Thursday, March 5, 2026

Toon Rock: Meet the Chipettes (Alvin & The Chipmunks, 1983)

 From season 1 of Alvin & The Chipmunks:

It was the 80's, after all. The MTV generation gave rise to a new group of female artists, including groups like the Go-Go's and the Bangles, and solo stars like Kim Wilde. 

Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. & his wife, Janice Karman, decided that Alvin & the Chipmunks would have female counterparts in response. Enter The Chipettes.

In the season 1 premiere, following a team-up with Mr. T, whose animated series would later in the morning, Alvin, Simon, & Theodore met Brittany, Jeannette, & Eleanor (all voiced by Karman). A chance meeting after the girls, billed as the Chipmunks, are booked at a hotel, which gets David Seville (Bagdasarian) all confused.

Over the course of the series, we'd meet the girls' adoptive parent, Beatrice Miller (Dody Goodman, "Grease", ex-Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), who would also care for the guys when Dave was away.

The title card for this episode was edited off.


Rating: A.

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Boys & Girls (1968)

 From The Archie Show:

Jughead gets a dance named after him, which he & Hot Dog demonstrate. Next, the band performs "Boys & Girls":


Not to be confused with the later R & B song of the same name by the Intruders......

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Toons You Might've Missed: The Wee Men (1947)

 Begorra! St. Patrick's Day is 2 weeks away, and, so, we'll set the ball a'rollin' with Paramount's 1947 tale, "The Wee Men". Jackson Beck voices all the characters.


These leprechauns would return in 2 more shorts.

Rating: B.

Monday, March 2, 2026

Toon Sports: Laff-a-Lympics hits Transylvania & South America (1978)

 From season 2 of Laff-a-Lympics (the core series was renamed Scooby's All-Stars):

Our all-star teams are in Brazil, Argentina, & Transylvania. Don Messick is our announcer, with Snagglepuss (Daws Butler) & Mildew Wolf (John Stephenson) on commentary. 


Unlike in pro wrestling, Snagglepuss could expose the fraud the Rottens were perpetuating. Then again, in the course of two seasons, the Rottens did have a better winning percentage than Dick Dastardly, and.......!

Rating: B.

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Toon Legends: Donald Duck & Chip 'n' Dale in Working For Peanuts (1953)

 Chip 'n' Dale have set up shop in a tree next door to the zoo. A stray peanut flies into their hands while collecting acorns, prompting the two to head to the zoo to see what they can do, which doesn't sit well with either Donald Duck or the elephant he's caring for.......! Part of the open was edited off for copyright reasons.


Rating: B.

Friday, February 27, 2026

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits (Revisited): Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen (1961-4)

 Neil Sedaka took "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" to #6 on the Hot 100 in 1961. 3 years later, he brought the song back on American Bandstand. The clip opens with Charlie O'Donnell bringing us back from commercial.


In memory of Sedaka, 86, who passed away today. Rest in peace.

Sunday Funnies: Shot in The Frontier (1954)

 Jules White's 1954 Three Stooges Western, "Shot in The Frontier", is a send-up of the classic Gary Cooper oater, "High Noon", which helped put director Stanley Kramer on the map in Hollywood.

Anyway, the boys recently got married, but soon discover a trio of outlaws have taken a liking to their brides. Emil Sitka didn't get credit as a justice of the peace this time (He played the same role in "Brideless Groom" a few years earlier), and Shemp stand-in Joe Palma is one of the outlaws.


Rating: B.