11.17.1988)
# Snorkerella (11.18.1988)
# Snork Ahoy (11.21.1988)
# The Daring Young Snork on the Flying Trapeze (11.22.1988)
# Oh Brother! (11.23.1988)
# The Story Circle (11.24.1988)
# I'll Be Senior (11.25.1988)
# The Day They Fixed Junior Wetworth (11.28.1988)
# The First Snork in Space (11.29.1988)
# Wish or Wish Out (11.30.1988)
# All That Glitters is Not Goldfish (12.01.1988)
# My Dinner with Allstar (12.02.1988)

Cast

* Patricia Alice Albrecht -
* Rene Auberjonois - Dr. Strangesnork
* Michael Bell - AllStar Seaworthy, Bigweed
* Nancy Cartwright - Dafney Gillfin
* Cam Clarke -
* Peter Cullen -
* Brian Cummings - Dimmy Finster
* Jim Cummings -
* Roger DeWitt - JoJo
* Jerry Dexter -
* Jeff Doucette -
* Marshall Efron -
* Joan Gardner - Mrs. Wetworth
* Joan Gerber -
* Barry Gordon - Junior Wetworth
* Bob Holt - Mr. Seaworthy
* Arte Johnson -
* Gail Matthius - SmallStar Seaworthy
* Mitzi McCall - Auntie Marina
* Edie McClurg - Ms. Seabottom
* Frank Nelson - Governor Wetworth
* Alan Oppenheimer -
* Laurel Page -
* Rob Paulsen - Corky
* Clive Revill - Dr. Gallio
* Joe Ruskin -
* Rip Taylor -
* B.J. Ward - Casey Kelp, Lil' Seaweed
* Fredricka Weber - Willie Wetworth
* Frank Welker - Tooter Shelby, Occy, Grandpa Wetworth

Other Media

* Michael Bell reprises his role of AllStar Seaworthy in the "Family Guy" episodes "Brian the Bachelor" while Nancy Cartwright voiced Casey Kelp (However, the character should probably be Daffney Gillfin).
* The Snorks were recently parodied in the "Robot Chicken" episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn." A segment shows a Snork blowing into another Snork's snork causing that Snork's head to explode.

Notes

External links

*
* [http://freenet-homepage.de/snorks-schnorchels-snorky-snorkels/ "Snorks" figurines and more]