Rob Price
When you think of giant beasts or Kaiju, there are two that come to mind and those are, of course, King Kong and Godzilla. Kong, also known as the “eighth wonder of the world”, is based on a character created by Merian C. Cooper and first appeared in the 1933 film King Kong. Godzilla was created in 1954 and has been dubbed the King of the Monsters. Both creatures have become pop culture icons and have starred in numerous movies, books and other media, including animated television series. This article will look at three of those series.
The King Kong Show (1966)
King Kong also known as The King Kong Show premiered on September 10, 1966 and ran until August 31, 1969 on ABC on Saturday mornings. It was the first animated series produced in Japan specifically for American audiences. The series portrays the giant ape as a hero who comes to the aid of the Bond family, whose youngest member, Bobby, befriends the creature and the two become inseparable friends. Kong is called on to rescue the Bond family from villains such as Dr. Who (no relation to the long running BBC television series), an evil scientist who wants to control Kong for his own evil machinations.
Each episode of the show featured two short Kong stories with an unrelated story between featuring Tom of T.H.U.M.B., a spy parody featuring an operative who was shrunk down to 3 inches in size and uses his miniature stature to his advantage. The catchy theme song was composed by Maury Laws and sung by Harry Currie. The King Kong Show was popular enough that the licensing of the character was given to the Japanese company, Toho, who produced two films, one of them, King Kong Escapes is based on the cartoon.
Godzilla (1978)
This Hanna-Barbera produced cartoon premiered on September 9, 1978, and ran in some form until 1981. The story features the classic kaiju who helps the team of scientists onboard the Calico, a hydrofoil research vessel. Headed by Captain Carl Majors, and accompanied by Dr. Quinn Darien, her research assistant Brock Borden, and her nephew Pete Darien. Also on board is Godzooky, Godzilla’s clumsy cowardly nephew who provides comic relief throughout the series. Godzilla can be summoned using a special device and comes to the aid of the team whenever they are in danger, usually by other Kaiju.
Joseph Barbera who came up with the idea for the show and wanted it to be more a straight animated version of the original movies, ran into issues when the studio put restrictions on what Godzilla would be able to do. First, they wanted to lighten the mood, which meant the creation of Godzooky, and while this character may appeal to the younger audience, those at the top of the age range find this character annoying. And unfortunately, Godzooky seems to get more screen time than Godzilla. Godzilla was also not allowed to step on any buildings or cars and no person could ever be in danger from his fire breath. These restrictions meant they couldn’t tell the type of stories they wanted to. The big thing I found lacking from this cartoon, was the characters iconic roar which you never really hear throughout the series. Not sure why, possibly trademark or licensing issues or perhaps the studio found it too frightening as well.
Godzilla: The Series (1998)
Based on the character from the 1998 movie, this cartoon acts as a sequel to that film. While searching the sewers of New York, Nick Tatopoulos and a team of scientists who work for H.E.A.T (Humanitarian Environmental Analysis Team) discover one of Godzilla’s eggs has survived and the creature that hatches imprints with Nick as its parent. The team fights many other mutation kaiju usually needing to be saved by Godzilla, but the use of scientific knowledge is usually how the big bads are finally defeated. Not only do the team battle other kaiju, but evil humans and even a race of aliens.
Unlike the other two cartoons listed earlier in this article, I did not watch this cartoon as a child and as I watched an episode in preparation for writing this article, was actually surprised on how good it was. Especially since I was not a huge fan of the original film it was based on (mainly because I am a huge Godzilla fan and they changed him a bit too much). Several actors return to voice their animated counterparts, although the leading character originally played by Matthew Broderick, is now voiced by Ian Ziering (Sharknado, Beverly Hills 90210). In addition, several big-name actors lend their vocal talents in guest spots, mainly as villains, including Ron Perlman, Michael Chiklis, Linda Blair, and even Roddy McDowall whose episode was released posthumously after his death and was his last voice over character. Unlike the earlier cartoon, Godzilla retained his classic roar and even obtained his atomic breath, which was not featured in the original film.
Ever since I can remember I have been a fan of giant monsters acting as man’s protectors. I enjoyed the Godzilla movies and in particular, the ones where he is the hero, and so it is no surprise that as I child I watched and was highly entertained by both the King Kong and the Godzilla cartoons. Now, as an adult, I can add the new Godzilla: The Series to that list. Godzilla is very popular right now, so if you haven’t been able to get your fix of the loveable lizard, you might want to check out some of these episodes if only for nostalgia.
Note: Not covered is the French series, Kong: the Animated Series
Episodes from the above series may be found on You Tube.
