DVD set of orginal George of the Jungle disappoints

October 24, 7:39 AMTV on DVD ExaminerJohn Stahl

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I had vague but fond memories of the original "George of the Jungle." which was an ape-man spoof from the co-producers of "Rocky and Bullwinkle," and enjoy the modern version of "George of the Jungle" that Cartoon Network airs.

Consequently, the DVD set of the original "George of the Jungle" not being very good disappointed me. I would have been angry if I paid much more than $12 for it.

The original program simply has not passed the test of time. What I recall to be a catchy theme song was very annoying after hearing it play at the start of the program, before the "George of the Jungle" cartoon in the show, and at the end of the show. Also, the dialog lacked the great puns and satire that made "Rocky and Bullwinkle" so special. Further, it seems that are only roughly 15 minutes of actual cartoon in each show after the lengthy title segments for the three cartoons that were included.

Incidentally, I own the first three seasons of "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and plan to review at least the first season in a future "Animation Friday" entry.

I had not remembered the cartoon "Tom Slick" as being part of the original "George of the Jungle" series but liked it much better than that cartoon. It followed the misadventures of a good-guy race car driver and had many elements of "Dudley Do-right" from "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and was much more in the spirit of that far superior series. I am surprised that "George of the Jungle" was not a segment of the "Tom Slick" show, rather than the reverse.

The heavy cardboard packaging, single-sided discs, and plastic disc holders are very good. However, the only features are pilot episodes of "George of the Jungle" and "Super Chicken," which was the third cartoon in the series and was better than "George of the Jungle." I do not understand why the set's producers could not have included at least promos for the show or interviews with the voice actors.

The set also only included a single-sheet episode guide that did not provide any synopses or original air dates. Even a short history of the show or other information about it should have been doable.

In other cartoon news, I am very excited regarding what looks to be a great box set of the complete series of "The Flintstones" that is being released next week and includes many cool extras that an online site reports that Warner Brothers is keeping a surprise. This was a favorite growing up, and the complete series is going for a much lower per-season price than the individual seasons. I am taking it for granite that this set will warrant a yabba dabba doo and will report back after I check it out.

I was thrilled as well to learn that Fox is releasing an most likely incredible "Pink Panther" set in creative furry pink packaging at the end of November. This set will include nine volumes of the 1960s cartoons and every film. It also will include an encyclopedia of the Pink Panther. I anticipate that this set will leave me speechless and may inspire me to buy insulation. I will let you know about this one as well.

Please share your comments or questions as additions to this entry or an e-mail to tvdvdguy@gmail.com. Also, I hope that you enjoy your cartoon watching and sugar cereal tomorrow morning; it will be a chilly one here in New England, and I will be eating my Honey Combs and watching the Scooby Doo movie about which I will write for the Halloween version of "Animation Friday."