This was a very limited animation series from America. Made by Cambria Productions, 1959-60.
Their gimmick was a method of superimposing the mouth of a real actor speaking the lines, on to the drawn face of the cartoon character. That made it just about the creepiest thing on TV.
I saw the series in New Zealand, probably in the early 1970s. So, long after it was made.
This short You Tube documentary gives a history of the show, and how the super creepy moving-mouth effect was achieved. Very interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etqHOlFZCZw
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Their gimmick was a method of superimposing the mouth of a real actor speaking the lines, on to the drawn face of the cartoon character. That made it just about the creepiest thing on TV.
I saw the series in New Zealand, probably in the early 1970s. So, long after it was made.
This short You Tube documentary gives a history of the show, and how the super creepy moving-mouth effect was achieved. Very interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etqHOlFZCZw
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Oh my, Clutch Cargo, Space Angel and Captain Fathom! Three of the coolest TV toons to ever hit the airwaves! I was so obsessed with the Syncro-Vox series, I found 16mm prints of them in the 1970s while at college and ran shows for the film students. Good times. SFZ
ReplyDeleteA college film club Zigg! How cool is that! Were you the projectionist?
DeleteNever seen them except Space Angel. I've seen a Space Angel board game. I wonder if their was a Clutch Cargo game?
DeleteYes my projector, so I projected! We showed all sorts of weird TV ephemera, and Clutch Cargo and Space Angel were favorites. You could buy used TV cartoons on 16mm film for a song in the 1970s, by mail order, sometimes a for dollar an episode! SFZ
DeleteI don't remember Clutch Cargo, but the Space Angel animated series from 1962 used the same technique - called Synchro-Vox. Space Angel was one of my favorites back in the day along with Johnny Quest, but that lip-syncing thing was a bit weird!
ReplyDeleteYeppers, good ol' Clutch with Spinner and Paddlefoot. I loved Space Angel but it was a mess to watch consistently here.
ReplyDeleteGreat when a post brings back good memories and spin-offs like this. I remember Frankenstein Jr. on TV but none of these, which is odd. I have the animated Johnny Quest in a big box VHS case in the loft.
ReplyDeleteMight want to hang on to that VHS set! There are a couple of episodes that have had dialog removed to lessen the cultural insensitivity. Lines I know now missing from the US releases are a comment about here comes the orient express and a line about heathen monkeys.
DeleteCheers Lance. I've loads of Big Box VHS including an obscure cartoon called Ghosts from or of the Deep. I've never seen it but its on the loft!
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