Rod Rocket is the first animated cartoon with production credited to Filmation, debuting in syndication in 1963. The show was produced in five-minute cliffhanger segments, with five segments making a full story. Television stations could broadcast the single-segment version daily on their local children's afternoon show, or package them together to make 26 weekly half-hour shows.[1]
| Rod Rocket | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation, Adventure |
| Written by | Dick Robbins |
| Directed by | Lou Scheimer Hal Sutherland |
| Starring | Sam Edwards Hal Smith Pat Blake |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 65[citation needed] |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Mark Lipsky Walter N. Bien |
| Running time | 5 min. |
| Production companies | Filmation Associates Sib Tower 12 Productions |
| Original release | |
| Release | 1963 |
History edit
Rod Rocket was originally produced by True Line, a small Los Angeles animation studio that subcontracted it the newly formed Filmation Associates created by Lou Scheimer and Hal Sutherland in 1963.[2][3] Scheimer and Sutherland had met while working at Larry Harmon Productions on the made-for-TV Bozo the Clown and Popeye cartoons. They produced the series for SIB Productions, a Japanese company.[3]
Plot edit
A boy named Rod Rocket and his best friend, Joey, are sent by wise codger Professor Argus on an exploratory mission in a spaceship called the Little Argo. He waits for them at home with his teenage granddaughter, Cassie. While in space, Rod and Joey constantly battle two bumbling cosmonauts.[4]
Voices edit
The voice cast included:[5]
- Sam Edwards - Rod Rocket and Joey
- Hal Smith - Professor Angus
- Pat Blake - Cassie
Episodes edit
- "Slave Labor in Space"
- "The Lava Trap"
- "Lost in a Lunar Mist"
- "Lights On"
- "The Acid Test"
References edit
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. p. 241. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ Scheimer, Lou; Mangels, Andy (2012). Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 38–39.
- ^ a b Rod Rocket at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 9, 2017.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 685–686. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 516. ISBN 978-1538103739.
External links edit
- Rod Rocket at IMDb
- Rod Rocket at Toon Tracker
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