Tom Terrific

Tom Terrific

Excerpts from Wikipedia:

Tom Terrific was an early animated series on American television, presented as part of the Captain Kangaroo children's television show.

Created by Gene Deitch under the Terrytoons studio (which was a subsidiary of CBS, the network that broadcast Captain Kangaroo), Tom Terrific ran in a series of five-minute cartoons created specifically for the Captain Kangaroo show from 1957-1959, and was rerun on Kangaroo for years thereafter.

Drawn in a simple, even clumsy, style, it featured a gee-whiz boy hero, Tom Terrific, who lived in a treehouse and could transform himself into anything he wanted thanks to his magic "thinking cap" funnel hat, which also enhanced his intelligence. He had a comic lazybones of a sidekick, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, and an arch-foe named Crabby Appleton, whose motto was "Rotten to the core!" Other foes included Mr. Instant, the Instant Thing King, Sweet Tooth Sam, the Candy Bandit, and Isotope Feaney. ... Tom Terrific was ranked by TV Guide magazine among its "50 Greatest TV Cartoon Characters".

And from Don Markstein's Toonpedia:

Tom's appeal did not lie in the cartoons' production values, which, like most early TV animation (e.g., Clutch Cargo, Col. Bleep), were nothing short of shoddy. No, it was in the clever writing, the likeable characters, and the fact that the series was just plain fun. The latter quality was considerably enhanced by the talent of voice actor Lionel Wilson, who played all the roles. As chief villain Crabby Appleton ("He's rotten to the core!"), Wilson would sneer and hiss in the best melodramatic tradition; while as Tom, his breathless enthusiasm made every little plot development seem like a Major Event.

Another possible source of the character's appeal was in his basic situation. Besides being a superhero (he could transform his body into whatever he wanted), Tom was a kid on his own. His headquarters was a tree house, where he lived with his ever-faithful companion, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog (possibly the world's laziest heroic sidekick), and nobody else. The only adults in Tom's life were guys he could have fun adventures with — villains like Captain Kidneybean the Pirate and weirdos like madcap inventor Isotope Feeny. What kid wouldn't want to identify with a guy like that?

Die-hard fans looking for DVD's might want to try here.

Comments

[Woody]

I still remember the theme song.

I'm Tom Terrific,
Greatest hero ever,
Terrific is the name for me,
'cause I'm so clever.

[Tommy Joynes]

I can remember Cptn. Kangaroo shows hosting the Tom Terrific cartoons and most importantly that crazy sound that was hallmark to the metamorphosis Tom would go through. It has been something that has stayed with me all my life and still carries me back. What a wonderful sound it was!

[Tommy Joynes]

I can remember Cptn. Kangaroo shows hosting the Tom Terrific cartoons and most importantly that crazy sound that was hallmark to the metamorphosis Tom would go through. It has been something that has stayed with me all my life and still carries me back. What a wonderful sound it was!